Silver Wings by H.P. Munro is a historical romance that follows two women and their friends in the early 1940’s as they are trained and then work as Womens Service Airforce Pilots (WASPs). The personal and societal battles these women face make for a heart-wrenching and exciting read.
It is the 1940’s and Lily Rivera is about to fulfill her dreams when she gets accepted into the training program to become a WASP.
Helen Richmond is a stunt pilot from Hollywood who is also called to serve her country as a WASP.
When Lily meets Helen during WASP training, they forge a bond immediately. They seek each other out without thought. They build a deep friendship, but Lily has never felt these types of feelings for a friend before and she is confused by her emotions.
Helen has no confusion regarding the fact that she’s a lesbian. She is instantly attracted to her fellow pilot and bunkmate but she thinks that Lily couldn’t share her attraction. So she decides that she will be the best friend Lily’s ever had.
When both women eventually determine that friendship will never be enough for either of them, how are they going to be together during a time period where being with another woman was unspeakable?
Will they be able to survive all the hardships they face as WASPs? Will their love be able to endure despite societal barriers?
The Characters
I adore these two main characters. Both Lily and Helen have so much love to give, both to each other as well as to their many friends.
Lily’s insecurity due to a past relationship with her husband made her immediately relatable. Combine that with the fact that she was the only non-white trainee in a 1940’s Texas town had me rooting for her from the beginning. Seeing her work through her insecurity and live up to all her potential with help from first, her roommate, and then Helen and the rest of her fellow trainees was wonderful. It was also great to see her come to understand that she loves a woman for the first time and how she deals with the revelation.
Helen’s character was less developed than Lily’s. There is some backstory, but not much more than what it was that motivated her to join WASP. Nevertheless, you can’t help but fall in love with Helen right alongside Lily. Because her character is not riddled with any baggage, her lightness, and effervescence shines through. Although obviously closeted due to the time period, she’s out to herself and seemed to live a fairly out lifestyle in California. It’s unexpected and refreshing to see a historical romance where there is a character who has absolutely no qualms about the fact that they are a lesbian. The only time it becomes a problem is when she falls in love and doesn’t think her love interest could love her back.
The chemistry between the two is off the charts! The love scenes aren’t too steamy, but they are realistic and sometimes downright fun. (Hint…one of them happened nowhere near a bed!)
The interactions between Lily, Helen and their four other trainees give life to the story. There is a surprisingly long cast of supporting characters in this short novel, and the writer gives each of them their own backstories and personalities. We don’t end up just loving Lily and Helen, we love Adrienne and Adel, and the two sisters, Marjorie and Lucy. We also meet Lily’s roommate, Eva, and her on again off again fiancé in New York. Finally, there’s Lily’s granddaughter, Ellie as well as her granddaughter’s future love interest, Joanne.
These supporting characters are every bit as essential in this novel as are Lily and Helen. What happens to them and with them is given almost the same amount of importance in the novel as the love story.
This is a stand-alone book, however some of the supporting characters in this novel, as well as allusions to Lily and Helen, can also be found in other books by the author.
The Writing Style
The novel is quite similar in style to the movie A League of Their Own. Like the movie was about a little-known time in history where women took over from men in baseball, when the men were at war, similarly, in this novel, it was about a little-known time in history when women were needed to fly planes for the military when male pilots were at war. It begins and ends in the present, and then the majority of the story takes place in the 1940’s.
It didn’t feel fast paced, despite it being such a short book.
The writing was fluid and easy. The writer used first person narrative from both Lily and Helen’s perspectives. It was great to have insights into both character’s thoughts and experiences which you often don’t get in novels.
Outside of the love story, the crux of the novel is based upon real-life events, but it never felt like a history lesson as some other historical novels tend to do. The novel isn’t riddled with angst, but there are few parts of the novel that brought tears to my eyes.
My Favourite Parts
One thing I liked was learning about the bad ass WASPs! The depth and knowledge and research the writer put into the novel really shows. We get to see the sexism, racism and homophobia that was pervasive during the time period and how it directly impacted our character’s lives. She used factual experiences to make the novel come to life. Not only was it a great love story about Lily and Helen, but it was also a love story about the WASPs.
The camaraderie between all the women in this book was also just so refreshing. There was always so much support and encouragement between the women, never back biting or negativity.
Finally, I loved Lily and Helen and their connection. They felt like a real couple in history. I only wish that I could have met them.
Heads Up
There was nothing I didn’t like about this book.
The Conclusion
If you are looking for a great historical love story with little angst, then this is the novel for you. In addition, you get to learn about a bit of herstory in the process. It’s a wonderful read.
Excerpt from Silver Wings by H.P. Munro
“Should we introduce ourselves?” one of the women asked, pausing before going on to do exactly that. “My name is Marjorie Richards, Portland Oregon,” she announced, placing her suitcase down onto one of the middle beds to claim it.
“Lucy Simpson, I’m Marjorie’s sister, so I’m also from Portland.” Lucy smiled nervously and repeated her sister’s action, claiming the bed next to Marjorie and closest to the washroom.
“Adrienne Rosecroft.” The tall redhead smiled as she sat down onto one of the beds and bounced once to check the comfort. “Boston.”
“Adele Stott,” said the small brunette, hanging the zoot suit back up. “Tennessee.”
Helen grinned. “Helen Richmond, latterly of California.” She raised her eyebrows looking towards Lily, waiting for the woman she had seen on the day of her interview to introduce herself.
“Lily Mc..Rivera”—Lily corrected herself—“Lily Rivera, Florida originally, New York recently.”
“So now we know who we are, we should get ourselves dressed in these rather fetching overalls and get ready to fly.” Adrienne smiled as she stood up and took the zoot suit out of the locker beside her.
Lily turned and placed her bags on the cot behind her, she gave Helen a small smile as the blonde did the same onto the bed beside her. Lily let a long breath leave her body as she unpacked her case into what storage space she had. She was here, she was a WASP, and soon she would fly.
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Series
Silver Wings is not exactly part of a series, however characters in this novel overlap with two other H.P. Munro books: Grace Falls and Saving Grace.
Bits and Bobs
- ISBN number: 9781482023572
- Publisher: Red Besom Books
- H.P. Munro Online
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