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sandylc's review
2.0
The author has a sub-plot, or character, for every possible problem facing the Brits post WWI. To me, it came across as a hodge-podge of snippets. Many of the characters had great potential but didn't seem fully developed and I was never invested in their lives. The book was interesting enough to finish and see how their futures resolved.
erinsca's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This book was a really gentle, lovely story. I am a big fan of historical fiction and this checked all of the boxes for me. I loved how the author incorporated stories about minority struggles and the push and pull of progress and how society often takes big, traumatic events to accept change. If you like books like “The Guernesey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” and shows like “Call the Midwife” and “Land Girls” this is the book for you.
pennyreadsthings's review
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
sophiarose1816's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
For some young women, at a loss when the peace comes and the jobs are given to the returning men, the excitement of riding and servicing motorcycles and airplanes becomes a dandy summer adventure by the sea. Helen Simonson has come into her own with a second historical fiction set against the England of Post-WWI with authentic historical details, careful attention to character and plot development, and with a gentle pace and a warm, nostalgic tone.
Three narrators from a variety of class, gender, and nationality make The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club have a richer perspective for the reader to appreciate as a large surrounding cast and side plots are present.
First, there is Klaus, a German-born English citizen who has had a rough time of it because of his ethnicity. Recently interned during the war, he feels lucky to get a good wait staff position back, but knows there must be no mistakes because his position is precarious with anti-German sentiment running high.
Then, there is Constance, a farmer’s daughter, educated as a gentle woman caught between two worlds and uncertain of her future. Her mother’s old friend gift’s her a summer by the sea as an older lady’s companion and the old gal teaches her a thing or two about life. Is she brave enough to step out of her comfort zone to try something adventurous like her new friend Poppy and the other women who ride motor cycles and want to learn to fly? Her biggest gamble of all is to leap out and take a chance at romance with someone above her station.
And, finally, there is Harris, Poppy’s brother who flew planes in the war, crashed, and lost his leg. He’s been morose and uninterested after it happened, but the ladies with their plans, particularly the quiet, but determined Constance give him something to interest himself in life and see he still has worth.
It was enjoyable seeing Constance and the others find their way and root for them, but also appreciating the well written summer seaside 1920’s backdrop and the excitement of historical era motorcycle and aviation. The Hazelbourne Ladies Motor Cycle and Flying Club takes its time and the build is gradual to the crisis for all the characters with a bet, a race, tangled relationships, and an outcome that surprises all.
A great choice for your summer beach reading stack.
mrs_baas's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
whatshereads727's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“It is the summer of 1919 and Constance Haverhill is without prospects. Now that all the men have returned from the front, she has been asked to give up her cottage and her job at the estate she helped run during the war. While she looks for a position as a bookkeeper or—horror—a governess, she’s sent as a lady’s companion to an old family friend who is convalescing at a seaside hotel. Despite having only weeks to find a permanent home, Constance is swept up in the social whirl of Hazelbourne-on-Sea after she rescues the local baronet’s daughter, Poppy Wirrall, from a social faux pas. Poppy wears trousers, operates a taxi and delivery service to employ local women, and runs a ladies’ motorcycle club (to which she plans to add flying lessons). She and her friends enthusiastically welcome Constance into their circle.”
Astute, sassy, smart, and utterly transportive, The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club is historical fiction of an unforgettable coming-of-age story, a tender romance, and a portrait of a nation on the brink of change. A historical drama navigating topics of class and women's rights in England after World War I. The plot unfolds for the most part at the perfectly respectable, if not top-of-the-line, Meredith Hotel in the British seaside town of Hazelbourne on the eve of Armistice celebrations. There is an impressive and entertaining cast of trousers-wearing female motorcyclists, snooty aristocrats, one particularly pompous American, and, at the center of it all, a young woman from a farming family struggling to define the next phase of her life.
The adventures start there! The idea of women trying to start their own business in the post-WWI era certainly is the story I have read before. Women during both World Wars ended up keeping the industries and businesses alive while the men fought in the wars. We also know that in both cases, these same women ended up being sidelined to allow the returning soldiers to return to their “proper places” in society. I’m certain that there were no small number of women like Poppy who felt the need to not return to their behind-the-scenes roles, and step out as independent, more self-reliant people, with the hopes of being treated like equals. Knowing that even today women are still far from being truly equal, you have to admire these trailblazers of over 100 years ago.
An entertaining summer read. I recommend this one for all historical lovers.
nelush's review
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
storiesandsours's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5