Youngest F-35 Pilot Straps Into the Cockpit...And SHE Finds Love

I had tits in a testosterone world and showing any sign of weakness was not an option.

I have some seriously good things to say about this story and some not so great. It's one of those tales that you could say has me on the fence.

First, the good: we have a totally kick-ass, feisty, strong heroine here. She's a fighter pilot--a good one--and she stands her own against all the guys and earns their respect. She must be bright too, because at just 22 years of age, the Air Force is letting her fly the brand new F35.

The group chatter/ribbing among the pilots is awesome. As a woman in a male-dominated profession, I work with guys like Mojo and the author captured this lifestyle to a T. I laughed and smiled and felt like I was there, among this easy camaraderie. I took a real liking to Ash and Mojo and Stitch.

As an aircraft mechanic who has worked on a variety of planes, I very much appreciate the little details the author put in the story about the faulty environmental systems. There were some instances I found myself nodding my head in agreement over some little technical thing.

However, the story never gets overly technical, just in case anyone doesn't like that stuff. It's "layman" speak, nothing that won't be easily understood. You don't have to be an aircraft mechanic to get it.

I also absolutely love how the heroine gets her call sign. That was probably my favorite part of the story.

What I didn't like was quickly the heroine and the hero sleep together, before 8%, before he even knows her name. And I do realize this was necessary for the rest of the storyline, for the awkward situation between them to exist, but I'd rather it have gone differently. This situation also made me dislike the hero from the very get-go because the heroine was a bit drunk. He should have known better.

I also didn't like the lack of detail about the heroine's flight history. The USAF isn't going to just let a 22 year old go straight from simulator to million-dollar jet. What did she fly before? What was her training like? Pilots must have a college degree. She did four years of college and flight school/private pilot's license by 22? Doable? Yes. But lemme have the data, 'cause I like that stuff and it would help with her background.

And hey--everyone throws up the first time. She can't be that perfect. LOL

It's a good romance if romance is what you're looking for. I just would have preferred she hook up with Ash. LOL But we're left in enough suspense that we begin to doubt that HEA will come. Good job with that! I also appreciated the theme about hurting before healing, especially in regards to the loss of a loved one.

I have a feeling this may be the first in a series.

Def an author to keep an eye on.

I received this via Netgalley.

Repossessed by Sandy Parks

I can list a ton of reasons why I liked this book, starting with woman pilot. :D Second, woman mechanic. Whoo hoo. Though she has a very small role...well, not a small role--she's very necessary--just not a lot of her in the book until the end. It also takes place in Brazil, an exotic location.


Jet has to steal a plane...to repo it. Unfortunately, the plan is in the possession of a very bad man...a kingpin of sorts, only he deals with emeralds instead of drugs. I was surprised by that. But he's running out of money and has a cruel streak wider than the runway necessary for his private jet.

This is one of those books in where the less I say, the better. It's action packed, there's betrayal, mind games, guessing games, hidden runways, scaling castle walls, drugs, potential rape, broken arms, fake emeralds...

Parts of it had eyebrows going up. I was like, "really?" It did come off a preposterous at times, but it is a fiction and what's the point of reading if you don't have some fun, experience the improbable. I certainly won't be doing any aircraft repos.

It was a fun, action packed ride. It ended the story, but left me dying of enough curiosity that I'll no doubt pick up the next. I bought this on Amazon.

Four bikes.

Whispers of a New Dawn by Murray Pura

I requested this knowing full well it's Amish/religion themed, but the woman pilot during Pearl Harbor was irresistible to me and I wanted to give it a go. I'm glad I did. There was much to like about this novel, though there were some bits that grew tiresome.

Loved:

--The heroine...for the most part. She isn't without her flaws (who isn't?) but I'll get to those in a bit. A sentence from her father in the beginning sums her up to a T:

"Hooking you up to an Amish farm boy would be like putting a modern engine in old Fokker triplane. Why, the stress on the wing struts would tear the plane apart."

She's spunky, brave, and witty. I was impressed that she managed to be such a tough girl without uttering a single curse word. Well done. Most authors couldn't pull this off. I think her flying around with the Zeroes was my favorite part. 

--The hero. This ain't an alpha male, but a nice guy with fears, feelings, and he's poetic too...and patient.

--The banter both between the hero and heroine and the hero and his fellow aviators. Had me laughing out loud many times.

--The flying scenes. Fantastic and on the edge of your seat!

--Watching romance blossom. Rather than fill up pages with sex, the author gave us moments of deep conversation under full moons, playing in the waves, passionate kisses.

--Ruth. Though I didn't care for her how her tale ends...rather cowardly in my opinion, I enjoyed watching her blossom for the brief time she did.

--The Hawaiian setting.

There was lots to love...but there were some things I didn't like as well:

--Loved the romance blooming, but some scenes were over drawn out and sappy. And the party planning scenes bored me.

--The author inserted too many historical facts about the ships and the planes in dialogue. I realize what he was doing, but it didn't stay with me after turning the page.

--Didn't care for Becky at first. She was willing to give everything up, her flying and freedom, for a MAN. And later in the story, she wants Raven to say he loves her, even though she can't say it back. But again, we can't have a perfect heroine.

--I also had trouble with the whole, "we just sit out the war in peace and let everyone kill themselves so we can religious freedom to sit here and do nothing" crap from the Amish. But I loved how Becky and her family did what they felt was right, regardless. I loved her parents, their strength.

Overall though, I think the good outweighs the bad. There were just some scenes that didn't hold my attention. But I appreciated the messages within its pages... Don't be afraid to love again. You aren't living 'til you're lovin'. (That's just me talking there. LOL)

Three bikes. Rich in history and humor.

Strong is Sexy Woman of the Past: Lydia Litviak "The White Rose of Stalingrad"

I first came across this in a book, a historical fiction, and in it, this woman pilot had a series of white roses painted on the fuselage of her aircraft, each one marking a kill. Further digging into  history sites informs me they were actually lilies, but easily mistaken for roses and this led to the false nickname. Technically, she was the "White Lily of Stalingrad" and numerous sites call her one or the other.

Anyway, while America was just permitting women to ferry airplanes, Russia was allowing them to fly in combat.


-She began flying at the age of 14, even joined a club.
-She botched her flying hours to join the all female Fighter Regiment
-It's said she had 12 solo victories. *There's some debate surrounding this, but regardless, everything points to her being incredibly fierce and a force to be reckoned with*
-She had a female mechanic as well.
-She loved to buzz the aerodomes and piss off her commander.
-She was shot down at least twice in German territory before her unfortunate last flight, and each time, she managed to walk back to her own base. Even hospitalization for brief periods did not deter her from getting back in the cockpit.
-She was shot down and her body never found, though she was decorated with three medals and her mechanic and friend is said to never have gave up trying to find her body.
-She was quite proud of her femininity, continuing to dye her hair throughout the war. Pictures show a very lovely looking woman when she was off duty.

You want more? Check out this site: http://www.stalingrad.net/russian-hq/lilya-litvyak/ruslitvyak.html

Personally, I find this woman's record and persistence incredibly sexy. I mean, shot down twice, and still she got back up? That's quite brave. Many legends I found related stories about her standing up to enemy pilots, in the sky and on the ground. Not sure how true they are so I didn't relay them here. I encourage you to do a Google search.

'Til the next Woman of the Past post, be sexy and be strong. Over and out. :)

She Flew Bombers by Jeane Slone

This is a good, entertaining read, rich in women's history. The heroine, Violet, starts her story as a young girl going up with barnstormers with her dad. Then, against her mother's wishes, she takes flying lessons and finds love with a fellow barnstormer.


But then WWII breaks out. She goes to join the WASP. The book tells the life of a WASP, the daily life, struggles, types of adventures they faced. It mentions lots of real women, such as Jackie Cochran, the attempts to be officially accepted in the military, etc. Had I not ready 25 WASP historicals already, I would have learned a ton. As it was, nothing was new to me, but I enjoyed it all the same.

Wait, I did learn of Mabel Cody and the White Rose of Stalingrad. Never heard of those ladies before and I was prompted to Google more.

There's a romance...it's very, very  mild, a minor part of the story and comes with some heartbreak. What I liked about this book was it was real life, not skipping through the flowers fluff that is so darned popular nowadays. It contains loss, grief, discrimination, strong women, a mother/daughter relationship filled with strife, and even touches on racism.


It also has some cool pictures. They were a wee hard to see on my Kindle, but I imagine they show up quite well on the fancier models.

There's one problem..it works for and against this type of book. It comes down to what you're in the mood for, I guess.

You could look at this way, as though you are sitting at your grandmother's feet and she's telling you the story of her life...cause that is what is: telling. Lots of telling, no showing. I saw many opportunities to really expand and fix that.

Example: The heroine literally reminisces with a copilot later in the book: "Remember when I was in the outhouse on the base and that damn Texas wind knocked it over and I was caught with my pants down?"

Why the heck wasn't that a real scene? And the locusts? So very much was TOLD, not shown. :( But it could be the way the author intended it: at your grandma's knee being told a story.

Three bikes. I bought this on Amazon.

Becoming Clementine by Jennifer Niven

Blurb:
After delivering a B-17 Flying Fortress to Britain, an American volunteers to copilot a plane carrying special agents to their drop spot over Normandy. Her personal mission: to find her brother, who is missing in action. Their plane is shot down, and only she and five agents survive. Now they are on the run for their lives.

As they head to Paris, the beautiful aviatrix Velva Jean Hart becomes Clementine Roux, a daring woman on an epic adventure with her team to capture an operative known only as "Swan." Once settled on Rue de la Néva, Clementine works as a spy with the Resistance and finds herself falling in love with her fellow agent, Émile, a handsome and mysterious Frenchman with secrets of his own. When Clementine ends up in the most brutal prison in Paris, trying to help Émile and the team rescue Swan, she discovers the depths of human cruelty, the triumph of her own spirit, and the bravery of her team, who will stop at nothing to carry out their mission.


Review:
Absolutely loved book two, Velva Jean Learns to Fly and so was super excited about this. So excited I broke my price rule and spent 9.99 on the Kindle edition.

But...if you're expecting lots of flying, you'll be disappointed. The story starts with her landing in England, then she crashes a plane and later steals a plane, but most of the book is her acting like a spy. I say "acting" cause really, she doesn't any real spying. I'll get to that.

She crashes in France, which in under the Germans so she's in enemy territory. Still searching for her brother, she insists on joining the resistance. She's mighty brave. I still love her. She ends up in Paris and has all these Resistance friends, even a French lover, but despite being surrounded by these people and making big plans, she does nothing.

She wears fancy lipstick, eats a map, PLANS to save a girl from prison, but gets arrested herself, wears knife bobby pins, but really, never once does she deliver pertinent information to anyone, just runs around with the Resistance. She can't even take credit for saving the girl in the end, because she didn't bomb the train and Eleanor is capable of escaping herself.

It's isn't until the very end of the book that Velva Jean aka Clementine does something worthwhile. Though I must give her credit for not caving under interrogation.

The beginning and ending was great, but the middle really dragged for me. As I said, she just runs around with these important people and spends time in prison.

So compared to Learns to Fly, it didn't wow me. But then again, that was more up my alley as I love aviation.

Three bikes.

Strong is Sexy Woman of the Past: The Legend of Pancho Barnes

She was a famous aviatrix with a foul mouth, a fondness for cigars, a taste for booze, and a passion for flying. Pancho was even a test pilot at Edwards AFB and a Hollywood stunt flier. You name it, this girl did it.

She was born Florence, however, and thought her mother trained her to be a lady, it didn't take, as they say in the documentary I watched.

Cool, random things I learned from watching this:
-Her grandfather made hot air balloons and took photographs  from them during the Civil War...right over the battle scene.
-She called the most important man in Air Force at 3am one day to demand a fellow visiting her bar get a raise.
-She had an arranged marriage of sorts to a minister. All the women loved her and she felt he tolerated her.
-In 1927, after the death of her mother, she ran away and worked on a banana boat. She looked like a man. "I took a bandanna, tied it in a knot, and stuffed it in my jeans. I had the best looking balls on the boat."
-Instead of going to hubby's Sunday sermons upon her return, she was taking flying lessons. He'd preach. She'd fly. She would even dive bomb at his church. ROFL
-The dept of commerce believed women should not fly whilst on the rag as they were irrational then. Um...
-She paid 13k for Travel Air's mystery ship. In 1929, that was a LOT of dough.
-She organized a women's flying medical corps.
-When Howard Hughes refused to pay more than 25 bucks to his stunt fliers, Pancho organized a union.


The documentary continues to tell us about her Happy Bottom Riding Club, her fourth marriage, her adventures with the test pilots of Edwards AFB, the battle with the government over her land, the accusations, the fire that ruined everything, and so on. She even had breast cancer.

It was the end of an exciting time with her death in 1975.

Favorite quote from the doc:
"I am not a pretty girl. I can apologize for that the rest of my life or I can forget about it and live the kind of life I want to."

This is available on netflix.