My Review Of The Land Beneath Us by Sarah Sundin: Five stars.

I was not prepared for this book. I knew I needed to read it, I knew I would enjoy it, yet I did not know how much The Land Beneath Us would touch my heart. After reading the first two books in the series, The Sea Before Us and The Sky Above Us, -- both of which I loved and even plan to reread in order -- I was waiting in suspense for my copy of The Land Beneath Us.

What had me unprepared for this book was not the first books, rather the depth of The Land Beneath Us, the realness of the characters, reading about all what had happened to Clay at his brothers’ hands in the first books was sad, much like Joseph's brothers treated him, made me think that Clay would have a simple and perhaps boring story of forgiveness where I would see forgiveness in the last pages but no true fruits, I could not have been more wrong. I am still unsure of what to say after a few days waiting to write my review and I just want to sigh in pleasure with the feelings I'm still reeling from caused by this book.

Sarah Sundin's skill in weaving this breathtaking conclusion to the Sunrise At Normandy series shows that her works only get better and that readers should be on the lookout for her next book, read this one, and check to see if they have read her previous books.

I fell in love with Clay and Leah's romance that was not the normal trope you would find in War World Two fiction rather westerns, Regencys, or such that quite commonly have marriages of convenience, the slow love, first of friends, until it softly grows into something much more.

Both of the lead characters are wonderful to read about and it's sad to leave them especially after seeing them through such tragedy and into a Biblical growth of character.

The ending brings to mind Genesis 50:20 which I love, seeing as Joseph is something of a favorite in the Old Testament, and I love finding stories that have the same lessons and are their own story without being too close to the true story of Joseph, his brothers, and God's goodness.

This book was provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group/Revell, through Interviews & Reviews. ( )

Clay Paxton is training to be a U.S. Army Ranger in advance of the Allied invasion of France in WWII. Leah Jones is a librarian on the military base where he’s training. He has no future, due to a recurring dream that he sees as a premonition of his death during the invasion. She has no past, orphaned at the age of 4 and torn away from her baby sisters, with no familial connections. A marriage as friends gives them both something they need, and shortly thereafter, Clay ships off for further training, expecting never to return. Neither can anticipate what will happen in the months leading up to D-Day.

This book is just so beautiful in so many ways. The main characters are both so kind and compassionate, so often willing to put others before themselves, and yet both have flaws to try to overcome. The events throughout the book meld together so well, and yet, not everything turns out perfectly. And the writing itself is clear, with a style that I found I particularly enjoyed.

I am not a history buff at all, so understand I have very little basis to say this, but I felt that the book was very well researched. With real events, real locations, and even some real people from history who were participants in this part of the invasion, it all felt very real for me.

As far as the romance goes, I know everyone has their preferences–what they like and don’t like in romance. This one hit all of the right buttons for me. I requested the ARC specifically because of 3 words in the synopsis: “marriage of convenience”. I have always loved stories where a romance develops between two people who married because they felt they had to. And it absolutely did not disappoint. There was something in the last quarter of the book that started to bug me a bit (being vague to avoid spoilers), but it paid off in the best scene ever!

I also love the fact that the romance isn’t right there in your face the whole time. It’s not the main plot, while a few other things happen as a vehicle for it. The rest of the story is full in its own right, and the romance is interweaved into that so wonderfully. I also love how both characters are so incredibly faith-driven and turn to God for help and strength constantly. Both of these characters are paralleled with Biblical characters–Leah with her namesake who was unloved by her husband. And Clay even more strongly with Joseph, who was cast into a pit by his brothers, which is how Clay feels about his own situation.

When I first requested this ARC to read & review, I saw that it was #3 in a series, but it looked to me (with a quick glance) that the novels were stand-alones. While reading, I quickly realized that they aren’t really. The three books in this series are about 3 brothers, and the other two appear in this book in some form too. This book ties up a storyline that I’m sure must thread through the first two books in some way. I’m a little sad that I read the last one first, but I loved this one so much, I’m going to have to read the others very soon! And then I’ll probably go on to try a different series by this author. This book will be the standard by which I measure all Christian romances in the future, and I don’t see it getting much better than this.

In case it’s not clear from my review, I absolutely recommend this book to all who enjoy Christian romance, Christian historical novels, and/or books with a strong focus on forgiveness and finding a place to belong.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Revell for providing me a copy of this book to review! ( )

In this inspirational historical fiction novel, the main characters Private Clay Paxton and Leah Jones navigate a dangerous time of war. Clay is convinced he is not to be much longer on this earth and chooses to help Leah by way of a marriage of convenience.

This is a beautiful and unique story. The details of the time period are spot on. I loved the correspondence between Clay and Leah and how they grew to know and love each other for real. Both were strong characters and I loved reading about their hardships and joys.

I recommend this book and am going to look into the earlier books in the series. ( )

Even though this was book three in the Sunrise at Normandy series I didn’t feel lost. The author does a great job of catching up the reader while not bogging the story down. Readers are introduced to Private Clay Paxton US Army Rangers at Camp Forrest, Tennessee, preparing for the Allied invasion of France. He’s determined to fulfill a dream he keeps having. The one where he knows he’ll die.

Leah Jones meets Private Clay on her first day of work at Camp Forrest Library. I liked that Leah worked in a library and loved books. She’s a light in the darkness. She hopes to find her baby twin sisters who had gotten adopted, without her when she was four. She is old enough now to take care of herself and is grateful for the library position.

I enjoyed Leah Jones and her outlook on life as war broke out and things got crazier and incredibly difficult for her personally. But to her surprise Private Clay comes to her rescue in more ways than one. She’s not sure about the arrangement he’s setup but he’s convinced he’s not long for this world and he wants to help her.

In the middle of war and chaos I found it interesting the author showed how people had book drives for the military and that publishers printed smaller lighter books that cost less money to mail to soldiers. I enjoyed the fun facts woven into this compelling story line along with the mystery villain who needs to be caught. He’s up to doing terrible deeds.

I enjoyed this inspirational story of love against the odds, struggle with forgiveness of self and family, and faith in a time where tomorrow wasn’t guaranteed, especially for Private Clay; who has a recurring dream. He’s convinced it’s God’s way of preparing him for his final battle.

The author has included 16 discussion questions in this book. If you haven’t read a novel by this author, I recommend this book for a fun read and one that would work well for your book club.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

Nora St. Laurent
TBCN Where Book Fun Begins!
The Book Club Network blog www.bookfun.org ( )

It's not often a book exceeds my expectations, especially one that has a trope that can tend to have objectionable content, but this book did exactly that.
The character development is a defining element here. Clay was harshly treated because of his ethnicity and betrayed and robbed by his brothers, who were supposed to back him up and support him, but he never became angry at the world or turned his back on God. I was bracing myself for the impact that never came, because pleasantly Clay turned out to be strong and steady, instead of angry and reckless.
Both main characters were realistic through their struggles and responses.
Leah couldn't have gone through being treated like a shabby, worthless orphan most of her life without feeling the pain of rejection and inadequacy, or this deeply affecting her, intensified by the fact that she had no support system, no one to back her against those who mistreated her.
That's why when I was introduced to this sweet, selfless, and hopeful orphan, I couldn't help wanting to hug her.
Both Clay and Leah grow in character, overcome obstacles, and support each other.
Their relationship was based on a selfless, sacrificial decision, and I love how they offered encouragement to each other in whatever ways they could.
Since this is a marriage of convenience story, I was concerned that it might have steamy scenes, but the author kept the relationship on a platonic level for most of the book (all but 20 pages in fact) because she is skilled at subtly growing a relationship through correspondence.
And because of that, I've found a new favorite.

Also, I highly recommend reading this with a two-pound bag of Brookside chocolate, like I did.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. ( )