Jenni L. Walsh: The Call of the Wrens

 By Kelly Bridgewater

Introducing 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 found 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, it’s a way to prove herself after a childhood fraught with surgeries and limitations from a disability. And with the re-formation of the Wrens as World War II rages, it’s 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, resilience—and the knowledge that the future will always belong to the brave souls who fight for it.

 

My Thoughts:

The Call of the Wrens by Jenni L. Walsh introduces readers to a world of brave women during World War II who rode motorcycles to deliver messages across and through enemy lines. Being an avid reader of World War II novels, I have never heard of motorcycle riders. Bicycle riders, yes, but not motorcycles. The first thirty percent of the novel was setting up understanding the two heroines and their lives before they are thrown in the dangers of the World Wars. At times, it seemed to be going nowhere. Walsh was leading up to the war, but it seemed a lot of time to spend in the backstory that could have been sprinkled later on in the actual story. Story felt realistic and unique, but it did drag for a while and not keep my attention for long. There was a romance in the past timeline, but I did not know if I liked it or not. Felt realistic enough to go with the story, but I did not care about their relationship at all. Walsh does a good job at crafting the novel. Her writing was nicely done, but I need more movement in my stories to capture my attention. Overall, The Call of the Wrens by Jenni L. Walsh was a unique and different storyline, but the plot needed more action.

I received a complimentary copy of The Call of the Wrens by Jenni L. Walsh from Harper Muse Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating:  3.5 out of 5 stars

Purchase The Call of the Wrens