Emma's Review: The Lost Orphans by Ellie Curzon

 Reviewed by Emma Crowley

The war has robbed eight-year-old orphan Elsie of everything except her older brother Jack. Evacuated together, hand in hand they escaped a cruel farming family only to find their home destroyed, their mother gone. Wide-eyed Elsie hasn’t spoken since, and every night she cries for her mother, and for their father, lost at war.

Wandering under the falling ash, their stomachs twist with hunger and Jack knows he cannot protect Elsie alone. But everything changes when they join a rag-tag band of orphans, runaway evacuees who’ve returned to the city just like them. With nothing left to lose, the children stay above ground as Nazi planes fly overhead, determined to help others. But as they risk their lives, who will protect them?

Then during a night of terrible bombing, the unimaginable happens. Elsie disappears. Their faces streaked with tears, Jack and his friends search through the flames and smoke, knowing she has no voice to respond to their cries. Will anyone find her before it’s too late? And will the lost orphans ever find a safe home?

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Emma's Review: Wartime Wishes for the Land Girls by Ellie Curzon

Reviewed by Emma Crowley 

In the darkest days of war, can a land girl’s wish come true?

England, 1943. With Christmas days away, the land girls of Gosling Farm are full of merriment, fetching boughs of holly and cutting down trees. Only Lottie feels far from festive cheer after her sister’s death in an air raid. But with the help of handsome vicar and injured veteran Matthew, she begins to feel hopeful once more.

Then one frosty night, a German bomber plane crashes nearby. A survivor is missing, injured and in desperate need of help. With their own brave airmen risking their lives in the snowy skies overhead, the kindness of the village is tested like never before. But as Matthew preaches goodwill to his flock, his passion captures Lottie’s heart, as well as his sparkling blue eyes…

But this is no ordinary German airman: his capture would change the course of the war. Soon the eyes of Churchill and the whole country are on the little English village. And amid the chaos, Matthew’s young niece Daisy goes missing. As they desperately search the countryside, Lottie sends out a wish to the bright winter moon: keep Daisy safe.

With a blizzard raging and an enemy airman out there in the dark, can the land girls and their brave vicar rescue Daisy? And although the war feels closer than ever, will Lottie and Matthew find their own happy ever after in time for Christmas day?

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Emma's Review: The Wartime Vet by Ellie Curzon

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

Despite everyone telling her it’s not a suitable career for a woman, Laura has worked hard to become a successful livestock vet. And she’s not afraid to serve her country in the village of Bramble Heath, where she and the land girls care for animals and protect the crops everyone relies on during the darkest days of the war. But, just when the country is most in need of food, the farms of the village come under attack…

Desperate to figure out who among the villagers could be doing such terrible things even while German bombs rain down, Laura is relieved when the Ministry respond to her requests for help. But the man they send isn’t what she expects. Commander Alastair Seaton is quiet, with a soft, kind smile. And she can’t help but be drawn to his shining brown eyes.

But as they start to open up to each other about past heartbreak, disaster strikes. A farm has been set alight. While Laura hurriedly gathers water to fight the flames, Alistair rushes into the burning barn to make sure no one is trapped inside. Will Alistair make it out alive? And can Laura figure out who is behind these attacks before they threaten the outcome of the war?

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Emma's Review: The Ration Book Baby by Ellie Curzon

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

Nurse Annie Russell anxiously listens to the terrifying sounds of planes and gunfire overhead, worried about what the morning will bring for the patients in her care. The boys from the local airfield fly up in the skies each night, risking their lives to protect the people of Bramble Heath village, but they can’t stop every bombshell. Until a knock at the door makes her jump.

Awaiting Annie on the doorstep is a hatbox. Peeking under the lid, she gasps – inside is a whimpering newborn, round cheeks glistening with tears. The poor little thing may be all alone, but someone must truly love the baby… Tucked into a hand-knitted blanket, there’s a precious ration book, vital for food supplies in these darkest of days.

Her heart breaking, Annie does everything she can to care for her tiny charge. But, without a ration book, she knows that the frightened young mother could also be in dire need of help too. Then social services bring devastating news. If Annie can’t find the helpless child’s family soon, the authorities will have to take the little one away.

As the Nazi threat grows, more and more of the brave pilots at the local airbase don’t come home. Is one of the fallen the child’s father? And with her only clue leading nowhere, can Annie find the answers she needs, and reunite the innocent baby with its parents before it is too late?

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