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The Sky Is not Enough
In 1928, Sophie Peirce-Evans marries Sir James Heath. With her new titled status as Lady Heath, she embarks on her most daring a solo flight in a biplane from Cape Town to London.
Already a trailblazer – a world-record athlete, Britain's first woman to parachute from a plane and first to earn a commercial pilot's license – she is determined to prove that women belong in aviation and to showcase the potential of an aviation route from the colonies.
Fiercely independent, Sophie charts her 10,000-mile route using pages from a road atlas, services her own aircraft, and defies every restriction placed on women. But as she soars over the vast continent memories from a traumatic past her mother murdered, her father imprisoned in an Irish asylum, a childhood shaped by repression and loss.
Stricken with sunstroke, crash-landing in the wilderness and nursed by local women, thwarted at every turn by the authorities, and ultimately seeking help from Mussolini, she finally lands in London – heels, furs and all.
Though celebrated, fame cannot free Sophie from her past. She has conquered the skies but not the shadows that follow ...
Already a trailblazer – a world-record athlete, Britain's first woman to parachute from a plane and first to earn a commercial pilot's license – she is determined to prove that women belong in aviation and to showcase the potential of an aviation route from the colonies.
Fiercely independent, Sophie charts her 10,000-mile route using pages from a road atlas, services her own aircraft, and defies every restriction placed on women. But as she soars over the vast continent memories from a traumatic past her mother murdered, her father imprisoned in an Irish asylum, a childhood shaped by repression and loss.
Stricken with sunstroke, crash-landing in the wilderness and nursed by local women, thwarted at every turn by the authorities, and ultimately seeking help from Mussolini, she finally lands in London – heels, furs and all.
Though celebrated, fame cannot free Sophie from her past. She has conquered the skies but not the shadows that follow ...
Audible Audio
Published January 15, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to NetGalley and Bolinda Audio for the ALC.
3 🌟
I read "The Lighthouse Keeper's Wife" by June O'Sullivan and really loved it, so I was excited to see another book by her available. This one, for me, fell slightly short of the mark, though. I enjoyed the premise so much, and really admire Lady Heath's tenacity and courage in a time when women were really not able to do what she did. I thought the book did a good job of bringing her story to life. But, it was hard to ignore her blatant disregard of the sheer privilege it required to be able to pursue her dreams as she did. I have no idea if she was like that in real life, but regardless, that felt like an oversight.
Jacqueline Milne narrates the audiobook. I enjoyed her performance and think she captured the spirit of Sophie beautifully.
Recommended for fans of adventurous historical fiction.
3 🌟
I read "The Lighthouse Keeper's Wife" by June O'Sullivan and really loved it, so I was excited to see another book by her available. This one, for me, fell slightly short of the mark, though. I enjoyed the premise so much, and really admire Lady Heath's tenacity and courage in a time when women were really not able to do what she did. I thought the book did a good job of bringing her story to life. But, it was hard to ignore her blatant disregard of the sheer privilege it required to be able to pursue her dreams as she did. I have no idea if she was like that in real life, but regardless, that felt like an oversight.
Jacqueline Milne narrates the audiobook. I enjoyed her performance and think she captured the spirit of Sophie beautifully.
Recommended for fans of adventurous historical fiction.
Review of advance copy
3.5 – 4 Stars (rounding up)
The Sky is Not Enough is a fictionalized story about Sophie Catherine Theresa Mary Peirce-Evans (1896-1939), and her ambitious and significant pursuit of a career as a professional pilot. The novel celebrates strong women and sheds light on the obstacles they had to overcome in the 1920s and beyond to achieve non-conventional goals.
I thoroughly enjoyed Lady Heath’s complex character, and I do not disagree with another reader who found her sense of entitlement to be vaguely annoying. On the other hand, especially at that time in history, if a woman wanted to do ANYTHING beyond her parents’ (father’s) expectations, she certainly came closer to fulfilling her dreams if she believed she was entitled to them.
She might also seem abrasive to some readers because women were expected to be *nice* even when they were professionally successful. Sophie tried hard to play by those societal rules, and was especially unwilling to risk appearing the least bit similar to her father who was imprisoned for violent, insane cruelty. She, like many of us perhaps, struggles with her interiority; that internal monologue is one of the loudest voices in the book and adds dimension to her actions.
Lady Heath’s perseverance is surpassed only by the ambition and intelligence she demonstrates to realize her goals. She is not only capable and skilled; she is capable and skilled in what was then strictly a man’s profession. Any female of our time who has choices and opportunities owes some measure of thanks to predecessors such as Lady Heath and Amelia Earhart and hundreds of other women who elbowed their way through life to work as they wished. O’Sullivan draws a rich, detailed and believable portrait of her main character, warts and all, and I very much wanted her to succeed.
I found the author’s writing to be fluid, descriptive and generally compelling, She clearly did thorough research to provide the actual historical and geographical context, giving even more drama to the heroine’s achievements. Unfortunately, some of the other characters are not as fully developed, and I saw many of them as flat and even cartoonish, but maybe that was Ms. O’Sullivan’s intention. Many of the men that Lady Heath was forced to deal with were apparently exactly that interesting! I would’ve liked to see more of her female friendships, and wanted her to at least enjoy some level of companionship with Sir James.
This novel compelled me to do more reading on Lady Heath, and I am so glad to have learned about her. Congratulations to Ms. O’Sullivan for the new book!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this honest review voluntarily.
The Sky is Not Enough is a fictionalized story about Sophie Catherine Theresa Mary Peirce-Evans (1896-1939), and her ambitious and significant pursuit of a career as a professional pilot. The novel celebrates strong women and sheds light on the obstacles they had to overcome in the 1920s and beyond to achieve non-conventional goals.
I thoroughly enjoyed Lady Heath’s complex character, and I do not disagree with another reader who found her sense of entitlement to be vaguely annoying. On the other hand, especially at that time in history, if a woman wanted to do ANYTHING beyond her parents’ (father’s) expectations, she certainly came closer to fulfilling her dreams if she believed she was entitled to them.
She might also seem abrasive to some readers because women were expected to be *nice* even when they were professionally successful. Sophie tried hard to play by those societal rules, and was especially unwilling to risk appearing the least bit similar to her father who was imprisoned for violent, insane cruelty. She, like many of us perhaps, struggles with her interiority; that internal monologue is one of the loudest voices in the book and adds dimension to her actions.
Lady Heath’s perseverance is surpassed only by the ambition and intelligence she demonstrates to realize her goals. She is not only capable and skilled; she is capable and skilled in what was then strictly a man’s profession. Any female of our time who has choices and opportunities owes some measure of thanks to predecessors such as Lady Heath and Amelia Earhart and hundreds of other women who elbowed their way through life to work as they wished. O’Sullivan draws a rich, detailed and believable portrait of her main character, warts and all, and I very much wanted her to succeed.
I found the author’s writing to be fluid, descriptive and generally compelling, She clearly did thorough research to provide the actual historical and geographical context, giving even more drama to the heroine’s achievements. Unfortunately, some of the other characters are not as fully developed, and I saw many of them as flat and even cartoonish, but maybe that was Ms. O’Sullivan’s intention. Many of the men that Lady Heath was forced to deal with were apparently exactly that interesting! I would’ve liked to see more of her female friendships, and wanted her to at least enjoy some level of companionship with Sir James.
This novel compelled me to do more reading on Lady Heath, and I am so glad to have learned about her. Congratulations to Ms. O’Sullivan for the new book!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this honest review voluntarily.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I listened to the audiobook of The Sky Is Not Enough, and I’ve always been fascinated by fiction rooted in true lives, especially when it reimagines women whose achievements have been overlooked or diminished by history. Inspired by the life of pioneering aviator Lady Mary Heath, this immediately appealed to me. Listening to it also stirred a familiar frustration — that low-level anger at the inequalities women face when trying to succeed in a man’s world.
The sections focused on flight are vivid and atmospheric, and they translate well to audio: you really feel the danger, isolation and determination required to keep going. The constant obstacles Sophie faces — scepticism, dismissal and structural barriers — are infuriating in ways that feel historically true, and these moments are among the novel’s strongest.
The rivalry with Mary Bailey adds an interesting layer, but for me it never quite captured the full sense of injustice it might have. While the competition is clearly meant to highlight how women were pitted against one another in a male-dominated arena, I didn’t always feel the emotional weight or unfairness of that dynamic as strongly as I expected, and it occasionally felt more like background tension than a driving force.
As a whole, though, I admired the book’s ambition while finding the execution uneven. The pacing falters in places: some sections linger too long in Sophie’s inner turmoil, while other moments — particularly those that might have benefited from richer historical texture — feel rushed or underdeveloped. I sometimes wanted more immersion in the broader historical world, rather than being pulled back so frequently into introspection.
Emotionally, I was engaged but not fully absorbed. Sophie is a compelling and resilient figure, but her inner life didn’t always resonate as deeply as I’d hoped. There were moments that should have felt devastating or triumphant that instead passed without quite landing their emotional punch.
Overall, this is a solid and worthwhile listen. O’Sullivan writes with confidence, and the story of a woman pushing against the limits imposed on her — by society, by trauma and by her own body — is undeniably powerful. I’m glad I listened to it, even if it didn’t quite reach the heights I was hoping for.
Recommended for listeners who enjoy historical fiction about real trailblazers and are prepared for a thoughtful, sometimes frustrating reflection on gender inequality rather than a purely exhilarating adventure.
Many thanks to Bolinda Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to review the ARC for an honest review
The sections focused on flight are vivid and atmospheric, and they translate well to audio: you really feel the danger, isolation and determination required to keep going. The constant obstacles Sophie faces — scepticism, dismissal and structural barriers — are infuriating in ways that feel historically true, and these moments are among the novel’s strongest.
The rivalry with Mary Bailey adds an interesting layer, but for me it never quite captured the full sense of injustice it might have. While the competition is clearly meant to highlight how women were pitted against one another in a male-dominated arena, I didn’t always feel the emotional weight or unfairness of that dynamic as strongly as I expected, and it occasionally felt more like background tension than a driving force.
As a whole, though, I admired the book’s ambition while finding the execution uneven. The pacing falters in places: some sections linger too long in Sophie’s inner turmoil, while other moments — particularly those that might have benefited from richer historical texture — feel rushed or underdeveloped. I sometimes wanted more immersion in the broader historical world, rather than being pulled back so frequently into introspection.
Emotionally, I was engaged but not fully absorbed. Sophie is a compelling and resilient figure, but her inner life didn’t always resonate as deeply as I’d hoped. There were moments that should have felt devastating or triumphant that instead passed without quite landing their emotional punch.
Overall, this is a solid and worthwhile listen. O’Sullivan writes with confidence, and the story of a woman pushing against the limits imposed on her — by society, by trauma and by her own body — is undeniably powerful. I’m glad I listened to it, even if it didn’t quite reach the heights I was hoping for.
Recommended for listeners who enjoy historical fiction about real trailblazers and are prepared for a thoughtful, sometimes frustrating reflection on gender inequality rather than a purely exhilarating adventure.
Many thanks to Bolinda Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to review the ARC for an honest review
March 4, 2026
This story is about a lady Mary Heath, also known as Sophie Pierce Evan’s. She was from Limerick and had a tough childhood, with both parents out of the picture and being raised by her grandfather. The story follows a section of her life and we get snoop of her childhood and past. The author wanted to focus on her triumph of this time. I had never heard of Lady Mary Heath before I read this book, and I am glad I picked it up.
We learn that she was rebellious and a trail blazer for women at this time. She was very interested in aviation after getting her formal education, and she became an entertainer in the skies, but she wanted more. In the story we learn of her journey to fly solo and trying to get people to find her trips, including one of her marriages.
l found it a very interesting read.
We learn that she was rebellious and a trail blazer for women at this time. She was very interested in aviation after getting her formal education, and she became an entertainer in the skies, but she wanted more. In the story we learn of her journey to fly solo and trying to get people to find her trips, including one of her marriages.
l found it a very interesting read.
February 15, 2026
I received an advance copy from Book Sirens.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. I love learning about women who do things no one else has done! Lady Heath was unconventional and unapologetic for her dreams.
The flashbacks felt out of place and not always complete. This made it harder to be completely immersed in the story.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. I love learning about women who do things no one else has done! Lady Heath was unconventional and unapologetic for her dreams.
The flashbacks felt out of place and not always complete. This made it harder to be completely immersed in the story.
January 24, 2026
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Congratulations to the author June O’Sullivan on her second book. I never knew about the Irish woman Sophie Elliott Lynn - Lady Heath the Aviator. Definitely worth reading about her journey through Africa to London.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews