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Friday, November 13, 2020

Book Review: All of You by Sarah Monzon


About the Book

All of You (Carrington Family #2)
by Sarah Monzon

Description from Goodreads:

Maryland, Present Day

Jacqueline Rogers can rebuild anything...except the shambles of her past. A restorer of vintage planes, she's worked hard to earn the reputation of being one of the guys. The last thing she needs is a former Navy pilot fighting his own inner demons stepping in to defend her from dangers she thought she’d outrun long ago. Some battles must be fought alone.

After a freak accident severs Lieutenant Michael “Finch” Carrington’s dreams, as well as two limbs, he’s left with nothing but a fragile faith and a duty-bound promise to watch out for his friend’s baby sister. A promise she insists is as unnecessary as it is unappreciated. But when she turns the tables and begins to weld together the broken parts of his life, it may be his heart that is in need of protection.

England, 1942

With the world at war yet again, Alice Galloway rejects her father’s traditional expectations and offers her piloting expertise to the Air Transport Auxiliary. She may be a woman in a man’s world, but when she overhears key intelligence, she must find the strength to transcend boundaries and her own fears. Or countless people may die.


Sometimes the past reaches forward to bring hope to the future.



Review

All of You weaves two storylines together in a beautiful tale of love and acceptance. The first is of Jacqueline "Jack" Rodgers, an airplane mechanic and refurbish-er, and Lieutenant Michael "Finch" Carrington, a military pilot grounded by an injury resulting in amputations. Both characters have severe problems to overcome. Jack's abusive ex-fiance is back from deployment, and he is threatening her. Jack's brother calls in his friend Michael, amputee or not, to guard Jack from the jerk. Sparks fly, but they are both too afraid to let go and love. The second storyline features Alice Galloway, an American pilot who traveled to England to help in WWII. She struggles with the prejudice against women in the military, her love for a handsome journalist, and the fight to come out from her father's strict influence in order to be herself. Danger abounds, but love could flourish if given the chance.

With two separate storylines, All of You is a little complicated. The two tie together loosely in the end, and it is worth the wait. Jack and Michael's story is featured the most, since they make up two of the three POV characters. Readers get to see both of their internal struggles as they cope with all life throws at them, including their struggle not to let themselves love one another. There is so much hurt in their past that it is hard to trust and to let go of fear. I really enjoyed reading their story. They are two normal people, and yet they are beautiful even in their struggles. Watching them grow and love each other made me happy.

Alice's story was a bit different. She lived decades before the others and faced a completely different set of trials. I never realized how difficult it was for women to be respected in the military. Alice and her peers were the pioneers of women in military and piloting. They were allowed and sanctioned by the government to work and fly in the war. But that didn't mean they were accepted. Prejudices against them abounded, and there was little they could do about it. They had a far-reaching impact, though, and deserve the honor of being the first women fliers in the military. Add in the romance to Alice's story, and it was as sweet as it was enlightening.

I thoroughly enjoyed All of You, and I'm hoping to read more of the series and from Sarah Monzon. She won herself a fan! I hope you, readers, will like it too. It's perfect for fans of contemporary and historical romance.

I received a complementary copy of this review. All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for providing them.

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