Molly GreenCritiques

Rocky start!

Madeline Hamilton had always wanted to be an actress. Something her mother forbade.
Maddie is sent down from University after being found with a man in her rooms. She takes a position as a nanny to a Jewish family returning to Munich.
It’s 1938 and Maddie becomes alarmed at the changes in the German people. Hitler has come to power and anti semitism is rife
When Mr. Weinberg is taken by the Gestapo, Madeline decides to leave for England. Mrs. Weinberg begs her to take the children with her to their aunt and uncle in Berlin. When that strikes problems she’s asked to take the children with her to other relations in London.
Maddie’s return to England is dangerous with the children. Fortunately she has help from someone she met by chance on the train to Berlin. James Sylvester is a cultural attaché with the British Embassy in Munich. He helps her to get the children to England.
On her return home, knowing what’s going on in Germany, Madeline applies to the Foreign Office as a German speaker.
She ends up in Bletchley Park. James makes a reappearance there as well. Romance is definitely in the air until she finds out that James has secrets.
I must admit that the fleeing from Germany was exciting, as was Madeline’s time at Bletchley and further north, (in ‘Forbes War’ country!) but I found Madeline’s refusal to talk to James about her feelings for him illogical and frustrating.

An Avon ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.

Love and duty in World War II.

I can’t help it! Anything to do with Bletchley Park grabs me. A place of secrets and mystery. The British War machine well and truly in gear. Rosemary Frost’s travails and hurts are put aside as she turns to joining the WRNS (Wrens) as part of her war effort. Only that becomes a bitter disappointment. But she wasn’t forgotten and a friend, John Palmer, had a word in the right ears. Rosie is good at math and speaks Italian. She signs the Secrets Act and ends up at Bletchley Park. Just as she’s becoming comfortable, a new CO, Lieutenant Commander Hugo Garfield turns up. A man she has HISTORY with. Can she push down her feelings, feign the consummate professional, and work with him? A winningly woven novel of spycraft and personal history. Very enjoyable.

An Avon ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.

Summer Secrets at Bletchley Park by Molly Green is the debut of The Bletchley Park Girls. Dulcie “Dale” Treadwell is a reporter who is only allowed to write fluff pieces. With the outbreak of war, she is hoping to be considered for more serious articles. She is in the heart of London when the city goes dark the night war is declared. She meets American broadcaster Glenn Reeves, and it is love at first sight. After a special night together, they make plans to meet the next day. Dale is heartbroken when Glenn fails to show up. She is unaware that he had to leave for Berlin shortly after they parted, and Glenn had no way to contact Dale. After entering a crossword competition, Dale is recruited for Bletchley Park. She signs the Official Secrets Act and begins her work in Hut 6 on the enigma machines. Once Dale gets the hang of the work, she finds it exciting. Dale hopes to get a promotion to a cryptographer after she has proven herself. After returning from visiting her parents in London, Dale is summoned to Commander Travis’ office where she is summarily dismissed. She is not given a chance to explain her side of the story. Is there any way to for Dale to her vital war work? I like Molly Green’s writing style. It is casual (easy going) which makes the story easy to read. The book moved along at a good pace. I thought the author captured the time period and I can tell she did her research into Bletchley Park. I wish there had been more on Bletchley and the work done there. The main focus of the book was romance. I thought the characters were realistic. Their behavior and attitudes suited the era. I liked Eddie who also worked at Bletchley. He is a lively character with a good heart. He becomes good friends with Dale. I actually liked Eddie more than Glenn. The ending was abrupt and felt incomplete. I hope we learn more in the next installment in The Bletchley Park Girls series. Summer Secrets at Bletchley Park (also known as Wartime at Bletchley Park) is an engaging historical novel that sweeps readers back to the start of World War II in England. Summers Secrets at Bletchley Park is on the beam with a first glance romance, a warlord landlord, a serious supervisor, mysterious machines, a missing man, a flirty friend, parent problems, and a perilous problem.

A Sister’s War by Molly Green is the 3rd book in The Victory Sisters. This book can be read as a standalone, but I did enjoy reading the series in order. I thought A Sister’s War was well-written with developed characters. In this book, we get Veronique “Ronnie” Linfoot’s story. She is the youngest of the three Linfoot sisters and she is anxious to do something to aid the war effort. She is not yet seventeen which makes it difficult for her to join a program. Ronnie was turned down for the Land Girls which was her preference. Her mother, Simone was delighted. Simone would prefer that her daughters wear pretty dresses, do embroidery and other ladylike tasks. Unfortunately, Simone has three independent, rebellious daughters. Raine is a pilot with the Air Transport Auxiliary and Suzy is a singer with ENSA. Ronnie sees a newsreel that mentions the canal girls and she sets out to learn more information. Ronnie applies to be boatwoman transporting goods along the Grand Union Canal with the Grand Union Canal Company. We follow Ronnie and five other ladies training with Dora Dummitt who is a harsh taskmaster. The author did her research for this book. I can envision life on the canal in the narrowboats from the author’s descriptions. It sounded like a rough job with long hours. I could not imagine having to open and close the locks along the canal by hand. The cold and wet were relentless. The boats were small with limited room. It was fascinating learning about the canal girls. They transported items needed for the war effort. I was curious after I finished the book and looked up more information about the canal and the boats (transport by boat ended in the late 1970s and the boats are now being used for people to live in). I like that we get to catch up with Ronnie’s sisters, Suzy and Raine. A Sister’s War is a satisfying conclusion to The Victory Sisters trilogy. I enjoyed reading A Sister’s War as well as the other two books in this engaging historical series.

Set during WWII, this novel introduced me to the role of women in the Air Transport Auxiliary who ferried planes to their required destinations in order to free up combat pilots for their duties. This novel is one that had me laughing as the young protagonist, Raine, holds her own against colleagues who initially look down on her. I love Raine's energy and ambition. But she also had me sighing as she negotiates a love triangle she gets caught up in. A very enjoyable read.

A Sister’s Courage by Molly Green has Lorraine “Raine” Linfoot determined to be a pilot from the age of fourteen. In February of 1939, Raine learns that her father is unable to pay for lessons and her mother forbids her from taking them. Raine hangs around the aerodrome in Biggin Hill where she makes the acquaintance of Doug Williams who helps her get a job and teaches her to fly. Raine gets her pilot’s license just before war is declared. When the Air Transport Auxiliary opens their ranks to women, Raine is thrilled to apply. Raine gets accepted and is happy ferrying planes around England. She writes to Doug regularly who is in the RAF and is devastated when his plane goes down. Doug is declared missing presumed dead. Her mother has never accepted Raine’s position as a pilot and will do what she can to get Raine to give up the dangerous and unfeminine occupation. After a time, Raine begins dating Alec Marshall, a pilot. She fears, though, that what happened to Doug could happen to Alec. Life is difficult during the war, but they must push forward if they are to survive and win. A Sister’s Courage is the first book in The Victory Sisters series. Raine, Suzanne and Ronnie Linfoot are three close sisters with a kind, accountant father and a controlling French mother. Raine is an independent, stubborn woman who knows what she wants to do with her life. I enjoyed reading about Raine’s flying experiences before and during the war. I like that the author included Pauline Gower who was a woman ahead of her time. There is some background on Pauline and the ATA included at the beginning of the book in case you are unfamiliar with the pilot or the organization. I thought A Sister’s Courage was easy to read, but the pacing varied. I found the middle of the book to be slow. Raine is a strong female character who desired to be a pilot and did what was needed to achieve her goal. I like that she stood up for herself (most of the time). Raine’s immaturity especially when dealing with her mother went with her young age. Of course, Raine’s mother was a difficult, manipulative woman. The two of them butted heads because they had similar stubborn natures. Simone, the mother, was an unlikeable character (a turn off). I enjoyed the beginning of A Sister’s Courage when it dealt with Raine becoming a pilot and joining the ATA. However, the book then became more of a romance instead of a story about a female pilot in the ATA. I wanted less romance and more high-flying adventures. A Sister’s Courage has a proud pilot, a monster of a mother, romantic relationships, and a wicked war.

Like the old Virginia Slims ads used to say, "You've come a long way, baby" so it can be hard to imagine all of the obstacles that women once faced in following their passions. In some ways, past wars advanced women's opportunities as they were allowed to step into roles that were once the sole purview of men. As men went off to war, women had to do the jobs that were vital to the functioning of their country, jobs that pre-war would never have been available to them. And this opened up fields where they not only excelled but that spoke to their souls. The main character in Molly Field's new novel, A Sister's Courage, always dreamed of flying and WWII made her dream some true.

Lorraine Linfoot, called Raine by everyone but her mother, fell in love with flying when she was 14 after her father allowed her to take a ride in a plane at a flying circus. It was then that she found her passion and there would no longer be any chance that she would join her father's accounting firm although when her family faces a financial reversal, it seems there will be no money for Raine to take flying lessons either. But Raine is determined to learn and she gets a job as a secretary at the local air field, where she can take occasional lessons from a pilot she's met. She and Doug quickly become good friends and she reveres him as an older brother as he introduces her to the joys of flight. When war breaks out and Doug is called up, it looks like Raine's piloting days will be over until she is accepted into the Air Transport Auxiliary, shuttling planes to various bases, freeing up the male pilots to fight in the war. Despite her French mother's strong opposition to her unseemly job, Raine thrives in her new position, the only cloud in her life the knowledge that Doug has been shot down, is missing in action, and presumed dead.

Green does a good job capturing the spirit of the time, drawing on actual ATA experiences for her heroine and even incorporating real historical figure Pauline Gower into Raine's story. It is fascinating to consider the service these pioneering female pilots rendered to the war effort, their amazing skills, and the "normal" lives they lived as they did their jobs. Green does not shy away from the rampant prejudice the women faced or the appalling sexual harassment they were subjected to but she also shows the close relationships these special women developed to each other and with some of the men. Raine is very young during the story but her character is often rude and prickly without reason, which makes the reader not terribly keen on her. She has a terribly contentious relationship with her mother and the reason is only hinted at as stemming from Simone's own experiences in France during the previous war, perhaps being kept secret for a reveal in a later book in this planned trilogy. Raine's feelings about fellow characters undergo some pretty abrupt about faces without much development, from disliking and judging the fellow pilot she's billeted with to inviting her home for Christmas, from her rancorous relationship with fighter pilot Alec Marshall to being deep in love with him. And as fascinating as the historical details are, this is more a love story (a love triangle really) set during WWII rather than a WWII story with a romantic plot line as the focus is more on Raine's building relationship. This makes the book quite light aside from one devastating scene. Future books will presumably center on Raine's two younger sisters and their passions. The plot of this one is straightforward and simple and this is an easy, quick read and will likely appeal to those who enjoy fiction centered on the personal while still grounded in a specific historical moment.½

In Molly Green’s A Sister’s Courage, Lorraine “Raine” Linfoot pursues her dreams of flying, despite the obstacles standing in her way. When war arrives, there are few opportunities for a female pilot, but she has every intention of contributing to the war effort. To make her life a little more complicated, a couple men vie for her affections, and her family encounters a few troubles of its own.

Now, I think I have just read too many great World War II books because to me, A Sister’s Courage failed to deliver the “gripping story” that the blurb promises. The perspective of a female pilot intrigued me, but I quickly found that Raine’s story moves too slowly and with more detail than necessary. Add to that the facts that Raine remains unlikable the whole story, the romance develops inconsistently, and the flying tends to take a backseat to the other drama in her life, and it did not end up being a book I enjoyed or now recommend.

I received a complimentary copy of this book and the opportunity to provide an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, and all the opinions I have expressed are my own.½

Raine Linfoot is the oldest of three sisters living in England as the novel begins in the late 1930s. Her dream had always been to be a pilot ever since her father allowed her to take an airplane ride at a fair when she was younger. With no income and no way to pay for lessons, she felt like her dream wouldn't be realized. Plus her mother was totally opposed to her daughter learning to fly. She liked to watch the planes land at a nearby air strip and met Doug there who offered to teach her to fly and helped her get a job at a local air base. When she first hears about the Women's Air Transport Auxiliary, she knows that this is what she must do with her life. Even though she has less air time than the other applicants, she is accepted into the group and begins her training. In training she is faced not only with learning how to successfully fly different planes but is also faced with extreme prejudice from the male ground crew who feel that women have no business flying. As Raine forms new friendships she becomes a strong woman who has achieved her dream. There is also a lot of romance in this novel - too much for me - as two different men fall in love with Raine and she has to make a choice.

This is the first book in a trilogy about the three sisters. The next book, due to publish in the spring is A Sister's Song.

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.

A Sister’s Courage: An inspiring wartime story of friendship, bravery and love (The Victory Sisters, Book 1) by [Green, Molly]Molly Green wrote and interesting book, A Sister's Courage, about the women who became pilots in the ATA. This is also a historical romance between Raine, the female pilot and Dog and Alec. Doug was Raine's instructor when she was 14 and then during WWII. Alec is a young pilot. This book is filled with information about the ATA and women during the war. It is sweet and enjoying.
I was given this book by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Lana Ashwin has lost her fiance to the war. Though she longs to help with the war effort, she is unable to qualify and she finds herself teaching once again. Two orphans of war catch her attention and as she tries to help them both, she finds love just around the corner.

Lana's heartbreak and feelings at the beginning of the story are exactly as I would imagine them to be. She hates the Germans for killing her fiance. She wants to help the war effort and is reluctant to return the work she'd done before. As first a headmistress of a school and then a teacher in an orphanage, she meets several new friends and children who change her thinking.

There is a bit of a love triangle, which I found tiresome. On the one hand, there is Carl, a German who chose to help the Allies. On the other hand, there is Frank, a light-hearted local vet. Lana develops feelings for them both but goes back and forth on what she thinks of each man.

I found this to be a heartwarming story of World War Two, and I would recommend it to any reader fond of the time period. I received a free copy from NetGalley for reviewing purposes.½