REVIEW: Digging for Victory at Rookery House by Rosie Hendry

Digging for Victory at Rookery House (Rookery House #2) by Rosie Hendry

Genre: Historical fiction, WW2, Sagas

Read: 29th July 2023

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Published: 27th July 2023

★★★★★ 5 stars

DESCRIPTION:

Spring has arrived and it’s time to Dig for Victory… 

March 1941

After Flo Butterworth loses everything in Manchester’s Christmas Blitz, she decides to leave the area and join the Women’s Land Army. Putting the past firmly behind her, she arrives at Rookery House in Norfolk hoping for a new start and a chance to do the gardening work she loves. 

The grip of war has intensified and growing more food is vital to keep the nation going. Thea buys an extra field to grow crops, and in the village, her sister Prue leads members of The Mother’s Day Club and Women’s Institute as they take on a derelict allotment. Meanwhile the construction of a nearby aerodrome disrupts village life and brings even more new residents to Rookery House, including Hettie’s difficult sister, Ada. With Rookery House now bursting at the seams, will it still be the happy home it’s always been?

When an enemy plane crashes nearby, Flo must help German airmen who might have been directly responsible for her family loss. She quickly finds that her heart-breaking past cannot so easily be forgotten. Can she do the right thing? And will her new friends help her move on towards a brighter future?

A heart-warming and uplifting novel following the much-loved characters from the award-winning Mother’s Day Club.

MY THOUGHTS:

Can new friends help her face an uncertain future...?

Oh, what an absolute joy it is to return to Rookery House and the village of Great Plumstead. I have spent just a day with them but it feels more like a lifetime of friendship and love, embraced in the warmth of Hettie's kitchen. Although this is book 2 in this series, the village, Rookery House and it's occupants were introduced to us in the Mother's Day Club books, of which there are also two. There was a novella last Christmas and I am pleased to note that there is to be another this Christmas. And I can't wait to rejoin everyone at Rookery House once again.

After Flo Butterworth loses her family in the Manchester Christmas Blitz, she flees to the only place that felt like home - in Lancashire with her grandparents. There she comes to the decision to join the Women's Land Army and do what she loves best. Working in the fresh air on the land. This is how she can contribute to the war effort - not by typing letters or taking shorthand.

In Great Plumstead, the village is bursting at the seams with all the goings on what with the Mother's Day Club, the WI, the WVS, the big house having been turned into a hospital...and now even more changes are afoot. Thea has come to the decision to purchase five more acres behind her own property at Rookery House upon which she intends to sow even more crops and branch out into keeping pigs and rabbits for meat production whilst still maintaining their existing land, Primrose the cow for milk, butter and cheese and the chickens for eggs. And with this new purchase, Thea realised that she would need some full time help and approached the Land Army about enlisting a Land Girl for the task. Enter Flo.

When Flo arrived in Great Plumstead she came with the baggage she intended to keep firmly packed away. But she didn't realise she would be living in a house with a family and would have preferred a hostel with other girls so she didn't run the risk of getting attached to anyone, lest the past come back to haunt her. But once at Rookery House, all her defences soon came down once in the warmth of Hettie's kitchen and welcome heart of what truly was a home. Rookery House was full to bursting but everyone moved like a well-oiled machine and worked well together, both in and out of the house. And soon Flo's knowledge of the land was put to good use, not just at Rookery House, but in the village as well.

The parish had finally seen fit to grant the WI with a space in the village allotment, though it came with its own set of problems. Having been previously owned by an elderly woman no longer able to to maintain it, it had been left to rack and ruin with brambles, nettles and overrun with weeds heavily rooted in its soil. The WI were determined to "Dig for Victory" and create a profitable place to grow vegetables they can all use to sell at the markets. Flo's knowledge of horticulture learned from her grandfather gave the women a good start and idea on how to best make use of their land and their crops.

But that wasn't all to change in the village. It seems an aerodrome was to be built on the outskirts and everyone who lived in the vicinity their houses were being requisitioned by the government for the project. They had four weeks to move out and find other lodgings. Not an easy feat in the middle of a war with evacuees fleeing to the countryside and all places once vacant were now full to bursting. Including Rookery House. But still, they made room for one more in the form of Hettie's older sister whose home of forty seven years was to be bulldozed to make way for the runway. She came with her own set of problems and Hettie wondered if they had taken on a little bit more than they could in this case.

Then with the news that even more things were becoming rationed, the women put their heads together to come up with a plan to "make and mend"...making the best of a bad situation. Is there nothing the women of Great Plumstead cannot do?

I thoroughly enjoyed my time back with everyone in the village, it was like coming home to old friends. I really didn't want my time there to end and I'll surely be counting down the weeks until the Christmas publication comes out. It is so easy to become involved in village life as you lose yourself in the pages with the characters and their lives. I thoroughly recommend reading this series and although this is the second book of this series, the village and its characters are introduced in a previous 2-book series which I recommend beginning first.

1. The Mother's Day Club

2. The Mother's Day Victory

3. A Wartime Welcome at Rookery House

4. A Wartime Christmas at Rookery House

5. Digging for Victory at Rookery House

The next book which the author acknowledges at the end to be coming a few months will be "A Christmas Baby at Rookery House". And I cannot wait. Of course it is no secret whose baby it is having read this book and quite honestly I saw that bit of news coming a long time before it was even announced. Still, while these types of saga stories can be predictable in part there is also a little unpredictability about them also. And either way, my enjoyment is never spoilt because of it. This book, as with all the others, is such a delightfully easy read with such short snappy chapters to keep the pace moving that I really didn't want my time in Great Plumstead to end. And I cannot wait to return in a few short months time.

Another wonderful installment to this easy heartwarming series that I highly recommend.

I would like to thank #RosieHendry, #RookeryHousePress and #RachelsRandomResources for an ARC of #DiggingForVictoryAtRookeryHouse in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Rosie Hendry lives by the sea in Norfolk with her husband and children. A former teacher and research scientist, she's always loving reading and writing. She started off writing short stories for magazines, her stories gradually becoming longer as her children grew bigger.

Listening to her father's tales of life during the Second World War sparked Rosie's interest in this period and she's especially intrigued by how women's lives changed during the war years. She loves researching further, searching out gems of real life events which inspire her writing.

When she's not working, Rosie enjoys walking along the beach, reading and is grateful for the fact that her husband is a much better cook than her. 

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

REVIEW: A Wartime Welcome at Rookery House by Rosie Hendry

A Wartime Welcome at Rookery House (Rookery House #1) by Rosie Hendry

Genre: Wartime fiction, Sagas, WW2

Read: 23rd August 2022

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UK

US

Published: 7th June 2022

★★★★★ 5 stars

DESCRIPTION:

Follow the much-loved characters from the award winning MOTHER’S DAY CLUB in abrand-new World War Two saga series.

October 1940

When VAD nurse Evie narrowly avoids being killed in an air raidduring the Blitz, it propels her to make a life-changing decision to break free of her troubled and unhappy life. She escapes to the Norfolk countryside to start afresh, with a job at the newly opened Great Plumstead Hall hospital, and a wonderful new home at Rookery House.

The community of Great Plumstead welcomes more evacuees to the village – mothers and children bombed out of their London homes. Sisters Prue and Thea, along with members of The Mother’s Day Club, help the new arrivals settle in, while continuing their work for the war effort by holding knitting bees, socials and doing WVS work. 

Evie is happy in her new life – she loves living at Rookery House and enjoys her job at the hospital, despite working for the difficult Matron Reed. But when a patient arrives who knew her in her former life, Evie’s new-found freedom and happiness is in danger. Will the secrets of Evie’s past be revealed, and the problems from her old life return to trouble her once more?

MY THOUGHTS:

I absolutely loved the author's Mother's Day Club series and so I was thrilled to discover that A WARTIME WELCOME AT ROOKERY HOUSE was taking us back to Great Plumstead and to all the residents we have come to know and love there. Despite this book being the first in a whole new series, it was like coming home to be back in Norfolk once again at Rookery House. In fact, it seemed like this series just picked up where the other one left off. I've not read her East End Angels series but I believe some of the characters feature briefly in this one on a visit to London. I love how authors combine their series so the characters flow from one to the other.

I thoroughly enjoyed A WARTIME WELCOME AT ROOKERY HOUSE, having visited Rookery House in previous books and meeting the occupants there, I knew the welcome Evie would receive upon her arrival. It's one of the things I love about sagas - they are set during the war without being about the war, but more about the families and loved ones left behind to keep the home fires burning. It's a glimpse into what life was like for the women and children throughout what would have been a terrifying time.

London 1940: Genevieve Hamilton-Jones is a VAD nurse at a busy military hospital in London. Every day when she completes her shift, she changes out of her uniform and into civvies, carrying it home in a suitcase...an act which confounds those upon learning of her occupation. But Evie (the name she goes by at the hospital) has her reasons. One one such afternoon she is on her way home seated next to a chatty young woman on the bus who is excited about joining up to the WAAFs the following day in the hope that she had her fiance, who is in the RAF, may be stationed together sometime. When the air raid siren sounds, all the passengers flee the bus to seeks shelter in the underground. But Evie left her suitcase on the bus and went back to fit. An act which saved her life but claimed that of another in a direct hit, leaving nothing but a handbag. Suddenly, an idea comes to her. This is her chance to disappear and start afresh...leaving the Blitz and her past behind.

Norfolk 1940: A week later, Evie steps off the train at Great Plumstead and is greeted by the smiling face of Marianne and her baby Emily who takes her to Rookery House where she is billeted. The following day she begins work at the Great Plumstead Hall Hospital, the stately home now a military convalescing hospital, under the watchful eye of Matron Reed. She befriends Hazel on her first day and the two become firm friends. But no matter how comfortable Evie feels in her new home, she cannot let her guard down for a minute lest others uncover her past and who she really is.

Life continues as it always has in Great Plumstead with another bout of mother and children evacuees fleeing the bomb-Blitzed London, with the women shocked to discover that their new evacuees arrive with only the clothes on their backs, having lost everything in the bombings. Prue takes up the cause for a clothing drive to collect much-needed clothing, toys, books and shoes for both mothers and children. Thea continues to work the land at Rookery House with the help of Alice, Marianne and Reuben with Hettie still at the helm in the kitchen.

It isn't long before Thea suspects that there is more to Evie than she has shared with them yet knowing that she will when she feels comfortable enough to do so. But still she sees a shadow of a sadness on her face and often wonders what secrets she may be keeping that haunt her so much.

Evie is thoroughly enjoying her work at the hospital despite the week long introduction to the job in the sluice room scrubbing out bedpans and cleaning cupboards. It isn't long before she proves her worth and Matron enlists her help with the patients and bandaging their wounds. Everything is going well in her new life until a new patient arrives with injuries to his eyes that could potentially blind him for life. She recognises him. And Evie knows without a doubt that he will recognise her once his bandages come off should his sight be restored. Of course she hopes his sight is restored but she also hopes he doesn't recognise her but she knows that he will. Suddenly, all her carefully laid plans may be for nothing and Evie doesn't know what to do.

Will he recognise her? What harm could he do her? What is her secret? And from what past is she running?

A WARTIME WELCOME AT ROOKERY HOUSE is a delightful introduction to a new series whilst being a welcome continuation of the previous one in that we reconnect with Thea, Prue, Marianne, Reuben, Alice and even Gloria and the rest of Great Plumstead. It is a heartwarming read and though the story is somewhat predictable, it matters not because it is so well told, well researched and basically just a delightful tale all round. The author states she was not ready to leave Thea and Prue and Great Plumstead behind and I'm so glad she didn't because it is such a welcome place to be. I could climb into the pages and just live there myself. 

Although this is the first in a new series, it does follow on from the two-book Mother's Day Club series and readers would most definitely benefit from reading those two first before delving into this one, though it can suffice without them. The previous two books will give you a much better background as the events often referred to, whilst they are briefly explained here, you can appreciate them more when seeing them play out first hand.

I cannot wait for the promised novella "First Christmas at Rookery House" nor the subsequent books which will follow the residents through the duration of the war. I have read many WW2 sagas and this one set in Great Plumstead is one of my favourites. It's just a delight to read and I devoured it in a day.

A WARTIME WELCOME AT ROOKERY HOUSE is a thoroughly enjoyable saga read and recommended for those who love wartime fiction and sagas.

I would like to thank #RosieHendry and #RachelsRandomResources for an ARC of #AWartimeWelcomeAtRookeryHouse in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Rosie Hendry lives by the sea in Norfolk with her husband and children. A former teacher and research scientist, she's always loving reading and writing. She started off writing short stories for magazines, her stories gradually becoming longer as her children grew bigger.

Listening to her father's tales of life during the Second World War sparked Rosie's interest in this period and she's especially intrigued by how women's lives changed during the war years. She loves researching further, searching out gems of real life events which inspire her writing.

When she's not working, Rosie enjoys walking along the beach, reading and is grateful for the fact that her husband is a much better cook than her. 

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

REVIEW: The Mother's Day Victory by Rosie Hendry

The Mother's Day Victory (Women on the Home Front #2) by Rosie Hendry

Genre: Historical fiction, Wartime fiction, Sagas, WW2

Read: 27th February 2022

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Amazon

Published: 3rd March 2022

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION

Can the Women on the Home Front protect their community in times of war?

Norfolk, 1940. As war rages on, sisters Prue and Thea, along with the wider community of Great Plumstead, are doing all they can to help the war effort, from running the mobile canteen for the Women's Voluntary Service to organising clothing drives and collecting salvage.

When, Anna, a young German girl who fled her country, seeks refuge in the village, Thea opens up her home, Rookery House, and invites Anna into their growing family. But while many in the village welcome Anna with open arms, others are suspicious of the new arrival . . .

As the war intensifies and panic sweeps the country, Anna is taken by the government who fear she's a spy. The women of Great Plumstead are already fighting their own battles on the Home Front, but will they come together in Anna's time of need to keep the newest member of their community safe from war?

The Mother's Day Victory is the perfect wartime family saga and the second novel in Rosie Hendry's much-loved series, filled with heart-warming friendships, nostalgic community spirit and a courageous make-do-and-mend attitude. Perfect for fans of Nadine Dorries, Donna Douglas and Elaine Everest.

MY REVIEW:

THE MOTHER'S DAY VICTORY is the second book in the Women on the Home Front series by Rosie Hendry, following on from "The Mother's Day Club" which introduced the characters we have come to know and love. I thoroughly enjoyed the first book and have been eagerly awaiting this one and naturally I wasn't disappointed. It was wonderful to catch up with the women of Great Plumstead once again, as well as meeting a few new ones.

Oxfordshire 1940: The story begins with Anna Weissenborn, a governess to a young boy Thomas, when her employer Mr Jeffries informs her that his job required him to go abroad and therefore he would be putting Thomas into boarding school thus making her position with them no longer needed. Armed with a glowing reference, Anna makes her way back to London where she contacts Julia, the woman who took her under her wing when she first came to the country as a Jewish refugee fleeing the Nazi regime. As it happens, Julia puts her in touch with her friend Thea Thornton who is looking for someone to help her in her gardens producing fruit and veges for the bustling Norfolk village.

Great Plumstead, Norfolk, 1940: When the train pulls into the station, Thea is there to greet her new charge and briefly shows her the village on their walk home to Rookery House. There Anna meets Hettie and Marianne as well as Reuben and Bess, his dog. As well as her sister Prue and niece Alice. Anna is a quick learner and picks up her gardening duties in no time proving to be an asset to Rookery House. When she is invited to a WI meeting, it becomes clear that some of the villagers aren't at all happy about Anna's presence. It seems all they can see is a German and they immediately think Anna is a spy for the Nazis...but after a heartrendering description of what she endured at the hand of the Nazis and what it means to be Jewish in Germany, the villagers are at once shocked and apologetic.

But Anna is no stranger to prejudice. It is not the first time nor will it be the last. As a category C "enemy alien", Anna is not considered a threat to the nation's security and is therefore free to live where she chooses. Her only stipulation is that she must report to the local police station upon arrival...which, considering she has already been deemed not a threat, seems a bit unnecessary. But Anna is happy to do what she must do to remain free in England.

But the freedom she has taken for granted since evacuating here is about to be lost when one morning she is awoken and rustled from her bed, having been sanctioned to be taken to a place of internment as an enemy alien. But this can't be right...she has already been deemed as non threatening. But no matter how much Thea argues, no matter who she argues with, the orders have come from high up and they are just the foot soldiers carrying out their sanctioned duties. 

But Thea will not rest until Anna is free again. However, with the order coming from the government, arguing with the government often proves fruitless. And yet she does not give up. She writes letter after letter after letter. But will the government listen? Will anyone listen? Or is the fact that Anna is German means that she is just too much of a risk to Britain? Despite her tribunal finding her not to be and thus categorising the lowest possible threat? Will Anna ever come home again? Will she ever be free again?

THE MOTHER'S DAY VICTORY is a heartwarming addition to this wonderful series as we meet up with old friends once again and make some new ones. Even Victor is still flexing his materialistic muscles...but for how long? There is so much packed into this installment what with Edwin taking up his position as an ambulance drive/orderly in London and the dreaded onset of the Blitz.

A delightful quick and easy read I read in a day, THE MOTHER'S DAY VICTORY is perfect for fans of wartime sagas such as Lizzie Lane, Pam Howes, Pam Weaver and Rosie Clarke.

I would like to thank #RosieHendry, #Netgalley, #SphereBooks and #RachelsRandomResources for an ARC of #TheMothersDayVictory in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Rosie Hendry lives by the sea in Norfolk with her husband and children. A former teacher and research scientist, she's always loving reading and writing. She started off writing short stories for magazines, her stories gradually becoming longer as her children grew bigger.

Listening to her father's tales of life during the Second World War sparked Rosie's interest in this period and she's especially intrigued by how women's lives changed during the war years. She loves researching further, searching out gems of real life events which inspire her writing.

When she's not working, Rosie enjoys walking along the beach, reading and is grateful for the fact that her husband is a much better cook than her. 

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

REVIEW: The Mother's Day Club by Rosie Hendry

The Mother's Day Club (Mother's Day Club #1) by Rosie Hendry

Genre: Historical fiction, Saga, WW2

Read: 17th February 2021

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Amazon - UK

Amazon - US

Amazon - Australia

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Published: 18th February 2021

★★★★★ 5 stars

DESCRIPTION:

Meet the women on the home front . . . 

1939. When the residents of Great Plumstead offer to open up their homes to evacuees from London, they’re preparing to care for children. So when a train carrying expectant mothers pulls into the station, the town must come together to accommodate their unexpected new arrivals . . . 

Sisters Prue and Thea welcome the mothers with open arms, while others fear their peaceful community will be disrupted. But all pregnant Marianne seeks is a fresh start for herself and her unborn child. Though she knows that is only possible as long as her new neighbours don’t discover the truth about her situation. 

The women of Great Plumstead, old and new, are fighting their own battles on the home front. Can the community come together in a time of need to do their bit for the war effort?

MY REVIEW:

I am excited to be taking part in the #BlogTour for Rosie Hendry's heartwarming new saga THE MOTHER'S DAY CLUB.

I love historical fiction particularly sagas set around this era and although Rosie Hendry is a new-to-me author I knew I would thoroughly enjoy THE MOTHER'S DAY CLUB. And I did. I really didn't want it to end and found myself completely immersed within Marianne's story from the beginning.

September 1939, London: With the threat of war looming, women and children are being evacuated to the country in an effort to keep them safe. This time it's the expectant mothers and their infants as they find themselves on a train away from the familiar and into the unknown. One their way to the station, the air raid siren sounds but instead of taking shelter the women are urged to continue by the WVS evacuation officers. It is the 3rd September 1939, the day that changed the course of history for Britain and her people when war was declared on Germany.

Expectant mother Marianne Archer is one of many women from the East End being evacuated but unlike the others, she has a secret. One which she hopes to maintain as she welcomes this relocation to the country as something of a new start for her and her unborn child. Having fallen in love with someone above her class, Marianne found herself pregnant and when her employer discovered her condition promptly sacked her from her prominent position. Marianne had grown up as an illegitimate child herself and she does not want that for her child so fabricates a marriage to a merchant seaman in the Navy. She meets an effervescent woman with auburn hair who introduces herself as Sally Parker and chatters away happily to her throughout their journey.

Great Plumstead, Norfolk: At Rookery House, Thea Thornton prepares one of her spare rooms for an evacuee that was expected later that day. As a child she fell in love with the house she now owns and vowed one day to buy it. When the Great War came in 1914, Thea's betrothed went off to fight while she joined the war effort by driving ambulances at the front line. Sadly the war claimed her fiance, but Thea returned home and set up a business in London where she lived for a number of years before her sister informed her that Rookery House was up for sale. Without another, Thea sold up her business and bought the house she had long been in love with and now lives there with her brother Reuben, who lives in a converted railway carriage on her property, and dear friend Hettie, a retired cook from "the big house". 

Prue Wilson, Thea's sister and WI vice-president, thrives on activity. As billeting officer for the community, she has organised billets for each of the evacuees who will meet their hosts at the village hall after their journey from London. Her husband Victor is a prominent businessman and local councillor (and a bully to boot) and while he loathed to take in anyone, Prue reminded him of his duty and standing in the community, and so he reluctantly acquiesced. Now she is standing on the station platform awaiting the arrival of the evacuees.

Upon arrival at Great Plumstead, the expectant mothers and those with young children are met with a flurry of confusion as Prue scurries from WVS officers to the station office. It seems there has been a mix-up. The residents of Great Plumstead are expecting children and their teachers...not expectant mothers and their children. But a phone to HQ and the orders are that the women will remain so they are to make the best of it. But it took a lot of persuading with some people to host children - how will they react to having an expectant mother instead? No woman will welcome sharing their kitchen with another. Not only that, when Prue's husband discovers their billet is to be an expectant mother rather than a teacher he is wild with rage.

Making the best of a bad situation, Prue takes in Sally while Thea immediately befriended Marianne. Thea soon discovers that Marianne is no stranger to the countryside, having grown up in Kent. When her grandmother died, Marianne had moved to London to become a seamstress and trained under a prominent employer in the West End making ball gowns, wedding gowns and clothing for affluent customers. Now a fully qualified seamstress, Marianne soon finds herself making gowns, dresses, suits and clothing for a number of Great Plumstead's residents...including the affluent ones.

As the war beckons, young men are being called up to fight for King and country but before he gets the call, Prue's son Jack signs up for the Army, making his pompous father preen himself with pride. Prue is both worried and fearful for her son as he sets off for training. When the call-up comes a month later, her younger son Edwin receives his papers to register with one of the forces. But Edwin doesn't want to fight. Not because he's a coward but because it goes against all that he believes in - that thou shalt not kill. When he registers as a conscientious objector, his father is furious and tells him he is no longer welcome under his roof. Prue is heartbroken, having felt like she has lost both her sons. With Jack away about to be sent to the front line and Edwin now gone, her house no longer feels like home. But although Edwin has registered as a CO, his status as one is not yet official. He must first go before a tribunal who will then decide, based on letters, references and a barrage of questions that they will put to him, whether his claim will be accepted. What will he do if it's not? And he is forced to fight? What will Prue do?

Meanwhile, after a conversation with one of the expectant mums on a blackberry picking expedition, Thea approaches Prue with an idea for the women to occupy them during the day in Great Plumstead. These women have come from the city where life is constantly busy and there is always something to do and somewhere to go. But in the country, life is vastly different to what they know. So together the sisters come up with a mothers "day club" where the women and their children can gather to chat, where they can learn new skills like sewing or knitting and even make things for the soldiers on the front line. Not only that, it's a place where they feel welcome as many of them don't feel that with their hosts. The only problem is, Prue must get permission from Victor who is the local Councillor. With his say-so, all will be well...but will he give it?

As Marianne continues to keep her secret to herself, she feels bad about lying to Thea and Hettie who have done nothing but made her feel welcome. But she knows that if word gets out she will be shunned, will lose the business she has built and her child will then have the stigma of being illegitimate. But when someone discovers her secret and comes calling with an offer and a threat of blackmail, what will Marianne do? Will she risk everything she has built up and her child's future or will she give in?

There is so much going on in this wonderful story that it is easy to get caught up in the lives of Marianne, Thea, Sally, Prue and everyone else. You wonder will there ever be a happy ending for Marianne whose secret risks coming out? What will happen for Prue and her loveless marriage to a pompous bully? Will Edwin's registration be accepted or will he be forced to fight? So much happens and yet there is so much more to come!

THE MOTHER'S DAY CLUB captured the feeling of wartime Britain and those caught in the crossfire at home, as they prepare for rationing by the "Dig for Victory" campaign to encourage growing your own produce where possible to help the nation as well as keeping themselves fed. It was a refreshing aspect to take by focusing on the evacuation of expectant mothers rather then the children we usually hear about. It made for intriguing reading with some emotional moments as well as some laugh out loud ones too.

A beautiful uplifting story told in the third person narrative from the perspectives of both hostesses and evacuees, namely Thea, Prue and Marianne. The bonds formed in this installment serve as a preface to the rest of the story to come. I really didn't want it to end and the only negative thing about thing was that I had to finish it! I look forward to the next installment "The Mother's Day Victory".

I thoroughly enjoyed THE MOTHER'S DAY CLUB and recommend it to fans of wartime sagas, Lynn Johnson, Elaine Roberts, Pam Howes, Lizzie Lane and Ellie Dean.

I would like to thank #RosieHendry, #RachelsRandomResources, #Netgalley and #SphereBooks for an ARC of #TheMothersDayClub in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Rosie Hendry lives by the sea in Norfolk with her husband and children. A former teacher and research scientist, she's always loving reading and writing. She started off writing short stories for magazines, her stories gradually becoming longer as her children grew bigger.

Listening to her father's tales of life during the Second World War sparked Rosie's interest in this period and she's especially intrigued by how women's lives changed during the war years. She loves researching further, searching out gems of real life events which inspire her writing.

When she's not working, Rosie enjoys walking along the beach, reading and is grateful for the fact that her husband is a much better cook than her. 

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads