With Every Letter: (Historical WWII Fiction with Emotional Romance about a Flight Nurse) (Wings of the Nightingale)
With Every Letter: (Historical WWII Fiction with Emotional Romance about a Flight Nurse) (Wings of the Nightingale) book cover

With Every Letter: (Historical WWII Fiction with Emotional Romance about a Flight Nurse) (Wings of the Nightingale)

Paperback – September 1, 2012

by
Price
$12.91
Format
Paperback
Pages
425
Publisher
Revell
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-0800720810
Dimensions
5.5 x 1.08 x 8.3 inches
Weight
1.01 pounds

Description

From Booklist Mellie Blake, a pioneering WWII flight nurse, does not fit in. Try as she might, her childhood spent in the jungle with her father has made it impossible for her to make friends, much less draw the affection of a good man. So when a chance to correspond anonymously with an army engineer comes along, Mellie proceeds, but with trepidation. Lieutenant Tom MacGilliver also values this anonymous correspondence because he feels unable to shake the stigma of his father’s criminal sins and, like Mellie, assumes that for him, love, marriage, and family are not possible. When these two misfits find each other amid the ravages of war, a true love story begins to unfold, requiring both of them to let down their guard and learn to trust in ways that neither has been able to before. By telling this redemptive wartime tale of love primarily from the perspective of a young flight nurse, talented historical-fiction and romance author Sundin (Blue Skies Tomorrow, 2011) offers a unique perspective on the lives of military women during this time period. --Elizabeth Ponder They know everything about each other--except their real names. Lt. Mellie Blake is looking forward to beginning her training as a flight nurse. She is not looking forward to writing a letter to a man she's never met--even if it is anonymous and part of a morale-building program. Lt. Tom MacGilliver, an officer stationed in North Africa, welcomes the idea of an anonymous correspondence--he's been trying to escape his infamous name for years.As their letters crisscross the Atlantic, Tom and Mellie develop a unique friendship despite not knowing the other's true identity. When both are transferred to Algeria, the two are poised to meet face-to-face for the first time. Will they overcome their fears and reveal who they are, or will their future be held hostage by their pasts?Combining a flair for romance with excellent research and attention to detail, Sarah Sundin vividly brings to life the perilous challenges of WWII aviation, nursing--and true love. "I love the nostalgia and drama of the WWII era. No one takes me back there better than Sarah Sundin. With Every Letter is a beautiful love story and has everything you want in a novel: romance, suspense, and characters you care about from the very first page. A marvelous beginning for her new series. I can't wait to read the next book."--Dan Walsh, award-winning and bestselling author of The Discovery Sarah Sundin is the author of A Distant Melody , A Memory Between Us , and Blue Skies Tomorrow . In 2011, A Memory Between Us was a finalist in the Inspirational Reader's Choice Awards, and Sarah received the Writer of the Year Award at the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference. A graduate of UC San Francisco School of Pharmacy, she works on-call as a hospital pharmacist. During WWII, her grandfather served as a pharmacist's mate (medic) in the Navy and her great-uncle flew with the US Eighth Air Force in England. Sarah lives in California with her husband and three children. Sarah Sundin is the bestselling author of When Twilight Breaks , Until Leaves Fall in Paris , The Sound of Light , and the popular WWII series Sunrise at Normandy, among others. She is a Christy Award winner and a Carol Award winner, and her novels have received starred reviews from Booklist , Library Journal , and Publishers Weekly , and have appeared on Booklist 's "101 Best Romance Novels of the Last 10 Years." Sarah lives in California. Visit www.SarahSundin.com for more information. Read more

Features & Highlights

  • Lt. Mellie Blake is a nurse serving in the 802nd Medical Squadron, Air Evacuation, Transport. As part of a morale building program, she reluctantly enters into an anonymous correspondence with Lt. Tom MacGilliver, an officer in the 908th Engineer Aviation Battalion in North Africa. As their letters crisscross the Atlantic, Tom and Mellie develop a unique friendship despite not knowing the other's true identity. When both are transferred to Algeria, the two are poised to meet face to face for the first time. Will they overcome their fears and reveal who they are, or will their future be held hostage to their past? And can they learn to trust God and embrace the gift of love he offers them?Combining excellent research and attention to detail with a flair for romance, Sarah Sundin brings to life the perilous challenges of WWII aviation, nursing, and true love.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
30%
(1.1K)
★★★★
25%
(945)
★★★
15%
(567)
★★
7%
(265)
★
23%
(868)

Most Helpful Reviews

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Wonderful Characters and a Great Story!

I haven't read any of Sarah Sundin's previous novels, but I've heard great things about them, and I was looking forward to reading her new release, With Every Letter.

The concept to the story was intriguing to me (two people writing anonymous letters to each other) and, I have to say, I loved the "letters" in With Every Letter.

The characters were wonderful! My favorites being Tom, Mellie, and Clint. Mellie's character was very shy and I could relate to that because I am typically shy and (like her) I hope to overcome that. :) I felt kind of bad for Tom and all he had to deal with from a child on (not going into specifics). And Clint, well, I just loved how he acted when he met Rose....he made me laugh.

I loved the story and would have given With Every Letter 5 stars, but, at times, I found it hard to follow because of some of the words used (regarding the military aspect)...this may have only been a problem with me, though.

I also loved how mercy was a big part of With Every Letter. Mellie was a great example of not only showing mercy to your friends, but also to your enemies.

Overall, I loved With Every Letter and recommend it if you enjoy historical romances set around WWII. It was great and I look forward to reading book two in the Wings of Nightingale series.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book for my review. I was not required to give a positive review, only my honest opinion - which I've done. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.*
32 people found this helpful
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contrived

In general I found the characters in this book to be laughable, I seriously did laugh out loud a couple times. Mellie and Tom are written as extremely immature, almost simple, people. I kept thinking they didn't need each other they needed some serious counseling to deal with their issues. The writing is very elementary, I kept checking to see if I was reading a young adult book. To say the storyline was contrived would be putting it mildly. I usually can see past that if the characters save it, in this case they did not. The story in general was a good idea but the way it was written did not do the story line justice.

I'm sorry to say I was extremely disappointed in this book and will not be looking to read the next one in the series.

My thanks to Revell Publishing for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for my review.
6 people found this helpful
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Too slow to start, but enjoyable in the end...

Book one of the Wings of the Nightingale series from Sarah Sundin, With Every Letter tells the story of a friendship between Lieutenant Mellie Blake, a flight nurse in WWII, and Lieutenant Tom MacGilliver, an engineer with the US Army.

The first half of With Every Letter forced me to use my brain too much - it covered wide spans of time between chapters and spent too many chapters {in my opinion} building up to any type of excitement in the story line. While some of the details revealed in the first half of the book were necessary to the overall storyline, I struggled to stay engaged with the characters and the story.

The second half of the book, however, was fast-paced and thoroughly engaging. I found myself eager to turn the pages to see what happened next with Mellie and Tom - to discover the resolution of the conflicts that were introduced.

Overall, I enjoyed the book - its setting, the development of the characters, and the storyline. I'm hoping that book two in this series is able to jump right into the fast-paced story, unlike With Every Letter.

blog.ashleypichea.com
6 people found this helpful
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A Stellar Start to Sundin's Wings of the Nightingale Series

Confession. I'm a steadfast Sarah Sundin fan. I flew through the first three books from her Wings of Glory series, and I don't even read WWII romance as a rule. Sundin has changed all that, having become one of my must-read authors. Why? Because she's a masterful storyteller. Because she creates tension that keeps me fighting sleep well into the night. And because her characters are so real, so deep, and so likable that I remember them long after I close the pages of her books and heave a satisfied sigh.

When I read the blurbs for With Every Letter, I'll admit to wondering how Sundin would pull off a story where the hero and heroine exchange letters anonymously and don't meet in person until well into the book. I wondered, yes, but I didn't doubt Sundin's ability to succeed. And I was right! She reeled me in from the start. I fell in love with flight nurse Lt. Mellie Blake in chapter one, and I was head over heels for engineer Lt. Tom MacGilliver well before I finished chapter two. They are both such well-crafted characters, each with a believable blend of strengths and flaws, that I felt like I knew them--and would like to have them as friends.

The story flows beautifully, the tension building with each chapter. And the romance? It's wonderful. Tom and Mellie's relationship takes off with only a small bump or two, but there's turbulence ahead, keeping things mighty interesting. I loved being a witness to the emotional and spiritual journeys Mellie and Tom took. Both have a good deal of changing to do, and watching them take steps forward and back kept me flipping pages with the speed of a fighter plane over North Africa. I trusted Sundin to bring the story in for a great landing after the thrilling ride, and she did. I just hope she's writing like the wind, because I can't wait for the next book in the series. I highly recommend With Every Letter. Fans of historical romance are sure to love it. What am I saying? Anyone who likes a well-told, action-packed story with great characters will enjoy it.
4 people found this helpful
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Great War Story

I have read Sarah Sudin's previous books and enjoy her style of writing. I found the story, With Every Letter very interesting and intertwined with history of WWII. I know of people that have written letters of correspondence with soldiers, but never knew of anyone that have met in person let alone fall in love! I found the book really dragged during the middle. It seemed that it was a continual tale of Mellie and Tom unable to interact and get along with others. I realize that their backgrounds were unique, but almost to the extent of a phoebia. As adults, we need to learn to cope and get along. It was odd that two people had the same issues only to be thrown together in correspondence. Yet, they found that they had this in common. I'm so pleased that Tom realized that he had to rely on God's love and forgiveness. That he was his own person and not to constantly live in his father's shadow.

Good message, but very drawn out. Great story if interested in the WWII fighting in Africa and defeat of Italy in the Mediterian. I would not buy this book for my church library..just not enough tough stuff and we all knew the ending!
3 people found this helpful
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An Amazing Book!

Mellie Blake joined the army to offer her skills as a nurse. Her unit of nurses will be deployed to North Africa as some of the first female flight nurses in the field. While in training, her supervisor has an idea of another way they can encourage the men at war--an anonymous letter-writing campaign. For the first time, Mellie feels like she can open up and truly be herself and puts her heart on the line. Lt. Tom McGilliver has secrets in his past that he would just as soon not remember. Exchanging anonymous letters with Mellie suits him just fine and a friendship develops that is unlike anything either has ever experienced. When they both arrive in Algeria, they must decide if they will risk their anonymous friendship for the opportunity to meet face-to-face. Or if their pasts will continue to determine their present.

Sarah Sundin brings World War II alive in her latest novel With Every Letter. Mellie and Tom are unique characters--each with their own secrets and struggles. The way their relationship develops is so interesting. I wasn't sure what to think at first when I realized that the two wouldn't meet for quite a few pages, but Sundin did a beautiful job of building their friendship and weaving the pieces of their story together. She even threw in a few great surprises!

The other characters were interesting as well, and the author gave a lot of depth to each character. Many of the secondary characters also had struggles and grew during the course of the story as well, which was nice to see.

Sundin did a wonderful job researching the challenges of female flight nurses and the other aspects of WWII that were included. I felt like I was right there in the middle of things. I can't imagine the amount of time that must be devoted to research for a book like this!

Overall, this was such an amazing book! The message of forgiveness and redemption was so poignant and came through without being preachy. I absolutely cannot wait until the next book in this series!! [5 stars]

I received a free copy of this book from Litfuse Publicity and Revell Books in exchange for my fair and honest review.
3 people found this helpful
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Captivating story ---

I was not immediately swept into this book. I felt bogged down with too many details and a long list of characters. About half way through the book I became engaged with the storyline as the book really started to flow.

The realistic characters were written with a lot of depth having many flaws and problems. Mellie Blake, a flight nurse in WWII, and Lieutenant Tom MacGilliver, an engineer in charge of constructing air strips, agree to an anonymous letter writing campaign as a morale building program. Tom and Mellie begin sharing parts of their past that have never been revealed with anyone else and as a result a relationship soon develops. Mellie has been rejected all her life and friendless, being shy and never smiling. Being a competent and caring nurse isn't enough - she has to overcome her shyness. Tom has deep secrets in his past - he is the son of a notorious convicted murderer. He's very warm and caring, but just can't get beyond the sins of his father.

This is a captivating story about a powerful friendship that develops through letter writing that grows into more than friendship and overcomes a myriad of obstacles. The story also has a strong message of faith, forgiveness, and redemption. My favorite part of the book was the beautifully written ending - just sublime. Also, a lot of good rich historical details.
2 people found this helpful
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WWII Era Christian Romance

I listened to the audio version and this is my first experience with a Sarah Sundin novel. There is nothing on the cover to denote With Every Letter is inspirational or Christian fiction. I am not opposed to that, but was quite surprised at a somewhat excessive amount of prayer and bible quoting throughout the narrative. However, it is evident to see God's hand in the unlikely romance of the heroine and hero. I enjoy WWII era fiction and the background details about the war. The author does a good job emphasizing the emotional turmoil and almost crippling low self-esteem of the main characters. The reader becomes a witness to their growing confidence and evolving love story.
1 people found this helpful
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Amazing start to a new series!

After absolutely adoring the author's previous series I was super excited to join this new adventure but at the same time a little worried that it would measure up. As soon as I started this book I knew that my worries were for not as I fell in love with this whole new cast of characters. My heart broke for all of the things that the hero and heroine had had to go through as they grew up, things that unfortunately followed them into adulthood. And I absolutely loved watching as they overcame their fears and the things that had been hurting them for years to become the people that God intended them to be. Both Mellie and Tom were really unique characters that I totally loved! The secondary characters were also very interesting and I especially liked Tom's dog!
It was really cool to get another look at the complicated job of flight nursing that I first got a glimpse of in A Memory Between Us. It's amazing all the things that these woman were able to do and how determined and brave they were in the face of danger and opposition.
This book wasn't quite the emotional roller-coaster that the Wings of Glory Series was but there were a decent amount of emotional ups and downs that were once again amazingly written. All in all I loved this book and I was really happy to have book two On Distant Shores on my shelf ready to read!

I once again made a playlist of the songs mentioned in the book which you can find here: [...]
1 people found this helpful
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Incredible Attention to Detail!

Sarah Sundin amazes me. She has an ability to research and learn about complicated information, then weave it skillfully into a story line so a reader is painlessly educated while being thoroughly entertained. "With Every Letter" will take the reader to various corners of the world (from England to Africa) during a fascinating period of WWII. It's a beautiful love story tucked within a slice of history. Terrific book!
1 people found this helpful

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