A delightful and heart-warming sequel to the brilliant Dear Mrs Bird.

Emmeline Lake has now found her feet at the magazine Woman's Friend, when we catch up with her the winter of 1941. Keen that the magazine does their bit to encourage women to sign up for war work, Emmy interviews some of the workers in a munitions factory.

On the problem page, sensible but caring advice is the order of the day, although there is a notable change in the types of letters being sent now that wartime has begun to bite, and bite hard.

This is a gentle tale with plenty of humour to counteract the savage reality of wartime Britain but one that exposes the very real problems that women faced when they joined the workforce at the government's behest.

One of the best sequels I have read for a long time.

Well this is charming. I enjoyed Dear Mrs Bird and this is more of the same lovely world. This one swaps problems at work with problems with the war effort for the main drama and it does it very well - with Emmy getting involved in a government effort to get women to do war work and ending up helping women working in munitions factories and trying to look after their families. Once again, it ends a bit unexpectedly but I really enjoyed spending time with Emmy and Bunty and Charles and seeing what was happening at the magazine. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a third to come

A gentle continuation of the story of Emma Lake and her work at the Woman’s Friend alongside her impending wedding to Charles. The storyline looks at the war effort at home and the setting up of nurseries for the female workforce to complete the munitions work.Emma’s career is advancing in the wake of the departure of her nemesis Henrietta Bird as she takes up the cudgel to advance female recruitment to necessary occupations to aid the war effort. Good social history in an enchanting well scripted story

About: London, September, 1941. In this follow up to the super popular Dear Mrs Bird, we follow Emmeline Lake as she takes on the role of becoming a young wartime advice columnist for a weekly women’s magazine, as well as maintaining a blossoming relationship with her Army boyfriend. As part of a campaign to help recruit desperately needed female workers to the war effort, Emmy meets some remarkable factory workers and their not-so-remarkable employers. Emmy discovers some of the very real challenges that women war workers face, and faces a life-changing dilemma between doing her duty, and standing by her friends.

My thoughts: Firstly, I have to confess that I haven’t read Dear Mrs Bird yet (and now I am of course kicking myself over that!) Yours Cheerfully can still be enjoyed as a standalone novel, but be warned: you will fall in love with these characters and will want to read the first volume!

I’ve read a lot of fiction set in this period, and I work for a history publisher so I have also read plenty of non-fiction about various aspects of WW2, but this book really highlighted some of the day to day challenges and realities of living through the war, especially for young women. There are some serious issues covered within which made my blood boil at times and made me weep at others, but it’s written in such a light and positive way that I just couldn’t put it down!

So sweet, this book portrays the ‘Blitz Spirit’ wonderfully and his chock full of gorgeous characters (with impeccable manners!) A lovely little novel that I have been recommending far and wide since I read the the first chapter; this one really made me take a step back in time and consider how my grandmother would have experienced the war – what she’d have been wearing, eating, what a night out would like during the blackout and the terror of receiving the worst possible news from family members and sweethearts serving overseas.

Thanks to @netgalley and Picador for an ARC of this one, I loved it!

It was so great to see what happened next for Emmy and Bunty after the conclusion of Dear Mrs Bird.

Set in 1941 this sequel finds Emmy being shown the challenges of working women during the war. Which is incredibly interesting and eye opening.

Yours Cheerfully is a very light and easy read but that’s a good thing when most of us are looking for books that lift our spirits during difficult times. How appropriate then that it’s a book with a WW2 setting, complete with making the best of things and staying cheerful, that translates so well to our unsettling world of Covid.
The book is just as charming as A J Pearce’s first novel Dear Mrs Bird which first introduced us to the young, plucky, aspiring magazine writer and all-round ‘good sort’ Emmeline Lake.
A J Pearce captures the wartime spirit perfectly and weaves into her tale a celebration of friendship, love, and the strength of women standing together against the odds.
While it makes sense to read them in order, both books work as stand-alone stories and both offer a welcome dose of warmth and wit that prove to be wonderfully uplifting in challenging times.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance copy of the book in return for an honest review.

I just loved this book.

The rhythm of the language, the familiar, yet slightly proper characterisations and the humour.

Real comfort food for the soul and an absolute joy to read.

Highly recommend.

Yours Cheerfully by A J Pearce

This is a sequel to 'Dear Mrs Bird' but I don't think you need to have read the first one, although I would definitely recommend that you read that too! It's 1941 in wartime London and as part of her job at the Women's Friend magazine, Emmy investigates the recruitment of women to factories and the challenges they face, whilst also answering readers' letters to the popular problem page 'Yours Cheerfully'. Meanwhile, her friend Bunty is recovering from her injuries and coping with the loss of her partner and Emmy has fallen in love with Charles. Emmy and her friends come up with a plan to try to get a nursery for the women workers' children but it's not plain sailing at all!

I loved this book - in fact I think I loved it even more than 'Dear Mrs Bird' and I REALLY loved that too! The characters are fabulous and the time/setting very vivid. It was like an old film playing in my head the whole time I was reading it. I raced through it and I'm already missing Emmy, Bunty and the rest of the characters. Very highly recommended and I really hope A J Pearce is writing another one - fingers crossed!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

It was nice to read the next chapter in Emmy's story as her career at the magazine and her romance with Charles both pick up pace. Exploring the difficulties women faced as they tried to do their bit for the war effort, the story shows us a little known area of wartime on the home front, alongside a fun will-they-won't they race to the church for a wedding that nobody is sure will actually happen. A few too many small typos but that could well be because this was an advance copy. I enjoyed it but not quite as much as the wonderful Dear Mrs Bird.

Charming, sweet and unflinchingly honest novel exploring the stories people don't tell about working women during the war. This follow up to 'Dear Mrs Bird' does more than just carry on the story of Emmy Lake; it delves into the stories of war widows, of the women working in factories to support the war effort and of how desperately hard people struggled to ensure their lives still had joy.
This is exactly the right book for the right now - it's hopeful, it's uplifting and it's a beautiful story simply told. It's one to read with your heart.

Thank you to @netgalley and @ajpearcewrites for the arc of Yours Cheerfully, the follow up to Dear Mrs Bird.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The story follows Emmy as she takes on the challenge of being a young advice columnist during the war. When the Ministry of Information recruits the help of women's magazines to drum up female support to the war effort, Emmy is more than excited to step up.

Thoughts 💭
I loved Dear Mrs Bird and I was so excited to dive back in to the lives of Emmy and Bunty. The writing is beautiful and nostalgic. I wish people spoke like that today!

The writer perfectly sums up the camaraderie and wartime attitude of "We're all in this together' and how Britain had to get creative and stay cheerful throughout times of worry and hardship. The female characters we encounter are specifically admirable and strong getting on with life and holding the home front while the men were away at war. I like that we got to see the daily struggles that were encountered and overcome at home as we often focus solely on the battlefield. These women were kick ass, amazing and resilient in the face of loss and tragedy.

TW: Death, War, PTSD

If you're debating buying this one, take this as your sign that you should! 💯 Recommend 👌🏼

Lovely follow up to Dear Mrs Bird. Yours Cheerfully has the same light touch and humour as the first book, however doesn’t shy away from some of the hardships during wartime and it is good to catch up with Emmy and Bunty.

This book sees Emmy’s position with the magazine being elevated as a women’s publication helping to promote women working and supporting the war effort. Emmy’s friendship with a young widow working at a munitions factory highlights the issue of childcare problems that many working mums had at the time.

Although this could be read as a standalone, I personally feel it would be better to read Dear Mrs Bird first in order to get to know the characters and background.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my review.

It was so lovely to be back with Emmy and Bunty again, and the wonderful characters at Woman’s Friend magazine. Continuing where Dear Mrs Bird left off, this is a truly heartwarming story of the fight for justice for women and mothers, and the story of friendship and support. I loved how Emmy and Bunty got behind Anne and the other workers, and the romance between Charles and Emmy was a wonderful distraction.

A thoroughly enjoyable follow-up to the wonderful 'Dear Mrs. Bird' which doesn't disappoint. It was so lovely to rejoin Emmy, Bunty and co as they navigate the troubled times in which they find themselves, and AJ Pearce has continued the story with the same warmth and humour she used in the first book, all told against the more serious backdrop of the war.
Perfect comfort reading with plenty of moments to laugh and cry with. Thank you AJ Pearce for writing a sequel.

I haven’t read the previous book Dear Mrs.Bird but this book can also be read as a standalone and nevertheless I enjoyed reading it.

After the departure of Mrs. Bird, Emmeline Lake becomes a wartime advice columnist especially for women named “Yours Cheerfully”. Just as she is settling in her new role, she receives an invite from the Ministry of Information to help recruit female workers for the war effort. When exposed to the harsh realities of women working in factories and the challenges they face every day, Emily starts to speak up for the plight of these women. The book focuses on the women who stepped up and worked at factories while the men are away fighting the war.

The book is funny and has me cracking up in a lot of places. I fell in love with all the characters especially Bunty, Em’s best friend and Charles, Em’s fiance. The book ended with the possibility of a sequel and I hope it’s focused on Bunty’s story.

This is one of those historical fictions which are on the lighter side and it is perfect for people trying to get out of a reading slump or looking for a fun, warm and engaging read.

I already bought a copy of Dear Mrs.Bird and can’t wait to read it!

I read and adored A. J. Pearce’s Dear Mrs Bird last year and I was delighted to be accepted for its sequel. Emmy is a fantastic character and I couldn’t wait to see what she got up to next.

Emmeline Lake is now a fully-fledged advice columnist at Woman’s Friend magazine and with her boyfriend Charles now back in the UK, her relationship is on the up too. Her best friend Bunty is slowly getting back on her feet after the devastation of the Blitz and Emmy is determined to get through the remainder of the war. The country is now looking towards its women to help the war effort and of course, Woman’s Friend are in a fantastic position to encourage their readers. But then Emmy meets a young mother, who shows her the truths facing female workers and a new challenge presents itself.

I love Emmy’s humbleness and her ability to re-focus her mind to the most important cause. She doesn’t put her own goals before the needs of other people, even the needs of strangers. Her readers mean everything to her and I wonder how many journalists today have the same passion for their readership that she does.

When Emmy is tasked with investigating the situation at a munitions factory regarding the women who are working there, she isn’t satisfied with simply talking to their boss. She knows that Woman’s Friend readers will want the story directly from the women’s mouths and Emmy is determined to present an accurate depiction of work. Her tenacity and continued dedication to the true heart of Woman’s Friend is so admirable and again, I struggle to believe that there are many reporters around today who work with a similar ethos.

I love the humour in the book too. There are some fantastically funny, eccentric characters working in the Woman’s Friend office and that makes editorial meetings a lot of fun. From the stoic, kind editor Mr Collins to the often flustered and indiscreet teenager Hester, Woman’s Friend feels like a dysfunctional family and a genuinely wonderful place to work. I know that I would have been constantly knocking on their door and asking for a position there, had I been a budding writer at the time.

The biggest issues that these women face are unequal pay and lack of flexible childcare facilities. Yes, issues that working women STILL face today. Of course, the women’s war effort was perhaps the first time that many women had the opportunity to build a career and do something other than keep the house tidy and raise children. However, the lack of understanding and care from the government and business owners mean that the practical requirements of women working fall through the cracks.

There is also mention of the extent of the loss that war widows suffered, even in their darkest hour. It taught me that these women didn’t only have to deal with the loss of their men but also a significant financial loss. Therefore, many women like Anne, had no choice but to find work. Of course, if they didn’t have their own parents, friends or neighbours around to look after the children, they had to take their children into work with them. As we see at Chandlers’, many bosses frowned on this and fired women on the spot for not being able to find alternative arrangements for their children. A. J. Pearce obviously researched everything so well and managed to illustrate that women’s continued struggles in this area have been around for decades.

Bunty is another fantastic character. She went through the most unimaginable horror in Dear Mrs Bird but she is determined to power through and look to the future. She is the definition of a loyal, selfless best friend and together with Emmy, they’re an unstoppable team. Their friendship is so heartwarming and will make you realise that you’re so lucky if you have at least one Bunty in your life.

Emmy’s relationship with Charles has that quintessential purity that you only really see in historical romances. Despite the fact that they don’t get to spend much time together, I never really had any doubts that they’d last. Their love is so stable and charming. I couldn’t help but smile every time they were together and by the end, my cheeks were hurting!

There’s a very brief encounter at the very end of the book that Emmy has with an old lady at a train station. It’s not pivotal to the story and could possibly have been edited out but I’m so glad it wasn’t. This interaction means that we leave Emmy with the wisdom that she doesn’t always have to be the pillar of strength that fights every injustice. That it’s ok to take some time out and take care of herself. Self-care is often considered quite a modern phenomenon and it is perhaps something that many of our ancestors could have done with. I like to think that Emmy was an early adopter, thanks to Mrs Martin!

Yours Cheerfully is a heartwarming triumph of a book that will lift your heart. It will thoroughly transport you to a time that wasn’t a happy one but by focusing on the small victories of normal people, it will show you the amount of hope and love that ran through London in 1941. As it is a direct sequel, you probably should read Dear Mrs Bird before this one to get a more in-depth appreciation and knowledge of the characters -particularly of Emmy and Bunty. Both books are amazing, joyful reads, so pick them up this summer!

A few years back I absolutely fell in love with Emmeline Lake when I read Dear Mrs. Bird, so when earlier this year I found out about the sequel I was ecstatic.

Yours cheerfully picks up right where Dear Mrs. Bird left off and with Henrietta Bird gone, Emmy, with the help of a senior editor, is now in charge of Women’s Friend magazine letter page. Her boss and brother-in-law trusts in her work so when the Ministry of Information asks for the help of women’s magazines in getting more women to sign up for work during the war, she is asked to write a series of articles on women working in factories. She becomes so involved with them that she’ll try to help them improve their conditions at the same times she makes some new friends.

It is so refreshing to read a book about the war that it’s not focused on the actual battles or spy work! This heartwarming and poignant story is all about women and the power of friendships and team work. Emmy is such a lovable character. She’s headstrong, funny, resourceful, not afraid to get involved in everything she thinks it’s not fair for others...And I love how the men in her life encourage her in her endeavors.

We meet back some old friends like Bunty, who’s still recovering from her personal tragedy (she made me cry so much during her dance scene!) and new ones like Anne and Ruby, who were such a pleasure to meet.

It was really well written, putting the focus on important issues but doing it in a happy and upbeat way. I sincerely hope we get to meet Emmy again cause she still has much more to say.

Thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan/Picador for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Yours Cheerfully is the sequel of Dear Mrs Bird which is one of my all-time favourite books. It follows on from where we left off in Dead Mrs Bird; Emmy is still working for Woman’s Friend but is now writing the advice column, Yours Cheerfully, which is based on women working during the Secord World War. The government have asked for assistance with increasing the women in the workforce to help win the war, however, Emmy discovers just how difficult this is for the women and the many obstacles standing in their way.
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I buddy read this with the fabulous @lovebooksactually, who also adored Dear Mrs Bird just as much as I did, so we were both routing for this book and it didn’t disappoint.
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It was so nice to be back with Emmy, Bunty, Charles and co. We also got to meet some lovely new characters who have also captured my heart. A.J. Pearce does a wonderful job of creating characters that are instantly loveable and who you are routing for 100%.
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As much as I loved reading all about Emmy’s attempts to help the women with their obstacles, I couldn’t help but gravitate towards the pages with Emmy’s personal life. I love Emmy and Charles and I think they are a beautiful couple, so this book made me very happy (so hard to say that without giving spoilers!).
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Overall, I adored this uplifting sequel and I really hope this isn’t the last we hear about the fabulous Emmy and Co.

*Many thanks to @netgalley @panmacmillan and @picadorbooks for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*

I’ve been looking forward to reading Yours Cheerfully by A J Pearce ever since I devoured the first instalment in the Emmeline Lake chronicles, Dear Mrs Bird,* when it was first published in 2018. I’ve been under-the-weather and generally confined to bed this week, getting over an onslaught of vaccine side-effects, so my kind Mum drove to our nearest Waterstones and picked up the shop’s exclusive, signed, sprayed-edge edition of Yours Cheerfully for me. Isn’t it a beauty? I perked up the moment the book was in my hands, and I read it in less than a day, once more gripped by the adventures of its plucky, warm-hearted heroine, twenty-four year old Emmeline (‘Emmy’) Lake, who does her best to navigate a career as a London journalist, whilst living through the privations, heart-breaks and dangers of World War Two.

Having got off to a rather rocky start at the Women’s Friend magazine (as chronicled in Dear Mrs Bird), Emmy is determined to prove her worth and is kept busy answering queries from female readers writing into the ‘Yours Cheerfully’ advice column. Having longed to be a female war correspondent, Emmy realises that she can still Do Her Bit by providing support to the millions of women at home whose lives have been forever altered by war, and she is thrilled when the Ministry of Information calls on women’s magazines to help recruit female workers to the war effort. Finally, Emmy feels she has a chance to do proper war-work, beyond her volunteer shifts in the fire service.

Inspired by a chance meeting on a train with a young, newly widowed mother (Anne Oliver), who is just about to take up a factory job, Emmy decides to run a series of articles on the inside stories of women working in munitions factories, hoping these pieces will inspire other women to join their ranks. As she dives deeper into the lives of Anne and her colleagues, though, Emmy realises that many women are expected to work full-time, often with overnight shifts, without being provided with adequate (or any) childcare. Anne also reminds Emmy that work for women isn’t simply a patriotic choice: many women have no option but to work and they have to support their families on lower wages than men doing the same job.

On her first visit to the munitions factory in which Anne works, Emmy is shocked to see small children waiting in a corner of the busy, noisy room; an incident that sparks a row with the (male) factory overseer and leads to the dismissal of the children’s mother, Irene. ‘Don’t be so quick to judge,’ Anne snaps when Emmy wonders what woman in her right mind would bring children into such a dangerous environment, ‘she hasn’t got a choice.’

Emmy realises she has been judgemental, as well as naive, over the challenges faced by working women, and she resolves to do what she can. Finding it a delicate balance between getting labelled as unpatriotic (an extremely serious charge in a country at war), but still speaking up for the rights of women workers, Emmy and her friends learn that power comes from unity and refusing to be cowed into silence.

Part of the reason I enjoy A J Pearce’s writing so much is that we have a shared interest in the largely untold stories of the everyday lives of women during the Second World War. Dear Mrs Bird concentrated largely on London during the worst of the Blitz, as well as the day-to-day concerns of women during the war. In Yours Cheerfully, Pearce’s focus is on the propaganda role newspapers and magazines played during the war and on the experiences of women in previously male-dominated workforces. She handles these subjects with a refreshing lightness of touch and a convincing ability to recreate the sensibilities of a bygone age.

I would perhaps have liked to see a bit more of London in this book, although it was fun to read about Senate House in Bloomsbury as the HQ of the Ministry of Information, having studied just around the corner from this impressive Art Deco building as a student. A large part of the action in Yours Cheerfully takes place outside of London, and there isn’t much sense of what life was like in the city at this time - a marked difference from Dear Mrs Bird. I also found it odd that Emmy’s volunteer work in the Auxiliary Fire Service barely gets a mention; I know the worst of the Blitz is over, but it would have been interesting to keep up with this side of Emmy’s life.

If you enjoyed Dear Mrs Bird, though, then it’s safe to say that you’ll love Yours Cheerfully, which makes a hugely enjoyable and satisfying sequel, and if you haven’t read Dear Mrs Bird, then you could easily dive straight in with Yours Cheerfully, although I certainly recommend reading both! It was very moving to return to the Emmeline Lake series in the midst of another global crisis, and to be reminded of the strength there is in showing both friends and strangers understanding, sympathy and compassion.

Kindness, female solidarity and friendship are at the heart of A J Pearce’s books, and it’s hard not to read Yours Cheerfully without having your faith in humanity restored. Not that Pearce’s writing is saccharine; Emmy comes across plenty of selfish, unpleasant characters and finds that it is all too true that the world is divided between ‘women who stick up for each other, and women who don’t.’ At their core, though, Pearce’s novels are a celebration of female friendship, and this is partly what makes them such heartwarming, comforting reads. If, like me, you’re in need of a bookish pick-me-up, then let Yours Cheerfully be your next read.

I had no idea that this was a sequel to Dear Mrs Bird, but I enjoyed that one so much that as soon as I saw this author had another book on the way I immediately requested it.

Now that Henrietta Bird has left the magazine, Emmy is actually learning on the job. With expert guidance she is well on her way to becoming the journalist she always wanted to be. Her relationship with Charles is going from strength to strength and friend Bunty is slowly recovering from injuries sustained during the bombing of London. When the Ministry appeals to women’s magazines to help them recruit much needed female workers to help with the war effort, Emmy is thrilled to be involved but then she and Bunty come across women with the desire to help their country but in need of some unforthcoming help to allow them to do so. Emmy finds herself trying to do the right thing by the magazine as well as by her conscience and her friends.

What a super sequel! Continuing on from the first, my mind quickly recalled the story and I was delighted to be back in Emmy’s world. Along with Bunty, both are determined to do ‘their bit’ and it made me yawn just thinking about everything they packed into each 24 hour period. A great reflection of wartime Britain including the misogynistic attitudes of many and the difficulties faced on a daily basis, mixed in with a compelling story of friendship, romance and careers. Wonderful and so very enjoyable. I’m thrilled that the author is working on her third book – can’t wait! A terrific read which I’m delighted to recommend and give all five sparkling stars.

My thanks to the author for my copy via NetGalley; this is – as always – my honest, original and unbiased review.