This is the second book in a series. I loved the four main characters. It is well written. A great historical novel

Charming!
We are back with our ladies; Betty, Patty and Nancy and this time the festive season is upon us, and they are bringing the steel-working community together to help one of their own. Which is really what we in S.Yorks do well.
I do love this series, each of the women brings something to the story, they have their quirks, their own lives and their issues they must resolve and work through.
I liked the pacing and the community spirit and I loved the unique strong bond between the women, it was also lovely to see more of Frank and Ivy I do hope we see more from them in the future.
Overall, a little bit irritating with the constant use of 'mom' instead of 'mum' but a charmingly feel-good story of true female friendship!

Sagas have to have strong friendships at their heart and this new Michelle Rawlins book has that all, and far more!

A very good book to continue on from the first book. Interesting to read how the woman in the steel works cope.

We continue with the stories of Betty, Nancy & Patty in the steel works with them working on the cranes. We start to see other people in the book with Betty’s landlady and also Frank who is charge of the woman at the steelworks. Betty organises a collection for people who are finding it hard to make ends meet.

The book is well written and has been researched brilliantly.

I look forward to reading the next book.

Sweet little easy to read historical fiction with detailed insight into the working life of women in the Sheffield steelworks.
I’m not much of a fan of cliffhanger endings like this but guess there’ll be another one which I’ll read.
Thanks to netgalley

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Nancy, Betty and Patty trained to work the cranes in the Steel Mills during the war years. I love war time sagas and i enjoyed getting to know the characters. I'm really looking forward to the next in the series. It has everything - strong friendships , romance and witnessing the strength of the women taking on strenuous jobs.

This was a book that is part of a series, but it can be read as a standalone. A fantastic Christmas read with a warm caring bunch of ladies. I enjoy how the books are based on the real-life challenges of Sheffield families in the Second World War. The Steel girls are working at Vickers where everyone is pulling together and trying to keep each other’s spirits going. The caring, strong nature of the young ladies and their elders came through as their relationships strengthened and developed. The budding romances were a joy as the reader was able to see them blossom.
I particularly enjoyed how it was a light-hearted read but I could gain an insight into the war efforts and how it affected families and cities. The cliff hanger was frustrating, but I will definitely be reading the next novel.
Many thanks to Michelle Rawlins, her publishers and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Heartwarming wartime drama with good ,interesting characters. We follow the lives,loves,trials and tribulations of the Steel girls and hope along side them for better days ahead.

A good escapist novel,set in war time. Very evocative of its time and place in history. A good tale, well told

I loved this read, once again, the author has captured a magical story some happy and some sad moments to pull at her readers heartstrings. Hope is certainly in the thoughts of the characters throughout the book, The Steel Girls have so much courage and determination, absolutely loved it all.

I, unfortunately, missed the first book in this series but soon caught up on what had gone on. I took to the four main characters in the story straight away. Nancy was struggling big style with her husband away fighting in the war. It is 1939, and the nation was praying that the war wouldn’t go on long and the men that had all eagerly signed up would be home soon.

The story takes place in a factory in Sheffield, where parts for aircraft were being made. Certain professions were excused from fighting in the war because the goods were essential for the war effort. But some men had signed up to fight, which had left a need for their positions to be filled. The women of Sheffield had stood up to the challenge.

What a heartwarming read this was. Although Nancy, Betty and Patty were all very different, their work bound them together. The three of them had trained to work the huge cranes, which wasn’t a job that was thought suitable for a woman to do until the war began.

The community came together for a fabulous idea that they all got involved in, and friendships developed where it would have seemed impossible not too long ago. Along with a blossoming romance in unexpected places. This is a good feel story, a perfect pick you up.

I wish to thank Net Galley and the publisher for an e-copy of this book that I have reviewed honestly.

This was a brilliant read and is being featured on my blog for my quick star reviews feature, which I have created on my blog so I can catch up with all the books I have read and therefore review.
See www.chellsandbooks.wordpress.com.

Absolutely loved this book, such a lovely story especially if you enjoy war time sagas. I really liked the 3 girls Betty, Nancy and patty who come from completely different backgrounds and forge a great friendship whilst working in a male dominated workforce. Great read you will not be disappointed

An easy read based around a topic which frequently is forgotten. Women working in the steel mills during the early part of World War 2 is not a subject often written about. This book brings to life the hardship experienced by many of the women coupled with the concerns that many had for their menfolk who had gone off to war. Core to the book are the friendships that were forged (excuse the pun) and determination to get through together, not just on an individual basis, and helping to care for one another.

I was rather disappointed with the book. I'd picked it because I love historical fiction and wanted to learn more about the steel workers and the women who took over from them during the war while men were away at the front. However, details of the factory were somewhat brushed over and whilst the effects of rationing and the cold winter were covered I still have liked more detail.
Mainly however, I felt the book was rather weak on plot. The girls/women who form a strong bond working in the factory set out to do all sorts of things to help those less fortunate than themselves but they have very easy. There are few difficulties for them to overcome so the reader doesn't become involved with them.
I hadn't realised that this was the second book in the series but it isn't necessary to have read the first one. The cliff hanger at the end of this book was the first real point at which I wanted to know what was going to happen next.
Sadly this was not for me, but my thanks to Netgalley and HQ for a chance to read an arc.

With their men away at war, the Steel Girls Nancy, Patty and Betty try to find ways to improve the lives of those struggling to manage. They set up the Care Club, providing clothing and support as they work.

Christmas Hope for the Steel Girls is a gentle story, but rather twee. I found the dialogue very stilted at times, even allowing for the period nature of the writing, and there were times when it felt as if it was written on a word count. Far too many adjectives in some of the paragraphs.

Sorry, not a story I could read fluently.

It is difficult for me to rate this book as I realised very quickly that this was not the style of writing I would normally read so couldn't get into the story at all. My fault for requesting it based only on the word Christmas

This one is quite difficult for me to review as this book just wasn't for me. For some reason, and this was definitely just down to my reading preferences, I was unable to connect with the book, I just didn't sink into the story or experience that "can't put it down" feeling that I look for. There was nothing specific I could criticise, it was just a mismatch of tastes.

I have been a fan of Michelle’s work ever since I had the good fortune to pick up a copy of ‘The Steel Girls’, which is the first book in the ‘Steel Girls’ series, back in April 2021. So when I heard that Michelle was due to release the second book in the series, I knew that I simply had to get hold of a copy as soon as I could. Well ladies and gents the wait is over because ‘Christmas Hope For The Steel Girls’ has now been released and it’s a cracker of a read and then some. I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘Christmas Hope For The Steel Girls’ but more about that in a bit.
IT didn’t take me long to get into ‘Christmas Hope For The Steel Girls’. In fact seeing the words ‘Steel Girls’ together with Michelle’s name on the front cover of a book was enough to grab my attention and the story within the book’s covers sealed the deal as it were. Once I picked this book up I just couldn’t put it down again. The book wasn’t exactly glued to my hand but it might as well have been because it travelled everywhere with me. I couldn’t bear to miss a single second of the story. I started reading ‘Christmas Hope For The Steel Girls’ and it didn’t take me long to feel as though I had been reunited with friends in the form of ‘The Steel Girls’ and some of the other characters. I became so wrapped up in the story that I lost all track of time and just how quickly I was getting through the book. All too quickly my time with ‘The Steel Girls’ came to an end and I had to say a temporary farewell to them. I found ‘Christmas Hope For The Steel Girls’ to be an emotive and gripping read, which kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.
‘Christmas Hope For The Steel Girls’ is superbly written. Michelle has an easy going writing style that is easy to get used to and easy to get along with. In fact reading one of Michelle’s books feels more like a chat between friends rather than reading a book. I hope that makes sense. For me the story hit the ground running and maintained a fairly fast pace throughout. Reading this book did take me on a bit of an emotional rollercoaster ride with lots of twists and turns, ups and downs so to speak. I thought that ‘The Steel Girls’ was good but for me, ‘Christmas Hope For The Steel Girls’ is even better. I have a feeling that this series will continue to get better and better and will go from strength to strength.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘Christmas Hope For The Steel Girls’ and I would definitely recommend this book to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Michelle’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.