"On Distant Shores" by Sarah Sundin

Caught between the war raging around them and the battles within, two souls long for peace---and a love that remains true.

Lt. Georgiana Taylor has everything she could want. A boyfriend back home, a loving family, and a challenging job as a flight nurse. But in July 1943, Georgie's cozy life gets more complicated when she meets pharmacist Sgt. John Hutchinson.

Hutch resents the lack of respect he gets as a noncommissioned serviceman and hates how the war keeps him from his fiancée. While Georgie and Hutch share a love of the starry night skies over Sicily, their lives back home are falling apart. Can they weather the hurt and betrayal? Or will the pressures of war destroy the fragile connection they've made?

With her signature attention to detail and her talent for bringing characters together, Sarah Sundin weaves an exciting tale of emotion, action, and romance that will leave you wanting more.

Continuing with the wide cast of characters created in With Every Letter, On Distant Shores returns you to the drama unfolding within the military during World War II.  As if fighting Hitler, Mussolini, hunger, heat, and disease weren't enough, Hutch also fights inequality within our very own military.  I've never before heard of the pharmacists' fight to become recognized as officers, and it's fascinating.  Who would've thought that such a respected and important profession would have faced such barriers?  I didn't - but because of Sundin's creative story, I enjoyed expanding my education!

Hutch and Georgie make colorful characters who complement each other well, and yet their differences in rank and those waiting for them at home make for a romantic story.  Sundin's push beyond the typical romance - making the story not just about finally finding a happy ending for their love but instead learning to grow as God's children and follow His will - make this a deep and enduring kind of story.  

Well written and full of historical detail, Sarah Sundin is rapidly moving up on my 'favorite author' list.  This has always been a period in history that is fascinating to me, but Sundin's On Distant Shores shines a spotlight on a little-known corner of it - and it shows us just how important these hardworking men and women were during this war.

Sundin reminds us that our lives are really not about us - not necessarily about our plans or our wants but instead what God wants us to do and how we can help others.  

What a fun way for God to deliver that reminder. 

You can read other reviews in this blog hop here or visit this page to purchase our own copy.

Sarah Sundin is the author of "With Every Letter" and the Wings of Glory series. 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. 

Visit www.sarahsundin.com for more information.

I received a free copy of On Distant Shores from LitFuse Publicity in exchange for an honest review.