A really good read. I was aware of this piece of history. It was lovely to learn more about it. It was a pleasure to read about the characters and their achievements.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read, "The Spitfire Girls" by Soraya M. Lane. A truly beautiful work of women's fiction! The story follows three women aviators who find themselves flying planes to air force bases during World War 2. I truly felt the highs as well as the lows that May, Ruby, and Lizzie endured during a time when women were homemakers and not taken very seriously. I highly recommend this book.

An exciting action filled historical fiction book is what the Spitfire Girls delivers! During WWII women pilots were needed to ferry planes between bases to be ready for men to take them into combat. May heads up her new recruits Ruby and Lizzie, who compete to be the first to fly the bombers. Sparks fly as Lizzie is sure she will be chosen, after all she feels she is the superior pilot. These women have to prove they are equal to men. They have to fly under frightening circumstances, without radios or other instruments. They are brave, their courage outstanding. Love, family, friendship, loyalty, loss and romance fill these pages of this delightful, well researched and written novel. I highly recommend this book to all who enjoy reading about women pilots and their extraordinary dedication to help the war effort during WWII.

A wonderful story of friendship and determination. Strong characters who each played a role in the story telling.
I do like a war time tale and felt this was a new story to be told based on true events by fictional characters

I'm a big fan of the historical fiction genre. This was a fantastic book that had me hooked from the first page. Based on historical events and people, this book is about three women and their critical contribution to the war effort during WWII. These women are members of the British Air Transport Auxiliary. They ferry new and repaired planes without radios or instruments. These women are constantly fighting for fair treatment and respect for their male counterparts. The government didn't want the women's help but they really needed it. However, once the war was over the women were kicked out of there wartime positions.

I loved each individual character. They each brought something different to the table. May Jones is the strong character with a hard exterior. It's hard for her to show weakness and open up to anyone. Ruby Sanders lacks confidence. Her fiance's mother feels that she should be at home not out at war. She's a good flyer though. Lastly, there's Lizzie Dunlop. She's a talented flyer and makes sure everyone knows it. A native Texan, she is big, bold and brash. She makes no apologies for it either. She's not a team player. This book was also a romance. Each woman found the right man for them and fell in love. If you enjoy historical romance novels set during the war, then this is the book for you. It's such an enjoyable read.

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

First, I would like to thank Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to like this book. The synopsis sounds incredible: the first female military pilots fighting against all odds for the chance to demonstrate the strength of the female sex and establish themselves as respected pilots. I was so excited to read this book, but I was let down very early. I do not enjoy writing negative reviews, but it is very hard for me to find anything positive to say about this novel.

In the first chapter we meet the American pilot Lizzie. Her bravery is amazing at first. She is writing to the First Lady to ask for her support for female pilots to support the war effort by ferrying planes, releasing the men to be free for combat pilot roles. When she gets the chance to actually meet the First Lady and President Roosevelt, Soraya Lane writes, “Lizzie held herself together as first the president rose and then the man in uniform beside him.”

Stop. Stop right there.

This is where I realized that I was not going to like this book.

How exactly did the president rise? Did he miraculously overcome his paralysis from polio and stand up from his wheelchair? I realize that Ms. Lane is not an American writer, but for all the research she claims to have done on this subject, FDR’s paralysis seems a MAJOR oversight. I hope this is corrected in publishing because it will seriously damage the credibility of the author and the publishing company if this goes to print.

In addition to this factual error, there are three other major issues with this book. First, the excessive use of clichés! I could physically feel my eyes rolling each time I read one. Great writers are those who craft the phrases that turn into clichés; great writers do not regurgitate clichés.

Second, the overuse of deus ex machina. For those unfamiliar with this phrase, it refers to when an author gives the characters the easy way out, so to speak. Every time one of these girls is presented with a problem, she frets over it, but by the end of a chapter or two it is easily resolved without effort or conflict. There is only one true devastating event in this book. Everything else is resolved before it even becomes a real problem.

Third, every single character lacks depth. The worst of all of them is Lizzie. Each time she is accused of being cocky, she thinks about it and just casually decides she won’t be cocky anymore. This is not how cocky people think. This is not how anyone thinks.

A side note about Lizzie: she has far too much of a contemporary attitude to be a believable character.

This book could have been incredible if it was afforded the proper character and plot development it deserved. Of course the author was constricted as she was basing her characters on real people, but there is so much more that could have been done to make the characters believable.

Overall, this book was a very quick and easy read being that it is highly conversational. It would be a good book for the beach or for just before bed as it is not very complex.

Favorite Quotes:

Ruby is no sidekick, nor is she relegated to office duties… She might look like a doll –in fact I was told by our doctor that a gust of wind might blow her over –but put her up in the cockpit and she’s got the heart of a lion and the bravery of a team of men.

And how in God’s name did you manage to convince a bunch of old men to let women ferry fighter planes? I’ve been petitioning for years – I want to wring all their wrinkly old necks!

I’m in some sort of hell. Honestly, I know hospital was bad, but I’d do anything to be back there and not under the same roof as my mother.

… she smiled when she saw it was a piece of metal welded into a small circle. ‘I promise I’ll give you a proper ring when the war is over,’ he said, pushing it onto her finger. ‘But for now, this is from the damaged engine of a Spitfire.’

We are told as little girls what our expectations should be, and it’s made abundantly clear what our limitations are, but I’m standing here today to tell you that there are no limitations for women, or at least not in the sky. You don’t need to be a burly six-foot man to fly an enormous four-engine bomber, but you do need a brain and single-minded determination. It’s no wonder men feel threatened by us…

They used us when they needed us, and now they want to pretend we’re the inferior sex all over again.


My Review:

I don’t often read historical fiction but I enjoyed this enlightening tale that equally threaded fact with fiction in featuring the adventurous and brave trailblazing women of WWII aviation. I learned so much, proving my mother’s lectures to be incorrect about my perusal of fiction being a waste of time. The storylines were engaging and entertaining with each of the women being given a uniquely flawed personality and individual quirks, some not so endearing as the brash American Lizzie was an arrogant show-boater, she was ambitious and overly endowed with confidence to the point of obnoxious entitlement. I admired her moxie though, and I also appreciated her spirit and drive.

Lizzie’s nose was eventually lowered, somewhat painfully, but I admired Ms. Lane’s insightful depiction of all the pilots’ various learning curves. I cannot imagine the pressure they were under and I doubt few people realized the danger they were in as they had no weapons, no instruments, no radios, and no artillery, yet they were delivering bombers and other aircraft in a war zone and flying damaged aircraft back for repair or unserviceable craft to the junkyard - which I would believe to have been the most dangerous missions of all. And they did this in poor weather, for twenty percent less pay, among rampant disrespect from the military and often their own families; and although they were pivotal in winning the war, they were quickly iced once the war was over as they were seen as “taking jobs away from men.” My indignation and ire burn hotly – which is why I don’t often read historical books... These courageous gals became known as the ‘Attagirls,’ I like that, sounds sassy!

This was my first experience with Ms. Lane’s words and one I would readily repeat. I found her writing to be easily accessible, engaging, emotive, cleverly amusing, and well-balanced. I noticed two separate listings for her work on Goodreads; one as Soraya M. Lane and one under Soraya Lane, with different types of books on each.

Genre: Historical Fiction / Romance

Synopsis: In the midst of WWII, several brave, young women volunteered to ferry fighter and bomber planes between military bases. These women are known as the ATA Girls (Air Transport Auxiliary). Their participation set a new precedent for women’s equality and involvement in military operations. ‘The Spitfire Girls’ primarily follows the stories of Lizzie, May, and Ruby as they take to the sky and set new equality standards.

Review: Let me start with the fact that Soraya Lane is a terrific author and her writing style is incredibly conversational, which I graviate toward. Her ideas are very clear which makes following along with the story a breeze. And she handled multiple protagonist perspectives well.

Now, I wanted to love this story. The initial plot was super intriguing (referring to meeting the president) and actually encouraged me to do a lot of research into the women of the ATA. But story focused less on women making a mark and more on egoism and romance.

I would say that 50% of the dialogue within the book revolved around Lizzie being petty. That kinda soured the experience for me. I don’t mind a rivalry, but to dominate the plot was a little overwhelming. I wish there was a bit more character development so that Lizzie’s incessant need to win had a backstory. I also wish that some of the predictability related to gender roles was toned down. And I think that’s why the romance was a little off-putting for me, because I anticipated this to be about women empowerment and, yet, still a man was pivotal to prop them up (specifically May and Ruby).

I would recommend this to anyone looking for a historical romance, easy read. It perfectly fits that ticket. I just went in with different expectations based on the premise.

Thank you, Net Gallery for this copy in exchange for an honest review!

I enjoy books about women in World War Two and the Spitfire Girls dealt with an area I knew very little about. At the height of the war fighters were running out of planes and although the powers that be were very dubious about the idea, they eventually agreed that women pilots could deliver planes to where they were needed. The story follows the path of three women who were part of this essential service.

The stories of May, Ruby & Lizzie were a little predictable. Although they were engaging characters, it was quite easy to predict how things were going to turn out for them personally.

I learned a great deal about what was expected of these brave women. With no more than briefing notes they flew a huge variety of planes. They flew without wireless & without instruments relying on the geological & meteorological knowledge whilst battling against the idea that they should not be in the air at all. The research that went into the book was very good and overall it was an enjoyable read. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

A lovely book historical fiction strong women women pilots .Iwas drawn right in to this well written novel ,.Looking forward to more from this author.highly recommend

The Spitfire Girls by Soraya M. Lane has readers traveling back to World War II. May Jones along with Ruby Sanders are members of the British Air Transport Auxiliary. These courageous women ferry new and repaired planes without radios or instruments for the Royal Air Force. Lizzie Dunlop has been trying to get the United States to implement a similar program without success. General Henry Arnold needs convincing and suggests Lizzie volunteer for the ATA to get experience. Lizzie is a confident and brash woman who is not afraid to speak her mind. She knows she is an excellent pilot, but Lizzie is not a team player. Lizzie attitude tends to rub the other pilots the wrong away along with her competitive spirit. As commander, it falls to May to get these talented female pilots to work together. These women must continually fight for fair treatment and respect from their male counterparts while dealing with losses and being away from their loved ones. Will these women succeed in their missions?

I like that The Spitfire Girls shows the role of female pilots in England and America during World War II. I enjoyed learning more about the WASPs and ATA. I thought the author accurately portrayed how women were treated during this time period. The powers that be may not have wanted the women’s help, but they needed their assistance (I can just imagine the discussions that took place). Of course, once the war was over, females were soon ousted from their wartime positions. May Jones was a strong female character with a hard exterior. She kept her emotions in check while fighting for the women in her command. It was hard for May to show weakness and open up to someone. Ruby Sanders is the petite beauty who lacks confidence. She is engaged to Tom who is under his society mother’s thumb and feels that women belong at home. Ruby is a good flyer, but she needs to believe in herself. Lizzie Dunlop is a talented flyer and lets people know it. She is big, bold and brash (from Texas). Lizzie feels that flyers are on their own in the sky and does not understand the team mentality. Each woman has a different issue that they need to overcome. I thought the characters lacked depth. Each lady finds the right man for her and they fall in love. The story played out in a predictable manner. The pace was steady in the first half and slowed down considerably in the second. I liked the author’s note at the end which provided additional information on the WASPs, ATA and female pilots from WWII. I can tell the author did her research for The Spitfire Girls. However, I wanted more depth, realism and emotion. Readers who take pleasure in reading light, historical romance novels will appreciate The Spitfire Girls.

This is the story of three female pilots in WW2, May the commander of the group, Ruby the second in command and Lizzie the brash American who thinks she knows it all, a brilliant flyer but one who doesn't know the meaning of team. The three girls have to fight their way into being allowed to fly and as the war progresses they become invaluable to the RAF moving planes around the country but can they overcome the personality clashes and become friends?

A great book about a very interesting period in history, it is amazing what those women did flying the planes without any instruments even, in the greatest of danger. The characters were great as they were all so different but worked well together and I loved the way that Ruby who appeared to be so lacking in confidence managed to stand up to her fiance and his mother. Definitely recommend.

The Spitfire Girls was wonderful! I enjoyed the close friendships between the women and the way that their lives were portrayed. May is in charge of the British division of the female pilots. This is a new organization where women fly the planes to the areas where they are needed for the officers. Lizzie is trying to get this same type of organization in America. She is given the opportunity to work in England with May’s group of women and is soon creating quite a stir among the others. The different women that come together to become part of this female pilot opportunity will experience so much. They will form close friendships with each other. But they will also face incredible challenges both with the flying that they must do and with the people that they will deal with along the way. The mixture of friendship, love, and adventure throughout this story made it a beautiful story!

This was an enjoyable historical fiction read about women pilots from Britain and the United States who joined together to ferry planes to soldiers in WWII. Amazingly they did it without using instruments or radios, which put them in danger every time they went up in the air. The US eventually started their own women's service as well.

I really enjoyed this book and recommend it.

Thanks to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Spitfire Girls by Soraya M. Lane. The Spitfire Girls by Soraya M. Lane was a great book. I really liked the book. I really like historical fiction. Books about women pilots in the war and what it was doing for the country. The Spitfire Girls had a lot of historical information woven in. One of the women talked to Mrs. Roosevelt about allowing women to fly.

This was a very interesting read about female aviators during the second world war and concentrates on three main characters. May - the cool commander of the British girls, Ruby - her second in command and Lizzie - the brash American whose personality is larger than life.

As a woman who was born after these women were taking to the skies (and yes, the book, although fiction, does document what it was really like for those early female pilots), I can't even imagine someone telling me that my place is in the home or that I couldn't become a pilot if my talents lay in that direction. But that, and many others things, is what these women had to overcome. These women had their work cut out for them; they faced resistance at every turn, even from their nearest and dearest in some cases.

It is WWII, men are taking to the skies for the war effort, especially in Britain, where there is a very real danger of the country being bombed into oblivion and being taken over by Adolf Hitler. The attrition rate is very high for these pilots and there is a shortage of trained pilots to take aircraft to where they are needed. Enter the ladies; highly trained and skilled, and itching to do their bit for the war effort.

The three main characters in this book were fabulous and the author does a great job of bringing them to life. The only little niggle I have is that after a while the "wailing and flailing" that May was doing about her brother, got a little bit uncomfortable. Yes, of course, she was upset that her brother had died, but the way she was describing him made it sound like he was her husband, and not her brother. Just belaboured the point a tad, that's all.

Anyway, great read overall.

4.5 stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing.

The author did a brilliant job of capturing the time period in this novel. The characters and plot were also well written. This was a great piece of historical fiction!

This historical fiction novel introduces us to three brave young women committed to doing their part for the war effort. I had never heard of the women’s British Air Transport Auxillary and its American plane ferrying counterpart. The fearlessness of these women flying planes in hazardous conditions with no instruments and no radio contact was monumental in supplying fresh aircraft to the front lines and removing ailing aircraft for repair. Set amidst personal competition, loss and triumph our heroines May, Ruby and Lizzie bring a personal narrative to this bit of forgotten history. I enjoyed Ms Lanes writing style and voice. I would highly recommend this book. I received an ARC of this book, all opinions are my own.

Historical fiction lovers will enjoy this book. My favorite thing about this is learning about the nearly forgotten role that women pilots played in WW2 and being introduced to the Air Transport Auxilary (ATA) in England and the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) in the USA.
There is some romance in the story line as well which I believe would've been true for any young ladies serving in this capacity, at this time of their life and definitely in this era. One of our 3 main characters deals with the prospect of losing her fiance (be it to the war or his mother's meddling); another deals with overwhelming grief (and hiding it from someone she doesn't trust herself or the war to invest time in); and finally one is so driven to prove herself that she pushes people away (both friends and romantic interests).
Overall this book gave me some characters to invest in, brought these historical women to life for me and taught me about WW2 History that I knew little to nothing about.
I received an Advance Review Copy of this book. All opinions are my own. :-)

This is a fantastic book that hooked me from the first pages and kept me enthralled to the very end. Based on historical events and people, this is the story of a group of women and their critical contribution to the war effort. With every male pilot needed to fly combat missions, the Air Transport Auxiliary desperately needed pilots to ferry new planes to the front and damaged ones back to be repaired. A group of very determined young women fought the odds and made a place for themselves as those pilots. This story is told from the point of view of three of those pilots.

May is the pilot who has been with the ATA the longest and is the commander of the women's unit. Flying was something that she and her brother Johnny did together. She was furious when he went off to war, leaving her behind. His death left her reeling with grief and guilt and an increased need to do something for the war effort. She is practical and clear-headed and excels at bringing out the best in the women she works with. There were some terrific scenes that demonstrated those abilities and highlighted the diversity of the personalities she had to deal with. She keeps her emotions in check and focuses on her work. I loved her care for her "girls" as she called them and her determination that they get the respect they deserve.

Ruby is a pretty and petite young woman whose love of flying is right up there with her love for her pilot fiancé. They flew together until he left to fly for the RAF. She was stuck at home, growing more frustrated by her desire to do something more important than keeping the home fires burning. The ATA was just what she needed, but she had an uphill battle to achieve that goal. Her future mother-in-law was vociferous in her disapproval, and even her fiancé was not supportive. I wanted to shake Tom because of the letters he wrote to Ruby, letters that did terrible things to her self-confidence. I loved May's confidence in Ruby and her efforts to show Ruby what she was capable of. Ruby's journey was an inspiration to read.

Lizzie was the American sent to Britain to learn about the ATA and bring that information home to America. She was a no-holds-barred woman when it came to going after what she wanted. She was raised on her father's tales of his efforts during World War One and a belief that she could do anything she put her mind to. I liked her determination at the beginning as she worked to make her dream of the American equivalent of the ATA come true. But she lost some of my admiration after she arrived in Britain and became the model for the Ugly American. Her extreme competitiveness, disregard for the rules, and general rudeness made it very difficult to like her. It took the efforts of multiple people before Lizzie was able to see that the ATA's strength was in their teamwork, not in the hands of individuals. Once she saw the light, the change in her was amazing, and there were few limits to what she could do. She had quite the challenge when she took what she learned back to America.

The book takes place between 1940 and 1946 and chronicles the joys and challenges of the work the "Spitfire Girls" accomplished. I felt their frustration at the lack of respect they received from their male counterparts, and how they had to work so much harder to prove themselves. I loved learning about the training they received, and how they excelled under incredible handicaps, such as being forced to fly without the use of instruments and radios, putting them in unthinkable danger. I loved seeing them shock the male pilots and ground crews regularly. I especially loved the scene where Ruby delivered the four-engine bomber, the men's disbelief that one tiny woman flew a plane (perfectly) that took a flight crew of four men to fly. I really liked how the women developed into a sisterhood that always had each other's backs. I ached for their losses and cheered their victories.

There was also a touch of romance in the book. Ruby had her relationship with her fiancé challenged by her work with the ATA. I loved her determination to follow her dream and ached for the pain he caused her. I cheered at the surprise waiting for her at the end of one flight. It was so much fun seeing the change in Tom's attitude when he realized the truth. Their challenges continued thanks to the war, but their faith in each other and their love pulled them through. Neither May nor Lizzie had been looking for love, but it found them anyway. May had closed herself off to the thought of love, wanting to protect herself from more loss. I loved how friendship and support from an unexpected source slowly grew into deeper feelings. Then there was Lizzie. The sparks flew between her and a certain Captain, but it took her a long time to realize there was more than antagonism there. I enjoyed seeing that relationship develop, especially with Lizzie's frequently volatile reactions to him on the job.

I loved the ending of the book. There was a wonderful surprise that Ben and Tom had cooked up for May and Ruby about a year after the war ended. I loved their teasing and how pleased they were with themselves. This was followed by a grand epilogue that took place at the sixty-fourth anniversary of V-J day. I loved seeing May, Lizzie, and Ruby together at the place that had been such a big part of their lives. I loved the part with Ruby, her grandson, and the Spitfire. I enjoyed her surprise, and loved the twist she added to it.