Dear Miss Lake by AJ Pearce

August 9, 2025

Dear Miss Lake by AJ Pearce

Emmy Lake and the other staff at Woman's Friend are still hard at work. But in the summer of 1944, Britain has been at war for five long years. While victory is coming, especially since the Americans joined the fight, between the nightly bombings raids and the ever tightening rationing, everyone on the home front is exhausted from the war. It's a challenge for the magazine staff to remain upbeat and positive while faced with constant worry about their own loved ones.

Fourth and final book in the Emmy Lake series. Pleasant historical fiction that covers life in Britain during the last year of World War II. I would recommend reading the previous books in the series as there are frequent references to events and characters from earlier books. 

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review. 

A POW camp in Stuttgart, Germany

The Wealth of Shadows by Graham Moore

May 19, 2025

The Wealth of Shadows by Graham Moore

In 1939, an assorted group of monetary experts from the U.S. Treasury Department set out to crash the German economy.

A look at World War II history from a different angle, this time from a monetary/economic perspective, based on actual events and people. Billed as a page-turning gripping spy thriller, it's not that at all and certainly not what I was expecting. It's slow-moving for one thing, with a lot of discussion about economic theory in the first part of the book. I also didn't find the characters all that engaging, although there is some witty dialogue among some of the characters but not enough to keep me interested, and I found myself skimming over a lot of parts. Some readers called it fascinating and it probably is to the right reader, who obviously isn't me. Not recommended unless you are into economic theory in minute detail. Or need something to help you get to sleep.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

The Dressmakers of Auschwitz by Lucy Adlington

January 25, 2025

The Dressmakers of Auschwitz by Lucy Adlington

An astounding story of a designer dressmaking salon run out of Auschwitz concentration camp, mostly staffed by Jewish women, patronized by the wives of high-ranking Nazis and SS officers. The Nazis were well aware of the importance of clothing to elevate or degrade people, and even in the middle of a war and clothing shortages, they and their families wanted to be well-dressed. (The Nazi culture was so bizarre, wanting to obliterate anyone who didn't fit their mold and keeping meticulous records about how they did it, yet using the talents of those same people when it suited them.) 

Sewing literally saved the dressmakers' lives, while at the same time allowing them to participate in sabotage in the camp. Many parts about the horrors of camp life and the way the inmates were treated were hard to read, but the stories of these smart, courageous women need to be told. The author had the privilege of interviewing the last surviving seamstress while researching this book. Stellar in-depth research. Recommended for readers interested in women's history and the Holocaust.

Berta Kohut and her sister Katka, two of the seamstresses of Auschwitz who survived the war

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

January 3, 2025

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

In 1940, three women are recruited to do war work at Bletchley Park in the English countryside. One is a debutante who speaks several languages, one has superior office skills, and the third can work a crossword puzzle in minutes. Although none of them are sure at first what the people at Bletchley Park are doing, they soon learn that BP is Britain's World War II code breaking center.

Based on actual people who worked at Bletchley Par on the German enigma cypher. They recruited university types at first, but later also people who did puzzles, spoke languages, and had great organizational skills. The reason the cypher was initially so difficult to break is that the code changed daily. Once the code breakers figured out how to break the code, the challenge became preventing the Axis forces from realizing that the British were reading their secret messages. Part of the government's strategy for keeping the secret was isolating each section from the others, sharing only the information that they needed to do their work. The rose code in the book is an example of the types of code they worked on, so called because the code wrapped around like the petals on a rose.

While I was interested in the whole story of code breaking and the enigma cypher, the book is a whopping 650 page and would have been a better book if an editor had whacked out 100 or so pages of repetitious details. Fun fact: Valerie Middleton, grandmother of Katherine, Princess of Wales, was a code breaker at BP during the war and appears in the book. Recommended for readers of historical fiction, especially about World War II.

Bletchley Park

The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan

December 11, 2024

The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan

Cecily Alcantara and her family have been living in Malaya under Japanese occupation. Before that, it was the British occupation. They manage to stay under the radar, until Cecily's son Abel disappears along with a number of other teenage boys. Cecily believes this is her fault - for years before the war, she was an informant for the Japanese, believing that they would restore Asia to Asian rule, and now she considers this to be her punishment.

A different perspective on World War II, set in Malaya (now Malaysia) and told from the perspectives of the residents of a suburb of Kuala Lumpur. There are many layers to the story and the plot started to drag about halfway through. I started skimming until the last 50 pages when the threads of the story come together. Will appeal to readers who enjoyed The Shadow of the Banyan or When the Elephants Dance, which I thought were much better books.

A Malayan town under Japanese occupation

The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles

December 7, 2024

The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles

In 1939, Odile Souchet lands her dream job, at the American Library in Paris, where she finds the place she is meant to be and the friends she has been seeking. But the city is on the brink of war and when the Nazis occupy Paris, the staff at the American Library is determined to remain open and fight the Nazis with the power of books. Forty years later in a small town in Montana, a teenage girl strikes up a friendship with her reclusive neighbor, a French widow.

Another book that makes me proud to be a librarian. The novel has a dual timeline, one set during World War II and the other in 1980s Montana. Personally I found the World War II sections more interesting, since the 1980s parts have a lot of teenaged angst. Based on fact, the story honors the librarians who worked to protect the staff, the patrons and their collection. The American Library still exists today. Librarians are bad-ass - never forget it. My favorite quote: "the Nazis shot a librarian? That's like shooting a doctor!"

Recommended for readers who enjoy historical fiction set in France.

The original American Library in Paris

The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel

June 10, 2024

The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel

Paris 1942 - Eva Traube is a graduate student at the Sorbonne when the Nazis begin to round up the Jews of Paris. Eva's father is arrested by the Nazis, but Eva and her mother escape to the Vichy area which was technically Free France. Eva begins to work with the French resistance, forging documents to help Jewish children escape to Switzerland. But the work becomes increasingly dangerous, and Eva soon finds herself immersed in more clandestine activities.

I was off World War II fiction for a while because there was SOOOOO much of it, but I'm glad I read this one. I really liked the story line and most of the characters, except for Eva's mother. The mother is beyond annoying - she ruined a lot of the book for me (partially because I could hear my own mother's voice in a lot of what she said). If you can, skip any scenes that focus on Eva's mother - I think the author could have left her out altogether without any detriment to the narrative, since Eva had plenty of challenges without her. Recommended to readers who enjoyed The Nightingale or the Alice Network.

Resistance fighters in France

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

August 19, 2023

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

David lives with his father, his new stepmother, and his new half-brother. He is a lonely child, desperately missing his dead mother and feeling unwanted by the rest of the family. He loses himself in books, mainly fairy tales, until one night, he wanders into the garden following the sound of his mother's voice, and is swallowed by a tree. The tree turns out to be a portal to another world that David calls Elsewhere. There are familiar fairy tale figures but they appear and act differently than they did in the stories he read. David wants to go home more than anything, but first he has to find the king, who has a book that may hold the answer on how to get there.

Grimm's Fairy Tales (the original gruesome ones) meets the Wizard of Oz. David is on a quest where he meets people who help him and others who try to hinder him. He feels his mother's death is somehow his fault, even though she died after a long illness that sounds like cancer. At the same time, he feels abandoned, and that if he would just disappear, his father could have a new life with his new family.

I read this book when it first came out and decided to re-read it before I get the sequel (The Land of Lost Things). While there is a lot going on here about the psychology of fairy tales and mythology, you can also read the book just for the enjoyment of David's story. The sequel is coming out in the fall of 2023.

A fairy tale cottage

Mrs. Porter Calling by A. J. Pearce

August 14, 2023

Mrs. Porter Calling by A. J. Pearce

Emmy Lake is working at Woman's Friend magazine as the Reader and Advice Editor. While her husband Charles is serving in the RAF, Emmy is sharing a house with her BFF Bunty, and their friend Thelma and her children are taking the empty flat in their house. Everything is going as well as it can in the middle of a war, until the mag is taken over by the Honorable Mrs. Cressida Porter ("call me Egg") who has specific ideas about changing the magazine's format, content, and audience.

The third installment in the Emmy Lake series, warm, cozy, heartfelt. Good escapist reading for a hot summer day.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Members of the London fire service during World War II, where Emmy and Thelma work in the evenings

The Keeper of Hidden Books by Madeline Martin

July 22, 2023

The Keeper of Hidden Books by Madeline Martin

Zofia and her best friend Janina live in Warsaw. While they are preparing for war, neither girl believes that war will come to their city. Zofia's happy place has always been books, and she loves her job at the Warsaw public library. But then the Nazis occupy the city, and their lives change in ways neither could have imagined. As a Jew, Janina and her family are forced to move to the Warsaw ghetto. When the Nazis begin to first confiscate and then destroy books, Zofia and her friends are determined to hide as many books as possible, even if it costs them their freedom or their lives. At the same time, they work to make sure that the citizens of Warsaw and the ghetto have access to books.

A tribute to literature, the power of books, and the ingenuity of the people of Warsaw and the Warsaw ghetto. People under the age of 40 frequently don't understand the power of books, having grown up with the Internet, cellphones, and cable TV.

Another book that makes me proud to be a librarian. If you enjoyed The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek, this title will appeal to you. People who love books will always find a way.

Librarians rock. Never forget it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

The Last Lifeboat by Hazel Gaynor

July 1, 2023

The Last Lifeboat by Hazel Gaynor

Alice King is a teacher and librarian who lives a sheltered life with her mother in Kent, while her younger sister lives a much more glamorous life in London, working for an MP. Alice longs to do something to help the war effort but isn't sure what she can contribute, until she hears about the need for escorts to accompany English children being evacuated to other British Commonwealth countries. She is accepted as an escort and looks forward to finally having an adventure. In London, war widow Lily Nichols agonizes over whether to evacuate her children, and decides to trust the government and send her children on one of the evacuation ships. But disaster strikes a few days into the voyage, and the two women along with Alice's sister Kitty fight to save the evacuated children.

Based on the true story of the SS City of Benares, part of Operation Pied Piper, the British government's plan to evacuate English children for the duration of the war. If you know the story of the Pied Piper, it would be hard to imagine a more ill-omened name for the project. The SS City of Benares was part of a fleet traveling from Britain to Canada and back. The convoy was torpedoed by a German U-boat in September 1940 after their military escort turned back toward Britain. The City of Benares sank, and 35 people including a number of children spent a week in a lifeboat before being rescued. Well-researched historical fiction, highly recommended.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

One of the lifeboats from the SS City of Benares

The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry

June 9, 2023

The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry

Hazel and her sister Flora Lea are among the children evacuated from London to the English countryside near Oxford during the London Blitz. One day, Flora goes missing, never to be found. The local police believe she drowned in the river near their temporary home. Years later, Hazel is working for a rare book dealer and is about to start her dream job at Sotheby's. Processing new arrivals for the shop, Hazel finds a book filled with modern fairy stories set in a world called Whisperwood. But they are the stories that Hazel used to make up for Flora Lea, and she has never shared them with anyone else. Did Flora write the stories down, and does this mean she is still alive? Does someone else know what happened to the little girl?

A mystery, a missing person, a book about books and stories. This novel appeared to tick all the boxes for me, and I have enjoyed the author's previous books. I like the story at the beginning but then it got long with too many unnecessary side characters and repetitious scenes. I did a lot of skimming, and the solution was okay even if the ending was a little too tidy, and it took a really long time to get there. Maybe I didn't connect with the characters. Maybe I've had enough of World War II fiction for a while. I really wish I had liked it more.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

The Mitford Affair by Marie Benedict

November 19, 2022

The Mitford Affair by Marie Benedict

The six Mitford sisters are the toast of the London social scene, even in the middle of a worldwide economic depression. Oldest sister Nancy concentrates on her marriage and her writing, while sisters Diana and Unity are caught up in Hitler's fascism and become close personal friends of the Fuhrer, as well as strong supporters of the British Union of Fascists. Meanwhile, younger sister Jessica is a devout communist and runs off to Spain with her boyfriend to fight Franco's regime.

Marie Benedict really captures life in England and Germany between the two world wars. She focuses on the three oldest sisters: Nancy, the best known of the sisters for her writing; Diana, married to the head of the British Union of Fascists; and Unity, Nazi fangirl who possibly had an affair with Hitler. As with all of Benedict's books, research is sound and even readers who are unfamiliar with this time period will have no problem being caught up in the story.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC.

Five of the six Mitford sisters

Mercury Pictures Presents by Anthony Marra

July 10, 2022

Mercury Pictures Presents by Anthony Marra

At the start of World War II, Mercury Pictures is strictly a B-movie studio (possibly a C-movie studio), until a critic hails one of their films as a prophetic masterpiece. The studio owner, a man of many toupees, is called to Washington D.C. and enlisted to make propaganda films (i.e., war fiction) for the U.S. government. Maria Lagana, an associate producer at Mercury, came to the U.S. from Italy as a child but when the U.S. enters World War II, she is subject to the same restrictions as other German, Italian, and Asian Americans. Former architects, poets, and photographers are enlisted to make miniature replicas of Berlin, write B-movie propaganda films, and portray stereotypical evil villains from the Axis countries.

This was a fascinating look at the culture, politics and economics of the movie industry in the WWII era. There was a lot more humor than I was expecting, and I highly recommend it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC.

Typical propaganda film of the World War II era

The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin

October 8, 2021

The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin

Grace Bennett and her bestie Viv move to London just before the start of World War II. While Viv gets a job at Harrod's, Grace doesn't have the necessary letter of recommendation. She gets a job at a musty old London bookstore with the understanding that if she works there for six months, the owner will give her the required letter. Although Grace isn't a reader, she sets to work cleaning and reorganizing the shop and is soon sucked into the spell of books, with the help of a patron named George. During the Blitz, Grace volunteers as an air raid warden, a job that many feel is unsuitable for a woman, and becomes known for reading aloud in the local tube station during air raids. When a bomb hits the street where the bookshop is located, the community comes together to save the store.

Based on a true story, this is a feel-good novel about World War II and the "keep calm and carry on" attitude of Londoners during the Blitz. The plot is predictable w giveith the expected romance, but that's okay. It gives a look at life during the Blitz without getting too graphic.

London tube station being used as an air raid shelter during World War II

Clark and Division by Naomi Hirahara

August 30, 2022

Clark and Division by Naomi Hirahara

American-born Aki and her sister Rose are Nissei, the children of Japanese immigrants. Aki's father runs a successful produce business in a Los Angeles suburb. Aki has always lived in California, until the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor. The family soon finds themselves in Manzanar concentration camp out in the middle of nowhere.

When the government offers relocation to cities in the center of the country, the family jumps at the chance to move to Chicago, where there is work and housing available. Aki's older sister Rose works for the camp administration and is allowed to go on ahead of the rest of the family. But shortly before the rest of the family arrive in Chicago, Rose is killed in a subway accident. Her death is ruled a suicide by the coroner. Aki is certain that her sister would never have killed herself and is determined to find out what caused her death.

Chicago 1944

This is Hirahara's first historical novel and it's not as good as her mystery series. It is a fascinating look at life for Japanese Americans during World War II. Lots of descriptions about Chicago, although there is a little too much about traveling around the city. Some of the more interesting characters (like a drag queen Aki meets at the hair salon) are unfortunately not explored and in fact, have nothing to do with the plot. Not the author's best effort.

Manzanar Camp

Yours Cheerfully by AJ Pearce

July 18, 2021

Yours Cheerfully by AJ Pearce

Emmy Lake is an aspiring columnist at a women's magazine in London when the Ministry of Information asks all the women's magazines and columns to help them recruit women workers. Emmy jumps at the chance for greater responsibility. Although she embraces the challenge and plans a series of columns about women doing war work, a visit to a munitions factory staffed by women brings home the stark reality of mothers working in wartime. Emmy resolves to do everything she can to help these women.

Bunty, Emmy's best friend, is shattered when she finds out that her fiance has been killed in action, and the Blitz makes her anxiety even worse. Emmy and her fiance Charles decide to plan a hasty wedding when they learn that Charles is being shipped overseas. The difficulties with transportation during wartime make the build-up to the wedding a comedy of errors with a happy conclusion.

This is the second book by the author featuring these characters. The story is heartwarming and often funny, while also heartbreaking at times.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC.

The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan

June 24, 2021

The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan

Four women decide to compete in a cooking contest sponsored by a BBC radio program, for different reasons: newly widowed Audrey wants to win the prize to save her family's home and support her three sons; her estranged sister Gwendoline, married to the local lord who ignores and belittles her, want to win the prize to earn a spot as a radio presenter; Nell, a kitchen maid at Gwendoline's house, wants to win the prize to escape the life of a low-level servant and become a head cook; and Zelda, a self-trained chef working at a local factory but with a secret of her own, wants to win the prize to earn a spot as a head chef in the male-dominated world of fine restaurants.

The contest focuses on creative cooking using the limited ingredients available during rationing, and unexpectedly brings the four together despite being rivals. All four women want a better and different life for themselves. They end up supporting each other and forging bonds of friendship.

The heartwarming story is based on an actual radio program and contest. Food rationing began in England in 1940 and ran until 1954, with coupons necessary to obtain tiny amounts of basics like sugar, butter, and proteins. I had not realized that rationing went on so long in England.

British ration books from World War II

The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson

May 3, 2021

The Splendid and the Vile: a Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz by Erik Larson

On Winston Churchill's first day as prime minister, Adolph Hitler invaded Poland. It only got worse from there: for the next 12 months, Hitler's Luftwaffe systematically bombed England almost every night, killing 45,000 Britons. It was particularly bad on the nights when there was a full moon. Churchill held the country together and gave the British hope.

Usually we hear about how Churchill was respected and loved, but he was both admired and reviled by the British. This is also a family saga about Churchill's wife Clementine, his son Randolph and his unhappy wife Pamela, Pamela's American lover, and the youngest Churchill daughter Mary, who chafed under her parents' refusal to let her play a more active role in the war.

Erik Larson writes wonderful narrative nonfiction that is far from traditional history books. Never dry, always fascinating.

Chequers, Churchill's country home

What Once Was True by Jean Grainger

January 15, 2021

What Once Was True by Jean Grainger

Two Irish families, the aristocratic Keneficks and the working class Murphys. The Murphy children have grown up at Robinswood, a grand estate in County Clare, Ireland, where their parents work as caretakers. Lord and Lady Kenefick are British and even though Lord Kenefick gambles and drinks away the family fortune, they work hard to keep up appearances. Their once fine mansion is falling down around them and there is no money for repairs. After Lord Kenefick's death, Lady Kenefick decides to put the estate up for sale and moves to London.

With the loss of Robinswood, the Murphys are forced to find a new home and new jobs. With the start of World War II, two of the Murphy daughters move to England to join the women's air force, while the two Kenefick children are forced to reinvent themselves as well.

This is book one of the Robinswood trilogy, a heartwarming family saga. Anyone who enjoys domestic or women's fiction will enjoy this as well as readers of historical fiction.