The Little Wartime Library by Kate Thompson

 

In 1942, Bethnal Green library in London was destroyed by a German bomb. The head librarian is killed and so children's librarian Clara Button starts a library in the tunnels of the nearby Tube station which is being used as a refuge from the nightly bombing raids for thousands of locals. Ably assisted by her best friend Ruby Munros, the library provides many valuable services to the community. They provide books to the local factory girls, they do children's story time, start a book club for the many women who otherwise wouldn't have any personal time and so much more. 

Both Clara and Ruby have strong back stories. Clara is a widow whose mother and mother in law both dislike that she is working in the library. They both believe that she should be at home grieving her husband even though he has been dead for quite some time.  Ruby has also suffered significant loss. She lost her older sister in a terrible tragedy and she blames herself. To numb the pain she drinks a lot, and parties hard, masking how much she is hurting underneath her brash exterior.. 

Clara clashes against her boss, the grandly named Mr Pinkerton-Smythe, who seems to think that libraries should only be available to the well to do, that only literature with a capital L should be available to readers. What libraries should absolutely not do is provide women with information or books that encourage them to take their own lives into their hands and decide things like they don't want any more children or that they don't have to stay in violent marriages. He does everything in his power to close Clara's version of the library down.

I loved the part of the book where the library is donated multiple copies of Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor. It is a book that I have read a couple of times back in my late teens initially and it is an absolute romp.  Amber is resourceful and ambitious, will do what it takes to get what she wants. What a woman! I am tempted to find it and read it again. I am pretty sure I still have a copy on my shelves somewhere.

I love a good WWII historical fiction novel, and this is undoubtedly one of the better ones out there. What makes it even more interesting is that it is based on little known true life events. There really was a library in the rail tunnels under Bethnal Green station. Unfortunately, the terrible tragedy which shaped Ruby's life so much is also based on a tragic, real life event. 

I really enjoyed the quotes at the beginning of each chapter which come from real life librarians, including contemporary librarians. From the authors notes, it is clear that she is passionate about libraries and has been involved in some battles to save local libraries when the politicians decide to cut back services.

Having now read this book and The Wartime Book Club I can now declare myself a Kate Thompson fan. While she keeps writing about libraries I will keep reading the book. I am now on the waitlist for her latest book from my library!

This was a 5/5 read for me and I highly recommend it.

I am sharing this review with British Isles Friday hosted at Joy's Book Blog, Bookish Books Challenge hosted at Bloggin' Bout Books and the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge which I host here.

Blog Tour: Charlie's Last Angel by Maggie Christensen

 
When Harri met Charles....

Harriet Caldwell is the headmistress of a prestigious girl's school in Brisbane. She has been content to have her successful career. She has never married and she is okay with that. And then she meets Charles Kaye, prestigious barrister and well known man about town and he sweeps her off her feet. Harri isn't Charle's normal type. He is known for dating much younger and glamourous women and regularly features on the society pages.

Harri is happy for this relationship to remain something special between just the two of them, but she is aware that at some point, his three daughters are going to need to know, especially once he proposes. Soon they are planning a life together.  What Charles doesn't expect is the vehement disagreement from two of his daughters. Harri doesn't wan to be responsible for causing arguments in the family and so she is torn. Does she step away to enable Charles to repair his relationship or is she going to fight for the man that she loves.

I liked Harri and loved that she was successful and content with her life before meeting Charles. It did seem like Harri was being requested to make a lot of changes in order to accommodate her relationship with Charles. It's no wonder that she struggled with her decisions.

Charles was an interesting character given his change from chasing attractive, young women, who the media had dubbed Charlie's Angels, to falling head over heels for an elegant, confident, successful woman. His oldest daughter, Nicole, was a bit over the top in her opposition to the relationship. She was old enough to know that her dad should be entitled to have a life on whatever terms he wanted. I do, however, know that sometimes there are dramas when people recouple later in life. I was fortunate to only have a few very small incidents like this when I got together with my husband when I was in my mid 40s.

It's no secret that I am a bit of a Maggie Christensen fangirl. I have read 27 of her books over the last 5 years, all but one of which were part of series set in small country towns. I did miss the country towns, the seaside setting and the community that is such an important part of her series. 

What was still present in this book was the really lovely later in life relationship between Harri and Charles and the same comforting style of writing which I have come to rely on whenever I pick up a Maggie Christensen book. I already have my next of her books lined up ready to read in a few weeks time!

I am sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted at The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews. Thanks to the publisher and Rachel's Random Resources for the review copy. Be sure to check out other stops on the tour below too!

Rating 3.5/5

About the book

Charlie’s Last Angel

In her early fifties, Harri Caldwell has always prided herself on being a strong, independent woman. Content with her single life, she loves her role as headmistress at the prestigious Lilian Cooper College for Young Ladies in Brisbane.


High profile barrister Charles Kaye has lived a charmed city life. With an amicable divorce behind him and three grown daughters, he is often featured in gossip columns alongside beautiful young women, a revolving cast his daughters nickname Charlie’s Angels.

When Charles and Harri meet at an art gallery opening, the instant connection is undeniable and, much to the chagrin of Charles’ daughters, a relationship quickly ensues. Their romance attracts media attention, not only because of Charles’ public profile but because Harri is so different from the women he is usually linked to. Older, private and firmly outside the socialite mould, she becomes an unexpected fascination for the press.

As the media attention and his daughters’ disapproval weigh on Harri, she begins to question whether their love can withstand the pressure. Will this prove to be the breaking point for their relationship or will Harri be Charlie’s last angel?

Purchase Link - https://mybook.to/CharliesLastAngel

About the Author 

After a career in education, Maggie Christensen began writing contemporary women’s fiction portraying mature women facing life-changing situations, and historical fiction set in her native Scotland. Her travels inspire her writing, be it her trips to visit family in Scotland, in Oregon, USA or her home on Queensland’s beautiful Sunshine Coast. Maggie writes of mature heroines coming to terms with changes in their lives and the heroes worthy of them. Maggie has been called the queen of mature age fiction and her writing has been described by one reviewer as like a nice warm cup of tea. It is warm, nourishing, comforting and embracing.

From the small town in Scotland where she grew up, Maggie was lured to Australia by the call to ‘Come and teach in the sun’. Once there, she worked as a primary school teacher, university lecturer and in educational management. Now living with her husband of over thirty years on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, she loves walking on the deserted beach in the early mornings and having coffee by the river on weekends. Her days are spent surrounded by books, either reading or writing them – her idea of heaven!



Social Media Links –

https://www.facebook.com/maggiechristensenauthor
https://x.com/MaggieChriste33
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8120020.Maggie_Christensen
https://www.instagram.com/maggiechriste33/
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/maggie-christensen?list=about
https://maggiechristensenauthor.com/
https://bsky.app/profile/maggiechriste33.bsky.social

Top Ten Tuesday: Books with Handwriting on the Cover

 Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. 

This week theme is Books with Handwriting on the Cover (Or fonts that look like handwriting. Titles, subtitles, covers with letters on them, etc.). There is a publisher that I read quite a lot from who tends to put their author names on the cover in a cursive like font, but I am going to see how far I can get but focussing only books where it is the title that is in cursive. On some covers it might be the whole title but on others it is just words like the or on!

A Venice Summer by Lynne Shelby - I read this a couple of months ago and enjoyed it a lot.

The Palace of Lost Virtue by Anthea Hodgson - This one was sitting on my desk right in my eye line so I couldn't not have this on the list even though I haven't read it yet!

This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page - same with this one really

An Italian Island Love Story by Leonie Mack - This might look more like handwriting if you squint at it slightly but it is there!

Hopes and Dreams at the Chocolate Pot Cafe by Jessica Redland - Isn't this cover fun?

The Seaside Book Club by Helen Rolfe - This is a cute cover too!

The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa - This is such an eye catching cover. I am glad that it is the one that got.

The Cottage at the Edge of the Woods by Jane Lovering - The contrast between the block letters and the cursive is very effective as we can see on several covers in this list.

The Resistance Knitting Club by Jenny O'Brien - It's only one word but it still counts!

The Boulangerie on the Corner by Susan Buchanan - And now I want to eat France and eat lots of fresh bread.

This week...

I'm reading

Do you ever feel like it doesn't matter how much you read, the amount of books that add to your TBR is always far greater than the number of books that you actually read! That is definitely the case for me at the moment.

I did get get through several books last week, and then I started or picked up other books that I had previously started and put down. 

I finished reading Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann. We went to see the Movie of The Sheep Detectives a few weeks ago and I picked up the book after that. It is fair to say that this is one of those rare occasions where the movie is better than the book. To be fair, they have two completely different story lines which only have some character names and the basic premise of the sheep doing the investigating in common but still.

The I sped through First Time Caller by B K Borison. I have only read a couple of her books so far but I have loved them both and I know that I am going to enjoy whatever she puts out!

I also read The Maid by Nita Prose. This was a selection for one of the Goodreads challenge categories. It's not my normal genre but I did enjoy it!

I then read Piglettes by Clementine Beauvais. I swear I saw that someone had read it for a previous iteration of Paris in July but I can't find who. It has been years since I read a YA book, and there were a couple of things that bothered me but overall it was a fun read. My review will be up in July as part of Paris in July

I am on the blog tour for Charlie's Last Angel by Maggie Christensen this week so I need to get on and write the review. 

I then started This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page. I am not very far in but I am loving it already. Can't wait to get back to it!

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon is another Goodreads challenge selection, so this is the book I am reading when I can't sleep at night!

I am making a concerted effort to finally finish War and Peace. My aim is to finish it by the end of this month! Currently I would need to read an average of 8 pages a day to get there. Wish me luck.

I was sorry to see the news that Iranian/French author Marjane Satrapi has passed away at the very young age of 56. Many years ago her Persepolis books were doing the rounds in the blogosphere. I also loved the movie adaptation of her book Chicken with Plums. In particular there is a montage scene towards the end of the movie which I still remember with fondness now.

I'm watching

A couple of months ago we re-watched the first two seasons of Ted Lasso. This week we started re-watching season 3 so it should be relatively fresh in our minds for when the next season comes out in August.

I did go to the movies this week to see a Mexican/Uruguyan film called Nothing Between Us which is showing as part of the Spanish and Latin American Film Festival. It is about two people who have an affair while on a work trip to Mexico. I am going to see a Spanish film this week so I will post about both of them soon.

Life


It was my birthday on Sunday so we went to our favourite afternoon tea destination. As always it was an exceptional experience with amazing customer service!

My husband bought me this cute booknook for my birthday! Now to find the time to start to put it together!

Posts from the last week

Top Ten Tuesday: Author names - Jane who?    

20 Books of Winter: 2026 reading list

The Seaside Book Club by Helen Rolfe

In My Kitchen: April/May

Six Degrees of Separation: The Post-Office Girl to Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens







I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date, Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz and the Good Book and a Cup of Tea link up hosted at Boondock Ramblings

Six Degrees of Separation: The Post-office Girl to Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens

 Welcome to this month's edition of Six Degrees of Separation, which is a monthly meme hosted by Kate from Books Are My Favourite and Best. The idea is to start with a specific book and make a series of links from one book to the next using whatever link you can find and see where you end up after six links. I am also linking this post up with The Sunday Salon, hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz and A Good Book and a Cup of Tea hosted at Boondock Ramblings.

This month the starting point is The Post-Office Girl by Stefan Zweig

The first book I thought of when I saw the title was The Postmistress by Alison Stuart, set in the goldfields of Victoria in the late 19th century. (my review)

Alison Stuart has written a mystery set in colonial Singapore under the name of A M Stuart. Singapore Sapphire is the first book in the Harriet Gordon series which is set in the early 20th century. 

A recent release that I really want to read is The Singapore Secret by Clare Willis which is set in WWII Singapore

I had some Singapore books in a recent Six Degrees post, so I wanted to make sure I didn't choose those same books again. Therefore, instead of choosing another book about Singapore, I am going a different route (pun intended). The last time I travelled via Singapore I was reading The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi de Lampedusa, which was the first time I had participated in the Classics Spin. (my review)

I am participating in the Classics Spin again this time and the book I will be reading is Careful, He Might Hear You by Sumner Locke Elliot which is set in 1920s Australia and won the Miles Franklin Literary Award in 1963.

A recent Miles Franklin Literary Award winner that I have read is Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens by Shankari Chandran, which won the award back in 2023. 

Next month's starting point is Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke

Will you be joining us?

In My Kitchen - April/May

Welcome to the first Saturday of the month where I share everything I have made over the previous month. Actually this month, I am bringing you two months worth of post. In April we spent two weeks in Turkiye so there wasn't a lot of baking going so here's what I baked in my kitchen during April and May!

Honey Sponge Roll - This is an old favourite recipe because it tastes great and it is pretty quick to come together! I first posted this recipe here.

Apple and Marmalade Crumble - I am a member of the Lamb's Ear Cookbook club and their selection for May was a book called Home Foods by Elizabeth Hewson. They also usually select an ingredient for the month as well, and this time it was apples and pears so this recipe ticked both the boxes. I was tasked with providing dessert for a Mother's Day family lunch and this got thumbs up all round!

Vanilla Chiffon Cake with Salted Caramel Sauce - It was my husband's birthday in May and when I asked him what he wanted he said a chiffon cake and then said with salted caramel and this was the result. I cheated and used salted caramel topping but it worked.

Pear and Sticky Ginger Cake - This is another recipe from Home Foods, and it was great! It kind of served double purpose because it was light in the form of a cake but we also heated it a little and had it as a dessert!

I got two new cookbooks recently. As soon as Emelia Jackson announces a new book, I know I am going to buy it! Her latest book, You Had Me At Cake came out recently so I was excited to receive it!

In theory, I am trying to not buy every cook book that I see. I had also tried a couple of Poppy O'Toole's books before from the library and I was underwhelmed so when I borrowed her book Poppy Cooks: Actually Delicious Slow Cooker Cook Book I really didn't expect to find much to cook, but we loved it and cooked multiple recipes. There were also lots of other recipes that we still wanted to try so I ended up buying this one. I wrote about this book here.

I posted about our trip to Turkiye a few weeks ago, and we have some fantastic food memories. While we were walking through the Grand Bazaar we saw lots of different things we could buy as souvenirs, but this set really caught our eye. I love that you can use it either with the individual little sections or as a whole set. 

One thing that we loved during our trip was all the Turkish tea which was usually served in tulip shaped glasses, which is a traditional shape, given that tulips are native to Turkiye. We visited a pottery factory and we picked up these cups. 

Whilst we drank lots of normal flavoured Turkish tea in Turkiye, we also had lots of apple flavoured tea and now we have picked up this apple flavoured drink. I am not sure that it is the same but certainly it's hitting the spot when we have it as a hot drink on a cold day. It is pretty sweet though.

New recipes

We tried quite a few new recipes over the last couple of months!

Beef Rendang - From Poppy Cooks: The Actually Delicious Slow Cooker Cook Book by Poppy O'Toole

Sausage and Broccoli Pasta - From Poppy Cooks: The Actually Delicious Slow Cooker Cook Book by Poppy O'Toole

Marry Me Chicken - From Poppy Cooks: The Actually Delicious Slow Cooker Cook Book by Poppy O'Toole

Tomato and Paneer Curry - From Poppy Cooks: The Actually Delicious Slow Cooker Cook Book by Poppy O'Toole. We have made this several times now! (Recipe)

Apple and Marmalade Crumble - From Home Foods by Elizabeth Hewson

Vanilla Chiffon - As requested by my husband for his birthday

Pear and Sticky Ginger Cake - From Home Foods by Elizabeth Hewson

Spiced Rice with Crispy Mince and Jammy Tomatoes - From Home Foods by Elizabeth Hewson

Ramen - From Poppy Cooks: The Actually Delicious Slow Cooker Cook Book by Poppy O'Toole

Curried Beef Cottage Pie- From Home Foods by Elizabeth Hewson

Weekend Cooking posts from the last month

Le Assaggiatrici (The Tasters)

The Actually Delicious Slow Cook Cook Book by Poppy O'Toole

Taste of Two Continents Food Walking Tour - Istanbul

What We Ate on Holidays: Turkiye

A Midnight Pastry Shop Called Hwawoldang by Lee Onhwa

Cook the Books: Call of the Camino by Suzanne Redfearn

Weekly meals

Saturday - Italian Meatballs
Sunday - Spiced Rice with Crispy Mince and Jammy Tomatoes (new)
Monday - Ramen (new)
Tuesday - Enchiladas
Wednesday - Out for dinner
Thursday - Spaghetti Bolognaise
Friday - Curried beef cottage pie (new)

I am sharing this post with In My Kitchen hosted at Sherry's Pickings.

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page

The Seaside Book Club by Helen Rolfe

 

LIke many of us I am a sucker for a book about books. As soon as I saw this title I knew I needed to read it, particularly given that I know that I enjoy Helen Rolfe's writing.

The centre of this book is an unusual international book club. The members of the club are mainly in the UK and Australia. Given the time difference that means that, for the UK members, the meetings occur in the middle of the night. As someone who is often awake in the middle of the night this does sound appealing, although, to be fair, I never actually get out of bed then. I usually play games or red.

Howard loves meeting online with other book lovers from across the world. He is one of the stalwarts of the group, ever present, and often providing a sounding board to the other members. He loves books so much that he bought a bookshop when he retired. Now, he is fighting off the developers for as long as he can, to keep his bookshop dream alive

Margot attends the midnight book club in secret. Her controlling husband sleeps very heavily and she can sneak into another room and talk freely with the other members. If he had any idea of her activities, she knows he would absolutely put a stop to it. She does not however share her struggles with her friends, not even when she decides that she has had enough and secretly makes plans to leave.

The leader, for want of a better word, is Faye. She inherited the book club from her aunt and she is determined to keep it running, despite the fact that people she counted as true friends are leaving thanks to a huge scandal involving her twin sister. After her fiancé breaks off their engagement over the phone, she decides to join her father in the UK, where she can't be mistaken for her sister. She does not tell the group that she is in the UK, or that her engagement is off.

When Howard uncharacteristically misses a couple of meetings, Faye and Margot decide independently to try and find out what is going on. They both end up staying in picturesque Dorset and they are disheartened to find Howard's beloved bookshop closed. What is going on?

Soon, secrets are being revealed, bonds being strengthened and new friendships developing as everyone comes together, and for some of the group brings new beginnings. 

I really enjoyed the conversations about books where everyone had the freedom to share their thoughts even when there are differences of opinion. I also appreciate seeing where people who have met online are able to come together as friends in real life as well. I have a number of online friends that I have met in person thanks to our mutual love of books.

This was a lovely comforting bookish read. It's the kind of read that I meet right now given how intense work is for me. It was warm and uplifting, despite some of the difficult subjects that are explored through the various characters.

I am sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted at Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews,  Bookish Books Challenge hosted at Bloggin' Bout Books and British Isles Friday hosted at Joy's Book Blog. Thanks to Netgally and the publisher for this review copy.

Rating 4/5