Women and War Books 1-3: Gracie Under Fire / Penny's Secret Mission / Molly's Flight

Women & War #1-3

by Rachel Wesson

From USA Today Best Selling Author Rachel Wesson, three unputdownable stories of female heroines of WWII in one great value boxset.

Book #1: Gracie Under Fire

Gracie enjoys her life in London until the war everyone didn't want, starts. Determined to do her bit in the battle against Hitler, Gracie takes on family and friends in order to prove a woman can help win the war.

Book #2: Penny's Secret Mission

Penny vows to return to France to fight the Nazis but also to take revenge on the man who murdered her mother. But what price is she willing to pay for vengeance?

Book #3: Molly's Flight

Molly, a qualified pilot, wants to do more for the war effort. She has a gift for flying, so when the USA says no, she heads to Britain to fly for the Air Transport Auxiliary. There, she flies with the best female pilots in the world but at what cost?

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, Fiction, War

1168 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 15, 2022

About the author

Rachel Wesson was born in Kilkenny, Ireland but considers herself to be from the capital, Dublin as that's where she spent most of her life. Her dad brought Rachel and her two sisters out every Saturday to give their mother a break. He took them to the library and for ice-cream after. It took a long time for her sisters to forgive her for the hours she spent choosing her books!
She grew up driving everyone nuts asking them questions about what they did during the War or what side they were on in the 1916 rising etc. Finally her Granny told her to write her stories down so people would get the pleasure of reading them. In fact what Granny meant was everyone would get some peace while Rachel was busy writing!
When not writing, or annoying relatives, Rachel was reading. Her report cards from school commented on her love of reading especially when she should have been learning. Seems you can't read Great Expectations in Maths. After a doomed love affair and an unpleasant bank raid during which she defended herself with a tea tray, she headed to London for a couple of years. (There is a reason she doesn't write romance!). She never intended staying but a chance meeting with the man of her dreams put paid to any return to Ireland. Having spent most of her career in the City, she decided something was missing. Working in the City is great but it's a young person's dream. Having three children you never see isn't good for anyone. So she packed in the job and started writing. Thanks to her amazing readers, that writing turned into a career far more exciting and rewarding than any other.
Rachel lives in Surrey with her husband and three children, two boys and a girl. When not reading, writing or watching films for "research" purposes, Rachel likes to hang out with her family. She also travels regularly back home - in fact she should have shares in BA and Aerlingus.

Reviews

[Jim Bean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collection books 1 and 2 of 3

The first book is set in England at the beginning of WWII. Penny has just become an orphan in France at the age of 12. Her mother's good friend sends her off to England for her safety sake to live with her rich uncle. Penny is the daughter of an English gentleman and a peasant French mother. The first book ends at the beginning of the war with Penny becoming a spy for England but working in France with the French resistance. I rate the first book a five.

The second book is a continuation of the first book but the story is totally focused on Penny and the French resistance cells. I think this book is a five as well because of the detail and intriguing story of the evading resistance, the courage of the French supporters and the emotions created by wartime setting. The characters were strong and characterized well.

I couldn't get into book 3. The setting was 1933 in central Florida. The story starts with a 12 year old rich white girl having an innocent conversation with her black teenaged male friend. There is also a young (jewish) female friend of the 12 year old girl. The father is a a character loved by all. The mother has some bigoted traits that are highlighted early in the story. As I was reading I felt like the author was stereotyping southern culture from a nonsouthern writer. I really didn't want to be depressed so I stopped reading early. The story may evolve into an interesting tale but I wasn't being entertained by the direction. I hope you enjoy the collection.

[Margaret Wray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 1 : Set in England at the beginning of the war and tells the story of Gracie and her family and the effect of those times on the family.
Quite a good story which took into the social standards of the era.

Book 2- Tells of Penelope and her return to France and working with the Resistance under the SOE.
Loved this and unable to put down. Those women were so brave and should have more recognition of their achievements.

Book3
A good read but it seemed to jump all over the plots to me. A strong willed American girl wanting to help the war effort and fly a plane! The male attitude of the day really showed in this story . There are jobs for men and jobs for women. Really they were in the fore front of change the women of WW11, pilots, spies, land army just to mention a few. The tragedy of war is well written and how it changes the human being into something a bit different.
Overall a good series but what about Hugo? Was he a traitor?

[Becky Hanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

women and war

All three of these books were good but I am sorely disappointed in the ending of the first and second books. There should have been an epilogue for each of these. At least you find out what happened with Gracie from the first book, in the second one but not so, about Penny. What happened to her? What happened with Hugo? What part did he actually play in the war? An epilogue would have helped answer these questions!

[Wayne c Jetzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heroic Women

This trilogy of female cousins explores their exemplary heroism during WWII. All three women interact with Lord Hamilton at his London estate. In various ways each one gives tremendous sacrifices to aid the war efforts. These stories tell the heartbreak and suffering endured to survive this terrible war.

[Elaine Kiefer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This 3 book series was a powerful picture of what England went through during the second world War. The characters were so varied and very well written giving a picture of how people from different walks of life were affected by the war. It was heart wrenching at times, but showed the bravery and strength of these women as they faced tragedy and death, but didn't give up.

[Robert A. Sugg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please do take the time to read this trilogy

I had heard of the horrific physical damage to England, but this hits home to the strength of the people who survived and those who died.

[Shirley · Rating 5 out of 5]

must read.

I enjoyed this book very much. Hated to put it down. You brought the characters to life. The description of the war in the different countries and all the trials and tribulations of the people caught up in that horrible time of History.

[Linda Dreher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Story

3 stories that kept me coming back for more. I enjoyed the 3 ladies who wanted to fight for freedom and found a way to do it although it wasn’t exceptavle in those days! Recommend the books with 5 stars!

[Karen Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading all three books, enjoyed the storyline and the way the three books were all linked in some way, I have great respect for the women who were part of the ATA and all other organisations in the war in which they fought, they were and are brilliant individuals.

[patricia sendelbach · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved these stories. They combine history, adventure, mystery and romance. Each one is a page-turner stay up late to finish book.

[sandra silliman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good

I love this game and the other one is just as good. But it would be fun for a few weeks

[Jillean Ansley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved these three stories. So well written, it was like living every moment with these women. We read about the horrific and brutal happenings in the war, so why do countries insist on having wars!!!

[Patricia Zuzack · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how the three books just blended in to each other. Great stories...totally unpredictable.

[Robert Watson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Read

I have read all of the Orphan Train books by this author and decided to give this series a try. The books are well written and tied together nicely.

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully told stories. All the characters were interesting and real to life.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three books about women in WW2.

[Peggy Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like the first two stories in this series, Rachel Wesson gave us another strong woman representative of women of the Great Depression/World War II era who worked in the war effort, both at home and abroad. Mollie made a dream come true by her own efforts when denied the opportunity she sought in the United States. Ms. Wesson’s coverage of facts is excellent and she weaves fiction into them seamlessly. I recommend Ms. Wesson’s Women and War series to all readers who enjoy reading of that era. Peggy Lovelace Ellis, Challenges on the Home Front, World War II.