A wonderful story of two women whose lives are linked to Sam Mallory, a pilot who went missing during the Spanish Civil war. Full of secrets, intrigue, and Williams’s brilliant writing, this is a fantastic historical fiction novel.

I couldn't put this book down, filled with interesting aviation history, mystery and touching human stories.

I really love historical fiction, especially when centered around WWII era. This book has that but was a little different in that it's main focus was not the war itself. I liked the way the author moved from the present and back in time. Her descriptions of time and place were so vivid, you felt like you were there. I loved how her characters were so relatable and you could connect with them even with their flaws. And I have to say I never saw the ending coming.. Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed the book.

Beatriz Williams always delivers a rich world into which her readers can dive, and Her Last Flight was no exception. The opening scene hooked me straight away. The dual narrative of Irene Foster, a 1920s female aviatrix, and Janey Everett, a 1940s reporter weaves a web which will transfix the reader right to the end.

Janey is a former War Reporter who is looking for her next big story: what became of Irene Foster, the aviatrix and social celebrity who flew across the Pacific with Sam Mallory in the 1920s and 30s, only to disappear in a subsequent race around the world. The stories of Janey and Irene take the reader from post-WWI California, around the world from Hawaii, Australia, and Nationalist Spain.

William's creates a story which will hook the reader from the first chapter. Of course, several familiar characters tag along, enriching the world her novels have created. This is one of my favorite of her novels and is one that I will revisit in the future.

This is an amazing book that follows the lives of 2 strong and independent women, whose lives are intertwined in a fascinating historical fiction set in the early days of aviation. I was captivated from the start as the mystery surrounding the 2 women was slowly revealed. All of the characters in the book are immensely memorable in a story that encompasses love, sacrifice and courage. It is a well researched, wonderful book. It is the first Beatriz Williams book I have read, but it will not be the last. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC of the book!

I loved this book. I am always looking for strong female characters and this book provided two, along with a snapshot of aviation in its early stages. Irene Foster, the aviatrix, was raised by a dad who believed she could do anything - he even taught her to surf when it was not acceptable. When she learned to fly, he was right there behind her, although he a serious drinking problem.

The reporter, Janey Everett, has been a wartime photographer and has been chasing down the story of Alice and her longtime flying companion Sam Mallory - an ace pilot with aviation pioneer.

Piece by piece the story unfolds of Irene and Sam's last flight and in the digging, Janey discovers so much about herself that she had kept hidden for so long.

This is an historical novel, delving into the early days of aviation while telling a love story. Coming to terms with people we loved is sometimes a difficult journey and in the end, sometimes leads to more questions about what could have been.

Beatriz Williams is an amazing storyteller and one of my favorite authors. I love her books!

Her Last Flight is a great book, well-written with carefully woven plots that keep you turning the page and guessing until the end. I did not see those plot twists coming! Strong character development where you feel immersed in their stories and their emotional journeys. I really enjoyed reading this book and would definitely recommend it.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and the Book Club Girls for this advanced reader’s copy.

One of the best books I’ve read by Beatriz.. Story was nicely woven between the present and past so that you really get to know the characters. Had a few surprises that I did not see coming.

Alternating between scenes set in 1947and excerpts from a biography, this historical fiction novel follows a female photojournalist's hunt for the truth about a renowned, but forgotten, aviation pioneer, Sam Mallory. Janey, the photojournalist, finds herself in a remote surfing village in Kauai trying to extract details about Mallory's life and fatal final flight from Irene Lindquist, a woman Janey believes is actually the legendary Irene Foster, Mallory's one-time student and flying partner. The story is set primarily in Hawaii but also takes the reader to locations such as California, Australia, and Spain during that country's Civil War. The locations drew me into the story and I felt transported to a different time and place due to the historical details that brought these worlds to life. Both women are strong and have pushed the boundaries, but have also put up walls around their true selves despite their apparent fearlessness. I found this to be a page-turner and I kept wanting to learn more about each intriguing woman. While I did deduce certain plot points before they were ultimately revealed, I enjoyed the story and how it unfolded. This was the first book I've read by this author and it certainly won't be my last. I found this novel to be just the right bit of escapism I needed. This review was based on the Advanced Reader Edition I received via NetGalley. Many thanks to William Morrow and Book Club Girl for this early read!

I love books that jump back and forth in time, and keep things interesting as the story unfolds in both time periods. With just enough technical details to keep the flight references real!

This is my first Beatriz Williams book, but it won't be my last!

Beatriz Williams’ latest book, Her Last Flight, will not disappoint those who have come to love her strong-female character driven stories told in historical settings. Here, we have two protagonists. The first, Irene Foster, is a young woman who discovers a passion for aviation in the late 1920s, and falls madly in love with Sam Mallory, her mentor and flight partner. The two become a worldwide sensation with their daring escapades. Nineteen years later, Eugenia “Janey” Everett, a war-weary photojournalist, is traveling the globe in an effort to research and write a biography of Mallory, whose plane disappeared several years before.

The book’s narrative flips back and forth between the two women’s perspectives, but their stories weave together and converge to a very satisfying ending. To reveal too much of the plot would give away several surprising twists and shocking secrets each woman is hiding. I am comfortable in saying that this is my favorite Williams book to date.

I love historical fiction, and enjoy learning about different chapters in American history. Her Last Flight focuses on American aviation from the 1920’s through the 1940’s, and is told through two fictitious women, Eugenia Everett, a photojournalist, researching a book about Sam Mallory, an infamous pilot of his time, and Irene Foster, famed aviatrix and sometimes partner of Sam Mallory. The author perfectly captures the excitement of the time, and had me sitting on the edge of my seat, when describing various races and rescue missions. The 2 female characters are strong, gutsy women ahead of their time. Highly recommend!

Loved, loved, loved this book! Williams intertwines the stories of two women, one a famous pilot believed dead and the other a wartime photographer. Both are linked with the charismatic aviator, Sam Mallory. Irene Lindquist was Mallory's tutor and some say love interest. Janey Everett wishes to write a biography about Mallory detailing his life and uncovering his disappearance. The two women's worlds collide when Janey discovers Irene alive and well on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. One woman wants to explore and share the details of Mallory's life and death, the other wants to keep the past private. I enjoyed how the author moves seamlessly back and forth between the two women's stories. I also enjoyed the several plot twists along the way. This is a story about adventure, love and family.. An excellent read!

I am torn on this one.
I have read several of Beatriz Williams' novels and collaborations and it always takes me a little time to get into them, her female characters are always complex (love that!) but as a reader, I don't fall in love with them immediately. Her twists and turns are always worth it in the end. Also, I wanted to love this because of the combination of surfing (which I love) and female pioneering pilots (I mean, my daughter is named Amelia, after all.)
My struggle comes from a different place - Maybe I've read too much about Amelia Earhart so my background is clouded by the encroachment upon her life's story. I have enjoyed other historical fiction novels featuring real people who take a wide left off their true-life track and explore the 'what ifs' and spin an entire alternate history. Yet here, Williams creates a "fictional character" based on a real person (or at least 50% of her is), so my mind is struggling whether to imagine Irene or image Amelia for a good part of the book.
By the end, I enjoyed the progression of the plot and the resolution of things. I guessed some of the spoilers earlier than their 'reveal,' but there was still a twist or two that I didn't see coming, though the clues were there.
Overall, I would give this a 3.5 star, but maybe on a second read I would hop up to 4.
Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC and William Marrow Publishing.

im sorry I just couldn't get into this book thanks for the opportunity to read it early though..... I don't know if its just whats going on in the world, but I couldn't keep the characters straight and none of them really caught my interest. I usually love this authors books, so maybe ill try again at a later date

I first would like to thank The Book Club Girls for offering this book. Thanks! This book was excellent. The author does her research when writing. I was hooked from the beginning of the book until the end. I do not like to give reviews of the book that tells about the story, that ruins it for others that want to read the book. Just when I thought I knew what was going on in this book, there was a surprise. That surprise kept me reading. The author gets you invested in the characters, and makes you want to learn more about them and be apart of their lives. No criticism of this book, it was excellent.

Her writing is so good it drew me right in to the story. I was glad I hadn’t read any descriptions or reviews first so I didn’t have certain expectations or comparisons in mind. The Story alternates chapters between supposed chapters of a book called Aviatrix by Eugenia Everett that take place in the late 20’s and early 30’s with chapters told by Eugenia in the late 40’s. It’s the story of a woman aviator(Irene)and her partner in the air(Sam) who is a daring fly boy. Both disappear and now years later Eugenia a photojournalist is trying to find the story of what happened. She first finds Sam’s downed airplane and then finds Irene under an assumed name with a new life. What other secrets does she hold? And what ties Eugenia to their story? (less) Her descriptions of war countered with descriptions of lush Hawaiian islands seemed like putting that little bit of comedy in a drama giving you a place to breathe.

This book was mesmerizing. The first chapter was not as captivating as the rest of the book. I could not put it down. The characters were enticing and the author made me feel like I was a character in the book. I usually can predict what will happen next, Not true of Her Last Flight.

EXCELLENT READ!

Her Last Flight is yet another Beatriz Williams masterpiece. At its core, it's the story of Irene Foster, a female celebrity pilot, who disappears during a round-the-world flight in 1937 and whose whereabouts have remained unknown. It's also the story of Irene's one-time flying partner, Sam Mallory. Desperate to know what happened to Sam, photojournalist Janey Everett arrives on a remote Hawaiian island after stumbling onto a clue as to the possible whereabouts of Irene.

From the book dedication to the men and women who take to the skies to the first sentence of the book: "The airplane lies in the shadow of a plateau, half-buried in sand and scrub.", Beatriz Williams brings the reader in and doesn't let go until the final page. Her Last Flight is historical fiction at its absolute best. Part love story and part mystery of what happened to Sam and Irene, it's filled with storylines and sub-plots that draw the reader in, making them feel completely immersed in the story she has created. I couldn't put this book down, and Williams has one again proven why she is a must-read, must-buy, binge-worthy author.

Thanks to Beatriz Williams, William Morrow Books, and Netgalley for providing me with my advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Amazing. I have not met a Beatriz Williams book that I didn’t like, but she really outdid herself with this book. In this book.,We are following the lives of 2 women, one in 1937 and the other in 1947. How do their lives intertwine? I loved both storylines and I thought the character development was great. The author showed the strengths and the flaws in both the main characters as well as secondary characters.
As I was reading I felt like I knew what was going to be happening next, I didn’t even care when I was right! The story unfolded perfectly.
Thank you Net Galley and Book Club Girl for the opportunity to read this book early and provide my honest review.