My thanks to netgally for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review, which I freely give.

I enjoyed this book, although it took a little while to get into it. Nancy, Patty and Betty cont inue working ant the Steel factory and set up a club to help those who are less fortunate. A new girl joins - Daisy - whose home life is really hard, her mother ill, she has to cook and look after her siblings and also wqork at the steel factory. Patty and Betty have sweethearts, Wiklliam is in the RAF and Archie works at the factory. We fdollow them and others in trhe lead up to Christmas.

nice read and I can recomend

I was a bit disappointed with this one. I absolutely adored Historical Fiction but I just feel like there wasn't much to this book. Not a lot happened throughout the book in my opinion. I did like the friendship between the girls and how they stepped up to help Daisy when she needed it. The cliff hanger at the end of the book does have me wanting to know what happens.

A great sequel, I love the characters, great story lines even tho the ending was abrupt, really looking forward to the next installment.

A beautiful Christmas story. Follow Betty and her friends as they cope with husbands and partners away during wartime. The women have taken over the roles of these men in the workplace- namely the steelworks. It shows how the women in 1939 stepped in and all pulled together to help and support each other during this time. Michelle has written an excellent, atmospheric story about these remarkable women.
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Thanks to Netgalley and HQ for the advance read of this book which was published 11 November. It is a heart warming and emotional read. Having loved the first in the series, I couldn't wait to catch up with Betty, Nancy and Patty again. I can't wait to see what comes next for them.

so I didn't realise this was book two in a series but you can absolutely pick this up as a standalone. We have a Betty, I LOVE a Betty as you know so boxes being ticked already. 1939, winter and families are trying to adjust to their loved ones off to war. Positions changed, women were working in the steel factory to aid the cause and to make ends meet. Betty, Patty and Nancy - working together, surviving each day and looking forward to things being back to normal.

Aw you guys, a wee Betty and omg she is an actual scone. So kind, thinking of others, she is just a tonic to read. I have been reading horror for October reads and some of that was really dark and creepy. So to come into a book where the people are doing their bit, pulling together despite living through such horrible times. Loved ones away to war, rationing coming in and still people go over and above for each other, a sense of belonging and community.

We have the courting and relationships strengthening, families missing their loved ones, new relationships blossoming and an authentic feel for that time period. I actually liked it so much I bought the first book in the series when I finished this so I can read more on the characters and look forward to the next in the series. Survival, loved, relationships, hope in a time of darkness, community, love and strength. It is more about the people and them getting through each day than the darker aspects of or intricate details of the actual war, 4/5. This was my first dance with this author but it won't be my last.

I enjoyed this follow on book. The author really knows the origins of the steelworker women movement. The characters are believable and the storyline flows. There will be more follow on books in this series as the war is only just starting and I will definitely be reading more as this book has left a cliffhanger.

This book is a sequel and though I haven't read the first book, this in no way affected my enjoyment of it. Any blanks and gaps in my knowledge were filled in as and when they needed to be. I think reading the first book would give you a better sense of the characters and make you more fond of them. I think you'd get a deeper understanding of their personalities but this can be read as a stand alone story.

This book is predominantly dialogue which I found made the book much quicker to read. I thought the book was well written but it did take me a while to get in to. I found the pace picked up towards the end which kept me going. If you're not a fan of books that end on a cliff hanger then this one isn't for you because this ends on a HUGE one and you'll have to wait until Spring 2022 for the next instalment!

The story focuses on the power of kindness, compassion and community spirit. It is a story about wonderful women with very kind hearts. With war raging around them, these women find strength they never knew they had and by uniting and looking out for each other, they know they can get through the toughest of times.

Patty,Nancy and Betty work at the steel factory and are friends with good hearts and lend support to those in need.This is an emotional book but i loved it well done Michelle Rawlins 5*

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

Having read abs absolutely loved the first book, I was looking forward to this one and I wasn’t at all let down.

The main characters, Bettty Nancy and Patty are working still in the steel factory and I devoured each page, their banter and relationships made you understand how hard life was and yet, they all helped and supported each other at the good and bad times.

Very well written, made you feel as though you was alongside them.

I’m so looking forward to reading book three.

Highly Recommend This Book.

Christmas Hope For The Steel Girls by Michelle Rawlins is a marvellous historical novel about community. It is the second book in the Steel Girls series but can be read as a stand-alone. I would recommend reading book one first.
It was a pure delight to rejoin the steel girls as Christmas 1939 approaches. They are a feisty group of women with hearts of pure gold. They are filling the labour gap as the men have gone to war. Sheffield’s steel industry was of vital importance to the war effort.
This is a book about community. Needs are identified and they are met as everyone pulls together. “What they didn’t have in money, they had in kindness.” Kindness, along with hope and love can inspire others to keep going and to help where it is needed. The love leaps from the pages.
We witness life on the home front and how difficult it is at times to keep going. With their men away at war, women needed to lift each other up as there was the constant fear of receiving bad news.
The bulldog spirit was alive. “He [Hitler] might be able to destroy bricks and mortar, but he really had an enormous challenge… attempting to extinguish the ingrained and determined British bulldog spirit of sticking together and carrying on.” Britain keeps calm, carries on and fuels its people with tea. In times of worry, anguish or celebration, people put the kettle on for a nice cup of tea.
Life continues despite the war. New love is budding and the winter is harsh. The steel girls come up with a wonderful way to keep a nation warm – and yes, it does involve cups of tea! We see “sometimes it’s the smallest of gestures that can make the biggest of differences.”
I love the steel girls. They are diamonds in the rough with hearts for all. I cannot wait to read more books in the series.
I received a free copy from Harper Collins via Net Galley. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.

My first by Michelle Rawlins and I totally loved it. I discovered this was the second in a series but it did not deter my enjoyment of this book. I will now go back and read the first in the series and can not wait for the follow on book in the series.

I loved the characters especially Bettty, Nancy and Patty and their friendship during difficult times together with the support they gave to others.

An emotional read in places but it also made me smile.

I would definitely recommend this.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the advanced copy and my review is totally voluntarily.

The second book in the series about the everyday lives of girls working in a Sheffield factory during the second world war. The factory produced airplane parts and had been a very male-dominated industry until it started to lose young men who were being called up to fight. This led to the opportunity for the young women of the community to do their bit for the war effort taking on the jobs with enthusiasm and commitment. Even though the war had only been going for a short while there had been loss of life and no family was untouched by sadness in one way or another. I read and enjoyed the first book in the series and this was an excellent follow-up.

Once again outstanding - when does the next book come out?! Such likeable characters and as a Yorkshire Lass I love the use of the Yorkshire language in the book! The whole book is well written and throws the reader lots of twists and turns which makes you want to keep reading. Having been a while since I read the previous book in the series I soon was back familiar with the storyline something which I think is important (some books you feel you have to find the previous one and reread the last chapter but this was not one of them).

I would liken the series to the Shipyard Girls and now want to revisit both Sunderland and Sheffield remembering their history during the war.

Highly recommended - thanks to the author once again!

The city of Sheffield 1939
Betty a female crane driver at Vickers steel factory and William a trainee fighter pilot who is sent to Doncaster would their love survive through this coming war that will be over before Christmas?
Betty is lodging with Mrs Wallis in Collinson street Walkley and before William heads off for training makes a surprise announcement and they get engaged.
Betty and work mates Nancy and Patty are kept very busy and are grateful for the friendship that's keeping them all positive, and they try to make the most of the coming Christmas to come.
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.

Loved the first book and couldn’t wait for this second one and was not disappointed. Bettty Nancy and Patty being the main characters continuing to work in the steel factory, I read each page eagerly and loved the banter and relationships between the 3 gave me such an understanding of how hard life must have been but no matter what they all helped and supported each other through some difficult times and celebrated the good times with genuine friendships and pulled together, It was so well written you actually felt like you were there through all the emotions. No boring descriptions and long narratives just straight in and totally absorbing and the ending well that really got me …….. cleverly done so I’m now sat waiting for book 3!, Loved it and would highly recommend. Love this author she is truly gifted.

This was a heartwarming read full of hope despite the circumstances they found themselves in during the war. It was beautifully written and really captured my attention for the whole of the book. The characters were so realistic and it was wonderful so how they all came together to help each other. A great cliff hanger at the end and I can't wait to read the next installment.

Back with the steel girls, but with a festive twist! We’re back with Betty, Nancy and Patty.

They face new challenges, new highs and new lows and we follow them all throughout the course of the story. It felt great to be back with these characters and I’m a huge fan of a Christmas follow up to series like these. It was so entertaining and I enjoyed every minute of reading it!

The perfect book to read on the run up to Christmas (or just anytime really) and it was a great follow up to the first book. Following on from events past, the girls continue to pull together, staying strong in the face of adversity and showing just what a bunch of hardy steel girls can do and achieve.

I also loved that the author did an amazing job of summing up the previous book, and filling you in to make it okay if you hadn’t read the first in the series and had only joined the girls for the first time in this book.

It was so heartwarming and a wonderful read. With plenty of the faces we’ve come to know and love from the previous book, with some new ones too! I can’t wait to see how the story will further develop in future books and after that ending… I am hooked. I’m so excited for the next one and will have to wait with baited breath and much anticipation until it’s release!

If you’re a fan of World War Two set books, this one is one you! I adore books like these and this one was a wonderful addition to this rich genre.

I love a Christmas book but usually read a different type of one. Still thoroughly enjoyed it though. A nice well written book. Well done.

I was excited to be granted the opportunity to read this book it's the second in a series but can be read as a stand alone book very easily.
It is based on the lives of 3 main characters. Betty, Patty and Nancy l. The girls all work in a steel factory in Sheffield working on the cranes helping make munitions in the war to help the men away fighting
The book is a lovely read. They set up a support network to look after the many workers who are struggling to live with rations and low pay.
Loyalty, support for each other, love and kindness run through the book.
I can't recomend it enough
But what an ending. There better be another book in this series
Thanks to#NetGalley for the advance copy in return for an honest review
#ChristmasHopefortheSteelGirls