Product Description

Kit Anderson is determined to make a difference. All around her the Battle for Britain is raging, and ferrying factory-fresh airplanes to combat bases makes excellent use of her skills as flight lieutenant for the British Women's Air Transport Auxiliary. An American in southern England, she is undaunted by war. It's safer than love.

The talented aviatrix could fly a crippled craft through a thunderstorm without a compass and find her way home, so it is singularly disconcerting to find herself flying in circles around Emily Mills, a too young, too attractive and too abrasive British literature teacher. Even though Emily's grandmother is Lady Marble, it's a time of war and scarcity and Emily needs work. Kit offers to help her find a job on the air base--and as is often true, no good deed goes unpunished.

There's no compass on earth to help when the irascible Emily gets past all Kit's defenses. She knows the sparks could turn to flame, and their hearts are in the line of fire.

Kenna White turns her storytelling talents to this unforgettable tale of women who found the courage to love in the midst of a world at war.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #127729 in Books
• Published on: 2008-09-16
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 276 pages

From the Publisher
Kenna White's popular titles include Romancing the Zone, Braggin' Rights and Skin Deep.

Customer Reviews

What a Wonderful Tale
Kenna White has consistently written wonderful stories. It seems no matter how many she actually gets published, there is no end to her imagination. No two of her books are alike. Here she takes us to wartime in England. It was a time when women weren't allowed in combat and when ladies were ladies.

Opening the book is Kit Anderson, an American woman who transports war planes for the British. She lives a simple life. She doesn't have a girlfriend. She rents a room from a local family. She has few friends. All of that changes when her landlord's brother's home is bombed and she is forced to find a new home. Kit rents a cottage from Lady Marble, a local bit of pseudo-royalty with a granddaughter, Emily, who doesn't appreciate Kit's presence. Of course, Lady Marble is happy to have Kit at her home and asks her to help Emily find a job at the airfield.

Emily seems to be haunted by bad luck and it reflects somewhat poorly on Kit. At the same time, Emily and Kit have a tenuous relationship that surprisingly develops into something undeniable. It's not easy to tell if it's them or their circumstances that push them into thinking about the future. Either way, their story draws the reader in and doesn't let go.

Bottom Line - Kit, Emily, and the supporting cast come together to act out a timeless tale of strife and romance. Truly one of the strongest voices in the genre, White is at the top of her game and I hope she stays there for a long time to come. Don't miss this one.

BEAUTIFUL story
Kenna White can tell a tale. I have enjoyed Kenna's tales before and look forward to her work. This storyline lead me to the stories my father told about his experiences on an air craft carrier before during and after WWII. Hearing about the old planes and the problems they faced brought up many a memory. My Mom helped put many a plane together here in Arizona at Thunderbird air field. So the memories evoked by this book were part of my enjoyment. The work itself was well written, I could visualize the events in the story line. I became a part of the story as a watcher and felt for the characters. They are strong women. Enough of the storyline was held back so that I was surprised at some of the outcomes. A good read that left me wanting to know more.

A really enjoyable story
If you like historical period stories, Kenna White's Beautiful Journey is the book for you. If you like a good story, you still have the right book.

In the early years of World War II, before the United States entered the war, many Americans volunteered to serve in countries that were under attack. American Kit Anderson is a volunteer in the British Women's Air Transport Authority (ATA) where her job is to shuttle planes to the bases where fighter pilots are stationed and take damaged planes to repair facilities. Kit is very good at what she does and the work takes her mind off of the broken heart she left back in the States. What she doesn't count on is coming into contact with Emily Mills, a literature teacher and the only grandchild of Lady Lillian Marble. These two are meant to clash from the time Emily finds out her grandmother has rented a cottage to Kit through the experience of having Emily come to work on Kit's base. The British government has decreed that every woman had to work in the war effort and that includes Emily. As a favor to Lady Marble, Kit signs Emily's work request as her reference, only to find she is held responsible for every mistake Emily makes and there are many mistakes. Emily just seems to be a walking disaster. Kit's good nature is often tested by Emily's unpleasant attitude and then her bumbling. As they are drawn together by the war however, Kit and Emily discover love and courage. It will take tremendous courage not only to survive the war, but to battle the prejudice and bigotry they will encounter as their relationship comes to light because homophobia is strong in Britain at the time. Kit is forced to face the fact that the quality of your work does not equate with acceptance of your lifestyle and the women will face a choice when Kit is threatened with losing her wings.

The atmosphere of this book is perfect. The reader feels immersed in the lifestyle of the English countryside and gets a real grasp of what the people were forced to endure as bombs rained from the sky. It is clear that Kit is an American imbedded in a different culture as she adapts to the English, they don't adapt to her. The story is full of appealing characters, some suspense, some humor, a tragedy and an interesting romance. The plot flows from page to page easily and pulls the reader's interest along with it. This is definitely one of the books that you can't wait to read and don't want to end. The only readers who might not find this book appealing are those who like the highly charged adventure stories, but there is a little of that, too.

Beautiful Journey is a well-written, enjoyable story. This is a book that is a pleasure to recommend. Great literature, no, but still a terrific book to read.