The Sea Before Us by Sarah Sundin

The Sea Before Us by Sarah Sundin ISBN-13: 9780800727970 Paperback: 375 pages Publisher: Revell Released: Feb. 6, 2018

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
In 1944, American naval officer Lt. Wyatt Paxton arrives in London to prepare for the Allied invasion of France. He works closely with Dorothy Fairfax, a "Wren" in the Women's Royal Naval Service. Dorothy pieces together reconnaissance photographs with thousands of holiday snapshots of France--including those of her own family's summer home--in order to create accurate maps of Normandy. Maps that Wyatt will turn into naval bombardment plans.

As the two spend concentrated time together in the pressure cooker of war, their deepening friendship threatens to turn to love. Dorothy must resist its pull. Her bereaved father depends on her, and her heart already belongs to another man.

The tense days leading up to the monumental D-Day landing blaze to life under Sarah Sundin's practiced pen with this powerful new series.


My Review:
The Sea Before Us is a Christian historical romance set in January 14th, 1944 to June 15th, 1944 in England. It shows the lead up to D-Day from the viewpoint of a USA naval officer and a WRN officer involved with sorting through the intelligence about the target beaches. The rich, vivid historical details brought the setting and time period alive. The D-Day battle scenes were very suspenseful.

The hero feels guilty about his past actions, which broke his family apart when he ran away. He's trying to earn forgiveness from his family by getting everything just right before getting back in contact with them. He has accepted God's forgiveness, but he hasn't yet forgiven himself.

The heroine has lost her brothers and mother in the war. Though her father shows her no affection, she loves him and takes care of him. She's desperate to win the affections of a dashing man whom she knew as a child, so she tries to be someone she's not.

The main characters acted realistically to events and had depth. The hero and heroine were very good influences on each other and fell in love with the other's character, not just their looks. They each helped the other grow and heal, though it was a rocky road to get there due to how they feel about themselves. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd highly recommend this excellent and exciting historical romance.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


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