Category: World War II Era (1939-1945)

The Last BookShop In London by Madeline Martin

On By TracyIn Historical Fiction, Tracy's Reviews, World War II Era (1939-1945)Leave a comment

The Last Bookshop in London: A Novel of World War IIThe Last Bookshop in London: A Novel of World War II by Madeline Martin

Tracy’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: N/A

Release Date: April 6, 2021

When Grace Bennett moves to London with her best friend Vivienne “Viv” Bailey in August of 1939, there is no way she can even begin to imagine how much not only her life is about to change – but how much the world is about to change as well!

Grace arrives in London full of hopes and dreams, she and her friend Viv, rent rooms from her late mother’s widowed friend, Mrs. Weatherford, and her grown son Colin. While Grace had high hopes of becoming a shop girl at Harrod’s, she had no written references, she instead gets a job at Primrose Hill Books, a small bookshop owned by Mr. Evans, due to the help of Mrs. Weatherford and even gains the promise of a referral letter after six months. Grace is not pleased, she is not a reader and while she has basic shop knowledge from working for her uncle, she knows nothing about books, which is made clear on her first day. She arrives to work, the shop is a mess, cluttered and unorganized, Mr. Evans clearly doesn’t want an employee, and Grace feels hopeless when a customer asks for help finding a book, but things begin to look up when another customer, a man named George comes to her rescue, and even suggests a book for her to read. She leaves the shop a bit more hopeful, but that changes later that evening when the radio announces the mobilization of the fleet – a sure sign that war is coming.

This book is not my normal genre, but having read this author’s historical romances, I was sure I would find a well-written, well-researched story with a strong heroine and an interesting story – and I was not wrong, but I was not prepared to be sucked into the story and held captive the way I was! While reading this book, I experienced a complete array of emotions – shock, pain, heartbreak, loss, wonder, hope, and love – I felt Grace’s struggles, her fears, her disappointments, her hope, her horror, and her joys – I watched her find an escape in reading and happiness in sharing her newfound love of reading with others. I finished this book with a new respect for not only the men and women who served in the military and sacrificed so much but also for those who fought on the Homefront – who were separated from their children, who made do with meager rations, who supported each other and never gave up hope. I loved this book and am so glad I decided to give it a go, it was wonderful, and can’t recommend it highly enough.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own. *

The Consequences of Fear by Jacqueline Winspear

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Historical Mystery, World War II Era (1939-1945)4 Comments

The Consequences of Fear (Maisie Dobbs #16)The Consequences of Fear by Jacqueline Winspear
Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Maisie Dobbs #16
Publication Date: 3/23/21
Number of Pages: 352

WOW! What a wonderful new-to-me series to find. I had been reading the book blurbs on each new book as it was released – and they sounded like great stories – but I put off trying one because I thought it was still too close to ‘contemporary’ to suit me. I read very little that isn’t set in the Victorian or earlier eras. As I am becoming more and more disillusioned with the ‘woke’ historical romance books that are being written, I decided to branch out with more and more historical mysteries. This one is absolutely wonderful. I loved Maisie Dobbs – and YAY for me – I started with the book where Maisie gets married. The writing is excellent and the story and plotting are near perfect. What really brings the story home though, is the descriptions of life in WWII London during the blitzes. I absolutely felt as if I was running right along with Freddie as the bombs were dropping.

Freddie Hackett is twelve-years-old and is proud that he has been chosen as a message runner for the government. He is, of course, afraid of the bombs dropping, but those aren’t any scarier than his home life. If he keeps his father in enough coins to stay at the bar, maybe he and his mother won’t be beaten tonight. Freddie is a gifted runner who might be in the Olympics someday and as his feet are flying and he turns a corner toward his destination, he sees something unthinkable. Two men are in a fight, so he backs into a small doorway of a bombed-out home so the men cannot see him. When one takes a knife out and murders the other, Freddie loses his stomach contents. He remains quiet and still long after it is over – and then, shaking, he goes on his way to the delivery. He gets a really good look at the murderer – and guess who answers the door.

The police aren’t particularly interested in the murder Freddie reports, but Freddie is frightened, so he looks elsewhere for someone to help. That person is Maisie Dobbs. Maisie immediately believes the story Freddie is telling and begins an investigation despite her government office boss telling her to leave it be. As Maisie digs deeper and deeper into the case, she comes to learn that there are political implications to solving the crime. That, of course, doesn’t deter Maisie and she keeps going. She not only has to find the murderer, but she also has to keep Freddie, his mom, and his sister safe.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I’m so sorry I took so long to decide to give the series a try. Now, I just have to make time in my schedule to go back and read the first fifteen books. I can’t think of a single thing I’d change about the book – except I think it might be fun to have Mark more involved in Maisie’s case. I’m very happy to recommend this book!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.