Settle in for a warm and often amusing story of a group coping with the shifts in the world and the UK in the post WWI era. Constance, having lost her home and her job managing an estate, is working as a companion to Mrs. Fog during a visit to Hazelbourne, a small town by the sea. A chance meeting with Poppy, daughter of a dynamic and wealthy widow and sister of Harris, who lost his leg when his plane crashed, changes her life. Poppy and her band of friends have a motorcycle club and then she buys a Sophwith Camel for Harris. Each character is more than you think they will be- and there are a lot of them, ranging from Tilly who wants to be a mechanic to a visiting civil servant from India to Mrs. Fog's childhood friends to most poignantly of all, Klaus, the waiter at the hotel who is German. This unfolds slowly (to be honest, more slowly than I originally expected) but that's not a bad thing. It's the small scenes here (wait til Constance and Poppy go to the East End) that mean the most. Indeed it is a tale of manners with the mores that seem outdated to Constance and Poppy. And there's the casual regrettable racism. I've liked Simonson in the past and this is an expansion on her skills and shows off her storytelling better than ever. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I really liked this book. It cozy in a great sort of adventure way.
 
Its all about Constance who is really trying to find herself now that her mother has passed. She is taking care of an older lady who she nursed through influenza. They are staying in this fun hotel in the town of Hazelborne. She ends up meeting Poppy and their fun amazing friendship starts right away. Of course, I am a sucker for friendship stories especially this one. When all the men went to war all the women had to start doing all the jobs men would do because they need to make money as well to support the family and Poppy has made a business of being a sort of taxi service. Motorcycle and side car, you call and they come pick you up but with all the men coming home from the war things are changing. 
This book has friendship, a bit of romance, exciting adventures and a real way of pulling you into this world that feels like you are right there with them. I love books that take you away like that.
5 STARS for sure!!!!! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
 
Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an Advanced Readers Copy of this amazing book. I now have to wait for the book to come out in a few days so I can buy it!!!! Come Out May 7,2024.

DNF after about 33%. I thought the premise sounded interesting and somewhat humorous, but I found it to be boring and all of the characters to be too one dimensional. I really wanted to like the book, but it just wasn't for me

Now that the men have come home from the war, women are forced to give up the work that they had come to love, and for women like Constance, the work they need to support themselves. Before Constance has to figure out how to support herself in London, she is spending the summer as a companion to an old family friend at a seaside hotel at Hazelbourne. While there she encounters Poppy, a sassy wealthy women about her age who runs a motorcycle taxi service run by and for women. Constance is brought into her group of friends as they attempt to navigate post WWI England and the misogynistic restrictions being forced upon them which is taking away all the freedoms they had during the war.

I was so excited to read this one because I loved the author’s novel, Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand. While I enjoyed all of the quirky and fun characters and Simonson’s enjoyable writing style was present, this one just was a bit of a slow read for me and just couldn’t hold my attention as much as I wanted it to. The last 1/4 of the book was my favorite and I wish the whole novel was as engaging. The novel was good just not as great as I was hoping it would be.

3.75 stars (rounded to 4)

Thank you to NetGalley and Dial Press for the ARC

I wanted to like this book, it just wasn't for me. There were too many storylines and character and I found myself wandering. But, that is just my personal preference. If you like a lot of happenings and much goings on,,, this might be the perfect book for you! :)

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for and ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing, and Helen Simonson for allowing me to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

There were lots of changes for women in 1919, when the men returned from war and needed their jobs to support their families. Women were expected to give up these jobs that they had performed so well and enjoyed. One such person, Constance Haverhill, had to give up her job on an estate, which included the cottage where she lived. Finding a job wasn’t that easy, so she accepted a temporary job of helping an ailing family friend at the seashore. While there, she is befriended by the delightful Poppy Wirrall, who wears slacks and has a motorcycle taxi business. Put your imagination to work. Add in Poppy’s brother who seems fond of Constance and you are set for a great adventure!

Welcome back, Helen Simonson. We have missed you. How pleasant and wonderful to be in Simonson's new historical novel, this one taking place just after the end of World War I in England. It feels like going back in time to meet the most finely drawn characters who become people you will admire, love and some you will detest.

Constance, a talented young woman, comes face to face with the fact that now, with servicemen coming back from the war, women will lose the jobs they were needed in. She works as an aide to Mrs. Fog, her friend Rachel's grandmother, and is constantly told by Rachel's mother that she should resign herself to life as a governess. Post 1918 flu, piling further losses upon losses, Constance has left her brother's farm following the death of her sister-in-law's baby.

Constance meets Poppy in a seaside village. Poppy runs a motorcycle taxi service along with a group of women. If you find engineering fascinating, you will get quite an education regarding motorcycles and Sopwith Camel airplanes. You will also learn a lot about estate management, British society, Indian royalty, and living with an amputated limb. Is it a lot? Yes! But every page is filled with Simonson's gripping prose. The novel is lengthy, but worth it. Several suspenseful scenes will have you reading on the edge of your chair. At the end, you will sit back with a satisfied smile.

Thanks to The Dial Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this early copy.

DNF

I am 26% through this book, It has so many storylines and people that I cannot keep it all straight. Plus, nothing is happening really. It is very descriptive and slow. Additionally, there are so many words used that are either very British in style or words that are pure SAT words that I have to stop quite frequently to look up definitions. Yes, I love to learn new words, but not in every single paragraph.

I'm so sorry not to finish this book, but it just didn't work for me.

This charming historical novel meets us in Britain as WWI is coming to an end. It centers around high society women and the roles they assumed while the men were in the war. As the men come home, the women find themselves undervalued and displaced. Can a group of fun and adventurous female entrepreneurs provide a haven for female jobs, or will their carefree, sometimes raucous behavior be too much for Hazelbourne to handle? Thanks to Dial Press and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.

3.75 stars rounded up to 4.

As the book started, I was entranced by the life of Constance and her companion Mrs. Fog. We watch as we get to know the hotel, its guests and the women in and around the hotel.

Then, the pacing falls off a bit and it was necessary to keep reading as the characters are compelling and I was curious as to their fate. However, the story was very slow and there were several times I considered not finishing.

As always, I’m so glad I finished. The last third of the book was charming and heartwarming. Constance’s character grew by leaps and bounds, as did Mrs. Fog, Harris and Mrs. Wirrall. The beauty of the story was truly in the characters that were redeemed and grew to be better people. They found happiness and purpose, and the end for these characters felt very complete.

Advance Reader copy provided by NetGalley and Random House but all opinions are my own.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel about the displacement of British women who worked for the war effort during WWI and then had to give up their jobs to returning war veterans. It is a character driven novel with quite a bit of social injustice and romantic undertones. Great characters, a well placed plot and a bit of intrigue kept me turning the pages. I read it straight through in two days. Highly recommended

Thanks to NetGalley and The Dial Press for an advanced reader copy.

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club is generally an easy read about a young woman in a wealthy seaside hotel for the summer. Under the gentle romance and friendship, there is a sad undercurrent of a society trying to heal from World War 2. This is an enjoyable and thought-provoking novel.

4.0 difficult path for women post WWI

I managed to read two WWI books, back-to-back! This one had a different angle and, for me, really illustrated the class structure in England and showed how difficult a path women had, especially after the war. So many women stepped into work roles while the men were away at war and got a taste of what that was like, earning their own money. Then, when the war was over, the women were expected to go back to traditional roles as wives and mothers and not work.

We have several characters and points of view in this one. Constance managed the farm office for three years during the war and has several accounting certificates. Now she’s struggling to find a job, as men are supposed to do these jobs now. Due to her mother’s friendship with a wealthy family and her nursing a sick family member back to health, she’s been rewarded with spending a summer at the seaside as a companion.

We see how the wealthy live and how Constance is treated. Constance meets a young woman Poppy, who is enterprising and has set up a motorcycle club and business serving as a taxi. The two women develop a friendship and Constance is pulled into her social orbit. We also meet Poppy’s brother, Harris, a pilot who lost his leg in the war. He’s also struggling to find his place, and we see how he’s treated as if he has nothing left to contribute to the world.

There’s much more to this book, and it was often unsettling. Several times, characters are mistreated because of their social standing, nationality, or race. The author successfully places us in this time. In some ways, we have advanced in terms of women’s rights and humanity, but there’s still a long way to go!

I rooted for Constance to find some measure of happiness, either with a job, or romance, or true friendship.

I’m a big fan of this author, and this book did not disappoint.

Set in 1919 in Britain, during the Influenza epidemic that came about right after the end of the first world war, the book follows Constance Haverhill, a young lady that is struggling to find her way in the changing society of the time. As the men return from the war, women are forced to give up the jobs that they took over, and with them some of their independence.

In Constance’s case she ran the family estate, having taken bookkeeping courses by correspondence. Now the estate has been turned over to her brother, and she must leave her cottage and find work. Not wanting to be a governess, one of the few positions deemed socially acceptable for a young lady, she becomes a companion to an elderly lady, Mrs. Fog, recovering from illness at a seaside resort. There Constance meets Poppy Wirral, a well-connected young woman who runs a ladies motorcycle club.

Poppy and her friends are modern, intelligent young women who wear trousers, ride motorcycles and generally behave in a way very much frowned upon by polite society. Harris, Poppy’s brother, has returned from the RAF injured, having lost his leg, and he is struggling both mentally and physically with coming back to regular life.

This book highlighted the treatment of women during this period of history, and the huge differences between the classes and especially between people of money, such as the Wirral family, and people like Constance who must make their own way in a world that suddenly does not value the skills that helped Britain get through the war. It also highlighted the treatment of anyone who returned from war ‘damaged’, who were treated as if they were mentally feeble rather than physically injured.

I bristled with annoyance over some of the ways in which Constance was treated, while also acknowledging the fact that the author did a marvelous job of showing exactly how things really worked at the time.

Filled with wonderful descriptions of the time and place, and some excellently detailed and somewhat quirky characters, this book was a joy to read. I particularly loved following the bright, sharp, strong Constance as she figures out her path in life.

“The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club” is my first read from author Helen Simonson. It is set in a small village in England the year after WWI ends. It follows the adventures that ensue when down on her luck lady’s companion Constance Haverhill meets local gentry Poppy Wirrall who runs a motorcycle based taxi and delivery service.

From the description of the book, you might think that high jinks ensue and that it’d be full of madcap adventures of empowered young women. But while it is described as a comedy of manners, I’d say this book is more of a slow moving post-war character study with a bit of romance thrown in.

The book was slow to take off, in my opinion, but I did eventually become invested. I just found it hard to decide what kind of book it was and go settle in accordingly. The ending came pretty quickly and was a little jarring.

I will say that I appreciated learning more about the German/British experiencing during WWI from a character named Klaus. I also learned a lot from Poppy’s brother Harris about what injured servicemen dealt with upon returning from the war.

If you like character driven historical fiction I have no doubt you’ll love this book.

Thanks to the Dial Press, Helen Simonson, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a free ebook in exchange for my honest review.

Like Helen Simonson's two previous novel, this unfolds at a pace that is rarely found in modern novels. Its timing is more akin to a jane austen or George Eliot novel that is told at the pace of life for people of a certain station in a time long ago. Through characters that we come to know deeply, Simonson shows us why honesty, humility, and caring for those around us are important in life. Not all of the characters are thoroughly good, and not all of them are thoroughly bad (although some of them do some pretty bad things). I loved this book because it very subtly leads the reader down a trail and allows the reader to form opinions about the characters' actions. This novel is a model work in "showing" not "telling". The dialog was exemplary and I will miss the characters, especially Mrs. Fog, now that I won't be visiting them every day!

I wanted to love this book based on the synopsis but I found it was too confusing to be enjoyable. I do not recommend it.

I've read previous novels by Helen Simonson and this one did not disappoint. Delving into the world of the wealthy women who helped during the second world war but are now being told they are not needed along with a woman whom they befriend but desperately needs a job after the loss of her parents and her only brother married to a woman who doesn't want her around.

These motorcycle-riding women who are able to manage these noisy, unwieldy machines start a motorcycle taxi service, much to the chagrin of the 'proper' hotel guests who can't abide women in pants on these machines. Relationships come together and fall apart. Secrets are revealed and families are put to the test of loyalty.

A compelling work of historical fiction.

World War I is over, the soldiers are returning home, and now the women who helped sustain the war effort are expected to leave their jobs and return to domestic life. Wait. Not so fast. Not every woman is willing to give up the jobs and responsibilities that they’ve enjoyed. Some of these women are members of the Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle Club.

Ms Simonson has written a book that looks at the aftermath of WWI and the expectations of society as Great Britain settles into a new norm. British society and women’s place in that society is much of the focus. By and large, I found the “society” women to be distasteful, rude, and hurtful. Their attitudes and expectations were simply inexcusable. Only two women were the exception and they were delightful.

Overall, I enjoyed the latest book by Ms Simonson but there was a lot of repetition detailing the plight of women and that seemed to cause the plot to falter more than once. NetGalley provided an advance copy.

This was ok. I think I expected more depth, based on the description. It felt a bit flat to me. However, I did like the author's style, and it might be I have just read too many books like this. Though the motorcycle club was a new angle. I think it would appeal to readers who like books with a lighter feel. Thanks to Netgalley for the chance to read the ARC.