Saturday, April 14, 2012

Hearts in Flight

I just finished reading Hearts in Flight by Patty Smith Hall, and let me start by saying that I read this book WAY faster than anything I've read in the past few years. It was exciting from the start, and didn't disappoint in any aspect.

The setting is 1943 Georgia, in a small town, with a girl who's grown up flying planes. First for her father's crop-dusting business, and now as a member of the WASP - Women's Army Special Pilots. Maggie Daniels gets a job at a military plane-building plant, helping to inspect, work on, and transport aircraft. The thing is, no one thinks she has any business being there. Not her family, not the men in her squad, and especially not her commander, Wesley Hicks. But she's determined to follow her dream, and prove to everyone that she can do anything a guy can.

But it's no smooth sailing. Wesley's got a secret from his past that affects how he feels about woman pilots, Maggie's uncle will do anything he can to get back the house he thinks is rightfully his - the house where Maggie and other plant workers have been renting rooms from her aunt, and someone's leaving threatening notes aimed at the WASPs.

With plenty of action, humor, danger, and romance, you will LOVE Patty Smith Hall's first fiction novel.


For more high-flying adventures, check out The High Calling and A Time of War, both by Gilbert Morris.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

A Vote Of Confidence

The latest book I read was A Vote of Confidence by Robin Lee Hatcher, the first book in the Sisters of Bethlehem Springs series. It's set in 1915 Idaho, where women have recently "gotten the vote", but some men and even some women don't believe that women should take on roles of leadership. The main character, Gwen Arlington, decides to run for mayor of her small town. This, of course, is going to upset some people! Meanwhile, Morgan McKinley is trying to build his New Hope Health Resort and Spa a few miles outside of town, but he's getting a lot of opposition from the town's leadership. So he decides that if he wants to get anything done soon, he's going to have to run for mayor himself.

So you have three people running for mayor - one, the current mayor, who is a known drunkard, at a time when Idaho is trying to pass prohibition laws; the second, a wealthy man who is new to this small town, and so has not gained the trust of the people; and the third, a woman, in a time when a female mayor was literally unheard of!

This book is exciting, funny, and charming. I loved the story, the characters, and the setting, and I definitely recommend you read it! I am looking forward to reading the next two books in the series, Fit to Be Tied and A Matter of Character.

You can check out Mrs. Hatcher's website here.