Grace Lafferty only feels alive when she’s dangling 500 feet above ground. As a post-World War I wing walker, Grace is determined to get to the World Aviation Expo, proving her team’s worth against flashier competitors and earning a coveted Hollywood contract. No one’s ever questioned Grace’s ambition until Henry Patton, a mechanic with plenty of scars from the battlefield, joins her barnstorming team. With each new death-defying trick, Henry pushes Grace to consider her reasons for being a daredevil. Annoyed with Henry’s constant interference, and her growing attraction to him, Grace continues to test the powers of the sky. After one of her risky manoeuvres saves a pilot’s life, a Hollywood studio offers Grace a chance to perform at the Expo. She jumps at the opportunity to secure her future. But when a stunt goes wrong, Grace must decide whether Henry, and her life, are worth risking for one final trick.
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Nothing But Sky
Amy Trueblood
Nothing But Sky has an extremely unique take on historical fiction. Barnstorming isn’t something I’ve come across in a book before, and it’s what made me want to pick it up the most. Reading about the tricks and manoeuvres made me want to go watch The Soaring Eagles in real life, although obviously they’re not real. Even though this was unique, the plot itself was quite predictable and repetitive with lots of tropes thrown into the mix as well.
I’d say it was predictable mostly because it’s the same as any book that contains a MC who want’s to win a big competition at the end of the book. There’s multiple problems that happen, an antagonist on a different team and some sort of betrayal. The romance sub-plot was also extremely predictable, with a hate to love trope and it just wasn’t interesting to read about.
I did however enjoy that our main character Grace was portrayed as a strong female character throughout the book. There’s a lot of feminist hints throughout from her and other women she meets with in the book which prove that women can do everything a man can do. A lot of the male characters are typically worried for Grace doing a dangerous job because she’s a women, but the ones who truly care about her don’t deter her as they know it’s what she loves.
This is based just after the war, so a lot of our male characters have to deal with their pasts and there’s some great PTSD portrayal throughout, and how they deal with this. Some deal with it in different ways and we truly see the negative side effects. Because of this, the makority of our main characters are fleshed out well and we really feel for them as people. There’s a lot of emotional obstacles within the book, and whether it’s the romance, betrayal or familial conflict you do feel attached to the characters.
Overall, it’s alright book. If you want to read about barnstorming and something that’s a little bit different but still historical fiction then you’ll enjoy it. But if you’re looking for a plotline that’s unpredictable and that will take you on a wonderful journey then I don’t think this is what you need.
POSITIVES
+ Unique Premise
+ PTSD portrayal
+ Strong female characters
NEGATIVES
– Romance
– Predictability
I received Nothing But Sky by Amy Trueblood from the publisher via Netgalley. This is an unbiased and honest review
