A Memory Between Us by Sarah Sundin is set in WWII. Lieutenant Ruth Doherty is an army nurse stationed in England. The shame of her past and the pressure of supporting her younger siblings causes her to keep to herself. She welcomes neither the outreach of friends nor the overtures of servicemen, but her efficient and cheerful labors make her a favorite among patients.

Major Jack Novak finds himself a patient of Ruth’s one day. He’s as attracted to her as the other guys, but he realizes he’ll have to tread carefully to break through her “no dating” policy. Meanwhile he wrestles with the expectations of his father that he will become a pastor and his own desires and abilities as an officer. He develops a plan of action to win Ruth’s heart as well as a promotion against a rival.

The optimistic confidence of WWII soldiers is appealing, but Jack has to learn that he can’t trust in his own plans and God-given abilities: he needs to trust in the Lord directly. And Ruth needs to learn that the walls she has built around herself are no protection and in fact hinder her from receiving support from friends — support that she doesn’t think she needs at first.

I loved these characters — I don’t feel as if I am doing them justice. I loved the fact that they’re both flawed, but they both make progress in their walk with God, and I loved that their interaction at the end wasn’t suave and smooth but sweet and a little goofy.

Sarah Sundin did a masterful job drawing me into the characters and the raw emotion of their struggles, and the setting is perfectly balanced: not so overrun with details so as to lose the story but informative enough to make me feel I was experiencing it for myself. I didn’t want to put this book down, and I wished there was more of it to read when I finished it.

This book is the second in the Wings of Glory series, the first being A Distant Melody (my brief review here) about Jack’s brother Walt, but I believe it could be easily enjoyed alone. I’m very much looking forward to the next installment about third Novak brother Ray this summer.

(This review will also be linked to Semicolon‘s Saturday Review of Books.)