Across the Blue

It is the infancy of flight and Bella Grayson is enthralled with all things aviation.  She has a deep desire to write as a journalist on her father's newspaper, The Daily Times.  In order to prove her point to her father, she writes a letter to the editor anonymously and when it is printed, she points out to her father that she is, in fact, the author. 

In writing Across the Blue, Carrie Turansky has taken the history of the development of flight and made it into a readable novel that engages the reader from the first page till the author's notes at the end.  She still follows the romance novel formula, but it truly doesn't distract from the lovely narrative Carrie is telling.

1.  Boy meets girl:  Bella and her family have bought an estate called Broadlands to be their home away from London.  James Drake lives on one of the tenant farms with his mentor Professor Steed.  Bella and James meet when he lands his plane on the Broadlands grounds.

2.  Boy gets girl: Bella begins to spend time with James, asking questions, observing his work on the plane, and getting to know him.  James begins falling for Bella in their moments together. 

3.  Boy loses girl: Bella's family wants her to marry and settle down.  She's been through three seasons in London and hasn't found a suitor she wants.  Her parents want her to encourage another pilot, Mark Clifton, who is more than happy to interfere with James and Bella's growing fondness.

4.  Boy gets girl back:  In a flying competition in France, one of the legs of the competition require that the pilot also carry a passenger.  Bella is James' passenger and Bella's father is Mark's passenger.  When Mark's plane crashes, James gives up his place in the competition to save Bella's father and Mark. 

This is a five-star book with far more depth than I have described here.  Two Thumbs Up, and a plane ride off the cliffs of Dover. 

My thanks to Waterbrook/Multnomah Publishing for allowing me to read and review this book.