On Distant Shores, Wings of the Nightingale Series #2

On Distant Shores is the second book in the Wings of the Nightingale series. I love how we get to continue this WWII saga with the characters I grew to love in the first book. I enjoyed getting to know Georgie more and meeting her special someone, Hutch.

The plot for this story is wonderful. Both Hutch and Georgie already have special people in their lives. Both of their love interests are back stateside and I respect how Hutch and Georgie are true to them, even when they do feel an attraction toward each other. I really enjoyed watching how Georgie and Hutch's stories with their special people back home played out, and the way things worked to bring Georgie and Hutch together.

The huge obstacle to overcome in this novel is that Hutch is a pharmacist and is not allowed to be an officer. He is not even supposed to address officers by their first name, let alone date one! This causes a lot of bitterness to grow in Hutch and threatens the relationships that are important to him. It was hard to read about how he was treated, but even harder to read about his reactions to the treatment. The change God wrought in both of these characters was really amazing! I went from totally frustrated about Hutch's situation, to feeling a sense of calm and trust in God. It was kind of funny how much I got wrapped up in Hutch's sense of injustice!

This series is just so great. It really brings WWII to life for me. I love the geographical and historical details that are made so interesting because of the great storylines. And I really enjoy the author's notes at the end of the book that give more information behind the story. My heart broke for the real person of Robert Knecht and for the Army nurse he was secretly engaged to.

I have already begun reading book three in the series and am loving it as well. These are such enjoyable and complex stories.

One of the best things about this book for me? The fact that I closed it reflecting that the heroine, Georgie, and I would've been good friends in real life. She appealed to me a lot as a character, and while I don't have the same struggles she has, I understood her well and yeah - we would've been friends. She's lovely! John/Hutch wasn't bad, though I didn't find myself falling in love with him. There are a lot of details packed into this book, and they all added to the historical/realistic feel overall. There was enough action to keep the story, but not let it get rushed. Another highlight? Seeing Tom and Mellie, from "With Every Letter"! Good book, and I'm glad I bought it.

Sarah Sundin continues her excellent series on the lives and loves of the dedicated women who became flight nurses during World War II. As always, Sarah provides detailed insight into the era, the people, the military, and more particularly in this novel, the fascinating plight of trained pharmacists, who were not considered experts in their field by the military and were treated accordingly. Both Hutch and Georgie are battling people's preconceptions and prejudices, in their jobs and on the home front. Sarah creates sympathetic characters , instilled with a good dose of authenticity and readers will be encouraged and challenged by Georgie's battle for independence and courage, and Hutch's struggle with pride and with what becomes an unhealthy obsession with gaining the respect of his peers and the recognition of his vocation within the military hierarchy. That said, I was a little less invested in these characters than I usually am with Sarah's excellent stories but I haven't been able to quite determine why. Sarah never fails to pen a interesting tale and characterisation is one of her writing strengths so don't be dissuaded from reading this book. On Distant Shores is still an engaging book and while the pacing may have been a little slow in places there is still plenty to engage and delight.

I was so excited when I found out that the second book had come out!! I bought it as quickly as I could and then dove right in! This book was fabulous just like the first one. It had some pretty sad and surprising twists that kept me reading intensely! I loved finding out more about Georgie and her family and I liked seeing how Mellie kept on growing too. I fell in love with all of these characters before and it was such a joy to return to them and see their stories continue! I can't wait for the next one!!!

I had waited forever to read this book. It was good. I liked the setting and the main characters most of the time. On Distant Shores also had a good theme about how one should do everything to honor God. Now I have to wait almost a whole year for the third book in the series to come out!