LitFuse Publicity Blog Tour: Nightingale

Here's a description of the book:

"Esther Lange doesn’t love her fiancé—she’s trapped in an engagement after a mistaken night of passion.

Still, she grieves him when he’s lost in battle, the letters sent to her by the medic at his side giving her a strange comfort, so much that she strikes up a correspondence with Peter Hess, an Iowa farmboy. Or is he? Peter Hess is not who he seems. Indeed, he’s hiding a secret, something that could cost them both their lives, especially when the past comes back to life. A bittersweet love song of the home front war between duty and the heart...a battle where only one will survive.

Don’t miss book 1 in this stand-alone collection, Sons of Thunder."

My Rating: Spring/Summer

My Review:

Susan May Warren writes with a compassionate heart and powerful insight! After reading the first book in the "Brothers in Arms" collection, Sons of Thunder, I could hardly resist reading the second book, Nightingale. Warren is a very talented author, and her research shines through her almost tangible word pictures.

Nightingale does differ considerably from Sons of Thunder, in that the latter is full of action and movement, and the former is more about thoughts and emotions. Both are gripping in their own right, but I found that Nightingale was not as hard to put down as Sons of Thunder was. However, that being said, I was still quite moved by the story, with even the very first scene stirring me deeply.

Once I got almost half-way through I became more engrossed in the story, and I was thankful for the opportunity to see Peter's perspective. Throughout the second half of the book especially, I found there to be plenty of twists and turns, and I had no idea how Warren was going to resolve all the problems that came up! But somehow she did. And while the break between Part II and Part III was a little bit abrupt for me, the rest of the story flowed very well. The romance was sweet, although there was a lot of heartbreak throughout the book.

I do kind of wish that Esther's faith was established a bit more. Peter's encouragement was wonderful, but I would have liked it to be a little more clear that Esther was already a believer, in which case Peter's words would be truly applicable. Some of what she said in her pain made it unclear as to whether or not she truly believed in Jesus and His grace, although I'm almost positive that it was assumed she had already been saved before. (If I simply missed something in this point and am making a big deal out of nothing, please forgive my ignorance.)

Overall, I was touched by this book and the message of always "holding on," knowing that God never leaves us. This book is brimming with history, intrigue, and emotion!

*With thanks to the publisher for providing me a copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion, to be shared during the LitFuse Publicity Blogging tour.*

About the Author:

Susan May Warren is the RITA award-winning author of twenty-four novels with Tyndale, Barbour and Steeple Hill. A four-time Christy award finalist, a two-time RITA Finalist, she’s also a multi-winner of the Inspirational Readers Choice award, and the ACFW Book of the Year.

Susan's larger than life characters and layered plots have won her acclaim with readers and reviewers alike. A seasoned women’s events and retreats speaker, she’s a popular writing teacher at conferences around the nation and the author of the beginning writer’s workbook: From the Inside-Out: discover, create and publish the novel in you!. She is also the founder of www.MyBookTherapy.com, a story-crafting service that helps authors discover their voice.

Susan makes her home in northern Minnesota, where she is busy cheering on her two sons in football, and her daughter in local theater productions (and desperately missing her college-age son!) A full listing of her titles, reviews and awards can be found at: www.susanmaywarren.com.

To Buy the Book: click HERE

Contest: Click on the button in the sidebar to go to the contest website! But hurry-- the contest ends soon!

Blog Tour Schedule: Check out all of the other reviews scheduled by clicking HERE.