A Sister's Courage (The Victory Sisters #1) by Molly Green
Genre: Historical fiction, WW2
Read: 12th Janury 2020
Purchase: Amazon
(publication date: 28th November 2019)
★★★★★ 5 stars
It's 1939 and the threat of war hangs over Britain. And all Lorraine "Raine" Linfoot wanted to do since her father took her to the flying circus when she was 14 was to be a pilot. But it's a man's world and the general consensus is that women can't fly planes...a view shared by her highly strung French mother.
In the first of what promises to be a heartwarming, feel-good series, A SISTER'S COURAGE is Raine's story...her journey from a young idealistic 14 year old to the woman who defies the odds to follow her dream.
From the moment her father took her to see the Flying Circus in 1936, Raine knew she wanted to be a pilot. To feel the freedom up in the skies, the wind beneath her wings. When at 17, she ventures to Biggins Hill airfield to watch the planes, it's there she meets Doug White and she persuades him to teach her to fly whilst arranging a job for her at the airfield to pay for her lessons. She knew her mother would never agree to her flying and therefore would never pay for the lessons.
When Raine has her first solo flight she can hardly contain the thrill of her emotions. Upon her return home she excitedly shares her news with her family who are all thrilled for her...except her mother. She is mortified and angered that Raine would choose to defy her regardless of her thoughts on the matter.
It isn't long before Raine takes her final test flight and and becomes a fully fledged pilot. However, before she can get her hours up, war is declared and the airfield is closed to civilian use. Biggins Hill now comes under the RAF and her mentor Doug is sent to Fighter Command in the war against Germany.
But before he leaves, he recommends she join the newly formed Air Transport Auxilliary (ATA) who deliver planes throughout the country for the RAF. And they are taking women pilots. But in the meantime, she must bide her time at the airfield as a typist and clerk where she now falls under the command of Flight Lieutenant Fox, a despicable man who sees women as objects for his own amusement. From the start, he rubbed Raine up the wrong way and she refused to let him bully her. So when he calls her into his office citing a letter from the ATA asking for pilots, Raine is thrilled to see her chance to fly. But she is quickly brought back to earth with a resounding thump when Fox tells her that they are looking for "experienced" pilots with an excess of 250 hours. Raine only had 20...and with a war on, no chance to increase her hours in any way.
But Fox had other plans for Raine...and when she refuses his advances and swiftly puts him in his place, he terminates her employment. Fearing the new girl Linda's chances with the sleazy Fox, the two women hatch a plan...which sees Linda obtaining the address for the ATA from the letter asking for pilots.
Raine writes to Pauline Gower who is in charge of the ATA pilots at Hatfield, citing her flying hours and her desire to do her bit for the war effort as a pilot. She hears back with the news that she is not immediately successful as the positions have all been filled, but it isn't long before she receives the news she has been waiting for. After an interview with Ms Gower and a flight test that proved to be somewhat hair-raising, Raine at last obtains her dream job as a pilot for the ATA. And not for want of trying either...for it seems the required minimum of 250 hours for the position was the cruel work of Flight Lieutenant Fox. There had been no minimum flying hours. The ATA were desperate for pilots.
Meanwhile back home, Raine's mother is as furious as expected. To think that her daughter was flying dangerous machines in the air during a war. Her sisters, Suzanne and Ronnie, were thrilled for her as was her father Robert. Even Doug was elated in their exchange of letters. Everyone was happy for her, except her mother. On a visit home, she went to a dance with her sister Suzanne, where she met the most infuriating cocky fly-boy with the greenest eyes she had ever seen. He introduced himself as Alec Marshall. She had seen him once before when she started at Biggins Hill before the war and while he was attractive, he was even more infuriating. Even moreso when he laughed at her.
Back in Hatfield, Raine was living her dream as a pilot ferrying fighter planes to the men on the front line. And although she had only ever flown a Tiger Moth, she was soon flying other planes such as Hurricanes, Spitfires and Typhoons. It was the general consensus amongst the female pilots that the Spitfire was a "woman's plane". It was light and comfortable and truly a dream to fly. And when Raine got her chance to fly her first Spit, she understood exactly what the other women meant. It WAS a woman's plane.
Then Raine receives the devastating news that Doug's plane had been shot down in France and, unless he bailed out before it crashed, he was missing presumed dead. It wasn't long after that she received her last letter from Doug which appeared to be unfinished, and in it he stated his true feelings for her and hoped they could marry upon his return. But suddenly Raine wasn't sure. This man who had seemed so much older than her, more experienced, she'd always looked on as an older brother. She didn't think she loved him in that way.
But when she laid eyes on Alec Marshall again, she knew where her heart lay. But being the stubborn woman that she was, Raine never admitted her true feelings to anyone...for fear of her heart being broken. This war was a cruel war and it was taking so many lives. She didn't know if she could give her heart to another...only to lose it should he be killed.
A SISTER'S COURAGE is a heartwarming story that sees Raine breaking with convention learning to fly and then going on to do a man's job during the toughest of conditions. Wartime was not an easy time. Women were left at home to keep the home fires burning, but many were also given roles they had never had before...in place of the men who were out there fighting. They had to deal with prejudice, convention, family and relationships.
I love historical fiction, with WW2 fiction often a favourite. A SISTER'S COURAGE is no different. It is well written and well portrayed with characters that are relatable and well developed as far as this part of the story goes. As we know, this is the first installment in "The Victory Sisters" series and is Raine's story. The second book I note will be focusing on Raine's sister Suzanne in the appropriately titled "A Sister's Song".
This is my first book my Molly Green and it won't be my last. I thoroughly enjoyed A SISTER'S COURAGE and look forward to "A Sister's Song".
I would like to thank #MollyGreen, #NetGalley and #AvonUK for an ARC of #ASistersCourage in exchange for an honest review.
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