They’ll
come together to do their bit for the war.
Jane Hadley has nothing to lose when she runs away to join the Women's
Auxiliary Air Force. Whatever faces her in war-torn London can't be any worse
than staying at home with her abusive father...
The
city is nothing like she could have imagined, but she's soon on the move,
travelling from base to base for her top-secret training. Making plenty of new
friends along the way, it doesn't take long for Jane to embrace her growing
confidence – especially under the attentive eye of dashing Officer Oscar
Stanton.
Life as an independent woman is as rewarding as
it is exciting, until Jane's father tracks her down and it crashes to a halt.
Jane will need all her new-found strength to find her way back to the frontline
– and to the man she's fallen for...
About the Author
Fenella J Miller was born in the Isle of Man. Her father was
a Yorkshire man and her mother the daughter of a Rajah. She has worked as a
nanny, cleaner, field worker, hotelier, chef, secondary and primary teacher and
is now a full time writer.
She has over thirty eight Regency romantic adventures
published plus four Jane Austen variations, three Victorian sagas and seven WW2
family sagas. She lives in a pretty, riverside village in Essex with her
husband and British Shorthair cat. She has two adult children and three
grandchildren.
Author Links
Facebook:
@FenellaJMiller
Twitter: @fenellawriter
My Thoughts
The Girls in Blue by Fenella J. Miller transports readers back to 1939 when war is declared in England. Jane Hadley has been waiting for this
day. Jane has been beaten by her father
regularly for years. With war declared
and her eighteenth birthday the next day, Jane can finally escape. With help from the vicar and his wife, Jane departs
the next day for London where she volunteers for the Women’s Air Auxiliary
Force (WAAF). She trains with Charlotte
and Nancy who become her close friends.
Unfortunately, Jane is given a different assignment after training. On
the first day at her new location, she has an accident and meets a handsome RAF
pilot. Oscar Stanton would like to be
more than friends, but Jane will not allow herself to get close to any
man. Jane trains for a top-secret
position and enjoys life in the WAAf.
Her biggest worry is that her father will find her. One day Jane’s biggest nightmare comes to true. The Girls in Blue is an appealing and
poignant historical novel. The author
has an engaging writing style. I began
reading and I was surprised by how quickly the book flew by. I could tell the author did her research for
this book. I enjoyed an inside look at
the WAAF. Also included are details on
RAF pilots, their assignments, and war events. It is terrible what Jane endured at the hands
of her father (it will have you in tears). I liked the developed and charming characters. The Girls in Blue focuses on Jane with
chapters from Oscar’s point-of-view as well.
Oscar is a delightful character.
He is a cute RAF pilot with a big heart. This is an emotional story that will touch
your heart. While I would have liked an
epilogue, I understand why we did not get one (part of a series). I hope we get updates on Jane, Oscar, and
Charlotte in the next book. I look forward
to Nancy’s tale in The East End Girl in Blue.
The Girls in Blue is a gratifying historical novel with a toast threat,
dog drama, trust troubles, a vicious father, and horrendous hikes.
Excerpt
Mrs. and Mrs. Jackson accompanied her to
the station. She’s avoided the early
morning train man caught it to his bank in the nearby
market town.
‘Good luck, my dear girl, you deserve it. I don’t know when
we’ll see you again, but you have our good wishes to take with you.’ The vicar
patted her on the shoulder but his wife embraced her.
‘I’ll keep an eye on your mother – don’t worry about her.
You have our telephone number and can always ring and tell us your news and I
can guarantee it will be passed on to her.’
‘I’ll do that. Thank you for your help. I couldn’t have
done this without you. I expect you’ll be busy with evacuees any day now. Your
house will be overflowing with children by the end of the week.’
‘Poor little mites, I expect there’ll be a lot of wet
sheets to wash until they settle. Take care of yourself, Jane, and keep in
touch if you can.’
The train steamed in and Jane clambered into a ladies’ only
carriage. Everything seemed absolutely normal – one wouldn’t have known the
country was at war from the way people were going about their business.
There were two other ladies in the compartment who turned
to look at her with disapproval. Was her hat not on straight? Were her stocking
seams crooked? She straightened her shoulders and ignored them. Whatever they
didn’t like about her appearance it was nothing to do with them. Then she
shrunk into her seat regretting her behaviour. If she offended these women they
might remember her and tell that
man.
It would have been more interesting to have had a window
seat but they were both taken. From what she’d seen on her brief glance in
their direction they were about mum’s age, but there the resemblance ended.
Whereas Mum was tall, almost as thin as she was herself, with faded blonde hair
and watery blue eyes, both of these matrons were stout, wearing tweed suits
despite the weather, and sat as if they had an unpleasant smell under their
noses.
They must think they were somehow superior to her – if that
was so then surely they’d be travelling in first class? The vicar had kindly
given her the book she’d started and she revelled in the opportunity to read
without interruption.
An hour and a half later she was standing outside the
station not entirely sure in what direction she should go to find Victory House
in Westminster. A helpful policeman told her she could walk along the
embankment or take an underground line called the District and Hammersmith.
It would be better to travel on the underground as her lack
of an essential piece of equipment was less likely to be noticed. She joined a
long queue to purchase a ticket and then got hopelessly lost looking for the
correct platform. Eventually she arrived where she should be just as a train
was due. The whoosh of air as it approached, the ominous rumbling noise, was
almost too much. If she hadn’t been pressed forward by those eager to get on,
she would have reversed and walked along the embankment instead.
There were no seats and people were packed in like sardines
in a can. She’d never liked crowds and being crushed against complete strangers
in this intimate fashion made her stomach roil. By the time she arrived her
pulse was racing, her palms wet and her head was about to explode.
She threw herself out of the doors and pushed her way through
the exiting crowd in a desperate rush to reach the surface and fresh air. Did
her panic mean that she was claustrophobic? Most air raid shelters were
underground. She would just have to pull herself together if she was going to
fit into her new life.
When she arrived at the WAAF recruiting office she was
horrified to see there was already a queue almost to Whitehall. Seeing so many
eager to join was good for the country but not for her. They couldn’t possibly
see everybody today.
Kris
The Avid Reader
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