Review by yvo_about_books - The Uncharted Flight of Olivia West

yvo_about_books 's review for:

The Uncharted Flight of Olivia West by Sara Ackerman

3.75

adventurous emotional inspiring slow-paced

Finished reading: January 19th 2024

"Funny how dreams were dreams, and then one day, if you were lucky - or persistent enough, they became reality."

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

I fell in love with Sara Ackerman's writing back in 2022 when I read The Codebreaker's Secret, and I've been meaning to read more of her work ever since. I admit this took longer than expected, but as soon as I first spotted The Uncharted Flight Of Olivia West I knew that I was going to read this story first. It's no secret that I have a weak spot for WWII fiction, but there was just something about the blurb of this dual timeline story partly set in the 1920s that had me fully intrigued. And it turned out to be a more than solid piece of historical fiction indeed!

One of the things that I loved about Sara Ackerman's books is the Hawaiian setting, and it shows that the author has intimate knowledge of the islands. The descriptions were both thorough and vivid, and really made Hawaii come alive for me... And I do love a dose of armchair travel while I'm reading! I could also really appreciate the historical details incorporated into the plot, and while Olivia West herself was a fictional character, the race itself really did take place. This gave the story an air of authenticity and really took the plot to the next level for me.

The Uncharted Flight Of Olivia West uses a dual timeline structure, where we switch between 1920-1927 with Olivia West's POV and 1987 with Wren's POV. Dual timelines can be tricky for me, because I tend to much prefer one timeline over the other... In this case, I did have a preference for Olivia's POV both because of the race and the fact that she was a female pilot fighting against prejudices and a male dominated industry. It took me a lot longer to properly warm up to Wren's POV, although things did improve drastically as soon as she settled in on the Big Island. Olivia's POV was more historical and adventure with only a small dose of romance, while Wren's POV was more romance and self discovery... I guess your reaction to the two POVs depends on what type of story you prefer.

I do have to say that I was surprised by the pace itself, which was a lot slower than expected especially with Olivia's POV. There was a lot of building up and not that much flying; I guess I expected a faster pace for a more adventure focused timeline. The pace in Wren's POV was also quite slow, although I guess that part of this feeling had to do with the fact that it took me a while to warm up to that timeline in the first place. Things did improve over time, and the final part was without doubt a lot more engaging. I especially loved learning more about Olivia and her journey, and the little mystery and romance in Wren's POV were a nice touch and brought everything together. I also loved the incorporation of Hawaiian words into the plot.

If you enjoy well written and more character driven dual timeline historical fiction, The Uncharted Flight Of Olivia West is a great option. While the pace might be a bit on the slow side, there is also plenty of adventure along the way to make up for it and the Hawaiian setting is a bonus.

Content Warnings