August Book Reviews

Another 3 books read in August....... still way off my target of 50 books in 2013 but I'll be happy with 25

First one 

August 1939: Thirteen-year-old Poppy Brown is evacuated to a village in Dorset. Tired and frightened, she arrives with nothing but her gas mask and a change of clothes to her name. Billeted at a grand country house, Poppy is received with cold indifference above stairs and gets little better treatment from the servants. Lonely and missing the family she left behind in London, Poppy is devastated when she hears that they have been killed in the Blitz.

Circumstances soon force Poppy to move to the suburbs and into the company of strangers once more. Earning a meagre income as a hospital cleaner, as the war continues to rage, Poppy longs to do her duty. And as soon as she is able to, she starts her training as a nurse. While the man she loves is fighting in the skies above Europe, Poppy battles to survive the day-to-day hardships and dangers of wartime, wondering if she'll ever see him again...

At the beginning of July I brought 3 Lily Baxter's books from The Book People for only £4.99. I'd never read any before but I'd read good reviews on Amazon so I took a risk & I really enjoyed it!

I nice love story that had a happy ending, I knew how it was going to end so it was no surprise but all the same a good quick read. I'm looking forward to the others.

9/10 

Three very different girls sign up as student nurses in 1936, while England is still mourning the death of George V. Dora is a tough East Ender, driven by ambition, but also desperate to escape her squalid, overcrowded home and her abusive stepfather. Helen is the quiet one, a mystery to her fellow nurses, avoiding fun, gossip and the limelight. In fact she is in the formidable shadow of her overbearing mother, who dominates every aspect of her life. Can a nursing career free Helen at last? The third of our heroines is naughty, rebellious Millie an aristocrat on the run from her conventional upper class life. She is doomed to clash over and over again with terrifying Sister Hyde and to get into scrape after scrape especially where men are concerned.

This utterly delightful novel brings a London pre-war hospital vividly to life.

I found this one at work, a bargain price of just 99p!

You can buy from Amazon on Kindle or paperback. Once again a really good read, light hearted & interesting. 

I was really pleased to see there are 2 more in the series & I've added them to my wish list..... just hope I get time to read all the books I'm adding!!

9/10

Kathy Burton longs to escape the drudgery of her life as an unpaid labourer on her father’s farm. With only the local church choir and the occasional dance at the village hall for amusement, she yearns for the bright lights. Spurning Morry Robinson’s proposal of marriage, Kathy goes to live in the city with his aunt, Jemima Robinson. In turn, she finds employment for Kathy in a department store, but is anxious when Kathy is captivated by the sophisticated and handsome floor manager, Tony Kendall. ‘He has a reputation,’ the outspoken Jemima warns her. ‘He’s had more girl friends than I’ve got shoes in my closet.’ Kathy has fallen deeply and irrevocably in love and, even when the country is plunged into war, she can see no obstacle to their future. But she has reckoned without the devious mind of Tony’s invalid mother, Beatrice Kendall. ‘You’ll never marry my son,’ she vows. ‘I’ll see to that.’ Determined that the possessive woman won’t win, Kathy plans her wedding, but the day is ruined and Tony is called up before another date can be arranged. Feeling deserted, Kathy is forced to face yet further heartache and shame alone. At last, she finds solace in joining a concert party entertaining service men and woman and war workers. But behind the songs and the smiles, her heart is breaking . . .

Can you see a theme going on here?

I'm addicted to reading novels set in war time, a good love story with the back drop of WW2. I seem to be living in my own little world but minus the bombs (thankfully!)

I've never read any Margaret Dickinson before but I couldn't put this book down! Find it here on Amazon.

Once again I knew what the ending would be but it didn't ruin the story. Another book brought from work for 99p & the good news is...... it was 2 books in one!! I enjoyed this one so much I read the next straight away then donated it back to the shop as I had a customer waiting.

I'm looking forward to reading more of her work.
10/10

So that's my August books..... I'll be back soon to tell you how I'm getting on in September