Review of Mrs. Witherspoon Goes to War by Mary Davis

This latest installment in the Heroines of WWII series was another winner. It’s been so fun to discover how different each author’s voice and style is in these stories!

 

In Mrs. Witherspoon Goes to War (such an interesting title!) war-widowed mother of two, Peggy Witherspoon, hasn’t let go of the ambition she’s held onto since she was a little girl--to fly planes. Not only does she get to fulfil her dream, but she does it on a grand scale when she joins the first Women’s Airforce Service (WASPs).

I love reading a good stateside story of WWII, because I want to understand what times were like here on the home front for the generation that preceded mine. Without being set on the front line, this story showed the wartime effort everyone was involved in back in the U.S., some, like Mrs. Witherspoon, more than others. I felt like the author did her legwork when it came to researching this story too, from the technicalities of repairing and operating a plane, to what was going on with the WASPs at that time.

Okay, now onto the romance. The hero, Army Air Corp Major Howie Berg, was a good egg. Coming to terms with being grounded after his own war wounds, his position in supervising the WASPs under his command made for a good setup in how he and Peggy meet and eventually fall in love. Their romance was a slow build, careful and tender—realistic considering she’s a widow and a mother, and she’s not as young as most romance heroines in fiction. I liked that. The gently developed realism in their relationship worked for me.

Then there was the dangerous rescue attempt. Okay—no spoilers—but this is when the story really had me turning pages. If you’ve been enjoying the Heroines of WWII series, don’t miss Mrs. Witherspoon Goes to War.

Buy it here.  

Thanks to Netgalley and Barbour for the ARC. Opinions are my own.