Reviewed by Emma Crowley
Manchester, December 1940: Sally, Betty and Lorna are determined to keep their spirits up this winter. Their friendship, and a bit of festive cheer, is all they need to get through the nightly blackouts.
But for Lorna, the past is about to come calling. And when the devastating Christmas Blitz reunites her with her ex-fiancé George, her past and her present collide. As the bombs fall, Lorna and George work together through the night to save those trapped in the rubble. And as dawn approaches, Lorna wonders if she can finally forgive the man who broke her heart…
As air raids throw George and Lorna together time and again, it becomes clear that nothing about his visit to Manchester is what it seems. And to Lorna’s surprise, she soon discovers that he desperately needs her help.
Can George and Lorna work together, despite everything that happened between them? And as the snow begins to fall, will Lorna allow her heart to open once more?
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of Christmas for the Homefront Girls to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
Christmas for the Homefront Girls is the third book in the Homefront Girls series by Susanna Bavin. This book can be read at any stage during the winter season as it’s not a fully blown Christmas book. Rather it is centred around the festive season, the lead up to it and what follows well into the new year. I have enjoyed this series so far as the stories are light easy reads typical of the war time saga genre. You know what you are going to get with this sort of read and it was perfect to read in that in between period that comes between Christmas and New Year when you just want to cosy up on the couch and enjoy a nice easy book.
Within the first few chapters readers are quickly brought up to speed with events from the previous two books. It serves as a refresher for previous readers and an introduction without being overly long for those coming to the series for the first time. Although, I will say that as I got further into the book I did think at certain points that just that little bit too much detail was given away as to things that had already occurred and maybe this should have been curtailed in some way for new readers. But having read the previous two books this didn’t detract in any way from my own personal reading and understanding of the story.
The series follows three girls, Sally, Betty and Lorna who all work at the local salvage depot. They each have different backgrounds and stories which you will soon become familiar with. But the one thing that unites them is that are all willing, steadfast and determined that they will do their bit for the war effort no matter the challenges that come their way nor no matter how long the duration of the war is. It’s December 1940 when we become reacquainted with the girls and they are looking forward to Christmas although it won’t be the same as other years but they will make the best with what they have. Throughout the book there are glimpses of all the changes and sacrifices that the characters have so far have had to make and given it is so early on in the long scheme of war (although very much unbeknownst to them) there is an air of hope that things might be over before too long. Now knowing what came one wonders would this air of optimism have lasted if they had known the duration and the horrors that would come their way for several years.
Sally is happily married to Andrew who works at a local school but also has another more serious job alongside his voluntary war work. The couple along with his mother Mrs. Henshaw had been bombed out from their home and now reside at Star Boarding House run by Mrs. Beaumont as do Betty and Lorna. Sally is the manager of the depot but Mrs. Lockwood still makes an appearance every now and again sticking her oar in when it’s not needed at all. Sally took more of a backseat in this story and allowed the other two girls to come to the fore. Although when she receives some unexpected news that will turn her life upside down I did feel desperately sorry for her. But she was stoic in how she dealt with it and it highlighted the bravery of so many women in a similar situation to hers at the time. I wanted a bit more detail and exploration regarding Sally’s storyline, but I sense this will come in the next book.
Betty is enjoying her relationship with Samuel who runs a bookshop. He is the most endearing man whom for medical reasons can’t enlist. It’s clear that Betty is the apple of his eye and that he would do anything for her without question. Theirs was a lovely relationship to observe and I wanted them to take things to the next level but there was few stumbling blocks in their path in order for this to happen. Namely a debt that is owed by Betty, the reasons for which I won’t go into as this was explored in the previous book. Suffice to say Betty puts herself under an awful lot of pressure to clear it. Working by day at the salvage depot, fire watching by night and then taking on an extra job at a factory. She is running herself to the ground but will it be all worth it? Taking the job at the factory allowed another storyline to develop but again I felt this was too brief and came too late in the book as did a storyline involving Lorna. The book was going along for the majority of the time at a nice pace with not much in particular happening. Yes, I was interested in their daily lives but there needed to be a little bit more excitement. This did come but too late in the book in my opinion. Having the two events I am alluding two occur around the midway point would have been better I feel.
Lorna is the character who has grown the most since we were first introduced to her. She comes from a privileged background very different to that of Sally and Betty. But a recent breach of promise case brought about by her father due to Lorna being jilted by her fiancée George has brought shame upon her and her family have sent her away. She now has a taste of independence and is really getting stuck into her work at the salvage depot. Her friendship and bond with Sally and Betty is growing after a rocky start and altogether she just seems more down to earth and aware of what the ordinary people are going through all around her. She seems to have less of an attitude and is willing to be one of the girls who muck in together when times are hard both personally and professionally. The community spirit and sense of a new unique family unit is starting to grow but still she longs for love like her two friends have.
Lorna is caught in an air raid on her way home from Manchester city centre. This event goes on to be known as the Christmas Blitz and this section of the book was incredibly well written and allowed for subplots to develop. Everything was so dramatic and vivid that I could feel the heat from the explosions and visualise the buildings crumbling. Lorna really stepped up and showed her true nature when she becomes involved in a rescue and she gets the shock of her life when she encounters George who shouldn’t be there at all. After this event Lorna has George on her mind an awful lot but can she dare to hope and dream that they could give things another go? A lot of things have been said and hearts crushed but is too late for them? Since this had all occurred, she had fought for a new life for herself and was doing so well in establishing it but if she went back to the past would this all come crumbling down? Or should she try and follow her heart? I felt for her because she was stuck between a rock and a hard place. She had battled for her independence but yet there was that softer side to her that wanted to be loved by someone. She is a modern girl with wartime responsibilities but still what the heart wants the heart will keep seeking.
All in all Christmas for the Homefront Girls was an enjoyable read showing how the Blitz would never break the spirits of the girls or their families. They are all hard workers dedicated to the cause and women stepped into the men’s roles with spirit, passion and grace and the war would not have been won without them keeping the home fires burning. Respect, loyalty, dedication, sacrifices, friendship and love are just some of the words I would use to describe Sally, Betty, Lorna and their exploits. Despite the slow pace of the first half things did pick up in the later half and I found myself getting much more into the story. As it’s only Easter 1941 when the book closes I get the sense there are an awful lot more challenging times ahead for the girls and I am looking forward to seeing what happens next. A Wedding for the Warfront Girls will be published in May and I look forward to catching up with the trio then.
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