Whispers of a New Dawn by Murray Pura

I requested this knowing full well it's Amish/religion themed, but the woman pilot during Pearl Harbor was irresistible to me and I wanted to give it a go. I'm glad I did. There was much to like about this novel, though there were some bits that grew tiresome.

Loved:

--The heroine...for the most part. She isn't without her flaws (who isn't?) but I'll get to those in a bit. A sentence from her father in the beginning sums her up to a T:

"Hooking you up to an Amish farm boy would be like putting a modern engine in old Fokker triplane. Why, the stress on the wing struts would tear the plane apart."

She's spunky, brave, and witty. I was impressed that she managed to be such a tough girl without uttering a single curse word. Well done. Most authors couldn't pull this off. I think her flying around with the Zeroes was my favorite part. 

--The hero. This ain't an alpha male, but a nice guy with fears, feelings, and he's poetic too...and patient.

--The banter both between the hero and heroine and the hero and his fellow aviators. Had me laughing out loud many times.

--The flying scenes. Fantastic and on the edge of your seat!

--Watching romance blossom. Rather than fill up pages with sex, the author gave us moments of deep conversation under full moons, playing in the waves, passionate kisses.

--Ruth. Though I didn't care for her how her tale ends...rather cowardly in my opinion, I enjoyed watching her blossom for the brief time she did.

--The Hawaiian setting.

There was lots to love...but there were some things I didn't like as well:

--Loved the romance blooming, but some scenes were over drawn out and sappy. And the party planning scenes bored me.

--The author inserted too many historical facts about the ships and the planes in dialogue. I realize what he was doing, but it didn't stay with me after turning the page.

--Didn't care for Becky at first. She was willing to give everything up, her flying and freedom, for a MAN. And later in the story, she wants Raven to say he loves her, even though she can't say it back. But again, we can't have a perfect heroine.

--I also had trouble with the whole, "we just sit out the war in peace and let everyone kill themselves so we can religious freedom to sit here and do nothing" crap from the Amish. But I loved how Becky and her family did what they felt was right, regardless. I loved her parents, their strength.

Overall though, I think the good outweighs the bad. There were just some scenes that didn't hold my attention. But I appreciated the messages within its pages... Don't be afraid to love again. You aren't living 'til you're lovin'. (That's just me talking there. LOL)

Three bikes. Rich in history and humor.