Beatriz Williams is a master at historical fiction and this book is a true gem. In Her Last Flight, Williams weaves together the stories of two strong female heroines, Irene Foster and Janey Everett, in a dual timeline alternating between the 1920s and 1940s. Williams always breathes life into her subjects in a way that makes them three dimensional. I found the subject matter (the dawn of aviation, specifically female pioneers in a male dominated field) to be especially interesting.

Admittedly Beatriz Williams is one of my favorite authors, but regardless of that point, this is another fantastic story! I always enjoy how she ties all the characters in her stories together at the end, and this book was no different.
The book follows a photojournalist, Janey, who is intent on getting the full story of what really happened to a man by the name of Sam Mallory. Sam was a historically recognized pilot who had many great adventures, most notably with the first recognized female pilot, Irene Foster. The duo flew together multiple times, but ended up on separate paths, although both still included flying. Then the craziest thing happened; they both disappeared in different circumstances, during different flights. As time goes on they are both presumed dead; Sam a casualty of war, and Irene on a world encompassing flight race.
Janet is determined to find the truth about what happened to both of them, and will stop at nothing to find out the facts. The question is, in the end does she really want to know.

Her Last Flight
Beatriz Williams
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Publication date 6-30-20

This a beautifully written historical fiction masterpiece. The story is woven together by two perspectives one from Irene Foster from the 1920’s to 1937 and the other one through Janey Everett. Irene Foster meets the love of her life Sam Mallory. He takes her under his wing and she trades in nursing to be a pilot. This story has so many layers. Irene is a complex person, who is fierce, strong and confident. Her character who mirrored Amelia Earhart was a true survivor. I truly enjoyed reading about such a strong woman in a male dominated world. Irene Foster becomes a sensation overnight while Sam Mallory takes the back seat. Their love story goes untold....In 1937 both Foster and Mallory disappear under very different circumstances.
Janey Everett, a photojournalist, sets out to find out the mystery of what truly happened to Sam Mallory. We pick up in 1947 as Janey thinks she finds Irene. These two women seem very different from each other but as Irene opens up these two seem to mirror one another, having many of the same strengths and weaknesses. I enjoyed learning about their upbringing and learning about how they came to be who they are. I loved the story telling between past and present. The story flowed and the build up was worth it all! I was pretty shocked with some of the twists which I never saw coming. This story moved me to tears and at times warmed my heart. This is a must read for historical fiction fans. This beautiful story has it all intrigue, love, romance, tragedy, hope and forgiveness....

Thank you to @bookclubgirl NetGalley and Beatriz Williams for this electronic ARC for my honest review.

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I loved this book! I liked the way the story went back and forth between time periods and that the full story was slowly revealed over the course of the book.

Thoroughly appreciated the unique story line fueled by HERstory. The author's unique storytelling allowed the plot to unfold intentionally while keeping a quick pace. History, strong female characters, daredevils, love, family, friendship, sex, and the ocean.

This book was a five star read! As a lifelong Amelia Earhart fan, this book triggered my passion and fascination for the early days of flying. I tore through the pages and was gripped by the story of Sam Mallory, Irene Foster and Jenny Everett. The entire book felt like this crazy puzzle that I was obsessed with figuring out. I wholeheartedly recommend this wonderful book that will linger with me for some time. Thanks Netgalley for the early read! I’ll be purchasing this book for my collection when it comes out.

This was a lovely book, the imagery was stunning I felt as through I could feel the different winds - whether the Badlands or California or Hawai'i - were whipping through my hair. I found the history fascinating, I truly learned a lot and look forward to researching more!

A touch too detailed specifically about how pretty Irene is and overpainting the landscape. The ending is perfect. The book is just a touch too long predominately the last 45 or so pages.

Thank you for this opportunity!

I love a book that leaves tears in my eyes at the end. This was a beautiful and suspenseful story. A story of two women who were searching for meaning in their lives.

Thanks to NetGalley, HarperCollinsPublishers and the Book Club Girl Early Read program for an advanced copy of Her Last Flight in exchange for my honest review.

I must say though that I found the beginning of the book a little difficult to follow as the point of view shifts between the story of Irene in the 1930's and of Janey in the late 1940's. In the early sections there are incidents that are similar in each story line and resonate off each other, like parallel cuts in a movie.

But the situations are intriguing and soon that little hiccup is lost in the compelling storytelling. I was intrigued by the story of an early woman flyer and also the hunt to uncover the mystery of her disappearance. Similarly, the storyline involving the woman who wants to write about this flyer's early male counterpart frequently has twists I didn’t expect.

I don’t want to reveal too much, obviously, but I highly recommend this book. I've never read a Beatriz Williams boom before, but I’m now a real fan. Read this book.

Beatriz Williams is a master of her craft. The characters of this book felt real, to the point where I kept wanting to google them to see what really happened. I can picture all of the scenes she painted! I didn’t see the twist coming and the twist was done so well I was in awe when it showed up. I have only read 3 of Beatriz Williams books and I can’t wait to read all of her books. This was a masterpiece.

Was excited to read this and it did not disappoint. Every page kept me wanting to read more. Loved it!

This was a difficult book for me to get into, but once I got to about chapter four things really picked up. This was an amazing story of early aviation and the daring flights from barnstorming to long distance record setting flights across the miles.

This was my first Beatriz Williams' book and based on what I just read, it won't be my last. The book was very good, it kept my attention and I had a hard time putting it down. I love reading historical fiction because I learn as I read for enjoyment.

Her Last Flight is a high-flying adventure about Irene Foster, a female pilot that has strong shades of Amelia Earhart to her, told by Janey Everett, a photojournalist who's tracked her down wanting to know about her former flying partner Sam Mallory. Part of the story in many ways feels like a reimagining of if Amelia Earhart had been in love with her flying partner and had survived instead of disappearing somewhere over the Pacific. Janey on the other hand is a blithe, casual character that despite her exterior, is struggling with the loss of someone she'd come to care about during World War II in Europe - and Hawaii and the now Irene Lindquist is the perfect refuge for her as she unravels Irene's past and her connection to Sam. As the story progresses the two women form a connection that may be more than the reader expects. I will confess to figuring out a plot twist, not figuring out another one, and mostly enjoying it. There are still moments where I feel like Williams takes something a little bit further and more dramatic than necessary (re Janey's stepfather) but overall I enjoyed this way more than the last book I read by her, The Summer Wives.

Take a charismatic man who loves to fly and by chance meets a woman who is willing to break barriers related to women pilots in the early 1920’s. Enter Sam Malloy the daring airplane pilot and Irene Lindquist who has an innate sense of flight and becomes his co-pilot. Their flying exploits make national news. Then something happens. Years later enter Janey, a photojournalist who has become interested in Sam Malloy and wants to find out what happened to him and Irene. The author teases us with just enough information to keep us wanting more. There are twists and turns and tantalizing gossip in this well written book. I really enjoyed the characters and their thoughts on life. Thank you #NetGalley and #HerLastFlight for an advanced copy. The opinions expressed are my own.

I couldn't put this historical novel down, featuring two strong and courageous women. The separate plot lines were easy to follow and the characters were well defined. It is also a love story with many surprises.

I loved this book. But since this was not my first Beatriz Williams book, I fully expected to love this book. Now one point that the author made in her Author’s Note is that this is not the story of Amelia Earhart. Okay, you must forgive me if through the entire book I kept picturing Amelia Earhart. I’ve seen too many photos and read a few stories of the curly haired aviatrix to not draw my own parallels, sorry.

This is a story about a strong woman who flaunted the conventional role of women as just wives and mothers. Well, I loved that fact especially since she didn’t denigrate women who were wives and mothers but just simply aspired to be more. Actually this statement applies to Irene and Janey both although their stories are nineteen years apart.

This well-researched story is told in two time frames which as you read you will realize was vital to this book. Each chapter is clearly labeled so you never lose track of the time period in which you find yourself.

The main characters of Irene, Sam and Janey are very clearly written so you truly get a feel of who these people are and how determined they all are to achieve what is important to each of them and yet they have their human failings along with all this passion. This is a five star read.

I received this ARE in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Book Club Girls, Netgalley, HarperCollins Publishers and to the wonderful Beatriz Williams.

This was a compelling historical fiction. I’m he characters felt real and I laughed and cried. The story takes place over a couple of decades and is told by Irene Foster, pioneer female aviator who disappeared a decade befor and Janey The photojournalist who tracked her down. An amazing story of adventure, war, family, and love. I was riveted and devoured this book.

Beatriz Williams is so good at having her chapters alternate between two different time periods - I don’t think anyone does it better!
In this book, we meet Sam Mallory and Irene Foster in 1928 - Sam is something of a daredevil pilot, and Irene is fascinated by flight. They end up as pilot/navigator. Irene goes on to become a famous aviatrix, breaking records. She goes missing in 1937 during a race around the world, and no trace is found.
In 1947 in Hawaii, a young photojournalist who wants to write a book about Sam Mallory, has discovered that Irene Lindquist is really the famous Irene Foster.
This book is so well written that I felt as though I really knew the characters, and flawed as they were, wanted things to turn out well for them. There are a few really good twists that come up when they’re least expected.
This, I think, is my favorite Beatriz Williams book to date.

I have read a lot of Beatrix Williams’s books. She has become one of my favorite authors. Once I got past the Amelia Earhart similarities, the book took off. Irene and Jane are strong women and strongly written characters. The twists and turns in this book took me by surprise. Thank you Net Galley for the opportunity to read this.

I got so lost into this incredible story of a photojournalist searching for a famous aviator. Janey is obsessed with Sam Mallory and when her search lands her on an island in Hawaii she meets Irene who flew with Sam. As she begins to interview Irene the story of her aviation career and her love for Sam unfold for Janey. In an alternating narrative between these two strong willed women we are taken on journey of love, adventure and finding what you are searching for.