The characters are well developed. The plot was very good. The writing is excellent. A great start to a historical fiction series

Iris Tredwick is looking for a way to escape from her overbearing mother and a rather humiliating experience involving the man she thought she'd marry. Knowing that war is looming and expecting that war work will soon be mandatory for single women, and with her mother’s constant messages about “marrying well” ringing in her ears, Iris finds herself signing up to join the WRNS and selecting the visual signaller role based on the attractive uniform shown on a poster!
Arriving at her training base, Iris soon meets her bunk-mates, the outspoken Mary from Wales who lost her fiancé to a torpedo strike and dreamy Yorkshire-born Sally who has struggled since the death of her father & injury of her uncle. Having lived a privileged life, Iris is rather a snob and doesn’t fit in well initially to military life with her tendency to say what she’s thinking without thinking. However she throws herself into learning as much as she can, passes her tests and finds herself posted, with Mary & Sally, to their first station which is not in Iris’s preferred location of bustling Portsmouth, but in the remote wilderness of Orkney.
As the girls start to fall into a rhythm of life at their posting, they become close friends and also start to make friends with some local service men and locals. As they work to interpret signals from incoming ships, they realize the enemy is somehow one step ahead of them and when they spot a plane dropping mines under the cover of darkness they realise that there might be a spy on the island.
The characters are not instantly likeable but as Iris’s prejudices and privileges are challenged and the individual characters of Iris, Mary & Sally start to develop, they become more engaging. We meet mechanic Rob who is rather taken with Iris (though most definitely not a suitable match in her mother’s mind) and you cannot help loving Elspeth & Archie, the crofters who welcome the presence of the WRNS and other service personnel whilst their own sons are away at war!

The author has a writing style that is very easy to read. It is disappointing that the “mystery” of the spy is not resolved in this book, though it is very obvious who it is! I was looking forward to discovering how the girls uncovered the “clues”.



The book does suffer slightly from being written in lockdown which limited travel to Orkney (there is an author’s note to this effect) but it is a good start to the series. There are a number of loose ends which need to be resolved in later books - This book primarily follows Iris’s story, I believe the next books in the series will continue to story but with more focus on Mary & Sally respectively.

Ultimately this is an engaging historical novel that fits well into its genre and the location of Orkney and the role of visual signaller makes it a little different to other similar books.
The book will definitely appeal to fans of WW2 historical fiction, particularly those who enjoy the story of women from different backgrounds coming together to do their part in wartime.

#NetGalley #ANewStartForTheWrens

Historical drama set in the Orkneys during World War Two. The main characters are signalled in the Wrens,who bond during rigourous training before being sent to Orkney. Their dramas make for good story.

Iris, Mary and Sally sign up to help the War Effort and train with the Wrens as Signallers. They come from different backgrounds and classes and initially struggle to gel. It was great feel as though you were in the Orkneys, an area I would love to visit. They were doing an important job, keeping us all safe and they are on the lookout for unwanted strangers lurking amongst them when suspicious things happen.
Things gradually thaw between the girls and it's great to see them getting to know each other better and working through their differences.
Iris comes from a privileged background and when two potential love interests make themselves known can she ignore family expectation and let her heart rule her head?

This is the start of a new series for the author and also for me. I was after a new saga to get stuck into and I have found it clearly with this series and the authors previous work.

Iris is also after a new start too, after presuming that she was about to be proposed to and live the life as lady of the manor, she makes a mistake and finds herself suddenly in Orkney as a WREN signaller. Joining her are Mary and Sally and whilst we learn about them, this story very much focuses on Iris. I took an immediate dislike to Iris, who ability to speak without thinking was clear and she really did have a problem with anyone who did not come from the same class and why would women want to do anything other than marry.

Of course as the book goes on, we see Iris prejudices challenged not just by her developing friendships with Mary and Sally but also the other people she meets along the way. Mechanic Rob is nothing like the man Iris should marry but something about him is enthralling. Stewart on the other hand would go down well with Iris’s parents. But is he really the caring doctor he makes out.

Then of course there is the Orkney Islands themselves, a vast landscape, nothing like the landscape of any of the girls homes. The weather is another battle to fight along with the Germans. The islanders welcome these girls into the homes and hearts and Irish can see that perhaps all she has held as ‘right’ is in fact wrong. When it looks like there could be a traitor in their midst, they find their purpose in their work will have huge ramifications.

This is a wonderfully written saga and I was hooked from the beginning. As someone who has a lot of knowledge of the Royal Navy and also coming from Portsmouth and working now where HMS Mercury moved to I can see plenty of names I recognised and nothing stood out for me as achingly wrong! I have seen that in previous novels and it really spoils the book for me.

I am already looking forward to catching up with the girls again soon.

Absolutely loved this book. As with Vicki's previous series about the Ops Room Girls, A New Start for the Wrens introduces us to characters who I already love and can't wait to hear more about.
A fantastic book - Vicki Beeby is fast becoming one of my favourite authors - she definitely knows her stuff about WWII!

I absolutely loved this book by Vicki. I really hope that there will be more adventures from Iris, Mary and Sally in the near future. Based in the Orkney’s the girls are Wren’s that are polar opposites and are thrown together during World War Two. The book is so descriptive you feel like you’re there with them through each dramatic turn of events and every storm. I was disappointed to reach the end as this book definitely left me wanting more.

A New Start for the Wrens by Vicki Beeby is a World War II story about three Wrens (Women's Royal Navy Service) who find themselves stationed at the Orkney Islands, otherwise known as the-back-of-beyond. One the ferry over to the island, Iris is so seasick that she literally falls into the arms of a young man named Rob, who is also stationed there. He has been on leave but is back early because he likes it there and has come back to help some of the locals. The other two girls, Sally, especially, see it as a sign that Iris and Rob are meant to be. A lot happens over the next few months and Iris grows up. She had been a spoiled rich girl with lots of funny notions, but over this period she came into herself. It was a fun story to read.

I love World War II stories that are not explicit and away from the action. I went through a period of those and have moved on. There is so much more to it than just that: the way England used all of its resources to survive the Nazi onslaught, for one. This was a feel-good story, for sure. Watching Iris grow up and make the first friends she had ever had was endearing and watching the other two girls: Sally and Mary come in to their own was just as enjoyable, although not the focus of the story. Meeting some of the locals was fun, too. Learning a little about a place far away always makes a book for me, and even thought people died here, many more loved. It was a good book.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of A New Start for the Wrens by Canelo, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #netgalley #canelo #vickibeeby #anewstartforthewrens

Another brilliant read by Vicki Beeby, I love the three main characters who work well together even though they are very different characters. This book is the first of a new series and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Great book, I read this in a couple of days

I love books about women's work in the war ans I was interested to learn something new from this book.
The story is primarily about Iris, a spoilt rich girl who at the start of the book is loathsome and irritating. However she joins the Wrens and with the help of her friends Sally and Mary she discovers a heart and realises money isn't everything
I really enjoyed ready about Orkney and the work of Wrens and feel this book deserves a sequel as there were a few loose ends and I want more about Mary and Sally

I loved Vicki previous series The Ops girls so was very excited for her new release and she did not disappoint! I absolutely loved this book set in the beautiful lo action of Orkney. Love the characters and their reasons for joining and can't wait to read the next one?

Romance and war, what could make a better read, this was really great. Does class make a difference, well yes and no, read this to find out what happens, I am sure you will enjoy this book. 5 stars and I can really recommend it to all.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for this e ARC

Loved this new series of the wrens and the three girls who are thrown together in their training to be signallers and their transfer up to Orkney, can't wait to read the next installment, will we find out if Stewart was not what he seemed?? How will life pan out for Mary, Sally and Iris I honestly can't wait to find out.
Great storyline and wonderfully written

I need a follow up as soon as possible. An addictive read. I went from really disliking Iris to admiring her. Her growth as a person throughout the book was admirable. These young women were so brave. I hope that if there are follow ups they will focus on Sally and Mary. A must read for saga lovers.

Iris Tredwick is a young woman from a posh family. She is hoping to marry soon and avoid having to do war work that will soon be mandatory for all single women. When Iris’ plans are shattered, she picks the Wrens after seeing the uniform. At training, Iris meets Sally and Mary who have not the easiest of lives. After training, the three women are sent to the Orkney Islands. They soon discover mysterious happenings on the island and wonder if the enemy has infiltrated Orkney. The ladies work to uncover the truth with the help of the flirtatious Rob who has taken a liking to Iris. A New Start for the Wrens by Vicki Beeby is the beginning of The Wrens series. The market has been flooded with stories from this time period, and I almost did not read this book. I am glad that I did. It is an engaging historical novel about three women who join the Wrens in 1941. I thought the author captured the time period and the feeling of the people. Iris Tredwick was not the most likeable character in the beginning, but she grew on me. Iris is the main character in this story. I hope each lady will get a book of their own while incorporating the other two. The women who entered the various service organizations were very brave. I liked learning about the Wrens. Iris, Sally, and Mary undertook training to become visual signallers. It was interesting learning about the different signals and the work the women did on the Orkney Islands. The author found a way to provide the information on signaling and keep it interesting (I was not bored). The Orkney Islands sounded remote and barren yet beautiful at the same time. I like the author’s writing style. It is casual which made the story easy to read. It had a good flow too. I like how the women came together and became friends. I like seeing strong, positive female friendships. I loved the story had mystery and intrigue in it as well. It was easy to identify the bad guy, but I was curious as to how the ladies would discover the truth. I am looking forward to the next book in The Wrens. A New Start for the Wrens is a charming tale with sailing ships, studying signals, an imperious mother, a major misunderstanding, waging war, an infiltrating enemy, and faithful friends.

Excellent book to read with a story and characters that draw you into their lives.This is the first book i have read that features the wrens and i loved it.Well done Vicki Beeby 5*

I really enjoyed this. I was excited to get a review copy after loving Vicki's previous books and this didn't disappoint at all. A really thoughtful look at the work of the wrens in WWII and a brilliant new trio of girls to get to know. I cannot wait for the next one.

Brilliant easy read book! The characters were all really likeable (except the baddie who I had sussed early on!). I'd love to visit Orkney and reading about the rolling landscape and views has only heightened this desire. The storyline inspired me to read more about the actual historic facts of the area and it's significance during the war. I hope this is the first in a series?!

Loved this book! I binge read it as I wanted to know what would happen. The three main female characters Iris, Mary and Sally are all so easy to relate to and care about, as is Rob. Love the glimpses of Orkney and the poignant history. Cottoned on to the baddie early on and kept shouting warnings at my Kindle lol. Loved Vicki Beeby's Ops Room Girls series and was worried this might not be as good but it is! Can't wait for the next instalment in this series.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

A New Start for the Wrens by Vicki Beeby is a fabulous start to a new series.

I really enjoyed the author’s previous series and was looking forward to reading this.

Iris is the main character, who thinks that she’s better than others and her mother who believes that if she does marry well’ she’ll have a better life, as meeting those that aren’t as well off as they are is something that Iris shouldn’t do.

Iris, signs up and arrives at HMS Mercury to begin training, where she meets Sally and Mary. As the story progresses you get to know about their backgrounds. They pass their training and are sent to the Orkney Islands for their first posting.

I loved reading about how they become friends and helping each other in times of need.

The book also has a bit of mystery to it, as well as romance.

Cannot wait to see how the three girls’ lives progress.

Highly Recommend This Book.