I really enjoyed the story and was absorbed from the beginning in the way Kate and Charlie's lives progressed. Their individual wartime experiences are sensitively explored and their thoughts and feelings are both realistic and thought provoking. The characters are believable I found both Kate and Charlie to be worthy protagonists and enjoyed watching their characters grow in maturity as the novel progressed. Into the Unknown is a sympathetic look at the uncertainty of life during the Second World War. They face many difficulties, and their love affair is subject to, not just the challenge of separation, but also bears the burden of parental disapproval and the heartbreak of loss on a grand scale. What then follows is a story which follows the lives of both Kate and Charlie during the course of the war. When Kate meets the devilishly handsome Flight Lieutenant Charlie Butler during an air raid, the course of both their lives is changed forever. This move allows Kate an element of freedom she has never had before, but England is on the cusp of war and London is no longer a safe haven. The story opens in 1939, as Kate Sheridan leaves her home and strict parents in rural Ireland to live with her aunt and uncle in London. It is a story that will pull the reader into the story and keep you engaged until the end. Into the Unknown is a well written book that explores a developing relationship during a tumultuous time.

Kate and Charlie had to work so much harder to maintain the communication that was necessary to make a relationship work. Something that I really enjoyed about Into the Unknown is the setting created by Lorna Peel, as well as how much things have changed in such a short time. As a reader, I was able to feel the character’s torment. It was not an easy relationship, but one that I wanted to see overcome all of the roadblocks thrown in its way. Kate and Charlie experienced tremendous tragedies that pushed them together, while at the same time, pulled them apart. Lorna Peel has chosen this time and place for a compelling story of the modern soldier and the new independent woman. The Second World War was a time of great change changes in technology, in warfare, in relationships and for the place of women within our society. Their story is one that will drive people crazy.Īnyone who knows me, knows that I like my history old, really old…I’m talking about shield walls and swords, however, sometimes it is fun to look at stories a little closer to home. This is where she met the cocky ladies’ man and fighter pilot, Charlie Butler. With few options in the 1930’s, Kate Sheridan left Ireland for London, to find work.

Into the Unknown is a fantastic look at the changes that took place in traditional relationships between men and women during the Second World War.

Only You by Lorna Peel