Customer Reviews

The Victory Club

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Margo,Dottie,Lucy and Penny all work together at an airfield during World War 2. As they work together they struggle to keep and find their faith. Some are worried about family and sweethearts serving, while others want to break free of the life that they have always known. And Victory Club will bring them togther to make that dream come truth.

This was the first book that I have read by Robin Lee Hatcher. I have to say that main reason that I bought it was wartime setting, but I really enjoyed this book and would more by Ms. Hatcher.

The Victory Club

Robin Lee Hatcher

During times of war, not all the victories and casualties occur on the battlefield. Award-winning, veteran novelist Robin Lee Hatcher transports us back to 1943, and into the lives of four women desperately holding on while their loved ones serve in WWII.

· Margo King: A woman who attempts to control her life, and the lives of those she loves, with a rigid determination borne from personal pain. She's to learn that in order to fully receive God's grace, one must let go.

· Dottie King: A night of passion leads to an unexpected result. In her darkest days, she discovers God's unconditional love and forgiveness.

· Lucy Anderson: The founder of The Victory Club, she soon realizes how the enemy can advance when our guard is down.

· Penelope Maxfield: Desperate for a new life, nothing can stand in her way.

With precise attention given to characterization and details surrounding World War II, Robin Lee Hatcher succeeds in weaving together a beautiful story, which examines heroism and cowardice, and above all, God's unfailing love.

The year is 1943 and World War 2 grips the world. With their loved ones away in far off countries fighting for freedom, four women decided to do something extra to help matters at home. So begins the Victory Club.

Lucy, Margo, Dottie, and Penelope come together to pray and seek ways to help those that are struggling during this time of war. But they too face struggles, ones they don't always openly share with each other.

Loneliness plagues Lucy as she waits on word from her husband, drawing her into a friendship that could destroy all she cherishes. Margo's hurt and bitterness from the past has built a shield of coldness and legalism around her, a shield that ultimately blocks God's unending mercy. Margo's daughter, Dottie, finds herself facing the consequences of temptation and sin. As Dottie finds God's forgiveness, her mother's shield of legalism blocks the love Dottie seeks as she awaits news from her boyfriend overseas. Bitterness consumes Penelope. When her younger sister sets off to war, Penelope selfishly desires to escape the mundane life before her.

Each woman deals with issues of fear and death as they eagerly await V-Mail from their loved ones on the battlefield. Months can go by without word from overseas, and sometimes when word does get through, it isn't what they would like to hear.

THE VICTORY CLUB tells the compelling story of these four women as they face issues of loneliness, temptation, sin, selfishness, and legalism. Through this heart-wrenching tale, we follow the women as they find mercy and trust in the one true God, and ultimately learn that God is in control.

The clever use of V-mail correspondence inserts, exchanged between those waiting at home and those in the throes of war, drew us into the emotions and struggles of each woman. Telegrams and snippets of newspaper reports also helped bring this story to life.

I read this book in two sittings, a very rare thing for me. Drawn into the era of 1943, with its high emotions and uncertainty, I found it difficult to put this book down once I started.

THE VICTORY CLUB is a story I won't soon forget.

The Victory Club is a book that's hard to put down. As the story progresses, the reader is sucked into the heartache of each woman's life. Temptation becomes too great for Penny to resist. I found the grief her husband Stuart went through realistic and heart-breaking. Unfortunately, crises do not always turn people toward the Lord, and not everyone gets saved. How realistic. Margo learns how to deal with bitterness and accept God's grace. I loved how the author tied that together with her daughter Dottie's pregnancy. In the end, Margo becomes a woman at peace with her past and true love finds her. Excellent plotting and character arc there. Lucy fights her own emotions as she battles with loneliness and the enemy who wants to destroy her faith. I found it so realistic that the timing of her temptation was strongest when she was really trying to serve the Lord. Isn't that just how Satan works? Dottie longs for her mother's acceptance and forgivenss for her lapse in self-control and desires for the father of her unborn child to return so they can be a family. Her boyfriend comes back less than perfect, but that's what happens in wartime, so I found it very romantic that they continued to love each other and got married despite their mistake and his injuries. Overall, the author did an excellent job showing each character's issues and how their pain affected them emotionally. Those who knew God had a distinct advantage over those who were truly lost. Isn't that just how the real world is? I could sense the author's passion for the unsaved and love for the Lord in this story. She also did a wonderful job dealing with spiritual issues and without sounding preachy to me. I loved this book!

I got a copy of Victory Club for some background and to help get a feel of the time frame for a piece I was doing on WWII returning servicemen - I soon found myself forgetting the research and drawn into the story. Finely crafted characters, fast moving story, interesting story changes took me through the book in one sitting. Enjoyable read.

Terry Burns

www.terryburns.net

I picked up this book to read because it was about WW2. Robin Lee Hatcher is now one of my favorite authors. The way she writes her characters brings them to life, and I found myself wanting to walk into the book and live in the town with the rest of them. LOVED IT!!

The lives of four women are featured in this WW II era book. Most everyone is involved with the war efforts in one way or another. Husbands, sons, daughters and boyfriends are fighting a raging war thousands of miles away.

This book features what it was like to wait at home...waiting for letters which were often full of holes from censors....waiting for the next coupon book to purchase certain items, waiting for a loved one to return home.

Robin does a very nice job following the emotions, the daily life and the problems of these working women. Problems they face are unfaithful husbands leaving them bitter....a pregnancy that was not planned, a husband who is thought to be too lazy to help with the war efforts and a lonely young bride who nearly succumbs to an affair.

Religion plays a huge role in the lives of these families, and the book has equal parts of romance, history and suspense. Thanks Robin for a great book to read near Independence Day, it made our freedom seem much more understandable.

This type of book is fun to read but it feels like it never goes deeper than the surface. I guess when you have four characters it's hard to keep them straight. I did enjoy reading about the rations and shortages. It makes me think of our current circumstances and reminds me that we are not the first generation to experience this type of experience.

The book was filled with four good characters. Each one with their very own challenges. I do appreciate that not everything comes together in a tidy bow at the end. Everyone does face choices in their lives and some choices are regretted almost immediately and others take years to come to the surface.

One thing I did love about this book was the character Dottie. Her faith was so genuine. Her sin was too. It made me think about many different things in life and realize that not everything happens just as we plan it. Our sin will find us out and in all honesty, that's the best way to realize God's love for us. I've always prayed that my kids get caught when they sin and I suppose that's what God prays for us. So we get caught before the sin catches us and binds us from Him.

Thank you, Robin Lee Hatcher, for your words of wisdom and your great imagination. You must have amazing research skills. You captured Boise in a realistic way. I loved the descriptions of down town and Gowen Field. Great job! Great book! Pick one up today! Get your library to order one, too!

The Victory Club is a story about four women during World War 2. Two of the women, Margo and Dottie, are mother and daughter, and Margo's son, Clark, is overseas fighting in the war. Margo is a very bitter women because of the circumstances that life has thrown her way. Margo doesn't realize that God's about to do a major working on her heart. Another lady, Lucy, has been without her husband almost since the first day of their marriage because he's flying bomber airplanes for the US in the war. And finally, Penelope, is angry at her husband because he's not fighting in the war, and she's about to take matters in her own hands in regards to their marriage.

Even though there are four separate storylines going, they are all woven together beautifully, and the entire story is very easy to follow. Be prepared, though, to discover things about yourself while reading this book. I was convicted several times, and realized that there are some changes that I need to make in my own life. It has been a long time since I read a fiction book that had this much of a spiritual message. Don't wait too long now to get your hands on this one! :o)

I listened to this book in the audio version. It was wonderful story set during WWII of the friendship of four women with loved ones serving overseas. The narrator did a great job and I was very caught up in the story and the lives of the women. I learned several interesting things about the times in which they lived and the struggles they faced. For instance, there was V-mail long before there was E-mail! The book also had many Christian insights that are as true and practical today as in the 1940's. This was my first Robin Lee Hatcher book and definately will not be my last!