A Wing and A Prayer by Julie Lessman

About the Book
(NOTE! THIS BOOK IS A SWEET INSPIRATIONAL WITH A HIGHER LEVEL OF ROMANTIC PASSION)
She’s dead-set on giving everything to the war overseas …
Even if it means losing everything in a war of the heart.
A street orphan abused and abandoned by an alcoholic father at age five, Gabriella (Gabe) O’Connor has never let a man stand in her way yet. So when a handsome flight officer thwarts her plans to become a WASP -- Women Air Force Service Pilot -- she’s determined to join the war effort anyway she can. Her chance comes when she “borrows” foreign correspondent credentials from the Boston Herald—where her father is the editor—to stow away on a medical ship to the front.
Lieutenant Alex Kincaid pegs Gabe O’Connor as trouble the moment she steps foot on Avenger Field as a WASP cadet. As the eldest brother of a boy whose jaw Gabe broke in grade school, Alex is familiar with her reputation as both a charismatic ringleader and a headstrong hooligan who’s challenged every male and nun from grade school to college. As her WASP flight instructor, Alex eventually expels Gabe when she pulls a dangerous stunt. But when he is an evacuation pilot in France eight months later, their lives intertwine once again, exposing them to a danger as perilous as the German tanks roaming the Reichswald Forest: a love that neither expects.

My Thoughts
I have been waiting for Gabe’s story since she first stormed onto the pages of A Hope Undaunted, stealing the scene and the hearts of readers! And finally her book is here and it’s everything I wanted it to be and more!
Gabe hasn’t changed a bit since we saw her last, still as spunky and hot tempered as ever in a way that is both endearing and a little frustrating. As Alex quickly learned! Watching her struggle and fight her way through life was painful in ways but also beautiful as she finally realized her brokenness and found wholeness in the arms of the only One who will never let us down. When she made one reckless choice after another despite the love and guidance of her family and Alex I wanted to shake her a little but then I realized it was the perfect depiction of the way we continue to sin again and again despite knowing God’s love and how He wants us to act.
I absolutely loved Alex! He was one of the only people who could stand up to Gabe and win and I loved watching the sparks fly and the heads butt between them! I really admired the way that Alex stood his ground not allowing his attraction for Gabe to sway him from choices he knew were for her (and his) best even when it hurt.
It was a hard and long journey for them but I loved watching their relationship play out and those couple swoon worthy kisses definitely didn’t hurt!
The other relationship I adored in this book was between Gabe and her adoptive father Patrick O’Conner (love him)! Not only was it a beautiful picture of God’s unconditional love for us and the way He lovingly guides us to better ways, but it was just absolutely endearing in its own right! Nobody got through Gabe’s tough exterior like Patrick and I just loved the way her tenderly loved her!
This review is getting long but I have to mention my love for the time period this book is set in as well as how amazing it was to catch up with the other O’Conner’s!! I love this loud crazy family and I just want to spend all the pages with them! I really can’t wait for Hope’s story (I have opinions of who I want her to end up with) and also Henry’s!
If you are like me and have fallen in love with the O’Conner’s you will absolutely love this story! And if this is your first introduction, buckle up, you’re in for the ride of your life!

Meet the Author
Julie Lessman is an award-winning author whose tagline of “Passion With a Purpose” not only underscores her intense passion for God and romance, but her staunch advocacy for sexual purity before marriage as well. A lover of all things Irish, she enjoys reading what she writes -- close-knit Irish family sagas as well as both historical and contemporary religious and inspirational romance for the sweet and Christian markets.
Author of The Daughters of Boston, Winds of Change, and Heart of San Francisco series with Revell Publishing, Julie was named American Christian Fiction Writers 2009 Debut Author of the Year and has garnered 17 Romance Writers of America and other awards. Voted #1 Romance Author of the year in Family Fiction magazine’s 2012 and 2011 Readers Choice Awards, Julie was also named on Booklist’s 2010 Top 10 Inspirational Fiction and Borders Best Fiction list. Her latest novel, Surprised by Love, appeared on Family Fiction magazine’s list of Top Ten Novels of 2014, and her independent novel A Light in the Window is an International Digital Awards winner, a 2013 Readers' Crown Award winner, and a 2013 Book Buyers Best Award winner. Julie has also written a self-help workbook for writers entitled Romance-ology 101: Writing Romantic Tension for the Sweet and Inspirational Markets.
You can contact Julie and read excerpts from her books at www.julielessman.com, or through Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, or Pinterest, as well as sign up for her newsletter. Check out Julie’s group blog, The Seekers, Writers Digest 2013, 2014, and 2015 “Best 101 Websites for Writers,” and Julie’s own personal blog, Journal Jots, voted blog of the month in the Readers’ Choice poll of Book Fun Magazine.

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