Lieutenant Philomela “Mellie” Blake is a part of the first
crew of flight nurses to be sent overseas during World War II. Growing up
travelling the world with her botanist father, Mellie has not lived a life that
is conducive to making friends and being part of a group. Nurses are expected
to not only assist with medical care but to be perky and friendly to the
soldiers they serve and also with the other nurses. Those in charge wonder if
Mellie will be able to accomplish both of these tasks.
Lieutenant Tom MacGilliver is an officer in an engineering
battalion stationed in North Africa, and he has spent his entire life trying to
outrun his infamous name. When an opportunity comes to anonymously exchange
letters with a woman in the nursing division, Tom thinks it will finally be a
chance to just be himself.
As Tom and Mellie exchange letters and as they wage battles
both inside and out, a unique friendship forms. When they get the chance to
meet face-to-face, will they be able to set aside the fears of their past in
order to welcome the possibility of a wonderful future?
World War II is not my favorite historical fiction setting,
but I really liked Sarah Sundin’s “Wings of Glory” series, and so I wanted to
give this new series, “Wings of the Nightingale” a try.
For starters, the whole concept of the army using flight
nurses during WWII was just fascinating. Throughout the story I could feel the
struggles these women faced to be taken seriously and to prove that they could
carry out their missions with strength and excellence.
I also liked the concept of a romance blooming through the
writing of letters – and anonymous ones at that. I felt as if I really got to
know and care about both Mellie and Tom because I was able to see how they
acted and thought around others and also through the things they revealed in
their correspondence. The whole flow of the novel was extremely smooth, and the
characters were very well-written, even the secondary ones. I look forward to
seeing them return in the next novels in the series.
One thing that was especially striking about Mellie was how
she desired to use her gift of mercy. She recognized this gift as being given
by God, and she used it in ways besides just her nursing care – things that I
hadn’t really thought of before.
The spiritual aspect of this novel was seamlessly woven
throughout the story. Tom and Mellie both expressed their faith in God to each
other and to others around them, but they did not come across as fake or as being
judgmental. It was just who they were.
Even though they had this faith in God, they weren’t perfect, and they
grew tremendously throughout the story.
If you are more of a history buff than I am, then this book
is for you. I tend to get bogged down in the details of maps and battles and
the like, and also war-setting stories tend to have a lot of characters to keep
straight. I enjoyed the time and setting overall. I just didn’t always think
too much on the details. The details that were there, though, gave the story
depth and made it historically rich.
I also thought that this novel was a bit long. I’m not sure
if the story just took a little too long to get started or if it got long
towards the end when I wanted Tom and Mellie to meet, but somewhere along the
way it did drag somewhat. I think I also got impatient with Mellie towards the
end since she was so extremely insecure.
With Every Letter is a wonderful beginning to what I’m sure will be
a great series by WWII-era author Sarah Sundin.
I will give With Every Letter ... 4 BookWorms.
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