Reviewed by Emma CrowleyCan she finally find the home she’s always wanted?Emma Wilson is running from a broken marriage after her life has been torn apart, and she’s desperate to start over. Escaping to a small Irish village, Emma begins working for seventy-five-year-old fashion enthusiast Judith McCarthy in her beautiful manor house at the heart of the tight-knit community. The quirky locals ..read more

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 ..read more

Reviewed by Emma CrowleyGermany, 1939: When Rosa Herzelfeld boards the SS St Louis, she doesn’t believe its promise of freedom. Surely there can be no escape from the Nazis, not even on the other side of the world. Besides, she knows that no matter how far she travels, there is no escaping her past…When the ship is refused entry to Cuba, Rosa finds herself penniless and alone in England ..read more

Reviewed by Emma CrowleyDespite 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 ..read more

Reviewed by Emma CrowleyThe day Heather, Niamh and Lauren met, they promised to be best friends for life, and that instant connection only grew stronger with their weekly sunrise swims in their stunning local lake. When they left school, they agreed that, no matter where life took them, every year on midsummer’s dawn, they would meet at their old spot and swim together.Now, fifteen years later ..read more

Reviewed by Emma Crowley When Emily loses her job, house and boyfriend all within a matter of days, she's determined to turn a negative into a positive and follow her dream of running a small cafe in the gorgeous Yorkshire village of Essendale.But she quickly finds she's bitten off more than she can chew when the 'popular' cafe she takes over turns out to secretly be a failing business ..read more

Reviewed by Emma Crowley1945. The tiny bundle in her arms barely stirs as she hurries out into the dark street. Remembering Villa Teresa, a thousand miles away in sun-soaked Italy, Betty thinks of the letter she had to write to stop the bombing and save Gianni. Instead it cost her everything… And she will never see her beloved again. Now, letting her little baby go will tear her apart, but she ..read more

Reviewed by Emma Crowley1942, Amsterdam. The Nazi occupation has shattered the lives of inseparable best friends Hannie and Sonja. The canals and rainy cobbled streets they once strolled down are now patrolled by soldiers day and night, who arrest people at will and beat those who resist.Hannie can’t stand by and watch the lives of the innocent be destroyed by the evil occupiers. At great danger ..read more

Today it's my pleasure to welcome Elaine Everest to the blog to talk about the challenges when writing a series as part of the blog tour for her latest book The Teashop Girls at War. In some ways writing a standalone novel as opposed to a series is no different as the author should still aim to be as meticulous in their research and storytelling. However, once a series is agreed with our ..read more

Reviewed by Emma CrowleySixteen-year-old Tasha Ancel turns to take one last look at the imposing place that stole her freedom and her childhood. She has no idea how she continued to live when so many others did not. For the first time in months, her heart beats with hope for her future and that of the smaller children who cling to her now.Tasha was torn from her mother’s arms by an SS guard days ..read more