'The Call of the Wrens,' by Jenni L. Walsh | Book Review
About The Call of the Wrens
Via Amazon
The Call of the Wrens introduces the little-known story of the daring women who rode through war-torn Europe carrying secrets on their shoulders.
An orphan who spent her youth without a true home, Marion Hoxton found in the Great War something other than destruction. She discovered a chance to belong. As a member of the Women’s Royal Naval Service—the Wrens—Marion gained sisters. She found purpose in her work as a motorcycle dispatch rider assigned to train and deliver carrier pigeons to the front line. And despite the constant threat of danger, she and her childhood friend Eddie began to dream of a future together. Until the battle that changed everything.
Now twenty years later, another war has broken out across Europe, calling Marion to return to the fight. Meanwhile others, like twenty-year-old society girl Evelyn Fairchild, hear the call for the first time. For Evelyn, serving in the war is a way to prove herself after a childhood fraught with surgeries and limitations from a disability. The re-formation of the Wrens as World War II rages is the perfect opportunity to make a difference in the world at seventy miles per hour.
Told in alternating narratives that converge in a single life-changing moment, The Call of the Wrens is a vivid, emotional saga of love, secrets, and resilience—and the knowledge that the future will always belong to the brave souls who fight for it.
Historical, stand-alone novel
Book length: approximately 94,000 words
Includes discussion questions for book clubs
Release Date: November 15, 2022
Publisher: Harper Muse
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My Review
Readers looking for a story about the Wrens will find it here to a point--but it's much more a character-driven story about two MCs, who happen to be Wrens, and their stories during WWI and WWII. The dual timelines ultimately intersect about 2/3 of the way into the read. (Patience, young Padawan!) I almost set it aside at about the halfway point, but picked it up again after reading other reviews, and was glad I did. I do feel I could have seen "the big surprise" coming, once it did actually hit, but I did enjoy still being somewhat surprised!
I initially thought it was a Christian-fiction read, based on other books I vaguely recall reading from the publisher, but it isn't. Ergo, there is a little language and a wedding-night scene that I personally wouldn't have minded fading to black just a tad sooner, but was still reasonably tame. Once I settled in after these personal mental shifts, I enjoyed the read and found myself really rooting for the MCs, as well as supporting characters Sara and Rose. Also, having the dual world-war timelines was a unique, new experience for me, and I really liked it; most of my experience has been with present day and one of the wars, not both of them together (and no present day).
3.5/5 stars.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
About the Author
Via Amazon
Jenni L. Walsh spends her days knee deep in words in Philadelphia’s suburbia. Beyond words, Jenni is a mama (of a soulful eight-year-old, a dinosaur-loving six-year-old, and three needy furbabies), a wife, a Philly and 'Nova sports fan.
But where did it all begin? Jenni spent her early years dabbling in various forms of writing and with her nose in a book. Her writing chops first began to develop through one-page stories. Never fail, the storyline followed the same progression: girl meets boy, girl marries boy, girl and boy have baby. That's it.
Now Jenni has moved on to stories with a bit more depth and, for the mamas, Side by Side is a historical women's fiction story of America’s most infamous crime spree of Bonnie and Clyde told in the raw and honest voice of the woman who lived it, Bonnie Parker. In Becoming Bonnie, a prequel set in the Roaring Twenties, a picture of Bonnie's earlier life, before and while she meets Clyde, is brought to life. Jenni's third historical women's fiction book A Betting Woman takes us to the California gold rush, featuring a little known woman from history, Eleanor Dumont, but who is largely remembered by the moniker Madame Moustache. In The Call of the Wrens, Jenni introduces readers to the Women's Royal Naval Service (the Wrens), who carried wartime secrets on their shoulders as motorcycle dispatch riders during both world wars. Jenni's next historical novel will release in November 2023.
For the kiddos, Jenni's debut middle grade books, She Dared, features true stories from women who, at a young age, accomplished daring feats of perseverance and bravery. She is also the author of I Am Defiance, inspired by a real-life resistance group, known as the White Rose. Jenni has contributed Hettie and the London Blitz: A World War II Survival Story to the Girl's Survive series. Revolutionary War hero Sybil Ludington, who is often known as the "female Paul Revere," is brought to life in By the Light of Fireflies, Jenni's first historical novel with a touch of magical realism. Jenni's newest historical novel for young readers, Over and Out, is a thrilling and fast-paced espionage and escape story that is inspired by real stories of life in East Berlin during the Cold War.
Learn more about Jenni and her books at jennilwalsh.com and @jennilwalsh on social media.