When I saw the title of this book, I was instantly interested. Nightingale has a special meaning for me as a nurse. Once I found out what the book was about, I was even more ready to review it.
Esther Lange doesn’t love her fiancé—she’s trapped in an engagement after a mistaken night of passion. Still, she grieves him when he’s lost in battle, the letters sent to her by the medic at his side giving her a strange comfort, so much that she strikes up a correspondence with Peter Hess, an Iowa farmboy. Or is he? Peter Hess is not who he seems. Indeed, he’s hiding a secret, something that could cost them both their lives, especially when the past comes back to life. A bittersweet love song of the home front war between duty and the heart…a battle where only one will survive.
There is more than a love story here though. Warren focused on forgiveness of sins with both Esther and Peter in the book. She asks the question in her author’s note: “just because someone made a mistake once, did he or she deserve to be imprisoned inside that mistake forever?” If you follow me, you know that this is a huge theme in my own life. I have spoken about not being defined by your sins and accepting God’s forgiveness in your life. Warren makes this point so clear in Nightingale.
Peter tells Esther in the book “you don’t solve the problem of your sins by trying to forgive yourself. You have to let God forgive…”. Of course that is often easier said than done as Esther realizes throughout the story. He also tells Esther that God loves her more than she can imagine.
If you are like me or you struggle with the thought of forgiveness, I highly recommend this book. Even if you aren’t though, this is a great love story and one that I would recommend. For the record, I finished this book in one day. It was really that good!
Purchase Nightingale for $9.99.
How about a fun contest thanks to Susan May Warren?
The Letters From Home Giveaway!
Enter the Contest: Nightingale is about letters, the power of written correspondence to convey thoughts and emotions to those far away. And sometimes near. Letters are forever, they are something we savor and pull out to read again and again. They are often cherished and kept in a special place.
To celebrate the release of Nightingale, Susan would like you to write a letter. One grand prize winner will receive a Flip HD Camcorder. 5 runner’s up winners will win a signed copy of Nightingale. There are two ways to enter the contest by writing letters.
1. Write a letter to a soldier. At the end of the contest we’ll print out and mail your letter for you.
2. Write a letter to a friend, loved one, family member, enemy. Tell them something you wished you’d told them before. Tell them you love them, or maybe how they touched your life. Perhaps an apology is in order or a thank you. Or perhaps you’d like to relate a funny tale or just share life. Whatever it is, submit it here along with your email address and we’ll send it for you.
Enter here or at the SHARE page on the Brothers in Arms website. Or simply click on the button to the right.
Disclosure: I received the book reviewed from Litfuse Publicity Group. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. Images taken directly from the sponsor.
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