The Sea Before Us is a riveting start to the Sunrise at Normandy series by talented author Sarah Sundin. It is a well-researched and informative novel based on an actual slice of history during WWII. The characters are multi-layered, realistic, and engaging. This story starred U.S. naval officer Lt. Wyatt Paxton and British “Wren” Dorothy Fairfax. They both have tragic backstories and things they need to resolve in their lives. I liked how they were able to help each other and worked together to solve problems. With plenty of action, suspense, inspiration, and some romance, this is a beautiful tale of forgiveness, healing, faith, and hope. ( )

Wyatt Paxton is a lieutenant in the US Navy. Dorothy Fairfax is a first officer in the Women's Royal Naval Service. Both of these divisions of the US and UK military are working closely together to plan the invasion of Normandy in June of 1944, which is when Wyatt and Dorothy meet. Dorothy's job is to piece together thousands of holiday pictures of the beaches of France so that Wyatt can make informed decisions for the invasion. Though Wyatt is drawn to Dorothy, she has her eyes set on another man...who has his eyes set on several other women. Both have to find a way to keep romantic entanglements, as well as other family drama, from distracting them from the ultimate goal--winning the war.

What I liked about this book is that it was not just about the romance. Wyatt and Dorothy both had a lot of other things going on in their lives, and that's besides the looming invasion. In fact, the romance plot line is what detracted the most, or at least a particular aspect of it, as I'll explain a bit further below. Overall, though, the book was engaging, enjoyable to read, and clearly well-researched.

The book begins by showing an incident in Wyatt's past that haunts him throughout the book. It was especially interesting to me, because I've already read book #3 in this series and knew of the event, and now got to see it happen. Wyatt himself was a great character--great guy with a lot of depth, and I had an easy time imagining his Texas drawl, because his dialog was well-written. Feeling guilty about his part in the incident that happened before he joined the Navy, Wyatt sees himself as a prodigal son, leaning on God to get him through this tough time, and sharing his faith with Dorothy.

Dorothy had a lot more going on in her story, but I liked her less. She was a good daughter, and not necessarily mean to Wyatt (for the most part). But frankly, it took her way too long to see Eaton, her crush, for what he really was. There were times I was sure she was on the turning point, but she just kept pushing Wyatt aside in her mind and crushing on Eaton. And why was she so set on this? Because of what I felt was the weakest part of the book--her mother once told her that she regretted marrying her father, because he was boring, and she needed excitement. Her mother said that Dorothy was just like her, and warned her to marry someone exciting like Eaton. Why she wrote Wyatt off as "boring" so very quickly, I'm not sure, but she stuck by that assessment for far too long.

Other than a further contrivance later in the book, the rest of it was great. The book follows Wyatt into the invasion, from his position on a naval ship, and though a lot of the terminology was lost on me, I was caught up in it. There were several scenes in the last quarter of the book that made me so happy. In the end, I definitely recommend this book to all who enjoy Christian romance and Christian historical novels. ( )

The Sea Before Us is Sarah Sundin’s first book in her new series, Sunrise at Normandy. The story focuses on Dorothy Fairfax, a WREN (The Women’s Royal Naval Service-WRNS, known as WREN/S), and Lt. Wyatt Paxton.

First, I have to say, that the research and authenticity of the story are astounding. The time-frame is from January through June of 1944. There are so very many historical (and very sad) tidbits of information highlighting the time leading up to and including D-Day.

As you read, you are transported back to a different era and three different countries, England, France and Scotland. It’s not hard to picture yourself right in the middle of everything going on-from the urgency of preparing for a military invasion to the freneticism of trying to squeeze the last drop of normalcy from a life that seems as if it will never be normal again.

Both Dorothy and Wyatt have some significant issues in their lives and need to learn to rely more fully on the Lord. The spiritual thread is woven seamlessly into the book, with most of the truths applicable to anyone’s life.

I have always loved historical fiction, and The Sea Before Us doesn’t disappoint.

I received this book from Library Thing. However, I was under no obligation to post a review.

I posted this on my blog January 28, 2018. (I don't know how I missed posting it here!) ( )

The Sea Before Us by Sarah Sundin is the first book in her Sunrise at Normandy series. Wyatt Paxton is stationed in England awaiting D-Day. He meets Dorothy Fairfax, who is a “Wren” in the Women’s Royal Naval Service. She studies snapshots of the coast of Normandy in order to create accurate maps for the allied landings. Wyatt transforms those maps into naval bombardment plans for D-Day. As they spend more time together will they learn to forgive or will they let their past rule their future? I loved the way that Wyatt clung to God during his trials instead of pushing Him away. It’s a lesson we all should learn. At times Dorothy was a little too thick-headed for my liking, but overall, she was a great heroine. Stories of World War two have always held a special interest for me. I have actually stood Omaha Beach and it was a very moving experience. So, it was easy to picture all the scenes as they unfolded. Dorothy’s love and devotion to her father was very touching. The humor that was woven through-out the story came at just the right times. Ms. Sundin is a very talented author. Her research was woven into a very moving story. ( )

This review and more like it are available at Read Till Dawn.

I've found myself reading more Christian romance novels over the past year or so, and I'm not entirely sure why. It's a good light genre, very fluffy and escapist, though I have to say that the quality has been extremely varied (and leaned quite a bit on the side of cringe). I'm finding that the historical fiction ones are often better, though, and I'm always intrigued by the prospect of another angle on WWII, so I decided to review The Sea Before Us when I got the chance.

And honestly, I enjoyed it. At nearly 400 pages, it was long enough to carry multiple plot lines and let the reader spend quite some time with the characters. Granted, the plotlines were incredibly melodromatic and contrived, but they were still interesting and grabbing. Sometimes you just want a ridiculously dramatic read, you know?

There were only a few times when the book got to be too much for mine: the beginning, which shows Wyatt's dramatically horrible back story; the first time Wyatt visited Dorothy's house, when he spilled said entire shameful backstory to two strangers without any reservations; and Dorothy's cringe-worthy pursuit of her childhood crush. I can't go much more into them for fear of spoilers, but yeah.

I think my main gripe with the book was how little it actually felt like it was set in Britain. Besides the occasional touristy thing or stereotypical vocabulary (and obviously the WWII details–which were very interesting in their own right!), it honestly just felt like the characters and setting were someplace in America, which makes sense since Sundin is from California. Perhaps some of the tonal trouble stems legitimately from the fact that Wyatt is from Texas, but I have spent a couple weeks in both London and Edinburgh, the two main cities featured in the book, and am currently attending college in Scotland, and I really don't feel like the atmosphere feels very authentic.

This tonal issue bothered me just a little at the time, and more now that I'm looking back at the book as a whole, but I honestly did enjoy The Sea Before Us. I'm not sure I'll read all the books in the series, each of which will feature one of Wyatt's brothers, because I have to be in just the right mood to enjoy this level of melodrama. If I do, though, I'll be sure to let you know what I think of them.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.