Reviewed by Emma Crowley
Sunderland, 1943: As Christmas approaches in the shipyards, everyone is hoping for a little magic...
Helen would love to find the courage to tell the dashing Dr Parker of her true feelings for him. But how can she when he clearly has eyes for someone else?
More than a year has passed since Bel's wedding to sweetheart Joe. She knows she has much to feel thankful for and yet there is still one burning desire which she cannot ignore.
And as Polly grows with child, she hopes against hope for a safe delivery - and that her husband Tommy can soon return from the front line to meet their new arrival.
There will be storms to weather, but guided by their strength and friendship there is still hope for each of the shipyard girls that their Christmas wishes will come true.
Many thanks to Random House UK via NetGalley for my copy of A Christmas Wish for the Shipyard Girls to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
A Christmas Wish for the Shipyard Girls is the ninth in a brilliant series from Nancy Revell. It follows the lives, loves and losses of a group of remarkable women working as welders in the shipyards of Sunderland during World War Two. This book picks up directly up from where the previous book finished and boy am I glad because it had certainly ended on an epic cliff-hanger that has been central to the story so far. I easily settled straight back into the story but for those new to this series there are plenty of recap moments provided to bring you right up to speed with all the goings on.
There are so many little subplots spanning out from the main storyline of how the women are coping with all the challenges, difficulties and emotions that the war is casting in their direction and I thoroughly enjoy each and every one of them. Nancy Revell does a fantastic job of making you care deeply for each and every character and there is not any thread that I am not deeply invested in. Quite often you can become bored with minor little plots put in for the sake of it but that’s not the case here as each women has a great story to tell and everything combines to make a fantastic read and overall it’s a series that continues to go from strength to strength.
It’s now 1943 and the war rages on. The group are as busy as ever making sure the shipyard meets all the demands for new ships to be launched to aid with the war effort. At this stage, being book nine, the finer details as to the specific jobs and roles each women plays in this process are not needed. Instead the focus is on their personal lives and all the mysteries, secrecy, love and hardship that they are enduring. Helen has stepped into her fathers role at the yard as her mother Miriam sent Jack away. Jack is in a loveless marriage and long time readers will know all the ups and downs that led to him having to leave. This is one of the storylines that I have been hoping for quite some time to see a positive resolution of sorts to.
Approaching the Christmas season I was hoping the author would finally allow this to happen even though the possibility of this occurring seem to grow further and further away. Gloria, one of the group, and Jack have rekindled their relationship but any form of happiness they can find with their baby girl Hope just seems so far from their reach. You can’t judge their situation at all as they are following their hearts but it is sad and awful to see that scheming Miriam plays such a pivotal role in stopping their time together. Their story is not central to the book this time around but I had a feeling that Christmas magic and a little help from those that can see what is going on may just occur.
Poor old Helen is still very much having a rough time. No doubt about it, she is a reformed character from when we first encountered back in the first book, but I don’t think everyone always sees her that way. She has never been known for showing signs of emotion but having been seen previously as an ice queen I think that harsh exterior and interior is melting. Although she can be quite frustrating at times in that she still won’t reveal her true feelings to doctor John. There is so much back and forth and misunderstanding and miscommunication between the pair. This is especially evident in this new story and a newcomer is doing their best to keep them off track which leads to them both believing things that just aren’t true. Honestly I am just desperate for the pair to get together but I can’t see that happening any time soon if at all.
Helen is a changed character and I really enjoy the fact that, yes she has her own personal struggles and has been deeply affected by a significant event in her recent past, now it’s like the wool has been pulled from her eyes. She is now more human and can see what is going on in front of her especially when it comes to her mother. Her own family story is becoming ever more packed with twists and turns especially when it comes to Pearl and her daughter Bel. There is one scene where they feature that I have been waiting to happen for what seems like so long and it was superbly written and played out. It’s great to see people getting their comeuppance and that holds over people are starting to fray. Secrecy, lies, deceit and cruelty perhaps won’t win out after all.
Helen has a tough choice to face both on the romance and personal front. Should she confront someone very close to her who is all powerful? Said person is perhaps more evil, deceitful and manipulative than Miriam and that’s really saying something. As things come to the surface, even unbeknownst to Helen, the extent of what has happened for years is mindblowing. In particular what that person has done to someone who was meant to be their special someone. Will everyone cope with the fallout and reveals if Helen chooses to get things out in the open? Will the group of women who have such a strong bond and friendship be able to handle what spills forth? The way Nancy Revell has spun out this aspect of the overall plot over so many books has been fanatic and certainly kept me riveted and eager to read each new instalment.
I can’t but fail to mention some of the stalwarts in this series from day one. Rosie, the leader of the group, has always had a brilliant storyline. She features less so this time around but when she did I felt every minute of her pain, anger, despair and uncertainty that she has heard nothing from her husband Peter working undercover in France. She also has an awful lot to deal with on the home front but she is a gritty, determined and admirable character. I felt sorry for Polly, that she was faced with giving birth to her first child alone as her husband is away minesweeping in Gibraltar. She is really forced to slow down and it's not in her nature at all. I feared for her big time at one point and I hoped more heartache was not coming her way. As for Gloria she is like the mother of the group but she too is harbouring her own sadness and is willing things to come to a happy conclusion. Martha, Dorothy and Angie feature less but they do have interesting storylines so I’d love to see them coming more to the forefront in future books especially if other plots are starting to be resolved.
Whilst reading this book I felt a real sense that a lot of the storylines established over the course of the previous eight books were going to reach their climax. That every little thing that had been bubbling away beneath the surface known to some characters but not to others yet the reader knew everything. Well it was like there was going to be a big explosion and every little bit of deviousness and things that people had been desperate to keep secret and bottled up would spill forth like a preverbal can of worms. I was hoping that not everything would be resolved especially as there is two more years of the war to go and I am not at all ready for this series to end. Thankfully the author knows very well how to pace things and provided the reader with just enough of things coming to a climax while still keeping a lot up her sleeve for future books. I hate when things are rushed when so much time, care and attention has been given to building things up perfectly and I am glad this didn’t happen here. Yet there was still plenty to whet the readers appetite.
A Christmas Wish for the Shipyard Girls isn’t packed full of all things Christmas. It didn’t need to be because the continuing storylines speak strongly enough for themselves but that last 20% was just brilliant and brought a smile to my face. Roll on the publication of The Shipyard Girls on the Homefront in March as I can’t get enough of this great series.
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