Book Review and Giveaway: "All of You" by Sarah Monzon

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About the Book

​Maryland, Present Day
 
Jacquelyn Rogers can rebuild anything…except the shambles of her past. A restorer of vintage planes, she’s worked hard to earn the reputation of being one of the guys. The last thing she needs is a former Navy pilot fighting his own inner demons stepping in to defend her from dangers she thought she’d outrun long ago. Some battles must be fought alone.
 
After a freak accident severs Lieutenant Michael “Finch” Carrington’s dreams, as well as two limbs, he’s left with nothing but a fragile faith and a duty-bound promise to watch out for his friend’s baby sister. A promise she insists is as unnecessary as it is unappreciated. But when she turns the tables and begins to weld together the broken parts of his life, it may be his heart that is in need of protection.

​England, 1944
 
With the world at war yet again, Alice Galloway rejects her father’s traditional expectations and offers her piloting expertise to the Air Transport Auxiliary. She may be a woman in a man’s world, but when she overhears key intelligence, she must find the strength to transcend boundaries and her own fears. Or countless people may die.
 
Sometimes the past reaches forward to bring hope to the future.

​My Review

All of You is the first book I’ve read by Sarah Monzon, and I’m happy to say it won’t be my last. Ms. Monzon has written a good, solid book that I enjoyed, though I did have a few minor quibbles that hampered my reading experience.  
 
Jack Rogers, the heroine, is great. She’s relatable, dependable, and intelligent. She also restores vintage planes, which is a profession I know nothing about! I want Jack to be my friend. She’s struggling with her self-worth and trusting her judgement after an abusive relationship and doesn’t believe she’s capable of being loved or loving someone. Watching her find out otherwise is enormously satisfying and Ms. Monzon pulls it off wonderfully.
 
As a Veteran, I enjoy stories that are focused on military or prior military characters, as the hero, Michael, is. He’s an amputee, and the emotions and thoughts he has during the book as he struggles to find a new path in life rings true. You can tell that Ms. Monzon has carefully researched this, but never in a way that feels boring or as if it’s an info dump of exposition.
 
This is a dual-timeline story, so there is a story that happens simultaneously in 1944 during World War II. Alice is a member of the Air Transport Auxiliary against her father’s wishes, who goes to England and becomes involved in ferrying planes to and from the various places in the European theater of operations. The way her storyline intertwines with that of Jack and Michael is satisfying.
 
Ms. Monzon writes beautifully and the story flows smoothly, though the ending feels abrupt. The detail and scenery descriptions draw you in, and I love the relationships that both Jack and Michael have with their siblings. The siblings all feel like real people and I love that! I’ve had similar interactions with my own siblings. The writing is the best part of the story for me.
 
Both characters are believers and though Michael struggles more with his faith due to the amputation, the religious aspect of this book feels natural and not shoehorned in. I appreciated the themes of learning to trust God again after tragedy and how we can rely on Him to set us on the right path—even if it’s not the one we expected to be on!
 
I have a few minor quibbles. These are personal pet peeves that hampered my enjoyment of this particular book, but not enough that I won’t try anything else by this author!
 
The first is that both Michael and Jack’s brothers fall into the “overprotectiveness described as caring” trap regarding Jack’s ex-boyfriend. It’s not caring, it’s treating an adult like they don’t know how to handle their own lives, and I dislike it in every story I’ve read. And it doesn’t belong in a contemporary romance!
 
The second is that Michael mentions the “bro-code” about not dating a friend’s sister while wrestling with his feelings for Jack. This is a concept that needs to die as it, again, treats an adult like they don’t know how to handle their own life. If you are good enough to be the brother’s friend, why can’t you date his sister? That reasoning makes no sense.
 
The third is minor and thankfully, Michael doesn’t hang onto it long. He bemoans that Jack deserves better than him and resolves to get over his developing feelings. Again, this is Michael trying to decide for Jack, who is perfectly capable. Let her make her own decisions!
 
I give this book 4/5 stars for the excellent main characters, writing style, and the relationship between the siblings. I had to take one away for the minor quibbles mentioned above. I recommend this book to people who love excellently researched, well-written, and clean contemporary romance.
 
**I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author through CelebrateLit. All opinions are my own.** 

About the Author

​Sarah Monzon is a Navy chaplain’s wife and a stay at home mom to the two cutest littles in the world. Playing pretend all day with them isn’t enough, she spends the evenings after their heads hit the pillow to create her own imaginary characters. When she isn’t in the world of make believe, she can be found in the pine forests of western Washington taking care of her family, fostering friendships, and enjoying all the adventures each day brings.
 
Her debut novel, The Isaac Project, skyrocketed to Amazon bestseller status while her Sophomore book, Finders Keepers, won the 2017 Selah award for contemporary romance.

​Guest Post from Sarah Monzon

​I’m so excited to be here today and getting this opportunity to hang out with y’all in this virtual world. If you are anything like me, you devour books faster than my son drinks orange juice (and he really loves orange juice!). Because of that, it is sometimes hard to come across a book with a unique premise or a message that you haven’t seen incorporated a thousand times before. As a writer, I always try to bring something fresh to the table.

In the first book of the Carrington Family Series, Finders Keepers, neither of my characters were Christians. What? No Christians in a Christian fiction novel? Most Christian fiction books usually have at least one or both main characters a Christians. Don’t worry, they both found their way to Jesus. With All of You, however, I wanted to take yet an even different approach.

I’ve ready lots of books where the main character is angry or upset with God for such-and-such thing that happened in his/her life (I’ve even written a character like that), but I hadn’t really read a story about a character that, no matter what life threw at him/her, he/she was going to trust in God no matter what. As a life-long Christian, this is a message I can identify with. The “If not, He is still good” resonation that is sometimes harder to hold on to in the midst of pain and struggles.

​So, as with all my books, I hope the freshness of the story and the realness of my characters will inspire and uplift you as you travel along with them on their journey.

​God Bless.

​Blog Stops

​September 12: A Baker’s Perspective
September 12: Quiet Quilter
September 13: Books, Books, and More Books
September 13: Jeanette’s Thoughts
September 14: Cordially Barbara
September 14: Smiling Book Reviews
September 15: Avid Reader Book Reviews
September 15: Carpe Diem
September 16: Inklings and notions
September 16: Christian Bookaholic
September 17: Christian Chick’s Thoughts
September 17: Artistic Nobody
September 18: Bookworm Mama
September 18: Remembrancy
September 19: Back Porch Reads
September 19: Kat’s Corner Books
September 20: Just Jo’Anne
September 20: Margaret Kazmierczak
September 21: The Power of Words
September 21: Mary Hake
September 22: 100 Pages per Hour
September 22: Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations
September 23: Zerina Blossom’s Books
September 23: Simple Harvest Reads (spotlight)
September 24: Blossoms and Blessings
September 24: Moments Dipped in Ink
September 25: Kathleen Denly
September 25: His Grace is Sufficient

​Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Sarah is giving away a $25 Amazon Gift Card!! Click below to enter. Be sure to comment on this post before you enter to claim 9 extra entries! 
​https://promosimple.com/ps/bd52