Monday, August 26, 2013

Book Review: On Distant Shores

On Distant Shores. Sarah Sundin. 2013. Revell. 432 pages. [Source: Review Copy]

On Distant Shores is the second book in Sundin's Wings of the Nightingale series. It is her fifth novel set during World War II. The first novel in the Wings of the Nightingale series is With Every Letter. The romance in With Every Letter is between Lt. Mellie Blake and Lt. Tom MacGilliver. These two characters are minor characters on Distant Shores. These two books are companion novels. Their stories and plots overlap quite a bit.

Lt. Georgiana Taylor is the heroine of On Distant Shores. She is a flight nurse stationed in North Africa (later Italy). Other flight nurses include Mellie, Kay, and Rose. (There might be other nurses as well, but, these are the ones who come to mind quickly!) Sgt. John Hutchinson is the hero of On Distant Shores. He is a pharmacist. When the novel opens, Georgiana is engaged to a farmer in Virginia, Ward; John is engaged to a woman back home as well. The two meet and become good friends. Because they are in committed relationships, they don't let things get inappropriate or awkward, but, each secretly feels drawn to the other.

Romance novels are predictable almost by nature. The reader knows that these two people are fated to be together no matter what. It is in the details that readers find enjoyment, satisfaction, and perhaps surprise. I definitely liked this one! I'm not sure I loved it quite as much as With Every Letter. But With Every Letter is one that I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED. Merely "loving" a novel is not a bad thing! I found the novel rich in details and the characters were developed nicely.  

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

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