BOOK REVIEW: Across the Blue by Carrie Turansky

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book by CelebrateLit. I was not compensated for this review and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. I was not required to write a positive review.

Across the Blue by Carrie Turansky
Published by Crown Publishing Group on February 20, 2018
Genres: Christian, Fiction, General, Historical, Romance
Pages: 352
Source: CelebrateLit
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Set in Edwardian England and ideal for readers who enjoy Julie Klassen novels, this romance about an English aviation pioneer and the girl who falls in love with him is filled with adventure and faith.

Isabella Grayson, the eldest daughter of a wealthy, English newspaper magnate, longs to become a journalist, but her parents don't approve. They want her to marry well and help them gain a higher standing in society. After she writes an anonymous letter to the editor that impresses her father, her parents reluctantly agree she can write a series of articles about aviation and the race to fly across the English Channel, but only if she promises to accept a marriage proposal within the year. When James Drake, an aspiring aviator, crashes his flying machine at the Grayson's new estate, Bella is intrigued. James is determined to be the first to fly across the Channel and win the prize Mr. Grayson's newspaper is offering. He hopes it will help him secure a government contract to build airplanes and redeem a terrible family secret. James wants to win Bella's heart, but his background and lack of social standing make it unlikely her parents would approve. If he fails to achieve his dream, how will he win the love and respect he is seeking? Will Bella's faith and support help him find the strength and courage he needs when unexpected events turn their world upside down?

I haven’t felt the need to gush about a book in a short minute.  I had never read Turansky before but have heard great things.  When the opportunity to review this book came up I had to take it.  What’s not to draw you to it?  Early 1900s England, money, prestige, adventure, a touch of intrigue, and love.  The dawn of flight brings together a wealthy English woman with desires to become a journalist and a not wealthy pilot with a questionable background.  Add some irritating parents, relateable side characters, and a couple of wealthy rivals who also happen to be jerks and you have a pretty great story.

I enjoyed how this story took the dawn of aviation and actually provided much detail and knowledge about this topic while blending it so well into the story that it didn’t feel heavy or ‘educational’ so to speak.  I was rooting for James and Professor Steed.  I wanted them to find success after years of trial and error.  I needed for James to be the first to cross the channel and win the prize.  James took my heart with him on his journey to discover who he really is and where he came from.  James and Bella were such well developed, embraceable characters; flaws and all.  Their flaws gave them dimension and shape.  Even the secondary characters (Bella’s family, the professor, other aviators) had such depth to their characters and solid personalities that even as the story grew and changed they remained true to their roots.

The book brought their stories from an interesting meeting as James plane crashed in her family’s field on the day they moved into to their new country estate to a mostly satisfying conclusion.  James and Bella’s lives wove in and out of each other’s through their shared interests and his history.  You could almost call their initial meeting kismet.  Had they not met would he have discovered his past?  Had they not met would she have found her future?  There was one little story line that was not completed wrapped up but it’ll let it slide since it was partly resolved.  This was my first Carrie Turansky book but it will definitely not be my last.

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Posted By: Fizzy Pop · In: book review, Carrie Turansky