"A Wing and a Prayer" by Julie Lessman - The Cousins O'Connor book 1

Lieutenant Alex Kincaid pegs Grabriella "Gabe" O’Connor as trouble the moment she steps foot on Avenger Field as a WASP cadet. As the eldest brother of a boy whose jaw Gabe broke in grade school, Alex is familiar with her reputation as both a charismatic ringleader and a headstrong hooligan who’s challenged every male and nun from grade school to college. As her WASP flight instructor, Alex eventually expels Gabe when she pulls a dangerous stunt. But when he is an evacuation pilot in France eight months later, their lives intertwine once again, exposing them to a danger as perilous as the German tanks roaming the Reichswald Forest: a love that neither expects.

I liked Gabe, but I was also extremely frustrated by her. She's fun--a real spitfire. But she's also a master manipulator, and her only remorse is in getting caught. She doesn't change for the longest time (nearly 500 pages); instead, in each selfish decision, she just reaffirms her faults, like a downward spiral that she's in danger of not being able to pull out of. It's no wonder Alex can't--and won't--trust her.

Now Alex . . . he's the best thing about the story. His strength of character is what sets him far above any other guy in the book, maybe even over the swoony assortment of heroes in the rest of the O'Connor Family Saga; a man who stands on principles and does what is right, not what is easy, even when it costs him. But he doesn't do it for the sake of following rules--he does it out of love. He cares more for Gabe's well-being than he does for her opinion of him, and he suffers for it. I was most impressed.

For fans of romance, this is trademark Lessman--not to be missed. And it packs a spiritual punch too, both about love vs selfishness, and about learning to trust God and not leaning on one's own strength. I look forward to a book about Hope!

O'Connor Family Saga:

A Light in the Window (prequel)

Daughters of Boston
1. A Passion Most Pure
2. A Passion Redeemed
3. A Passion Denied

Winds of Change
1. A Hope Undaunted
2. A Heart Revealed
3. A Love Surrendered

The Cousins O'Connor
1. A Wing and a Prayer