Reviewed by Emma Crowley
Kept apart by war work, bombs and blackouts, Lorna and her beloved George cherish every precious moment together. George’s vital role working for the War Office keeps him in London, while Lorna rolls up her sleeves to do her duty each day at the Manchester Salvage Depot, alongside her dearest friends, Sally and Betty.
When George proposes, Lorna is happier than she could ever have imagined. But her high spirits are soon dashed when she hears that the War Office is sending George to America. With the notoriously perilous Atlantic crossing standing between him and his safe return, suddenly Lorna’s future seems more under threat than ever before.
Despite the uncertainty, as the wedding date grows closer, the residents of Star House rally around Lorna to help her prepare. Even air raids and rationing can’t dampen the mood as a four-tiered wedding cake is fashioned out of cardboard. And when a beautiful wedding dress is gifted to her, the only thing left to do is anxiously await news of her fiancé…
Will Lorna and George get the happily-ever-after they dream of? And will the Home Front Girls finally be able to give their dear friend the perfect wedding day?
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of A Wedding for the Homefront Girls to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
A Wedding for the Home Front Girls is the fourth book in the Homefront Girls series by Susanna Bavin. This book carried on more or less from where the previous one had left off but readers new to the series needn’t worry as there was plenty of back story provided to the characters and significant events that had already occurred. As with each of the previous books, this was a quick, lovely and relaxing read which didn’t require significant over thinking into details or trying to identify mysterious events or twists. Instead, what you see is what you get with the girls and there is just a lovely, general, overall, wholesome feeling of brave and courageous women doing their bit for the war and trying their utmost to get through it without falling to pieces.
I enjoyed this book from beginning to end as it was great to catch up with the girls who have become like firm friends. It’s now April 1941 and Betty is revelling in her recent marriage to bookshop owner Samuel. She didn’t feature that much throughout the book but was there in a supportive role to the other girls when needed. Sally and Lorna are the two that primarily feature and have major plot points surrounding them. Sally is enjoying her job as the manager of the salvage depot and the war work herself Betty and Lorna do is so vital and worthwhile. This series has really highlighted how women stepped out of the confines of the home during the war due to the absence of the men who were called up to fight. They demonstrated that when push came to shove and realistically when given the opportunities they had secretly longed for that they could turn their hand to anything. The were enthusiastic and resourceful and took on the burden of their new responsibilities and dealt with them with grace and good nature. The trio and the minor characters of Deborah and Louise that feature this time around deserve nothing but praise and respect. I love how the author has conveyed all the above mentioned sentiments but done so in a conversational and relaxed style.
Sally is going through a tough time in this book. She hasn’t been married all that long to her husband Andrew but he has decided although he had been working in a reserved occupation that he feels the need to enlist. Sally is utterly heartbroken and I felt despite previously showing such strength and determination that she fell apart. It was like she had let a façade slide and she was exposing her true self. This was further evident when something traumatic befalls her but in this case I felt she was justified in her thoughts and actions. The way this issue was dealt with throughout the book was sensitively done with such tact and respect for the subject matter. Although, I will say I did think Mrs.Beaumont, the landlady of the boarding house that Sally and Lorna reside in, was rather forward in something she asked Sally and it seemed to me rather strange to ask something of that nature to a boarder no matter how close they had gotten. This is not a major gripe I had with the book more so that it just didn’t sit right with me. Sally has a lot of emotional turmoil to deal with and once again her friends are there to rally around her but I was glad to see they weren’t overbearing or over powering in any way.
Perhaps the person who has grown the most since she was first introduced was Lorna. She has been through a lot in the public eye thanks to her father bringing a case to court of an unfairly jilted bride which was met with such contempt and ridicule. So much so that she virtually had to go into hiding and that’s how she came to get a job working at the salvage depot. She had come from a good business background. Her father having done very well for himself but her fall from grace was spectacular. When she first arrived at the depot I don’t think she ingratiated herself with the other girls all that well. But now it’s like she has done a complete 360 and is one of the gang. I think she has a lot more empathy and understanding towards people and she comes across as being like the others and on their level. She is definitely a lot more worldly wise and doesn’t make rash statements or decisions. I liked her much more in this book than I had before. She has matured in a big way and this led to her making some courageous decisions in the book that would bring her the ultimate happiness she had so long desired. I felt she was on much more of an even keel with George this time around and that getting married would be the right thing to do. It was nice to read of the prep for this and it took up the last quarter or so of the book. I would have loved a bit of drama or tension happening with something to be solved or overcome as happened with the last book towards the end. This was lacking here.
Overall, A Wedding for the Homefront Girls was a good addition to the series which highlights how ell the girls work together. It’s lovely to see the bonds of friendship and sisterhood growing stronger all the time. If you want an easy, light hearted and nostalgic family saga then you won’t go far wrong with this one. I’m already looking forward to the publication of A Baby for the Homefront Girls in September.
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