The Flight Girls: A Novel – A Gripping WWII Tale of Fearless Women and Forbidden Love

Good book if you’re looking for a Nicolas Sparks’ type novel. If you want to read & learn more about the true extent of the WASP service during the war and ill treatment/insulting compensation afterwards — you won’t find it here.

Historical romance that doesn't have too much of real action unless you count a strange flirtation which leads to a date which leads to a marriage proposal. I know, you asking me, what?! Yes, The protagonist Audrey Coltrane fell for Lt James Hart. They met in Hawaii during the WW2. She's a trainer to the military pilots. Then the attack on Pearl Harbor happened and everyone is scattered and some friends and colleagues are killed. They plan to stay in touch but Lt James Hart isn't the best at writing to Audrey. She then goes back home and yearns to buy an airport farm. That's not immediate so she joins the women's airfare service pilots program and she meets 2 of her closest friends. She then meets Officer Carter Wilson. He's gorgeous and all the ladies (especially the nasty Ms. Hildi) pine for him. He's the rock star to them. The ladies are all Flight Girls where they train and then fly planes from one place to drop off the plane and take another plane to fly it over to the next destination.

Officer Wilson has his eye on Audrey and after they finally go on 1 date and they kiss, the wants to marry Audrey and move to Seattle. They will have kids (but she doesn't want any...she'll learn he feels) and thought over time, the officer will always get what he wants. Ummm, nobody told Audrey that and she later says "no." Officer Wilson exclaims, but Lt. Hart never said "He loves you," but Audrey's heart isn't in it with Wilson. Audrey feels while Hart may not write often to her, she has more than friendship in her heart for him. Towards more than 3/4 of the way into the book, Lt. Hart goes missing with his plane. Cue the shocking music because this is when it starts to get potentially interesting. Audrey goes to France in search of all hospitals, make shift hospitals to look for him. Will she find him there? No. She comes back to her airport farm that has a hotel on the land and is heart broken. She's doing something and her back is turned. Suddenly, she smells the cologne of .... I'm not going to tell you. For the answer, you'll have to read it. ;-) Okay, okay, I'll say this much, hearts and smiles abound at the end of the book. It's a very soft read and I was hoping it had a much better plot and more action. Hence, I gave it a solid 3. It's a 2 1/2 but I'm a romantic so 3 stars.

"Little Bird, never stop using those wings! They're stronger and more beautiful than you know! ~Lt James Hart to Audrey Coltrane in The Flight Girls

I love the historical references to Pearl Harbor and WW2. This played out in my head like the Pearl Harbor movie (not the same story, but great imagery). You're invested in the real world battle of female pilots being accepted by the military, but at the same time you're holding on to hope for her romantic happy ending.