Blue Skies Tomorrow - review

I can't remember when I've enjoyed a fiction trilogy as much as Sarah Sundin's Wings of Glory series. I just finished the third book, Blue Skies Tomorrow. The first two books, A Distant Melody and A Memory Between Us, were so good that I was a little bit afraid that the third one might not be. (Of course, that was completely groundless. I do worry about the dumbest things.)

The Wings of Glory series is about 3 brothers and the women they marry during World War II. I am fascinated by the history of that era, and I always enjoy a good love story. The characters are so real and have problems and issues that any of us can relate to. I especially appreciated the spiritual lessons that were woven throughout (without being preachy).

I decided to try to savor Blue Skies Tomorrow, knowing it was the last book in the series. For a week or so, I only allowed myself to read one chapter a night. I got about half through the book and lost my self-control! I just had to find out what happened next, so--yep, you guessed it--I stayed up too late reading so I could finish the story. *sigh* These are definitely going on my Keeper shelf.

Here's the synopsis from the publisher:

The country is still at war in Blue Skies Tomorrow (ISBN: 978-0-8007-3423-7, $14.99, 448 pages, August 2011) by award-winning author Sarah Sundin. It is 1944 and America longs for the war to be over so their boys can come home. This war has taken too many lives and made too many widows, orphans, and broken hearts. However, the homeland continues to pull together and buy bonds to support the troops, and Helen Carlisle has become the town’s war widow heroine. Doing her part with her son, she faithfully appears at community events asking people to support the troops. But deep down she is troubled. How much longer can she do this? Is she living a lie? Was her dead husband a hero? How can she live with the past?

Lt. Ray Novak prefers to follow his calling into ministry rather than the cockpit. But his current position offers him the luxury of a personal life since he is stateside training B-17 pilots. His interest in Helen, the young war widow, grows, but he knows she is hiding a painful past under a frenzy of volunteer work. Ray is called to fly a European combat mission at the peak of the air war. Their romance is tense because Helen is afraid, but Ray cannot help because he is in Europe. As Helen tries to make ends meet and confronts the past, Ray encounters a deadly enemy of his own. Will they find the courage to face their challenges? Will the truth come out? Will hope and redemption ring true for Helen?

The great era of World War II in Blue Skies Tomorrow is brought to life by Sundin in this emotion-packed novel.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. Available August 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.