The Flight Girls

by Noelle Salazar

A stunning story about the Women Airforce Service Pilots whose courage during World War II turned ordinary women into extraordinary heroes

1941. Audrey Coltrane has always wanted to fly. It's why she implored her father to teach her at the little airfield back home in Texas. It's why she signed up to train military pilots in Hawaii when the war in Europe began. And it's why she insists she is not interested in any dream-derailing romantic involvements, even with the disarming Lieutenant James Hart, who fast becomes a friend as treasured as the women she flies with. Then one fateful day, she gets caught in the air over Pearl Harbor just as the bombs begin to fall, and suddenly, nowhere feels safe.

To make everything she's lost count for something, Audrey joins the Women Airforce Service Pilots program. The bonds she forms with her fellow pilots reignite a spark of hope in the face war, and--when James goes missing in action--give Audrey the strength to cross the front lines and fight not only for her country, but for the love she holds so dear.

Shining a light on a little-known piece of history, The Flight Girls is a sweeping portrayal of women's fearlessness, love, and the power of friendship to make us soar.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, World War II, Romance, Book Club, Historical, Audiobook

384 pages, Paperback

First published July 2, 2019

About the author

Noelle Salazar is the USA Today bestselling author of historical fiction novels The Flight Girls, Angels of the Resistance, The Roaring Days of Zora Lily, and The Lies We Leave Behind. Her debut romcom, The Meet-Poop, about a famous fashion model and the messy meet-cute she has with a well-known author, is available now.


Noelle resides in the PNW with her two children, a teetering TBR stack, and one semi-feral cat.

Reviews

[Norma ~ The Sisters · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating, touching & entertaining!

THE FLIGHT GIRLS by NOELLE SALAZAR is an enlightening, powerful and emotionally compelling historical fiction novel that has us following along fictionalized character, Audrey Coltrane and her involvement in the WASP program (Women Airforce Service Pilots) during World War II.

NOELLE SALAZAR delivers an excellent, heartfelt, intriguing and well-written read here with wonderful, relatable, and well developed characters. The story is told from the first person perspective of our main character, Audrey Coltrane and I absolutely loved her voice. She definitely captured my attention and my heart as well as the other WASP women. The bond that these women shared was absolutely beautiful and I absolutely loved and admired how courageous and brave they were.

At times I felt that this storyline was simplified and rushed a little bit though because there was this strong romantic theme that I wasn't really expecting and sort of took away from the main historical story for me. In the end though I was able to put all my concerns aside and had me rooting for a happy ending for Audrey and James.

Norma’s Stats:
Cover: My ARC didn’t come with the actual cover design so I feel that I am unable to actually voice how I feel about it. Although I think the actual book cover is quite beautiful.
Title: I absolutely love how intriguing and enticing that title is and think it’s a fantastic representation to storyline.
Writing/Prose: Well-written, entertaining, engaging, readable, and compelling.
Plot: Engrossing, heartfelt, interesting, steadily-paced, and entertaining.
Ending: A touching and happy ending that left me feeling satisfied.
Overall: 3.5 Stars! The role that these brave female pilots played was absolutely extraordinary and made this quite the captivating and irresistible page-turner. Would recommend!

Thank you so much to Eden at Harlequin Trade Publishing / Mira Books and Noelle Salazar for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book. It was an absolute pleasure reading this historical fiction novel!

[Brenda ~The Sisters~Book Witch · Rating 4 out of 5]

We had the honour of Noelle Salazar joining us in the Behind the Pages group for a Q & A. She shared some amazing insight to The Flights Girls. To find out more about The Flight Girls you can find the group here

https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

The Flight Girls makes for an inspiring, lighter historical fiction that explores the dynamics between the characters rather than the historical events to the story. The story focuses on one women’s strength and will to follow her passion here with our well developed main character Audrey Coltrane. Her passion leads her to join the relatively unknown, Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) during WWII.

Noelle Salazar does a great job here dramatizing the camaraderie as she explores the compelling friendships between the women of the WASP. She adds some romance here as well for Audrey that added a bit more drama than I would have liked. I love stories that focus on the strong women of WWII and Noelle Salazar sure delivers here with these women who each have joined the WASP for their own reasons. I enjoyed the dynamics here and the connections formed between the women and were drawn into their world. I could feel the emotional depth of the story here with the women’s strength and fears as a team as well as Audrey’s own emotions. I could visualize what it might have been like for the real strong and courageous pilots. I highly recommend for a lighter historical fiction that is inspired by the real women pilots.

Thank you so much to Eden at Harlequin Trade Publishing / Mira Books and Noelle Salazar for gifting me a copy of this book.

This was a Sister read with Norma and Lindsay. For more reviews from us "The Traveling Sisters Three" for this title can be found on our blog
https://twosisterslostinacoulee.com/2...

[Lindsay L · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars!

Adventurous, heart wrenching and inspiring!

Audrey Coltrane is a young female pilot whose passion for flying started when she was a child. When the war begins, she signs up to train military pilots knowing she is helping her country prepare for what may come. Facing constant criticism and stereotyping, she is proud of her career and the adventures she gets to take while doing something she loves. This story is inspired by the real team of female pilots who trained soldiers in WWII.

I loved Audrey’s character! She was intriguing and heart warming; her immense bravery was shocking and inspiring. Though I found her journey to be predictable at times, it kept me engrossed and interested throughout. The writing flowed beautifully and was well paced. There is a strong romance theme underlying the main wartime story which I found a tad much at times, but in the end I was rooting for the lovely couple.

This was an excellent debut from Noelle Salazar and I look forward to what she writes next! This was a Traveling Sister read with Brenda and Norma which we all enjoyed. To find our reviews, please visit our blog at:

https://twosisterslostinacoulee.com/2...

Thank you to HarperCollins for sending me an ARC to read and review!

[Jacqueline Simonds · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked up an ARC of this book at my job in a bookstore. After 100 pages, I declared a book divorce. Yes, it's that bad.

First, let's talk about the fact this book is so poorly edited, it made me, a former editor, nearly cry. No, I didn't find piles of typos. I found piles of anachronisms for a book about 1941 - 45.
~Referring to women as "Ms." - the term was not in broad popular use until 1968.
~A male character keeps bumping his head against the "headrest" of a Jeep. They barely had seats back then, let alone headrests.
~Women wear "Victory Rolls" (big curls in their hair) before Pearl Harbor (after was OK).
~Asserts that people "watched the horrors of Pearl Harbor on television" and I can't even begin to slam this statement hard enough.
~Numerous statements that the MC's mother was against her flying, then states she encourages her to fly.
~spends almost 2 full pages describing an apartment we'll never see again, but only about 3 graphs on the devastation at Pearl Harbor.

This is lazy, poorly researched, poorly executed "historical fiction" that does the writer no favors, nor the entire genre of "women's fiction." It has a nifty premise and should have been a good read, even if the "we'll just be friends even though we're madly attracted to each other" premise is pretty silly.

Do I sound angry? I read a lot of independent authors' work that runs rings around this book that the indies can't even get anyone to look at. And then dreck like this gets put out. It makes me tired.

[Jennifer ~ TarHeelReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve said it before: the stories from WWII are endless, as are the numbers of people impacted. I never tire of these stories, and The Flight Girls is indeed a special one. ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Have you heard of the Women Airforce Service Pilots from World War II?

In 1941, Audrey Coltrane loves to fly. Her father taught her back home in Texas. She signs up to train military pilots in Hawaii as the war is starting.

She’s also not interested in romance because she’s focused on her career, but she forms a strong friendship with Lieutenant James Hart.

Audrey is in the air when Pearl Harbor is bombed. This spurs her to join the Women Airforce Service Pilots program. When James is missing, Audrey is fighting for her country and also for James.

Oh my, strong women! I was so inspired by Audrey’s story and that of the women beside her. I adored Audrey, and I loved her relationships with all the other women. The bond was solid, and they looked out for each other as those in the military do.

I breezed right through The Flight Girls. It’s written smoothly and evokes every emotion. There is a romance here, but at the center of the story is these formidable women and what they did to protect our country. A beautifully written, well-told story.

I received a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

My reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com

[Katie B · Rating 4 out of 5]

As soon as I saw the cover, I knew I had to read this book. I keep saying I need to lay off the World War 2 historical fiction for awhile, but the chance to learn a bit about the WASPs (Women Airforce Service Pilots) was an opportunity I couldn't pass up.

Audrey Coltrane loves to fly planes and it's her dream to one day own an airfield back home in Texas. It's 1941 and she is saving up money while training military pilots in Hawaii. With that one goal taking up all of her focus, she doesn't care to be anything more than friends with the handsome and charming Lieutenant James Hart. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Audrey joins the Women Airforce Service Pilots. This is a story about friendship, love, loss, determination, and courage.

I'm so pleased the author chose to write about the WASPs as it helps with giving the women the recognition they deserve for the contributions to the war effort. While the characters in the book are fictional, I do think the author captured the spirit of the women and what they endured as participants in the program. I thought there was a nice balance of historical facts about the program and a solid fictional story about a woman determined to set her own path in life. I highly recommend reading the Author's Note at the end as it provides good context for her writing process. To me the sign of a good historical fiction book is after I'm done reading I'm motivated to learn even more about the topic which was the case here.

Audrey was an easy character to root for even though she suffered from Irresistible Woman syndrome. She seemed to cast a spell over men but it didn't annoy me that much because she had a lot of good qualities including intelligence and confidence. I loved the camaraderie among the women and how they did tend to look after one another.

This is a pretty quick read even though it's 350+ pages. There are some good emotional moments throughout the story and I recommend this one for fans of World War 2 historical fiction and/or books that feature strong female characters. Romance is certainly a part of the story but not the only thing going on so I think this book will appeal to many different readers.

I received a free advance copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Kerrin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Flight Girls by Noelle Salazar wasn’t at all what I thought it would be when I purchased it as an Audible Daily Deal last year. From the cover, I was expecting a story about three (3) Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) in World War II. Instead, it was more often a romance story told in the first person by a female pilot named Audrey Coltrane.

After I started listening to it, I was taken aback by some historical inaccuracies in the first of the novel. Audrey, who is from Dallas, Texas becomes a pilot instructor at Pearl Harbor. Prior to the December 7, 1941 attack, she talks about going swimming at Lake Grapevine. Since I happen to live near Lake Grapevine, I know the lake wasn’t formed until the 1950s. Audrey also talks about people watching the attack on Pearl Harbor on their televisions. Televisions weren’t common in American homes at that time. With these mistakes, I didn’t know whether or not to believe Salazar’s history of the WASP program. I decided to trust that she had done a better research job on that topic and continued listening.

Audrey is from a wealthy Dallas family who wants nothing more than to buy a small airstrip and fly planes. She has no intention of getting married or having children. While she is training pilots in Hawaii, she learns a great deal about military aircraft. She shares a house with three other female trainers and they become very close. She also befriends the handsome Lieutenant James Hart, who too has no plans to marry. After they leave Hawaii, James and Audrey promise to continue their correspondence.

While James is fighting overseas, Audrey joins the WASP program. In her training at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas, Audrey goes through a rigorous program and makes more endearing friends with the other female pilots. Soon, the letters from James become few and far between. Audrey catches the eye of the most handsome instructor and must decide if she really does feel more for James than friendship.

The romance portion of the book was not nearly as interesting to me as the female camaraderie, flight training, and the dangerous jobs they were doing. The novel did a good job of showing the discrimination against the female pilots by not only the male pilots but from the Army in general. It also did a good job of showing how the war affected not only the soldiers but those who were left at home.

3 plus stars. I would have given it 4-stars if there weren’t the previously mentioned inaccuracies. This debut novel was published on July 2, 2019. The Audible version is 10 hours and 21 minutes. The print length is 328 pages.

[Reading Cat · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am so tired of mediocre fiction aimed at women. I had such high hopes for this novel, since it was so popular, and now I'm left just thinking y'all are insane.

Audrey, the protagonist, is a bland and thin as paper heroine. She is phenomenally rich and talented and privileged and beautiful and blonde, and did we mention beautiful? And every man, literally EVERY MAN, in the novel is in love with her.

In fandom, we call this a Mary Sue.

She has so many female friends you lose track of them, especially because there's literally NOTHING distinguishing them. Except when the author body shames the one girl who has big boobs as being kinda slutty. That was...not cool. And of course there's the one irrationally jealous girl who tries to get her into trouble because of a man. I mean, this is high school, except with planes.

The author does not know how to write a coherent timeline. We get weird info dumps about people, at first, but then as the novel goes on, she does a kind of retroactive "oh yeah" info dump later on, like this guy in the last few pages, Rooney? You have no idea who he is, but OH YEAH she met him her first day. OH YEAH she spent the first few days after Pearl Harbor stomping around mad. (Despite the fact we saw her after Pearl Harbor and that was the exact opposite of what she was doing). Weeks slide by and we're still somehow the next day. It's weird.

The thing is, the bones of the story aren't bad. Well written, this book would have been my guilty pleasure I rolled myself into combining escapism, adventure, romance and a wee touch of history. Instead, I found the protagonist completely boring. I don't find her dislikeable, but I don't get why she's like instantaneously liked by everyone.

I did the basic math and she would have grown up during the Depression, the Dust Bowl, Prohibition, the like. These are things you think she'd remember, things that would have shaped her. Or at least, shaped her parents, and how they raised her.

You would think wrong. Salazar apparently didn't do much research into history beyond what songs and movies were around 1941. She doesn't seem to understand, even, women's underclothes or laundry. She thinks--hilariously--you could wear Victory Rolls in a flight helmet!!!

Audrey's parents are, like most characters, inconsistent. At the beginning, we think her mother's a bit of a controlling bitch, trying to force her daughter into a life she doesn't want. We. Uh. We never see that. In fact, when she does talk to her mother, her mother's basically a piggy bank of money and advice. Where did that all go?????

The worst, though, is that NOTHING HAPPENS TO HER. Literally nothing. This is something I've seen happen in women's fiction a lot--the bad things happen to their friends, their lovers, their family members--basically the bad stuff happens so the protagonist can feel angsty without any real long term consequences. She suffers not even a tiny mishap in the air (not even one she heroically saves herself from!).

In the end, it's another antifeminist novel shoved at women to tell them, that NO. They DON'T want adventure. They want men. And babies. And families. And a bit of a career on the side, if possible. But definitely men and babies. How. Liberating. :/

[Sara Ackerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Flight Girls captivated me from the first page and never let go. Salazar’s writing is lively and fresh, as we ride shotgun with a cast of memorable characters, an epic love story, and a powerful tale of courage and sacrifice by the Women Airforce Service Pilots during
WWII. A spectacular first novel.

I was lucky and got an advance copy!

[Jenna Bookish · Rating 3 out of 5]

My thanks to NetGalley and MIRA for sending me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and are not influenced by the publisher.



I’ll start this out by freely admitting that I seem to be in the minority opinion on this one. I read a lot of rave reviews and went in with super high hopes, ready for a WWII story with a lot of substance and a strong, interesting female protagonist. What I got felt more… fluffy romance set against a dark backdrop.

The book definitely plays lip service to the idea of a strong female lead, but it doesn’t really feel like it goes beyond that. Audrey is not like other girls because she likes to fly planes and doesn’t want to get married and have babies. The only reason she doesn’t want to get married and have babies, by the way, seems to be because it’d be nearly impossible to find a husband who would “allow” her to keep flying. I think this really gets at the heart of my issue with Audrey: that her love of flight really felt like her singular defining character trait. She never starting feeling like a person to me. I love that she had an unconventional passion for a woman of the time, but that’s not enough on its own to make her an interesting character.

Another reviewer on Goodreads also pointed out some anachronisms in the novel. This truly isn’t something that bothers me as a reader (barring something ridiculous like if Audrey were to suddenly pull out a flip phone) but for readers who are super into the accuracy of their history, it’s bound to ruffle some feathers.

The romance, while it took up a bigger part of the story than I would have liked, was fine. I liked that Audrey found someone who shared her passion and there seemed to be a huge amount of respect between the two of them, especially considering the normal power dynamics of a relationship in the time period. This felt healthy and sweet, if a bit predictable (although what romance isn’t?) My only real qualm with the romance aspect of the book was that I’m not a huge fan of the basic concept of the story, which was: “girl who adamantly never wants to get married discovers she just hasn’t met the right man yet!” I think The Flight Girls will appeal to romance fans far more than historical fiction fans, which seems odd given the premise and marketing of the book.

The Flight Girls is a story with a lot of potential that, while it missed the mark for me personally, seems to be a huge hit with a lot of readers. Pick this up if you’re in the mood a light read, but don’t expect hard-hitting historical fiction that makes you think. This is Noelle Salazar’s debut novel, and I do think she has tons of potential. I’m excited to see what she writes next!

You can read all of my reviews on my blog, Jenna Bookish!
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[Lisa Nelms · Rating 1 out of 5]

I bought this book in Costco without checking it out first, because it was about the Woman’s Air Force Service Pilots during WWII. My mother was raised in Sweetwater where these women were trained. I heard stories about how these brave women piloted planes to the perimeters of battle zones. Even though women were not allowed to serve in combat zones then, the WASPs did their jobs at great risk. Thirty-eight WASPs were killed in the line of duty. I thought maybe this book would give them the credit that was long past due.

Instead, I felt like I was reading a poorly written romance novel. The author turned these brave women into silly girls with the maturity of eight graders.

The protagonist grew up in a neighborhood that did not exist until the post war era. She swam in a lake that was not created until the mid-fifties. She lived in a ranch style house that did not become popular until after the war. An easy Google search, or a talk with an old Dallas resident, could have helped correct these blatant inaccuracies. She even mentions people watching the bombing of Pearl Harbor on their TV’s!

I could not stand reading this, so I stopped after part 1. It only made me mad. I usually give my books away but this is going straight in the trash because of the disgraceful way these strong women have been portrayed.

[Maren’s Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot express in words how much I loved this book. I’d previously read Noelle Salazar’s sophomore novel Angels of the Resistance and heard this was also excellent. And in fact, this has quickly become my favorite of her novels.

The story of early members of the WASP (Women’s Air Force Service Program developed during WWII) this novel really helps to illustrate the significant role women played in helping to develop our strong military here at home, with little to no recognition. Found family and an all-powerful love are also heavily featured in this story and helped me really connect with the characters and their story.

[DeAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 soaring stars

I really enjoyed this historical fiction tale of women pilots in WWII. The story centers around Audrey, a Texas woman who has been flying since she was a young girl. She ends up training pilots for WWII and then ferrying airplanes across the country. There was interesting military history regarding these women who were not considered “official Army” mostly because they were women! Of course, they were not always treated the best by men around them, but they had great flying skills!

This one is more character driven with sweeping romances and great friendships forged by these women. Audrey wants to buy her own airfield more than anything, so she hasn’t been very interested in men until she meets handsome James Hart. Like so many WWII tales, I rooted for them to have a happy-ever-after the war story. These women pilots bonded as they roomed together and shared the risks of their war efforts.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one and found it fascinating to learn more about another part of the WWII effort.

It was really fun to take part in a Q&A with author Noelle Salazar in the Behind the Pages group. I have found this makes the reading experience even richer for me.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew when I read the synopsis for The Flight Girls that I would enjoy this book immensely, and I wasn't wrong. My husband is an Air Force veteran with a private pilots license, so it's safe to say that I've spent plenty of my time in and around lots of planes over the past 25 years, either as a passenger or watching them from the ground. There's something magical about flying, and Noelle Salazar manages to perfectly capture that in her debut novel even amidst the most harrowing of times―WWII.

Audrey Coltrane has always known exactly what she wants: to fly planes and eventually own her own air hanger, not be tied down with a husband and children like her mother expects. When the Army begins hiring women pilots to train new male recruits how to fly, she immediately takes the job and heads to Pearl Harbor. There she makes friends, especially with Lt. James Hart, one of the few people to understands her dreams. It's also where she's caught up in the fateful attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, while up in the sky.

Audrey's brave spirit continues to persevere through the war as she joins the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), women trained by the army to ferry planes from one military base to another and test new and repaired aircraft before it was sent overseas, all without the benefits of militarization.

Salazar's novel is immediately fascinating, her writing crisp, and the characters unforgettable, some heartbreakingly so. It's particularly apparent when reading the descriptions of the training Audrey and the other women in the program went through, their day to day lives, the hard realities of the program, the male-dominated environment, the accidents, the deaths that Salazar meticulously researched the WASP program and the histories of real-life WASP women because the novel has such a realistic feel within every description.

What I loved most about this novel is the depictions of the relationships between the women in the program. Except for their love of flying, they couldn't have been any more different, yet they bonded and became such wonderful friends. Salazar captured such distinctive personalities and clearly showed how these women were breaking the glass ceiling for the generations of women to follow them.

I've read many, many books about WWII but never one about the WASP women. Their courage, sacrifice, and heroism during WWII were spectacular and Salazar has written an excellent first novel depicting those attributes. It's also a love story and an epic one too. The Flight Girls is an emotionally compelling debut (yes, I cried), and I look forward to Salazar's next novel!

**Thank you MIRA-Harlequin Publishers for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own.**

[Emily (em.is.all.booked) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy 5 Stars. I daresay this will be one of my favorite books of the year. This book follows the fictional Audrey Coltrane before, during, and after her time as a WASP during WWII. The WASP program (Women Airforce Service Pilots) did jobs like ferrying military planes between bases, trained the men entering the airforce and tested both new and repaired planes before they were shipped back overseas, all without the protection of military status.

While the book does have a fair bit of romance, the most compelling relationships were the ones Audrey grew with the other women in her program. The portrayal of these women was so well rounded, each one we met had a distinct personality. I loved that the author showed all types of women in the book: ones that were "feminine", ones that were "tomboys", mean girls, engaged girls, and women who never want to be married. A woman who spent hours on her hair and makeup could still fly circles around the men, and a woman who never wanted kids wasn't suddenly swayed from her choice by a pretty face. Overall this was an excellent debut and I can't wait to see what comes next!

[Karren Sandercock · Rating 4 out of 5]

When the US military advertises it's need for experienced pilots to train young male pilots in Hawaii, Audrey's Coltrane's father encourages her to apply and soon she's working in beautiful Hawaii. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her new friends, swimming, going to beach parties, drinking cocktails and she loves living on the beautiful island.
Audrey has always wanted to teach others to fly, her plan is to one day own her own air field and her experience working in Hawaii teaching flying might help her achieve her dream?

On the 7th of December 1941 Pearl Harbor is attacked and bombed by the Japanese forces.
Audrey at the time is giving a young pilot a flying lesson, she manages to land the plane while under enemy fire and they escape unhurt.
Nothing can prepare Audrey for what happens after she lands her plane, what once was paradise has been destroyed, damaged or on fire. During this time a fellow pilot Lieutenant James Hart comes to her aid, he provides her with somewhere to live and they try to find out what happened to her friends?
In the past, both Audrey and James have avoided romantic relationships, despite the obvious attraction between them they decide to be good friends. Audrey leaves Hawaii, she returns to Texas, she promises to keep in touch with James and they start writing letters to each other.
Audrey returns home, after a few months she grows restless, she want's to help her country and America is now involved in WW II.
Audrey decides to join the WASP, women pilots are needed to transport planes to and from different military bases around the US, they also test new planes before there sent to England and used in combat.
The women who join the WASP, start a rigorous training program, they need be physically fit, pass written exams, and while in training they discover how dangerous their job will be!
I really enjoyed reading about Audrey and her friends experiences during training and the strong bond formed between the women.
Once she graduates Audrey is sent to Fort Sam Huston, here she again experiences prejudice from men as they assume a woman can't fly a big plane and she's working in very a dangerous conditions.
Audrey continues to write to James, but she's very concerned by his letters, the war has changed him and in his last letter it's almost like he's saying goodbye to her? Will she ever see or hear from James again, she starts to really think about their relationship and are they just friends?
Audrey and her fellow pilots work long hours, the war takes it's toll, both physically and mentally. I shed quite a few tears, when one of Audrey's friend's is involved in a tragic flying accident and it's breaks your heart.
I really enjoyed The Flight Girls, thank you Mira Publishing and Noelle Salazar for giving me the chance to read her first book. I gave The Flight Girls four stars and look forward to reading her next book. I have shared my review on Goodreads, Edelweiss, NetGalley, Twitter, Barnes & Noble, Australian Amazon and my blog.
https://karrenreadsbooks.blogspot.com/

[Cassie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't know if my standards are just so much higher than 90% of the people reading historical fiction novels on here, but there is no way in hell this book should have a 4.21 star rating.

I tried to write a detailed review for this book, but I am just left so empty and apathetic after this egregiously bad book that I don't even care. It's bad. The writing's bad. The characters are flat and boring and I couldn't care less about what happened to any of them. And there are historical inaccuracies out the wazoo.

The most egregious of these inaccuracies within the first 30 pages of the book were:

- The author called the infamous curled hairstyle of the 40's "Victory Curls" in a time period before the US had even entered the war. As the name suggests, they were called "Victory Curls" in solidarity with the soldiers we sent off to war. Why would American woman in November of 1941 be calling them Victory Curls?

- The author stated that people watched the attack on Peal Harbor on their television sets. I don't know if the author somehow confused Pearl Harbor and 9/11 in her mind, but the general public absolutely 100% did not watch the attack on Pearl Harbor on TV. They likely would have seen footage of it from the newsreels at the movie theater, as that was how the public saw any visual news back in the 40's, but TVs did not become a staple in the American household until the 50's.

If you can't even get these two simple facts of the early 1940's right, you have no right to be writing a historical fiction novel in this time period. The author was far too dead set on writing some flat Gurl Power interactions between the main character and her "sisters" of the WASP and a boring as fuck romance and love triangle to even attempt to get her facts straight, apparently.

Not to mention the summary of this book was entirely misleading. The fact that it mentions her love interest going missing behind enemy lines in the goddamn summary led me to believe it was an integral part of the plot. That Audrey would wind up going AWOL (does the author even know this term???) and stealing a plane to attempt to find and rescue him.

But no. It happens within the last 20% of the book and she just goes on a half-heartedly written search throughout France for James after the war is already over.

I just. I'm so tired. Front Lines really spoiled me. Absolutely no WWII historical fiction book is ever going to be able to even hold a CANDLE to that series. I don't know why I keep trying to find one that can.

[Karen Anderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not a novel about the WASPs. It's a poorly written love story. And the historical parts weren't researched. And the aviation.
The friendship portions of the story was somewhat decent sometimes.

Oh pretty sure "Officer" was not a rank in the military.

[Monica · Rating 2 out of 5]

ARC kindly provided by netgalley and publisher. The opinions expressed within this review are purely my own.

Rating: 2.5/5 (stopped reading at 77%, sadly)

I stopped reading this book because, unfortunately, it fell flat for me. I lost interest in the main character as she was either pining for a man for most of the book (about 65%) or feeling guilty for being interested in someone else. Furthermore, I felt like the author had a hard time deciding what she wanted to make of the book. To me, it did not blend seamlessly and their was a struggle as to what to make of it- romance, coming of age, women's rights- all are interesting and combined, would make for a kick ass book... but the way this story was told? I felt like these different aspects were at war with each other, battling for the attention of the reader rather than mixing to tell a convincing story.

If you are the fan of historical fiction who likes plots that are focused on relationships/romance with some historical information added throughout, then this book is just for you. The plot follows Audrey Coltrane, the daughter of a Texan oil tycoon who's one dream in life is to purchase her own airfield and fly as she pleases. She vows to not be distracted by men until she meets Lieutenant James Hart in Hawaii, where she is a government contractor, teaching army recruits to fly planes. Their stay is cut short by the attack on Pearl Harbor where both must part ways. In sum, the book is about Audrey and her life in Hawaii, followed by her joining the Women Airforce Service Pilots program. She meets a lot of interesting and amazing women, loses friends along the way, and experiences sexism first hand due to her occupation. I was able to appreciate the historical portion of the book and wished the author had not decided to focus 70% of the book on Audrey's relationship with Lt. Hart and the way she pined after him.

I gave this book 2.5 stars because I felt like there was no climax, the end goal that the main character dreamed of was frequently brought into question, and she spent half of the book either pining over a man or feeling guilty about being interested in another one. I appreciated the attention to describing what day to day life would have been like for these women, but I felt like it was too detailed, dragged on too long, and the focus on flying and overcoming sexist scenarios was put on the backburner. I would have liked it if the author would have either decided to make this book a romance, a coming of age book, or a book focusing on the lives of the many women Audrey meets (which, if I may add, are too many and you end up losing track of who is who/ end up not giving any one or other much significance) and their fighting to help the war effort while battling sexism at the same time. I felt like this book was a battle between all three of the aforementioned, rather than a seamless blend of it all.

[Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The female friendships were marvelous, as was the information about WASP.
This could have been a 5-star story but was ruined by Audrey’s dual romance.
Her dalliance with Officer Carter Wilson was totally unnecessary.
After all, James was in Europe fighting a war. Everyone would have known that letters would be sporadic at best.
Audrey’s actions made her seem really clueless and silly, quite at odds with someone flying military war time planes.
Perhaps the author really wanted to write a romance novel.
I would have liked it more minus the romance.

[Andee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t understand the super high ratings of this book. Like most books these days it seems, it was probably 100 pages too long. It really didn’t talk much about the women’s flying program or missions at all. It was primarily focused on girl’s dorm room drama, and a sappy, and fairly stupid love story.

I mean really, the bombing of Pearl Harbor, where she actually WAS, barely rates a passing mention. It’s just bizarre to me. This is supposed to be historical fiction, about a time that changed our nation like no other time in recent history, and it’s about a bunch of giggly, lovesick girls. It really seems like a huge missed opportunity to talk about the women’s flight program, Pearl Harbor, and the changes and attitudes going on in our country at the time.

To muddle it up even more, there was an utterly useless section about some other forgettable guy who took an interest in the main character. There was literally no point to this whatsoever.

I’m certain this will be a movie at some point, and will likely and hopefully, be the ultra rare exception where the movie is actually better than the book. In this case, it can’t be worse. This book was simply a terrible disappointment. It reminds me of that awful book someone wrote a few years back about the Astronaut Wives of the 60’s - a colossal waste of what could be a fantastic story.

As an aside, her dad and boyfriends all call her their little bird because she’s so small, and can fly. I promise, you’ll be so fucking sick of hearing about the little bird, you’ll want to strangle her yourself. The author tries to make her sound like a helpless, petite little lady, who needs dad or boyfriend to rescue her whenever possible. Except at the very same time, the author tries to make her appear as this strong, independent, very capable, tough cookie who becomes indignant whenever a man tries to help her. The contradictions in this character and the writing is frustrating, and frankly, just stupid.

[Dorian Jandreau · Rating 5 out of 5]

KNYGA IŠ BIBLIOTEKOS. SKIRTA KURŠĖNŲ KNYGŲ KLUBUI „(Ne)keista skaityti“ APTARTI.

Odrė su draugėmis moko naujus lakūnus skraidyti, tačiau jų idilę sunaikina Perl Harboro užpuolimas, kurio metu žūsta dvi draugės, o jų namas sulyginamas su žeme. Odrė ir Džeimsas išgyvenę šį siaubą turi išsiskirti, nes Odrė grįžta į Teksasą pas tėvus... Tačiau netikėtai prasidėjus karui ji gauna laišką, kad yra priimta į armiją skraidinti lėktuvų. Ten ji pradeda mokytis ir susipažįsta su kitomis merginomis. Tačiau jos laukia dar daug skausmo ir išbandymų...

Nors nemėgstu knygų apie karą, tačiau šita man labai patiko. Skaitėsi ganėtinai lengvai. Man labai patiko, kad Odrė drąsi ir savarankiška moteris, kuri drąsiai žengė pirmyn. Knyga galbūt buvo šiek tiek ištęsta, bet tai nesumažina mano įvertinimo.

Per karą Odrė neteko daug mylimų žmonių, dėl kurių labai išgyveno. Nors Teksasas nuo Vokietijos buvo labai toli – visi baisumai ir skausmas ją pasiekė. Nubraukiau ašarą skaitydamas, kaip Odrė neteko geriausios draugės... nes žinau koks jausmas netekti mylimo žmogaus. Bet laimei knyga turėjo laimingą pabaigą. Bendrai paėmus pačio karo nelabai ir buvo knygoje, tad kas nemėgsta knygų apie karą – gali drąsiai imti šitą į rankas.

Rekomenduoju tiems, kas nesibaido karo tematikos, patinka lėktuvai ir drąsios moterys.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do enjoy books about women fighter pilots. About the ceilings they break, (the skies they reach), the bonds they forge with one another, and always at the center is a love story. I liked it, but this book was not a savored favorite. It was just kind of fine.... I feel like this story has been told before. What was most beautiful to me was the incredible support and love and resilience she had from her society parents, which is not usual for this storyline, but they were behind her 100%. What was tough about the book, was the depth and pain of all the losses. That is heartbreaking. This does not fit the "sad" tag but rather should have.

[Gabrielė || book.duo · Rating 2 out of 5]

2/5
Ech, tas neišpildytas potencialas. Knyga, galėjusi tapti proga pažinti neapdainuotas Antrojo pasaulinio karo herojes, giliau panagrinėti moterų lakūnių temą ir papasakoti apie jų misijas, besikeičiantį požiūri į jas, dirbančias tuo laikotarpiu itin vyriškoje sferoje, atskleisti daugiau apie tai, kaip tos moterys, o su jomis kartu ir visas pasaulis buvo paveikti tokių tragedijų kaip Perl Harboras.. Ir visgi romanas veikiau yra gana nuspėjama meilės istorija, kurios fone sušmėžuoja lakūnių tematika ir kuriai tikrai būtų prireikę kiek atidesnio pasidomėjimo aprašomu laikotarpiu.

Kūrinys tikrai turi savo auditoriją – tai byloja ir puikūs atsiliepimai, ir tai, kad romanas, iš pirmo žvilgsnio, turi visus sėkmės elementus. Istorija karo fone, stiprios moterys, dar įdėkime meilės liniją.. O ir tema mažai nagrinėta, todėl kelia susidomėjimą. Bet ir visa tai reikalauja pastangų bei išradingumo, bent jau to tikiuosi aš, imdama tokią knygą į rankas. Buvo ir aspektų, kurie man patiko – kūrinyje nėra konkurencijos tarp moterų, jų draugystės čia gana realistiškos ir artimos, o ir pokalbiai pažįstami, dialogai pakankamai natūralūs, o aprašomas laikotarpis ir kontekstas, net jei neišnagrinėti tiek įdėmiai, kiek būtų norėjęsi, vis vien mane traukė. Tačiau „Karo lakūnės“ veikiau priminė young adult romaną, nes gauname gana primityvų stilių, vietoj lakūnių profesinio gyvenimo nagrinėjimo čia daugiau kalbama apie veiksmą šių moterų bendrabučiuose, jų drabužius ir meilės reikalus, o požiūris į jas, kuris, neabejoju, tuo laikotarpiu buvo itin konservatyvus, sumenkinamas iki kelių identiškų ir net kiek karikatūriškų scenų, kurios yra maždaug tokios: vyras pamato moterį lakūnę, garsiai nusišaipo, kad ji moteris lakūnė, moteris lakūnė jam parodo, kad moka gerai skraidyti, tada jis pasijaučia blogai ir pasako, kad va, pasirodo, būna ir gerų moterų lakūnių. Nieko išradingiau, nieko giliau, o juk čia slypėjo galybė potencialo.

Istorija, nors kai kur ir suvirpino širdį, neleido man išjausti didžiosios dalies jos siužeto. Pagrindinė veikėja Odrė teigia, kad nenori šeimos ir apskritai įsipareigoti kitam žmogui, tačiau didžiąją dalį knygos svarsto ir persvarsto savo jausmus vienam vyrui, tada į siužetą įpinamas kitas, ji svarsto apie jausmus jiems abiems.. Ir vietos lakūnėms, karui ir visoms subtilybėms paliekama nedaug. Perl Harboras, kurio sūkuryje ji atsiduria, aprašomas gana atmestinai ir jam istorijoje paliekama mažai vietos, o po jo einantys išgyvenimai kupini klišių. Jau nekalbu apie istorinių faktų iškraipymą – abejotina, kad žmonės Perl Harboro įvykius galėjo žiūrėti per televizorių, ir tai tik netikslumų pradžia. O ir stereotipų čia netrūksta – aprašant po karo atsigaunančią Prancūziją autorė nusprendžia, kad Odrė turi išvysti šaligatviu einančią laimingą porą, kuri su savimi nešasi – neatspėsit – bagetę. Taip, tikrai bagetę. Odrę apsigyventi priėmusi moteris irgi tipinė prancūzė – nedaug pasidažiusi, susirišus plaukus į kuodą, apsirengusi satino chalatą, beveik nuoga.. Manau supratot.

Neabejoju, kad atsiras daugybė skaitytojų, kuriems šis romanas paliks geresnį įspūdį. Ieškant meilės istorijos karo fone tai gali būti kaip tik tai, ko jums reikia. Tačiau jei tikitės daugiau sužinoti apie lakūnes Antrojo pasaulinio karo metu, ko tikėjausi ir aš, ir nemėgstat skaityti kambarių ir išvaizdos aprašymų bei gana aiškia trajektorija einančios meilės linijos – galit šitą ir praleisti.

[Christine M in Texas (stamperlady50) · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Audrey Fitzgerald Coltrane leaves her home and sets off for a new adventure. She has always wanted to be a pilot and has dreams that her mother does not understand. She lands a job in Hawaii training military pilots. ✈️ She is living in Hawaii in a little house with a few other girls who are in the same training program. They all come from different backgrounds and soon become friends. While in the program, her commanding officer James Hart and her keep bumping into each other and soon become friends outside work.
✈️ They both have major plans for their lives that are the non-traditional roles and having a family. They decide to keep things casual and keep their relationship as a friendship.
✈️ Pearl Harbor is attacked and things change rapidly. They both see first hand the death and destruction and try to deny their feelings and they grow closer. After the attack Audrey joins the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) and James deploys
overseas. They both say they will write and keep in touch.
✈️
Audrey’s program keeps her very busy while she maintains friendships with the other ladies and tries to stay in contact with James through letters. All of the characters have had their share of heartache, death, love and friendships. Loss is a predominant element along with love and friendship in this novel.
✈️ During the war letters become less frequent and they each struggle with their feelings. The letters from James suddenly stop and Audrey finds out he is MIA.
Do Audrey and James find their way back to each other after the war? Does Audrey find a new love? Is James found? Although I thought this book would more historical I did enjoy the story of friendships, bonds and love between Audrey and the people in her life. #theflightgirls, #bookreview, #noellesalazarauthor, #bookstagram, #stamperlady50, #wasps, #army

[Cara Tuzz · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a romance novel masquerading as a pice of historical fiction. Is there a backdrop? Yes, but it is clearly subsumed by the predictable romance. So much of the novel, too much in my opinion, is taken up with Lt. this and Colonel that, distracting from what might have been compelling look at WWII from the US side.

[Knygų mylėtoja Deimantė · Rating 5 out of 5]

5+⭐
Įtraukė nuo pat pirmų puslapių,mėgavausi šia knyga,verkiau,džiaugiausi,tiek emocijų...
Knyga - viena iš tų kur atsiminsiu labai ilgai.

[Christi (christireadsalot) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Flight Girls had been on my TBR for years to get to, I think this was the author’s debut historical fiction. I have read her more recent releases and have always heard so much about this one, so getting to this book I had high hopes. This one actually just ended up being okay for me, I definitely wanted more with this one.

This story follows Audrey, a female pilot who is training military pilots in Oahu when Pearl Harbor is attacked. Audrey had always wanted to be a pilot and wanted to own her own airfield one day. Her father was big into oil and her mother was from old money and had other plans for Audrey’s future, mainly her settling down with a family of her own. But instead, Audrey had her father teach her to fly on a little airfield in Texas and took off to Oahu to train military pilots.

I went in expecting to get more of the Pearl Harbor aspect of the story but it happens rather quickly into the read and wasn’t really the focus of her story. We do see before the attack that Audrey meets a local army pilot, Lieutenant James Hart, and they become fast friends. James is pulled away to war and stationed overseas while Audrey is sent back home and they vow to keep in friendly contact through letters. We jump a couple years later where she joins the WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots) Program. While doing that she continues writing to James and meets some new friends as well.

While the book has a strong romance and female friendships, I honestly wanted more of the historical aspect of the story. More of her time training the pilots, more with the WASP program, something. A lot of those parts of the story felt glossed over and I was just left wanting/expecting more. It’s still a decent book, I’ve just read better historical fiction books and enjoyed other books from this author more.

[Gretos knygos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Odrė yra turtingų tėvelių dukrelė, tačiau ji labai gerai žino ko nori, ir tai nėra ponis ar laiminga santuoka. Odrė nori skaidyti. Odrė nori savo aerodromo, savo lėktuvų. Pasitaikius progai jauna mergina palieka Teksaso lygumas ir prieš pat Antrąjį Pasaulinį karą išvyksta į Havajus. Manau nereikia pasakoti, kokių įvykių sukūryje atsiduria jauna moteris. Tačiau prieš pat Perl Harboro atakas ji susipažįsta ir su Džeimsu Hartu. Jos soulmate, nežinau, ar lietuvių kalboje lengvai rasiu atitikmenį. Antra puselė? Man neskamba, nors tu ką. Grįžtant prie Džeimso – jie tampa gerais draugais, tačiau akylas skaitytojas viską žino ir viską mato, ne draugystė čia, oj ne...

Maniau, kad ši knyga mums papasakos labai daug gerų dalykų apie karą, apie pilotes moteris, kurios, paklausk belenkokio vyro, tik užemė jų vietą. Vietoje vyrų, kurie kariavo, jos testavo lėktuvus po remonto. Arba visiškai naujus lėktuvus. Jos mokėjo „išjodinėti bet kurį žirgą“ ir visus vyrus aplink save palikdavo išsižiojusius. Ar aš nežinojau ir apie šią istorijos dalį? Tikrai taip. Būtent šios knygos dėka supratau, kiek daug gyvybių išgelbėjo moterų ryžtas. Ir buvo paaukotos kelios ar keliolika jų gyvybių vardan vyrų ir vardan didesnės kovos.

Šis romanas gana neblogai „susigrojo“ su neseniai skaityta „Molokajo salos dukra“, nes čia didelė dalis veiksmo vyko Havajuose, o vėliau pasakojimas šiek tiek užsiminė apie internuotųjų stovyklas. Manau, artėja metas plačiau pasidomėti šia istorijos puse. Būtent už visa tai aš esu dėkinga grožinei literatūrai – nes nuveda keliais, kuriais nemaniau, kad kada nors teks eiti, o po to labai džiaugiesi klaidžiodamas.

Noriu ir šiek tiek pakalbėti apie pagrindinę veikėją. Kodėl? Todėl, kad pačiai gana sunku tai pripažinti, bet ji man artima. Skaitydama nuolat linksėjau galva, jai pritariau. Supratau, kodėl ji bėgo nuo santuokos link savo svajonių, kodėl priešinosi mamai, kodėl kovojo dėl savo ambicijų. Vietomis skaičiau ir galvojau – kaip tu man primeni mane pačią! Ir jei atvirai, tikrai pamėgau Odrę ir jutau tai, ką juto ji.

Kalbant apie romaną – tai gana lengvas skaitinys apie draugystę, meilę, moterų bendrystę ir jų norą žengti platesniais žingsniais, žengti toliau, nei kiti iš jų tikisi. Saldoka, vietomis saldoka. Nuspėjama pabaiga, bet kažkodėl tai buvo vienas iš tų kartų, kai aš pritariau siužeto vingiams. Žiaurumo buvo, adrenalino pakako, širdis porąsyk apsivertė, nes išsigandau dėl veikėjų. Ašarą ne vieną išliejau. Ir skaityti romaną pradėjau vakare, o baigiau gerokai po aušros. Nesakau, kad tai labai stipri knyga, tai pramoginis skaitinys, tačiau jau ilgą laiką nelaikiau rankose nieko, kas neleistų nueiti miegoti tol, kol nepabaigsiu. Tai kažką pasakyti vis tik turėtų.

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Leidyklos dovana.

[Sarah Booth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I basically picked this book up at work and started reading it when I had a spare moment, but after I got started I couldn’t put it down. Being a female pilot in a man’s world and WWII was a pretty big deal. Our heroine Audrey was flying since she was 12. She was lucky to have a father that didn’t let the fact his child was female stand in the way of what she wanted to do which was fly, and a good pilot she was at that. She starts out as a flight instructor at Pearl Harbor (my grandfather was there for the bombing as well) and later joins the Women Airforce Service Pilots program.
Though singular in her desire not to be involved with the opposite sex, she falls for another pilot who she works to be just friends with but fails at miserably. The book though gripping, I couldn’t put it down, tended to dwell too much on her emotion and heartache. I got tired of Audrey’s emotional upheaval which seemed to go on and on. Granted the tears were a way to show how supportive her other female pilots and friends were , but there seemed excessive to the story and to work against her being a strong woman with their frequency and intensity.
I don’t really care for romances so perhaps this is an issue with me as opposed to a legitimate problem with the story. You did end up pulling for the romance eventually, but I thought the fact they were flyers was the real draw. I mean, WOW; you were flying army planes in WWII when most people thought that women were incapable of such things and not only could they do them but do them better than some men when everything was working against them. Men had a system for them to pee when flying, women didn’t. They had to make do, lord only knows how. Women who did this job not only were doing “a man’s job” but taking all the risks without the benefits such as a military pension and care in case of injury and/or death. These women had serious guts! They worked their butts off for little or no reward or recognition often with the resentment of men.
My uncle was a B-17 pilot in WWII who flew 26 missions over Germany so anything about WWII pilots interests me
This story had me up reading until I couldn’t keep my eyes open. It’s an easy and enjoyable read, despite the flaws I pointed out I give the book a good 4.5.