Review: Blue Skies Tomorrow

Blue Skies Tomorrow

By Sarah Sundin

Publication date: August 1, 2011

My review:

On the outside Helen Carlisle is a grieving widow, busy taking care of her toddler son and volunteering. She lives with her in-laws, a fine upstanding couple devastated by the death of Helen's husband Jim. Reality is far from the image the Carlisles present to the world. Helen is determined to keep Jim's memory alive for her son and this means hiding the truth even from herself. Then Helen runs into Army Air Force Lt. Ray Novak who has been stationed nearby. Ray is severely disappointed about his new assignment as a supply officer. He misses being a flight instructor but because of his lack of combat experience he can't be in Training Command anymore. When he sees Helen again he thinks he may have found the silver lining to the situation. Though Ray wants to pursue a relationship with Helen, their past hurts may get in the way of any kind of future.

Blue Skies Tomorrow is the final book in the Wings of Glory series and features Ray, the eldest Novak brother. Ray has always wanted to be a minister like his father and while he enjoys flight and being a flight instructor for the Army Air Force, Ray does not want to go into active combat because it would likely mean taking the lives of others. Ray secretly fears that he is a coward unlike his brave younger brothers Jack and Walt who are both distinguished war heroes. Ray may not be like his brothers but he is still an admirable character. I loved how he wanted to face his fears and the way he doesn't give up under the difficult situations he faces. Helen is a character that you can't help but feel sorry for. She has suffered so much pain and abuse in her life that even when I felt frustrated with her for not standing up for herself I could understand why she behaved the way she did. It is a real joy to see her bloom under the kindness shown to her by Ray and others in the community. 

What I enjoy about Sarah Sundin's books is the combination of realistic and flawed characters, a positive faith message, romance, and fascinating historical information. Just like with the other books in the series there is also plenty of historical detail about flying planes as well as what life was like back home during WWII. The subject of the treatment of African Americans in the Service was also explored a little. Blue Skies Tomorrow does a nice job of bringing the series to a close in the final days of WWII. I will miss the Novak brothers but I can't wait to see what Sarah Sundin writes next. 

Readalikes: The Zion Covenant series by Bodie Thoene, The Daughters of Fortune series by Judith Pella, The Women of Valor series by Elyse Larson

Note: I received a copy of this book as part of a blog tour through LitFuse Publicity in exchange for an honest review