The Sky Above Us by Sarah Sundin
Victoria's Rating: 4 out of 5 bookmarks

Editor's Note: The Sky Above Us is Book #2 in the Sunrise at Normandy series. You can read Victoria's review of Book #1, The Sea Before Us, here.

Sarah Sundin has a knack for writing historical fiction. There is no doubt about it. Not that I should be surprised. She has, after all, written many WWII novels, but this one is something special indeed.

Book Synopsis, courtesy of Revell:

Numbed by grief and harboring shameful secrets, Lt. Adler Paxton ships to England with the US 357th Fighter Group in 1943. Determined to become an ace pilot, Adler battles the German Luftwaffe in treacherous dogfights in the skies over France as the Allies struggle for control of the air before the D-day invasion.
Violet Lindstrom wants to be a missionary, but for now she serves in the American Red Cross, arranging entertainment for the men of the 357th and setting up programs for local children. Drawn to the mysterious Adler, she enlists his help with her work and urges him to reconnect with his family after a long estrangement.
Despite himself, Adler finds his defenses crumbling when it comes to Violet. But D-day draws near...and secrets can't stay buried forever.

The main character, Violet, was one that I could relate to, in ways that I wish I didn’t. I almost felt a little vulnerable as I saw a lot of my old thinking reflected in her beliefs and the subtle ways that she was believing the right thing for the wrong reasons. Violet's male counterpart main character, Adler was a bit of a surprise and refreshing in the sense that his backstory and character were so against the norm for your typical historical romance hero. Instead of being a perfect, gorgeously handsome and downright swoon-able man, he was instead a swaggering, prideful, broken mess with a past that would make most of us cringe.

But the beauty of the story were the themes. Heartbreaking and heartwarming messages of God’s forgiveness, his mercy, repentance, God’s true mission field and more made this book one that I really enjoyed.

Sarah Sundin

Let us not forget the awesome play-by-play of the in-air firefights. The descriptions and action were amazing and very detailed; I could clearly picture it. The intensity of the battles really struck home with the realization of what they actually went through and it gave me a new perspective and appreciation for those who currently fight and have fought for our country. Sundin does her readers a service in the way that she honors those who serve as well as their families. A consideration which I find beautiful as well as eye-opening.

Violet’s struggle to find her true calling and listen to the Lord’s voice as well as her realization that each person's mission field is as unique as they are themselves, was a message that I found truly inspiring. The reminder that sometimes God calls us to mundane tasks and things that might not be grandiose or might not seem very important was a theme that I found greatly refreshing.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical fiction. While applicable to the story, I would warn against some content as there are mentions of a character's actions (i.e. sleeping with his brother’s girlfriend while drunk) which he greatly regrets, but nonetheless, it is still mentioned in the book. So I would definitely recommend this to older readers.




Victoria Lynn is a “Jane of all trades” who seeks to master them. She runs several small businesses and is the girl behind the blog, Ruffles and Grace. She is an Indie Author with a passion for literature and the written word. She lives in the glorious state of many lakes, Michigan, with her parents and eight siblings. She devours books and likes to say that if she could get paid for every book she has read, she would be a millionaire. Some of her favorite things to do include writing fiction, learning new things, acting, creating something with her hands and playing the piano or singing. She also is one of the founders of Ichthus Family Productions and seeks to honor the Lord in all that she does.


Disclosure: The publisher provided us with a free copy of this book for promotional purposes. This post contains affiliate links.