ShortBookandScribes #BookReview – Courage for the Home Front Girls by Susanna Bavin
Courage for the Home Front Girls by Susanna Bavin is published by Bookouture and available now in paperback and eBook. My thanks to the author for sending a copy for review.
Manchester, 1940. The Blitz is threatening to destroy everything they love. These girls will never stop trying to help their country – and each other. But will it be enough when disaster looms?
By day, Betty works cheerfully with her best friend Sally, now the manager of the salvage depot. By night, they both do their bit for the war effort as Auxiliary Fire Service girls. But Betty wishes she could do more.
So when Samuel, a kind and gentle young bookseller, needs help sorting out novels to entertain the boys overseas, Betty volunteers. Anything for the troops! There might be a flashy, handsome stranger who keeps seeking her out at the depot, but she can’t help enjoying Samuel’s quiet humour as they work together during the blackouts.
But when the worst night-time air raid they’ve ever seen strikes, Sally’s home is destroyed. Even worse, any of Sally’s treasured possessions that did survive the blast are stolen by looters. Desperate to help her friend, Betty could never have expected the guilt when she uncovers what really happened… Was it all her fault?
Despite Samuel’s best efforts, Betty can’t forgive herself. Determined to set things right, Betty sets off to catch the thief, leaving Samuel in the dark. And then the sirens begin, warning of another bombing raid. Can Betty find the strength to finish what she started, despite the threat to everything she holds dear? Or will the smoke clear on heartbreak for the home front girls?
Courage for the Home Front Girls is the second in Susanna Bavin’s series and it’s most definitely courage that the girls need in this outing, with Sally and Betty from the first book being joined by a new girl, Lorna. In Manchester in 1940, bombs are raining down and the girls are kept busy at the salvage yard and with their voluntary duties with the WVS or firewatching.
Sally’s home suffers in the bombing raids, and Betty’s lovely, but rather gullible, nature means she gets tricked again. Lorna’s story of how she ends up working in salvage was really interesting to read and I’m looking forward to seeing how things pan out for her in the next book.
I particularly liked the new character of Samuel, a gentle bookseller who turns out to be capable of being steely and determined when he needs to be. All the characters are well-drawn and I found myself feeling really pleased to be back with them for the next chapter in their stories. The story has a good pace to it and despite the difficulties the characters have living through the devastation of war, it’s easy to read and I looked forward to picking it up and reading a bit more.
Susanna Bavin is a favourite author of mine. With this series she’s portrayed life on the home front so well, and as with all good sagas I felt like I wanted to step right in and be part of the characters’ lives, although I’d prefer to steer clear of the bombastic Mrs Lockwood!
I’m eager now to read the next book, Christmas for the Home Front Girls, which will be just the ticket for the festive season.
Susanna Bavin has written 4 standalone sagas and her new WW2 trilogy, The Home Front Girls, will be published by Bookouture in 2024. She also writes as Polly Heron (The Surplus Girls 1920s saga series) and Maisie Thomas (The Railway Girls WW2 saga series)
Susanna lives on the beautiful North Wales coast with her husband and their two rescue cats. She is originally from Chorlton-cum-Hardy in Manchester, where her family has lived for several generations and which provides the setting for her family sagas.
www.susannabavin.co.uk
www.facebook.com/MaisieThomasAuthor
