Emma's Review: A Baby for the Homefront Girls by Susanna Bavin

Reviewed by Emma Crowley 

When Betty and her best friend Sally discover a baby tucked in a blanket amongst the rubble at the Manchester Salvage Depot, they can barely believe their eyes. As Betty holds the baby in her arms, she feels a familiar longing stir in her chest. Might she and her husband be allowed to care for this abandoned child, and create the family they have always longed for?

Sally is shocked when she realizes she too has news: she’s pregnant and the two friends begin planning for the new arrival. But with her husband Andrew serving overseas, and Sally’s health a cause for concern, she must do everything she can to care for the precious life inside her.

When the grandparents of the abandoned baby are found, Betty’s heart breaks. She has grown to love this child as if she was her own, and she’ll do whatever it takes to provide a safe home for this baby. Then Sally’s health takes a dramatic turn for the worst, and an anxious night is spent waiting for news as the residents of Star House rally to support one another.

With two precious lives to fight for, the future feels more perilous than ever before. Will Betty finally become the mother she has always wanted to be? And will Sally be able to give her husband the most precious homecoming gift of all?

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Emma's Review: A Wedding for the Homefront Girls by Susanna Bavin

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?

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Emma's Review: Christmas for the Homefront Girls by Susanna Bavin

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? 

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Emma's Review: Courage for The Home Front Girls by Susanna Bavin

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

By day, Betty works cheerfully with her best friend Sally, now the manager of the salvage depot. By night, they both do their bit for the war effort as Auxiliary Fire Service girls. But Betty wishes she could do more.

So when Samuel, a kind and gentle young bookseller, needs help sorting out novels to entertain the boys overseas, Betty volunteers. Anything for the troops! There might be a flashy, handsome stranger who keeps seeking her out at the depot, but she can’t help enjoying Samuel’s quiet humour as they work together during the blackouts.

But when the worst night-time air raid they’ve ever seen strikes, Sally’s home is destroyed. Even worse, any of Sally’s treasured possessions that did survive the blast are stolen by looters. Desperate to help her friend, Betty could never have expected the guilt when she uncovers what really happened… Was it all her fault?

Despite Samuel’s best efforts, Betty can’t forgive herself. Determined to set things right, Betty sets off to catch the thief, leaving Samuel in the dark. And then the sirens begin, warning of another bombing raid. Can Betty find the strength to finish what she started, despite the threat to everything she holds dear? Or will the smoke clear on heartbreak for the home front girls?

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Emma's Review: The Home Front Girls by Susannah Bavin

Reviewed by Emma Crowley 

The war is raging in Europe. These girls will do everything they can on the home front – but is a happy ever after possible in such dark and uncertain times?

Manchester, 1940: The minute war was declared, best friends Sally and Deborah volunteered for the home guard, willing to do anything to help their boys fighting overseas. An Auxiliary Fire Service girl by night, Sally ends up stationed at the salvage depot by day. Working amidst the scrap metal and waste paper, helping to make do and mend, isn’t quite the glamorous life in uniform she’d imagined! But she’s determined to do her best, and turn saucepans into Spitfires.

When Sally meets Andrew, a quiet carpenter with a heart-breaking smile who understands how important her work is, she finally feels as though her efforts to keep calm and carry on are making a difference. As love blossoms, Sally feels herself opening up to Andrew in a way she’d never imagined possible.

But then, just as Sally feels as hopeful as she can be in these times of war, a devastating air raid threatens everything she holds dear. As bombs rain down all over Manchester, deadly fires begin to destroy homes, and lives. With Andrew out rescuing families from the rubble, Sally rushes towards the plumes of smoke that fill the night sky. And is horrified to realise the very worst hit area has the salvage yard right at its heart.

Desperate to help in any way she can, Sally, with her fellow salvage girls by her side, sets to work. But what will they find when the smoke clears? Will Sally and Andrew get the happy ending they so deserve? Or will her one chance at true love be lost forever as the morning dawns…?

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