Across the Blue ~ Review

Across the Blue
By Carrie Turansky

The first flight across the English Channel is on the minds of everyone who has an interest in the emerging field of aviation. Who will be first? And from which coast will the crossing originate the French or the English? Isabella Grayson to her parents' consternation is seemingly consumed by these happenings. A young woman of means should have her thoughts on loftier goals such as finding a suitable husband of aristocratic means and with a fortune to rival her father's.

But Bella wants more than a marriage to a title. She dreams of a future where she writes for a living, an appreciated and accomplished reporter for one of her father's many newspapers. And this race to dominate the skies with flying machines seems the perfect opportunity to do so if only her parents would agree.

James Drake dreams of being the first aviator to cross the Channel, but first, he and Professor Steel need to work out a few issues with their plane. But when their latest attempt finds James crashing on the Graysons' estate James and Bella find that their dreams are just beyond their grasp but closer than they had been before. But what price is each willing to pay to achieve their dreams? And then there is the mystery of who he really is -  James is determined to at last learn the truth about his mother and his father. But how can he learn what no one knows?

1909 is a time of change. Flight is no longer just a dream but a reality with longer flights just beyond the horizon. Women are demanding that their voices be heard. Yet for all the change that is coming, there are those who wish to hold it at bay. It is interesting to see how much has changed since then and at the same time how little. Concerns for both the present and the future seemed heavy on the minds of many, especially for those whose dreams and goals were in doubt. And can worth be determined by name and achievements or is it something deeper? These are truths that Bella and James will have to discover for themselves.

This book is a delightful blend of intensity, mystery, history, and romance that will keep the reader hoping for yet one more page before putting it down. Carrie Turansky has a gift for bringing the past to life and bringing the reader into the story in the interactions between the various characters. One feels their pain and rejoices in their triumphs. This book is a standalone title but the characters are ones that I personally would love to meet again via a book!

I was provided an uncorrected review copy of this book by the publisher through Blogging for Books  with no expectations of a positive review ~ All opinions expressed are my own.

About the Book:

Before 1909, flying across the English Channel

seemed an impossible feat–

but a brave young aviator was willing to try.

Defying her parents' expectations for a good match?

Also impossible–but Isabella was willing to try.

Within the palatial surroundings of her family's Edwardian estate Isabella Grayson longs for something more. Despite her father's success as a newspaper baron and her own journalistic talents, her parents want her to marry an established aristocrat to improve the family's social standing rather than pursue her dream of writing for one of her father's newspapers.

When aspiring aviator James Drake crashes his flying machine on the Graysons' expansive grounds, he is surprised to learn he landed on the property of the very