WWII – Lady Book Dragon

The Teashop Girls by Elaine Everest

Blurb

The Teashop Girls is a warm and moving tale of friendship and love in wartime, by the bestselling author of the Woolworths series, Elaine Everest.

It is early 1940 and World War Two has already taken a hold on the country. Rose Neville works as a Lyon’s Teashop Nippy on the Kent coast alongside her childhood friends, the ambitious Lily and Katie, whose fiancé is about to be posted overseas in the navy. As war creates havoc in Europe, Rose relies on the close friendship of her friends and her family.

When Capt. Benjamin Hargreaves enters the teashop one day, Rose is immediately drawn to him. But as Lyon’s forbids courting between staff and customers, she tries to put the handsome officer out of her mind.

In increasingly dark and dangerous times, Rose fears there may not be time to waste. But is the dashing captain what he seems?

Review

Now I will be honest, I have read this series in completely the wrong order. I read book two Christmas with the Teashop Girls back in 2021 and I really enjoyed it. I intended to read the next books in the series a lot earlier than this but I’m never great with a series. So for a recent holiday I downloaded this book to my Kindle and it was the perfect holiday read.

Set in the 1940’s the book introduces us to the characters Rose, Lily and Katie. Rose, Lily and Katie all live in Kent and have been friends since childhood and now all work at the Lyon’s Teashop as Nippy’s. The book focuses on ups and downs of the three friends lives but also the ups and downs of WWII and how the war influences people’s lives.

Katie has a fiance who is about to be posted overseas in the Navy but Rose and Lily are both single. However, when the handsome Benjamin Hargreaves enters Rose’s life she is immediately drawn to him. Benjamin isn’t just a handsome face he is also kind hearted and generous and willing to help anyone in need. Benjamin is a huge hit with whoever he meets.

I really enjoyed reading about Rose, Katie and Lily again but my favourite is Flora. Flora is Rose’s mom and she is wonderful. Flora is hardworking, running her guesthouse but also helping with the war effort in any way she can. Flora never stops and will help anyone who needs aid but she will also stand no messing from anyone.

Learning about the Lyon’s Teashop was really interesting in this book and I also enjoyed the book being set in WWII. I had forgotten how much I enjoy Everest’s work and I look forward to reading book 3 in the series. I give this book 4 out of 5 Dragons.

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About the author

Elaine Everest was born and brought up in northwest Kent and has written widely – both short stories and features – for women’s magazines. When she isn’t writing, Everest runs The Write Place creative writing school in Dartford Kent, and the blog for Romantic Novelists’ Association.

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The Woolworths Girls by Elaine Everest

Blurb

It’s 1938 and as the threat of war hangs over the country, Sarah Caselton is preparing for her new job at Woolworths. Before long, she forms a tight bond with two of her colleagues: the glamorous Maisie and shy Freda. The trio couldn’t be more different, but they immediately form a close-knit friendship, sharing their hopes and dreams for the future.

Sarah soon falls into the rhythm of her new position, enjoying the social events hosted by Woolies and her blossoming romance with young assistant manager, Alan. But with the threat of war clouding the horizon, the young men and women of Woolworths realize that there are bigger battles ahead. It’s a dangerous time for the nation, and an even more perilous time to fall in love . . .

Review

This is my third Elaine Everest read and the first one that I haven’t read at Christmas. I read Christmas at Woolworths last Christmas which is actually the second in the series so I thought I would start at the beginning and read the full Woolworths series.

I love Everest’s writing because I always find it so comforting, it gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling which is always a good thing with a book. This book introduces the characters of the series, focusing on Sarah Caselton. Sarah gets a job working for Woolworths and makes two firm friends, the glamorous and feisty Maisie and the shy Freda. The three women are all so different but together they are unstoppable and best friends.

As Sarah, Maisie and Freda start to enjoy their working lives at Woolworths and meeting and making new friends they also have to deal with the threat of impending war. As romances blossom the girls begin to realise that the men they love will be sent to war and this leads to uncertain times.

My favourite character in this book was Ruby who is Sarah’s grandmother. Ruby is a widow and her home is at the heart of this book, everyone is welcome. Ruby takes anyone who needs help under her wing. There is always a hot meal and a shoulder to cry on where Ruby is concerned. Ruby works hard and goes above and beyond to help people, she really is a treasure.

Everest’s clever writing makes you want to know more about all the characters in this book and not just the details of the main characters. I felt immersed in the story desperately wanting to know more about the characters which also meant I found it hard to put the book down.

This story is so beautifully written and the characters Everest has created are just so easy to love that I will definitely be continuing with the series and reading other books by Everest. Everest is definitely a new comfort author for me. I give this book 5 out of 5 Dragons.

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About the author