Yours Cheerfully is the sequel to Dear Mrs Bird. Continuing the story of Emmy and her job at the magazine Women’s Friend during wartime Britain, I thought this was a better book than the first one! For those who don’t know, or remember, the first book covered the story of Emmy starting her new job at the magazine, helping a very scary editor, Mrs Bird, with answering agony aunt letters. Emmy gets herself into trouble when she decides to write back to these poor women who Mrs Bird doesn’t really like helping properly. I won’t spoil the book for those who want to read it, but mild spoilers for this review!

This sequel follows on from the last novel, with a change up in how the magazine is run and Emmy being allowed a lot more creative freedom! It also carries on the story of her Captain boyfriend.

I really loved all of this book except for Emmy’s continual habit of putting her foot in it. For some reason everyone except her sees it coming when she makes a few very obvious mistakes. There are also times in the book where it seemed like the plot would go one way, with some foreshadowing, but the author would take a complete turn in another direction. However, it was really well written and just a fun little tearjerker! You can’t help but feel for the characters even when they mess up a bit, and the ending, while a bit rushed, was very sweet and moving. Very different from the first novel in terms of how serious things do get, but I’m glad the author moved away from the fluffy themes in the first novel, and tried something like this!

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for this ARC in return for an honest review.

Silly and fun, a lght hearted read. If you liked the first book then there is more of what drew you to read this sequel.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an ARC.

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

Just couldn’t recreate the magic of the first one. Really cringy unless you absolutely love this sort of this. Warned-over Waugh.

London, November 1941.
Woman’s Friend, Henrietta Bird has left the magazine and Emmeline Lake is excited to be once again involved with the advice column. Her dear friend Bunty is slowly getting over her injuries, she’s mourning the loss of her beloved William and she’s still Emmy’s number one supporter. Emmy’s boyfriend Charles Mayhew is stationed back in the UK, they don’t get to spend a lot of time together and are madly in love.

The Ministry of Information needs help to recruit women workers for the war effort and they want magazines to run government funded articles. Emmy comes up with the idea to interview women who have just started working at a munitions factory and she receives permission to visit Chandlers. Emmy's new friend Anne works at the facility, she’s a war widow and has two young children. She discovers the challenges women workers face, they work extremely long hours, and juggling shift work and motherhood during a war isn’t easy. Most married women needed to work, many struggled financially and they had no access to funded childcare. The managers at Chandlers considered child minding not their problem, workers families should help out and many women didn’t have relatives living close by.

British women had a personal interest in the war, they all had family members fighting and wanted to do their bit! In, Yours Cheerfully Emmy’s doing what she does best, writing heart felt stories for Woman’s Friend magazine and supporting the women of England. I absolutely loved Dear Mrs. Bird and A.J. Pearce has done it again and Yours Cheerfully will have you cheering for Emmy, Bunty, Charles and her friends.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, an absolute delightful story to read and five big stars from me.

*With thanks to NetGalley for my advance copy*

I read Mrs Bird when it came out in 2018 and enjoyed it as an easy read set on the Home Front in World War Two. So when I spotted Yours Cheerfully, I wanted to read the sequel.

The novel focuses on Emmy Lake, an aspiring war reporter and her attempts to branch out from helping with her magazine’s problem page. In a slightly unlikely turn of events she makes friends with a woman named Anne on a train and ends up writing about Anne’s new job in a munitions factory - I enjoyed this glimpse into a part of the war we don’t usually read about. Emmy’s new friend soon needs her help to improve working conditions and assist more women to join the war effort.

I felt that some of the characters were underwritten and the language could be anachronistic - Emmy refers to having ‘the best boyfriend ever’. The plot is at times predictable and the stakes never felt that high. Later chapters were unnecessarily coy about the heroine’s relationship for an adult novel. But it’s always great to read a novel where the heroine’s career is the primary plot and which focuses on the importance of female friendship.

This is a cheering and cosy yet moving read, especially the parts which cover Emmy’s friendship with Bunty who lost her fiancé in the first book. I raced through this book in a week and if you liked Mrs Bird chances are you’ll enjoy this too.

Wonderful sequel to ‘Dear Mrs Bird’ which picks up with the lives of Emmeline, her fiancé, Charles, best friend, Bunty, and the endearing cast of characters who comprise her colleagues at the women’s magazine where she works.

In this story, Emmeline is assigned to cover a story on female factory workers. With her customary warmth and gusto she discovers a workforce struggling to balance vital munitions war work with finding childcare. This is further impeded by unsympathetic male bosses. For me this was a little known aspect of the Home Front. Even though it is written with AJ Pearce’s lightness of touch, it shines a light on a serious issue from the era which would have affected a huge tranche of the female workforce.

Put simply, I loved immersing myself in the lives of the wonderful characters and their travails. I had already read and enjoyed ‘Dear Mrs Bird’ but this works equally effectively as a standalone novel. I also experienced a thrill of anticipation noting ‘tbc’ on the last page so I’m already looking forward to book 3! Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an advance review copy which I thoroughly enjoyed and recommend.

I loved the author's first book, but I found the story a bit too slow in this one, with nothing happening for long stretches of time!

With thanks to NetGalley for the preview read!
As with Dear Mrs Bird, this is a brilliant novel, with engaging characters and a narrative which does not tip the scales at high drama, but which remains compelling all the same.

Picking up neatly from where it's predecessor left off, Yours Cheerfully throws us right back into Blitz-torn London when Em is forging forward at the magazine. Independent, with strong convictions, she remains a woman you can't help but admire. Preparing for a life with Charles, volunteering at the firehouse and working part time at the magazine, Pearce writes characters, places and relationships which just jump off the page in their warmth and relatability. The real hook this time comes as Em begins championing a set of women's rights which are being denied, that she stumbles across in a factory whilst reporting on the female war effort, Determined, (and at times comically strong willed), in her pursuit of fairness we read avidly as the situation develops unfolds, then unravels, and finally concludes. The pace and tone knotted together define a style from A J Pearce which ultimately create such a successful read.

In addition to the storytelling, another compelling element of Yours Cheerfully is the subtle depth that is embedded within the story itself. Despite seeming like quite a typical underdog tale, there are lovely nuances of feminist perspectives that empower the female characters and readers alike. It has points of relatability, in tales of war, the heaviness of grief, damaged hearts and egos or people finding their purpose. This means that as enjoyable as the story is in it's entirety as a narrative, it is equally so in the heartfelt undertone which really says something about tenacity in community spirit.
What a fab read!
#YoursCheerfully #NetGalley

I loved "Dear Mrs. Bird", so I was thrilled to find there's a sequel! I was delighted to be transported back to this story and the characters I enjoyed. It's heartwarming, touching, and inspiring.

This is the sequel to the book Dear Mrs Bird which I read a couple of years ago. In this story we are once again following Emmy Lake as her life progresses during WWII. This story mainly concentrates on Emmy’s promotion at her work for People’s Friend magazine. Although I enjoyed this story it didn’t engage me quite as much as Dear Mrs Bird. I came to realise what I loved about the first book was the letters to the problem page and the friction between Emmy and Mrs Bird. There is a lot in this book about Women’s working rights during the war and it is something that I had not given any consideration to until I read this book. Readers do not need to worry about having to read Dear Mrs Bird first as the author has done a really great job of reminding the reader of the relevant events from the first book.

This was a lovely book to read. Very nicely written with charming and likeable characters. The image created in my mind of the friendship between Emmy and Bunty was, I think, particularly well crafted by the author.
Over all a very enjoyable read that I would definitely recommend.

I adored the previous novel in this series and although this sequel doesn't quite hit the heights of Dear Mrs Bird, it was still full of charm, wit and heart.

Emmy, an aspiring journalist in World War II has somehow saved her damaged reputation after the events of Book 1 and is still employed at a woman's magazine while volunteering for war work, too. Emmy and the cast of characters around her are really fun- almost to a person they are kind, hardworking and a delight to be around. This book isn't gritty and harsh, it is kind and warm; a real "sinking into a warm bath" of a book.

Emmy's new task is to create articles in the magazine that will encourage women to take up necessary war work. She dives in- and finds a group of women who want to do their bit for their country, but who are hampered by lack of childcare and a widespread attitude of not understanding why women might need something different. I found this not to be as engaging as I would have wished, but it was pleasant enough to run along with.

With a romance in the background and a heroine who is Full of Pluck, I loved this book. It's charm and warmth more than made up for any deficiencies in plot. Don't go into this expecting a gritty war novel- it is anything but. It is instead a sweet story about resilience and determination, with a cast of characters it is a pleasure to be around.

I really enjoyed Dear Mrs Bird, so was very excited to be approved to read this sequel from @ajpearcewrites. It took me a while to get back into the swing of the characters, mainly because I’d completely forgotten the plot of the first book 🙈. However, I was soon invested in the storyline and quickly got to a point where I couldn’t put it down. You could read this as a stand-alone novel, but why deprive yourself of the joy that is #dearmrsbird? My only bug bear is I would have liked to hear more about the problem page in this sequel. It has a lot less content about that than I remember the first book having and I think that’s a shame. All in all though, if you like historical fiction, you need to read this series. I hope there’s a third book in the works!

I loved Dear Mrs Bird and Yours Cheerfully didn’t disappoint! Like the perfect Sunday night drama it is full of lovely characters (and a few mild villains!), friends and family and love but spunk! The characters feel like friends and the WWII setting is great. In fact, I loved the focus on women working and pointing out that the government expected them to go to the factories but didn’t provide support like nurseries. Very interesting and adds an extra level to this delightful novel. Love it! Read it! Enjoy getting a big hug from it!

Just lovely. It was nice to be back with Emmy and Bunty from 'Dear Mrs Bird' again, and the whole story is really well paced. I really enjoyed hearing about the war work for women, and it made me want to read more about what actually happened as it's such a fascinating period of history. It's one of those lovely stories that is perfect for these mad pandemic days, as even though it's a war story, and there's tragedy there, it's contained within a safe space and told with a huge amount of warmth and humour.

The much anticipated sequel to the delightful Dear Mrs Bird is here, and I couldn’t be happier. To receive an early copy to read and review was the perfect Easter treat. Thank you so much to @NetGalley, Picador and the author AJ Pearce. It feels like being reunited with old friends to meet Emmy and her friend Bunty again.
Opening the first chapter I realised I felt invested in how the young women were managing during WW2 and I was delighted to join Emmy on her latest adventure. While there is fun to be found, this is actually a very serious look at the way women munitions workers were treated and, like Emmy, I was astonished at what is exposed. The book makes a gentle yet powerful statement that will shock and surprise a lot of people.
Just like with Dear Mrs Bird, the research into the era is excellent and you really feel like you are immersed into wartime Britain. This is an author who does her homework and it really shows
I have absolutely no hesitation in giving #YoursCheerfully a big fat FIVE stars. I loved it. (And yes, the adorable Mr Collins is back!)

After reading Dear Mrs Bird when it was published a few years ago and finding out there would be a sequel, I have been desperate for it to be released. Yours Cheerfully is this much anticipated sequel and it has been well worth the wait. Everything that made Dear Mrs Bird so special can be found again in Yours Cheerfully, from the distinctive turns of phrases expressed by the characters to the pluckiness of Emmy. A J Pearce really takes you back to wartime Britain and makes it a joyous experience in spite all the hardships faced by the characters. I absolutely loved getting to catch up with Emmy and seeing what predicaments she got herself into this time. The perfect tonic to what has been a trying year for us all, you can't help but feel buoyed up by Emmy's own approach to the dreariness of her surroundings. It is a story to savour until we hopefully get our next fix of Emmy and co. and what a pleasure it was to read.

Last year my friend sent me a copy of AJ Pearce’s Dear Mrs. Bird, and I immediately fell in love. It was an absolute five star read for me, so I have been eagerly awaiting Pearce’s next offering. As it happens, her follow-up is the sequel to Dear Mrs. Bird and the second book in the Emmeline Lake Chronicles series – and it is heartily cheerful indeed.

I can’t possibly say enough good about Yours Cheerfully. It manages to be charming, endearing, playful and thoroughly entertaining while deftly tackling very weighty and far-reaching issues. In particular, the author’s handling of the treatment of women on the British World War II home front who gave everything to hold down the fort is superb and masterful.

In addition, Emmy and Bunty are just precious to me. I cherish these characters that I genuinely feel I’ve come to know, and their friendship is truly beautiful and dear. I’m hoping against hope that we haven’t heard the last of them. Please say there will be more @ajpearcewrites.

This novel is full of heart and brimming with delightful laughs and affectionate tears, and I rate it five altogether cheerful stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan Picador for a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This book will be in stores on June 24 in the UK and August 10 in the US. You’re definitely going to want to grab your own copy. While you’re waiting, pick up a copy of the first book in the series, Dear Mrs. Bird.

This is an absolute delight to read. I loved “Dear Mrs Bird” the first book about Emmy and her chums, and to meet them again is wonderful, particularly at a time when we feel so threatened. Emmy feels threatened too, but by something much more identifiable – bombs falling from the sky, loved ones being killed by the enemy. She gets through it all and manages to have fun as well.

“Dear Mrs Bird” ends when Mrs Bird the erstwhile editor of “Women’s Friend” leaves in a huff. “Yours Cheerfully” takes up the story at this point, when Emmeline and the new editor, the lovely Mr Collins, go to a meeting at the Ministry of Information, which is aimed at getting women’s magazines to do their bit and help the war effort by helping women readers to keep their chin’s up. Although the war overseas is mentioned, the story is more concerned with the Home Front, and the difficulties people faced.

Although it isn’t strictly necessary to read “Dear Mrs Bird” first, I would strongly recommend it. Both books manage to illuminate a very dark time in our history.
Thanks to Picador and Netgalley for the proof.

This was okay, it's a nice easy read and good for a pick-up put-down book.
I didn't read the first book, but I don't think that mattered. It's about Emmie, a young woman finding her feet in the world of journalism during the second world war. She is put in charge of the advice page in a women's magazine, but her big break comes when she is asked to help out with a recruitment drive, attracting women into 'aiding the war effort' by taking up what were usually jobs for the boys. Unfortunately women weren't allowed to join unions and child care facilities were few and far between.
In some ways this book showed how far women have come, but it was all a little too nice for me. It's supposed to be a cosy, warm read, I get that, and it did touch on the horrors of war a little bit (Bunty's leg), but it dodged any real issues. Another example of nicety, is how Japan caused 'mischief', was the word I think was used, when they bombed Pearl Harbour. So a little too nice, I think. And, for me, the book was a little too long for the story. There were three chapters, I think, just covering Emmie's engagement. Which were nice, but there's only so much suspense one can put into a proposal.
Having said all that, if you're looking for a nice easy read with not very much going on, which will take you away from real life into a world where everything is rather jolly and warm, this is the book for you.
Thank you Picador and Netgalley for the review copy.