With Every Letter

July 16, 2012
Historical romance specialist Sundin (Wings of Glory series) opens another WWII-era series with a well-researched and absorbing tale of two Army specialists whose pen-pal relationship becomes a lifeline. Lt. Philomela (Mellie) Blake is a nurse who has difficulty fitting in socially. Lt. Tom MacGilliver is an engineer and the son of a killer whose fear of his own parentage has made him a mild-mannered man, not an asset in wartime conditions. The two meet via a morale-building pen-pal arrangement that keeps them anonymous, and confide in one another their secrets and present-day problems. When the two meet after both are transferred to Algeria as the Allied forces press through North Africa, the epistolary relationship and the real one collide. Sundin has a such a gift for compelling scenes and details (jump rope rhymes, nicknames, conversational banter) that she can be forgiven for some significant improbabilities (MacGilliver’s pet dog) that seem to be rooted more in the stereotypes of WWII movies than the logic of the story. WWII-era fans won’t be able to put it down. Agent: Rachel Kent, Books & Such Literary Agency

September 15, 2012

As Lt. Mellie Blake begins her flight training program, she is coerced into joining a moral-building letter writing program to soldiers overseas. The only thing that makes her feel better about it is knowing that her identity (and his) will be kept secret. Stationed in North Africa, Lt. Tom MacGilliver is also glad that his correspondence will give him a false identity. Over time, as the two write to each other, they get to know almost everything about each other. Then, they are both transferred to Algeria, where they will finally meet. VERDICT This heartwarming, richly detailed Word War II historical should appeal to fans of Judith Pella.

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2012
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.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)