This book was a huge suprise to me , at how much I really enjoyed it. A book I will certainly never forget and will always remain in my heart.

Leaning on Air kept my interest throughout the twist and turns of the novel. Burnaby and Celia couldn’t be more different, and yet, their marriage was working until a heartbreaking tragedy damaged them both.

“His science told him they would meld into the single identity of conjoined atomic particles, and his faith said they would become one in a spiritual world she knew nothing about, a world where he and she and this God of his would be invisible, body and mind and spirit. Marriage would breach every boundary she’d worked so hard to fortify, every barrier she’d built against pain.” (P. 43) The centerpiece of the novel is the relationship between steady, loving, faithful, gracious Burnaby and Celia, so broken by pain and heartache that she can’t trust Burnaby’s love, let alone trust God. And there’s much more.

I heartily recommend this book and thank Tyndale for the advance copy.

When I read Bostrom’s first book Sugar Birds, I so enjoyed her complex characters, particularly Burnaby, a highly intelligent, awkward, autistic boy, who develops a deep bond with Celia Burke. What a joy to meet these same characters again in the pages of Leaning on Air. Grown-up Burnaby exudes such wisdom, self-awareness, and logical thinking, all traits that give him an unusual strength. As he and Celia weave their adult lives together, they discover how their differences pull them together but also pull them apart.

Once again, Bostrom masterfully crafts compassionate, complex characters set against a rich sensory landscape—the Palouse region in southeast Washington.

In LEANING ON AIR, author Cheryl Grey Bostrom offers a beautiful continuation of Celia and Burnaby's story that's filled with grief and unexpected turns. Like her book SUGAR BIRDS, Bostrom's descriptions of nature are gorgeous and captivating. She is also thoughtful in her portrayals of how different characters walk through sorrow in light of their Christian faith. I love how the book captures relationships across multiple generations, and gives us peeks into different characters' perspectives. Readers who enjoy exploring themes of marriage, grief, and special abilities are sure to enjoy LEANING ON AIR.

Thank you to Tyndale and NetGalley for the advance copy!

Reading this novel felt like hiking through a wondrous, flourishing ecosystem. Some spots invited moments to pause and take in the beauty. Others created joyful anticipation of what the following pages would reveal. The terrain’s not wholly beautiful, though; some sections elicited angst, too. I held my breath a couple of times.

Leaning on Air is lush with passages to highlight. Cheryl Grey Bostrom expresses thought, emotion, and experience with words that have obviously grown through a fertile soil of poetic imagination and under a rainfall of God-given knowledge and insight. This is a story of undeniable love stretched thin from personal grief, painful choices, nefarious encounters, and spiritual disparity. The challenges that accompany autism, synesthesia, and depression fray Burnaby’s and Celia’s rope of love even more. It’s also a story of connections lost and found, extraordinary patience and grace, a child’s assumptions about a witnessed tragedy, and how science points to our Creator and Savior. A special bonus for me as a nature-lover was the author’s obvious love, knowledge, and respect for nature, too.

Here's one of the many passages I’ve highlighted:

“If that little hawk can plow through smoldering charcoal without a tail and still think about flying, so can I, I guess.”

I had the pleasure of reading an Advanced Reader Copy—Thank you Tyndale and Net Galley—but I can’t wait to receive the book I’ve preordered to give a friend. Leaning on Air is available for preorder now. I’m going to encourage my reading friends to purchase it.

Captivating, Educational, Wise

I leaned into this work of art and found myself carried by the exquisite detail woven through every aspect of story - relational, scientific, spiritual, mental, emotional. A thoroughly engaging read that's held my mind for weeks.

Thank you for the advance copy!!

Leaning on Air, by author Cheryl Bostrom, is a beautifully written, thought-provoking book. I would encourage everyone to take the time to read it. You will get to know the characters so well you will think of them when you aren’t reading. The descriptions of the areas in which they live and work will be so inviting, you’ll want to take a Sunday afternoon drive to see them. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry and you will ache for them as they traverse through life’s ups and downs. You will think about how you treat others who are perhaps a little different or perhaps not as fortunate as you. Leaning on Air is a book which should be on everyone’s TBR list.

Unusual story about a woman who marries a man on the autism spectrum. That's in itself is an adjustment but when tragedy strikes years later, their marriage is threatened. Set against the nature and farming background of Washington, it's a story of love, hope and faith.

Leaning on Air is a captivating book that had me pondering the characters and multiple layers throughout the day. I couldn't wait to pick it back up at night and continue reading.

Cheryl Grey Bostrom has done it again! Taking Celia and Burnaby into adulthood, she weaves love, adventure, crisis and mystery into their life together. The emotions are raw, the storyline real, and the setting rapturous. Cheryl's vivid descriptions and perfectly chosen metaphors are instrumental in losing oneself into the lives of the characters. The themes of love, sacrifice and forgiveness are prominently displayed mirroring the work of Jesus, the Savior for all. In the end, Celia responds to the love found in forgiveness and is able to even forgive herself.

I have been waiting to re-connect with Burnaby and Celia since Sugarbirds. Leaning on Air did not disappoint. The attention to details and descriptions of the surroundings make you feel you are right there with them. I was hooked by the first chapter and couldn't wait to read more....my husband read it in 3 days! Looking forward to book three (another sequel??)

I don’t remember ever reading a book that was more filled with love than this one. For Leaning on Air is a love story. There is love between a husband and wife, love for family and friends, and love for nature—the land, the flora, the animals. This is also a book about faith and hope, restoration and reconciliation, even when despair and heartache leave little room to believe that things will get better. From the first page I was immersed in the story, captivated by the characters, and enchanted by the Washington state setting. I fell in love with the author’s first book, Sugar Birds, and this book picks up twelve years after Sugar Birds ended—it felt like coming home. I wanted to savor the beautiful language and imagery, as well as the depth of emotion, but at the same time I was anxious to find out where the story would take me. Celia and Burnaby are rich, complex, genuine characters, and they are surrounded by friends and family who fill their lives with wisdom and devotion. There are moments in this book that made me cry, events that left me reeling, but there were many more times that my soul was filled me with wonder. This glorious book will live in my heart for always, just as its predecessor did.

Leaning on Air is an emotionally rich story that captures the complexities of life and its hardships here on earth intertwined with elements of faith, hope, and love. It was relatable as well as encouraging! Thank you Tyndale and NetGalley for the advance copy!

Just finished reading Leaning On Air.. The rich description of both characters and circumstances pulled me into their story. The book authentically depicts the joys and heartaches of everyday relationships. Woven throughout is the beautiful thread of hope even in our darkest seasons.

Leaning on Air is a contemporary Christian romance set in the beautiful Palouse prairie area of Washington state. Celia and Burnaby, an ornithologist and a veterinary surgeon, marry, and one of them is autistic with an aversion to being touched. What could possibly go wrong?

The story features nerdy romance and the sweetest children. One of the kids, five-year-old Cobb, has a few point-of-view chapters. As for the nerdy romance, if you’re not into physics or ornithology, don’t worry, Bostrom explains all the sciency stuff readers need to know. And it’s not dry. It’s interesting!

Leaning on Air is also a story of grief. Grief strikes, and every flaw in Celia and Burnaby’s marriage is magnified. I felt so sorry for them.

The faith element of the story is subtle and comes through strongest in a parable of a god-horse from little Cobb’s point of view. Because the Christian message is so nuanced, the story might hit home for agnostics or for readers who simply feel “spiritual” but don’t identify with any one religion.

I think readers who enjoy clean, contemporary romance will devour this story. It’s so well-written and memorable.

I read an advanced copy of Leaning on Air through NetGalley, and I’m happy to share my honest opinion.

A beautiful story which masterfully tackles what it means to love and grieve and sometimes get caught up in not knowing how to do both simultaneously. Bostrom instills her characters with realistic struggles and hope and grace and reactivity - children are childlike in their belief and conclusions; adults mystified by the mystery of what it means to trust God more than each other. I was caught up quickly in the story and couldn’t wait to see it through.

Bostrom’s novel is inspired! Through her characters' entangled stories, I relived depths of human pain at a deeply personal level, but I also received needed nurture for my oft-wavering faith. I read nearly non-stop as the author carried me to a place of healing through wildflower and relational beauty and an otherworldly portrayal of marital oneness.  I can’t explain it, but Leaning on Air inspires me to trust.
Thank You, NetGalley, for making this advanced reading possible.

Cheryl Bostrom's sequel novel to Sugar Birds explores the developing adult relationship between her two main characters, exploring its beginnings, its fragility and brokenness, and hoped-for reconciliation - a powerful parallel to the novel's setting in the Palouse hills. Bostrom's meticulous research informs her vivid descriptions of the unparalleled beauty of the farmland and its wildlife. Palouse productivity and fertility depend upon the cooperation of the region's farmers to restore and protect its God-given potential. So too, Celia and Burnaby’s marriage thrives only with careful cultivation. Leaning On Air explores how belief in God's unshakeable presence in our lives preserves the covenantal bond between Creator and Created, the marriage commitment between husband and wife, and the care of the land we steward for future generations.

This book took my breath away!
It evoked every emotion I have ever felt. An eloquent writing style, that keeps the story alive and moving from one event and emotion to another. Without knowing where I was going with one,, a new adventure was developing in front of me. Just when I thought I had it figured out…something new. From beginning to end, and after completion, this book took hold. Valuable life lessons. Trust. Forgiveness. Thank you Tyndale and Net Galley.

I did not want this book to end! The story and characters were both compelling and engaging, leaving me wanting more. It’s a story of love, grief and heartbreak, which mimics real-life and provides the hope that we all need. *Thank you to Tyndale and NetGalley for the ARC.*