The year is 1946 and the war has ended, for everyone except Livy Nash. With memories of the war as a former British OES agent, and now with a position as a proofreader for a second rate newspaper, what is there for her? Black market vodka has been her liquid medicine to take away the pain. But with a chance meeting at a pub, it seems that fate has intervened. Ah, but was it by chance? Who is this person? What did he want? Most of all, why was he wanting to interview her for a position as a foreign correspondent. It was none other than Ian Fleming, but the position wasn't exactly working for a newspaper, but rather as a secret agent.. As a former OES spy during the war he seems to think Livy would fit into his organization and so we are now in the realm of secret agents! I can almost hear the song "Secret Agent Man" playing in the background!!

The book was well written and as it is the first in a series, I definitely look forward to what will be coming next.
My thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Like an amusement park ride, The twists & turns had impact, but i never lost sight of the fact that it was a ride. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the ride. The post WWll period backdrop was well done & the looking back to the wartime experiences was satisfying. The Livy Nash character always had the right answer which varies from my own preference for realism. Otherwise an enjoyable read.

Overall a decent spy book with lots of unexpecte.d twists. A young woman who was involved in the resistance movement in France during WWII tries to come to terms with the after war peaceful (?) world. She ends up working for Ian Fleming and returns to Paris. In some ways it reminded me of a much gritter version of books by Susan Elia Macneal. Interesting characters, but I would have appreciated more specific history. There were parts of the book that seemed to drag on, but enjoyed it and will look forward to the next in what will definitely be a series.

Livy Nash is a former spy. The War is over yet she feels the trauma and heartache of her experiences still. Imprisoned and tortured by the Nazis, she was forced to witness the murder of the man she loved. She drinks too much and gets little satisfaction from her job. When the opportunity to rejoin the spying game and avenge her lover arises, , she leaps at the chance.to join the Cold War. The danger is still deadly; the paranoia is constant; it’s even become more difficult to distinguish the good guys from the bad. There are twists and revelations, some not so surprising. M.L. Huie has given us a fearless and skilled, though damaged, character in Livy, but also demonstrates how one war, seemingly won, leads to another more complex.

entertaining, historical, detailed

The novel is told from the main character Livy that's is mainly from her point of view, in away that made the novel a bit predictable but overall interesting to read. There were some parts I found very blunt and surprised that phrase was put in an odd location of the story. She attend's parties, royal balls, gets into gun fights, finds romance and very descriptive. I would've liked to read more about the love interest with Peter but overall this was a fun read, I've already recommended it to my friends. Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the Kindle eread for an honest review.

I recently was bored as there was nothing that interested me on TV and I hadn't been able to find a read that clicked. I picked up a magazine but then decided to look over my Netgalley list and found a historical fiction book set right after WWII - I decided to give it a whirl.
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Well my friends this book, Spitfire, has helped me get out of my slump. Set during 1946, it follows Olivia Nash a former British OES agent who worked out of France during the last years of the war. Her life has been significantly impacted by her war experience and eventual return to civilian life. When the opportunity to work again with the OES, now under Ian Fleming, she finds she cannot resist it.
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Livy's venture into the spy world of the British, French, Russians, and Americans in post war Paris was fascinating and I quickly became wrapped up in her life and work. She is a complex woman who's backstory intertwines with her current situation making for a wild ride of figuring out how this will all go down. The twist near the end was well played and I was curious how Livy would react. She did not disappoint!
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This is the first in a new series and I am excited to see what the future holds for Livy - both from a personal and professional aspect. And may I add that I haven't seen a lot of historical fiction written during this time period and after reading Spitfire I am hopeful it will be more explored.
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Thank you Crooked Lane Books, not only for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this book but for publishing a story that has helped me get out of my reading slump.

While I appreciate the advanced copy of this book, I must be honest and say that I couldn’t finish it. I was eager to read this book per the description. I read about a third of it, and that took some doing. The story is very disjointed and not very believable. I think the biggest issue for me is that the main character, Lucy Nash is written as if she were a man. I found absolutely nothing relatable about her. That being said, there is a lot of good writing in this book, and the story could be very good, it just did not inspire me to read further. I don’t think comparing this character to Maggie Hope is a good way to advertise this book.

Spitfire is the first of the Livy Nash series being written by M. L. Huie and provided me with a book that I did not want to put down due to the pace created by the author when he wrote this book. Livy is one of those famous operatives that were dropped into the French country side by the SOE to team with the French resistance and fight the German war machine by actions of sabotage. In post war England Livy struggles in her attempts to forget her past while proof reading a trite advice column for the women of this post war England.
Recruited by Ian Fleming to return to the Paris as a covert operative in the guise of a journalist..
It is at this point that the book steps up its pace and takes te reader on a breakneck ride. While Livy is a flawed character she develops appeal to the reader. I am sure that the next book will develop her character further.

This is the first book in a series and I can't wait to read more. This is historical fiction espionage. It is fast paced and hard to put down.

Spitfire by M.L. Huie

The first of what will be the Livy Nash Mystery Series by M.L. Huie is very well titled: Spitfire. Olivia Nash is a spitfire all the way.

Bored with her job with a small London newspaper, this drinker of cheap gin, almost broke Livy hopes Ian Fleming can add some drama to her life by way of a job. Having been an agent in the Special Operations Executive (SOE) in WWII, Livy speaks fluent French and has plenty of covert war experiences.

There are British, Russian and American characters in this tale which all add complexity to Livy’s new spy responsibilities in post WWII France. Several characters have multiple names, so try to keep up. Her past collides with her present obligations, adding tension to a well told story.

Follow this cute, spunky and sly Livy as she attempts to complete her mission.

Spitfire is a great historical fiction novel. It has wonderful characters and storyline. The book is well written and I would read more by this author.

I will say that I enjoyed the book and I found it gripping enough to be taken out of the house to be read at other times – that doesn’t always happen! It was written in a fast paced way, that made me want to carry on reading. I did get a little bit confused over characters – who was who, and where they were based, but that’s probably because I was reading quickly, rather than any fault of the author.

I liked the main protagonist, finding her both sympathetic and believable: although I really have no idea about the world of espionage I found the situations (mostly) credible in the just-post-war years. From time to time something jarred in the writing, which put me off a little – the main two things were firstly describing something as being “about the size of a fifty pence piece”. As 50p pieces didn’t exist in post war Britain (decimalisation didn’t come into use until 1971) this description was anachronistic (and annoying!) The other was the use of the word “purse” to describe a handbag. While I forgave the American characters using this word, I found it hard to think that the British characters would use it. Again, only a little thing, but something which spoiled the reading for me. I’m a fussy bugger!

I did see the twist coming – but only a few pages before it happened – and found the ending of the book to be satisfying. The way is left open for further books, and I would be happy to read more in the series. But I do suggest the author, who I believe is American, just checks his “Britishisms” a little more carefully. I say I “believe” he is American as the Author biographt part of my Kindle edition included no biographical detail, but rather instructions for the publisher – that also needs sorting!

I’m giving this 3.5 stars on my blog, but 4 stars on Net Galley – I’d rather mark it up than down!

I loved this first in a new series featuring a gutsy but imperfect heroine set just after WWII in London and Paris. SPITFIRE is as thrilling as the fighter planes themselves, replete with Ian Fleming, spies, unpredictable political landscapes swirling with post-war intrigue, and a taut narrative that grips from page one. A compelling start to what could be a new fave series. 5/5

Pub Date 07 Jan 2020.

Thanks to M. L. Huie, Crooked Lane Books, and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.

#Spitfire #NetGalley

Spitfire by M.L. Huie is an excellent post-WWII historical fiction/thriller full of cloak and dagger, mystery, espionage, and double-crossing prose.
This is the first of the Livy Nash series and it is divine.
I love Olivia (Livy) Nash and her flawed character. I love how she evolves and gets her footing as the book progresses. Livy has to face her demons head on and decides to swim against the currents vs sink.
I also love the supporting cast. All of the characters are intriguing and almost no one is as they seem.
I love the story line and the twists and turns that take the reader for a wild ride. It was thrilling to the end.
The ending was satisfying, yet leaves us with somewhere to go for the next book.
I cannot wait to read the continuing installments because I feel this has the potential to be an amazing series. In a market saturated right now with WWII era books, this sets itself apart from the rest.

5/5 stars enthusiastically

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this amazing ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

Thank you