From Alaska With Love
A soldier has six weeks to convince the only woman he has ever longed for to take a chance on life with him in Alaska....
Sara's letters were the only bright spot during Gabe's devastating tour in Iraq. With each new correspondence, he fell harder, needed her more, wanted to be with her. Now, after initially rejecting his offer to meet, she's shown up at the door of his isolated cabin in Alaska looking for...what? Gabe's not sure what made Sara change her mind, but he knows he never wants to let her go.
Major Gabe Randall is everything Sara Ryan wants but nothing she feels she deserves. A modern-day spinster, Sara hides behind family obligations and the safe, quiet life she's resigned herself to living. But secretly, even though she may have stretched the truth about who she is in her letters to him, she wants Gabe. Will he still want her when he discovers the real woman behind the pen?
Once they meet, Gabe asks her for six weeks in Alaska. Six weeks to spend getting to know each other, and then she'll have to decide whether they are better together or apart.
Title: From Alaska With Love
Author: Ally James
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Publishing Date: March 3, 2020
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1984806955
ISBN-13: 978-1984806956
My Review
I wanted to give romance a chance. Perhaps it's the cozy season of the year or the cute dog on the cover...whatever it may be, I wanted to give this a chance since I don't read romance novels usually.
From Alaska With Love is the story of a deployed soldier receiving a letter by chance from a young woman in North Carolina and a pen pal relationship ensues. Sara, the spinster in her thirties, is working in the home of her brother to take care of her little niece. Though Sara loves her niece dearly, the other jobs around the house that come along make her feel taken advantage of and not appreciated by her family. During a local charity event collecting Christmas cards to pass on to troops deployed overseas, she sends her random act of kindness with a sweet card that lands in Major Gabe Randall's hands at his office in Iraq where he is currently serving his 7th deployment.
With a great focus of the communication that develops between the two strangers, first nonchalant and distanced, then curious and anticipatory, the story moves forward with him purchasing a plane ticket for her to visit him in Alaska after his deployment. On his way back from Iraq, Gabe attempts to surprise Sara with an unexpected visit that turns into a fiasco, leaving both of them derailed before any hope in a relationship takes off.
In turn, Sara is tired of her family's disregard and is ready to take a stance. She risks a trip to Alaska, where not only the weather chills her to the bone, but Gabe's coldness towards her makes her question the entirety of their 7 months long investment into letters, phone calls and video chats. Will Gabe come around for her before it is too late?
***
A perfectly sweet little romance, however not what I was expecting. Keep in mind, I am a lot less gullible at my age and the wife of a military war veteran of almost 25 years. I have had my share of lone times during several year-long deployments, moved around 15 times, adjusted my life over and over, and seen the good and bad that come with it.
I had anticipated the novel's focus to be on Sara and Gabe's time in Alaska. He has a rustic home and cute dog and some time off after his deployment to spend with her. There certainly were cute moments, a little bit of sexy in it too, but mostly the plot revolves around the two characters writing, contemplating, guessing and uncertainty. Like any relationship that goes beyond the surface, there is angst and an overwhelming sense of betrail when the smallest glitch occurs. In the case of Sara and Gabe, that happens before they even make it to Alaska and because they have not had any time to build upon more than their long-distance conversations, the whole thing almost ends before it even starts.
I wished the novel would not have hovered so much in that area, but elevated the romance in the last part of the novel in Alaska. Both of the characters are lovely and handsome, though Sara is insecure.
What I did like about the novel was Gabe's portrait as a military man and the application of his skills to all aspects of his life. His leadership, the use of forethought/caution in the relationship are his strengths and he gives off a general sense that he is not the kind of man you mess with. His tenderness behind all of that, admittedly ;) had me swoon just a little for him at the end.
Wishful thinking has me hoping that these kinds of romances still exist, but the overall feel of this novel brings me back to the time of the '90s and 2000s when people actually still wrote cards and letters. In all, I found the characters to be 'too good' if that makes sense, at the same time, I am that kind of person too, but they trumped even me. Are people still writing letters these days?
Give From Alaska With Love a chance or give it to someone who might need a bit of hope. Perhaps it's time to get back and send some random acts of kindness to someone deployed or left at home, waiting.
Cheers!
I received this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
All opinions are my own.
Thank you!
