The Sea Before Us by Sarah Sundin

About the Book
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. Wyatt too has much to lose. The closer he gets to Dorothy, the more he fears his efforts to win the war will destroy everything she has ever loved.
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 Thoughts
I first have to talk about how much I love this whole series idea, three brothers, one in the navy, one in the air force, and one in the army, each taking part in a different facet of the D-Day invasion. Giving us three different looks at the same historic event. I could not love the genius of this more, it's completely brilliant.
Wyatt is the oldest of the three brothers, but after an unfortunate accident and a wrong committed in fear, he hasn't spoken to any of his family memebers for years. He deeply regrets his actions and is driven by a desire to make things right and one day beg his family's forgiveness. I really admired the way he was honest about his sins and ran to God, clinging to his faith. Honestly there was so much I loved about Wyatt, his quiet strength, his desire to do the right thing regardless of personal cost, and the gentle way he loved without pushing. Really I could go on for days about just how amazing this hero was!
And then there was Dorothy. I loved her a lot too and my heart broke for her. She faced so much loss and lived life feeling unlovable but that never stopped her from loving others. Whether it was caring for a father who seemed to be checked out from life or making sure a friend had enough to eat she was always looking out for others. It was a bit frustrating to watch as she hid her true self just to please a guy who didn't deserve her, especially since it blinded her to the amazing guy right in front of her.
Wyatt and Dorothy's strengths and weakness complimented each other and it was beautiful to watch as they encouraged the other and helped them see their best selves. Dorothy learned to stop seeing herself as unable to be loved and to accept the love of God and Wyatt. And Wyatt realized he had to stop working for the forgiveness God had already given and to forgive himself for the mistakes of his past.
All of the historical details that were woven into this story were absolutely facinating and I was loving them as much as the characters. Many of the behind the scenes actions that made D-Day happen I'd never really learned at it was so cool to read about.
So in case you couldn't tell I absolutely adored every second of this book and I cannot wait to read Adler and Clay's stories!

Meet the Author
Sarah Sundin is the author of Through Waters Deep, Anchor in the Storm, and When Tides Turn in the Waves of Freedom series, as well as Wings of the Nightingale and the Wings of Glory series. Her novels have received starred reviews from Booklist and Library Journal. Her popular Through Waters Deep was a Carol Award finalist and named to Booklist's "101 Best Romance Novels of the Last 10 Years." A graduate of UC San Francisco School of Pharmacy, she works on-call as a hospital pharmacist. Sarah lives in California. Visit www.sarahsundin.com for more information.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.