Until We Meet

All Too Real. Di Maio has made a name for herself taking various historical events and wrapping a fictional story around them that stays true to the real world yet tells her own story - and this book is exactly that. Here, she tackles life in New York and specifically around the Brooklyn Navy Yard as it builds the last of the great battleships - the Missouri - and the newest generation of naval ships - the aircraft carrier. At the same time and across the Atlantic, she also tackles life as a new kind of infantry soldier - the Airborne - as they train in England after the US enters the war, attack Normandy on D-Day, survive Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge and finally the end of the war. In both places, Di Maio does a stunning job of being true and accurate (mostly) to the era, and it is very easy for many Americans to see their own parents / grandparents / (and now great grandparents) largely living exactly these types of situations. Di Maio doesn't hold back from the various tragedies of the era, but she also doesn't hold back in showing people who were even then “outside the norm” though revealing exactly which norms of the era were broken would delve into spoiler territory - read the book for yourself to see them. :) And yet, through all of this, this is still ultimately a women's fiction tale that could alternatively be classified (technically) as a historical romance, and indeed it really works in either genre. Very much recommended.

I love historical fiction and lately have been enjoying this genre more and more. This is another author I have found this year that I haven't read before and I'm glad I was somehow able to connect with them.

In Until We Meet, we have more than just a story about war and the devastation it can leave behind. We have two separate stories that are wrapped in friendship, love and choices. Choices that bring friends, and strangers, closer together. Sometimes family is more than blood and those are the type of friendships that can save and sustain us.

Margaret, Dottie and Gladys are each dealing with their own type of dilemma and the love they have for each other helps each get through and come out stronger. Likewise, John, Tom and William are at the warfront, wondering if they will make it home, watching each other's back and trying to stay alive.

I love the incorporation of letters that Margaret sneaks into the socks she and her friends knit that sparks a long-distance relationship. A little romance admist the pain and darkness was an enjoyable addition. While there are some pretty tough scenes at the warfront, this is overall a beautifully written historical fiction and one I think fans of this genre will fall in love with.

I sincerely appreciate the publisher and Books Forward for providing me with a review copy. All opinions expressed herein are mine and mine.