I have loved Rhys Bowen's stand alone books, and this one was no exception. It was beautifully written, with excellent character development and a really interesting story. I look forward to recommending this to our patrons who enjoy historical fiction.

When Josie loses her home and job in the bombing she relocates to the English countryside. She starts a new tea room and meets a Canadian pilot and things start to look better. But will her terrible husband show up again?

Never having read any other books by this author I was eager to start reading this one.
This book had me hooked from the 1st page! Written very well and easily understood, the characters were easily seen in my mind's eye and Josie was such a likeable person.
The background to the book is WW2 with all the devastation and the struggles to regain some normality. Josie managed to bring the working class and monied, top class together. I also found myself liking Mrs Harcourt!
Rhys Bowen has written this book well, didn't dwell too much on background detail, neither did he "puff up" the story.
I enjoyed this book very much and it had me rooting for Josie throughout!

Joise living in London during ww2, working in a tea shop her husband is set off to war and she deals with the Blitz alone. Her employer and her house are bombed ans she is send to the country to recover. There she meets a community of people and recovered from the war. She gets the lady of the house to open her home to the RAF men and a tea room. She meets a man who she develops feelings for who is not her husband, a husband she does not enjoy being with when he returns and see them. What will she do ans will the war have a plan for her.

I enjoyed this book is was mellow and kind of slow but I liked it.

Thanks netgallery for my ARC for my honest review

Josie Banks what a survivor and lovely character! Living in London during WWII. When she is bombed out of her house! Her journey is so engrossing that you won't want to put the book down! I absolutely loved this book!
Thank you, Rhys Bowen and NetGalley for allowing me to read it for in return, my honest opinion!
My honest opinion is.....Don't miss this book! Read it.... you wont regret it!!
5 FULL stars

I always enjoy reading Rhys Bowen books. I like the quirky collection of characters, especially Josie in this story. Set in the English countryside during WWII where Josie is sent after her house was bombed in London, she meets new friends and has adventures, while all these people are just trying to survive the war.

Where the Sky Begins tells the story of cockney Josie who had been living in London with her husband, Stan, during the WWII time period. After Stan is drafted, both Josie's job and her home are bombed and destroyed so she is evacuated to the country and is moves in with an older woman in a huge beautiful home. Josie has very little confidence but throughout the story, she finds both her confidence and herself. I had a hard time getting into the story at the beginning but by mid-novel, I was hooked. Rhys Bowen has a wonderful easy-to-read style of writing.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This book was definitely a miss for me. I expected something much different.

The plot - well, if you've read the description, that's exactly what it is. No less, no more. But the writing wasn't the best.

Not that it was terrible, but there was something amateurish about it. So many boring details and so repetitive – all the same unnecessary things over and over and over again...

No matter how small and unimportant things happened to the MC, she then had to retell everything in detail to at least a couple of other people. Plus, some things that happened were just ridiculous.

Honestly, I didn't connect with this book at all. For a war story that could have been deep and meaningful, this often felt like just listing one cliché after the other.

Still, for people who like cozy historical reads (I know - war time, but it did feel kind of cozy), then maybe...

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of Where the Sky Begins by Rhys Bowen in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher- Lake Union Publishing- for the opportunity to read this as an ARC. I have read and enjoyed a number of books by Rhys Bowen in the past and was anxious to read this one as well. I like Historical Fiction, and always look for it. This is the story of Josie Banks. She is an Englishwoman living in London in the early years of WW2. She is married to Stan, who she admits she may have loved once, but may not love now. She has no children, no job and a husband, who is less than loving. When Stan is called up, her life changes in an instant. Rather than move in with Stan's sister and brother in law, Josie stays in her house, and gets a job. She works at a a tearoom , run by Madame Olga. She is happy and taking care of herself. Tragedy strikes when first the tearoom is bombed and Madame Olga is killed. Then Josie's house is bombed and she is injured and homeless. She does not want to stay in London, and so is evacuated to the country. She is placed at a country home with an elderly woman and her maid. Neither want to share their quarters with Josie, but she is placed there, so she stays. The house is near a RAF training field and Josie meets some of the men stationed there. Josie decides to start a Tea Room at the house , for the pilots and airmen, to make some money and make them men less homesick and more welcome. Josie begins to feel better, physically and emotionally. She embarks on a friendship with RAF Pilot Mike Johnson. Then Stan comes home on leave and is not sure he likes the new Josie.
I do not want to give away any spoilers, but the book continues through the war . There is a lot of plot in it. I gave it 4 stars, rounded from 3.5 because I really liked the characters. Josie goes from an unhappy woman with low self esteem to a confident, proud, happy one. All of the characters ( and there are a lot) are well written and engaging. I have been complaining a lot about books being too long, but this is one that would have been better with a few more chapters. The last 1/3 of the book is really rushed with plot and twists coming at the reader at the speed of light! I had a hard time adjusting to all the information being thrown my way. There is love, death, betrayal, espionage and secrets revealed. It is a roller coaster for the last 1/3 of the book, and maybe a bit too fast paced for me. Overall, I enjoyed this book.

I like this author’s style of storytelling - simple and charming. I liked the main female character and how she, rather unexpectedly, stood up to the people who must provide shelter for her. I got a good sense of the conditions of war time England and what the children had to endure. However, I felt rather uneasy over a couple of serious moral issues in this book - maybe even horrified at one of them.

For that reason, this gets a 3 stars from me.

Another great book by Rhys Bowen. I couldn't put this book down. Very inspiring tale a woman in wartime England. Characters were complex and yet easy to connect with emotionally.

Plot: 5 stars
Characters: 5 stars
Language: 5 stars
Writing: 5 stars
Cover: 5 stars

In this Standalone Historical Fiction by Rhys Bowen, the protagonist is Josie Banks, who is living in London when her house is bombed during the Second World War. Her husband, Stanley Banks, is off fighting while she is working at a tea shop. After several losses, Josie is evacuated to the country with young children evacuees including a German Jewish child sent to England just before the War started.

In the country, Josie meets Nan and Alf, farmers who take in the evacuee children. Josie is placed with a Lady of the Manor. There is only one servant, who may or may not be bipolar. Josie helps with the cooking because the servant cannot cook nor bake. Even if Josie helps with the cooking and shares her ration books, Kathleen the servant runs hot and cold. She is always angry at Josie. Meanwhile Josie meets people working at the airfield nearby. Mrs. Harcourt, the Lady of the Manor, did not want to allow Josie to live at her Manor even though there were many empty rooms. To Josie's surprise, Mrs. Harcourt allows Josie to borrow books from the library.

Though this is a historical fiction, there are elements of mystery in the story. I loved he character development. The plotting was clever.

Highly recommended for fans of Historical Fiction set during the Second World War.

Josie has spent her life keeping other people happy and believing herself to be worthless. The start of the war brings new freedoms for her, and although there are losses of different kinds along the way, she finally discovers herself. A journey of new places and self discovery, new friends and finally belonging. Will she ever have to return to before, or is her happiness really hers to keep?
I love Rhys Bowen books and her human characters with good and bad. This is a historical novel, with a mystery entwined through it.
Highly recommend

Bowen is a wonderful writer. This stand alone novel tells the story of a British woman, Josie, whose life is completely upended by the London bombings In WWII. Her husband is in the service and her life is literally a shambles.

She ends up in a place filled with other like minded - and emotionally stranded - folks.
A teashop is just the thing to give meaning to Josie's life and she settles down into it. She even meets a man with whom she has a romance.

Until her husband comes back from the war and secrets become revealed. Josie's strength is put to the test once again and she must fight to survive.

I enjoyed this WWII historical fiction novel about Josie Banks, a mistreated and lonely wife in London who gets bombed out of her flat and evacuates into the countryside. We meet the difficult lady of the manor where she’s billeted plus a warm cast of characters. I appreciated Josie’s determination to carry on with her life amid such struggles. I felt the plot kind of fizzled out a bit at the end, but until that, I found it a compelling, absorbing read. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC

I love anything written by Rhys Bowen. I love the history behind the stories and her characters are people you just fall in love with. This book is no different. It's about a women named Josie during WW2 who loses her home and has to move out of London to recuperate. Loved this book and couldn't put it down!

My first introduction to Rhys Bowen was reading an article sharing the names of current authors for readers who have enjoyed the mysteries of Agatha Christie. I began reading "Her Royal Spyness" and continue to enjoy the historical mystery series. A visit to the author’s website after the first book led to discovery of her stand-alone novels and I have loved each one. "Where the Sky Begins" is my latest favorite until I read the next stand-alone.

The reader meets Josie Banks in London in 1940, and through Josie’s voice the reader learns the changes that have occurred in her life first as the oldest daughter to the initial years of her marriage, and the changes in her marriage as she has not conceived. Then the war comes to her doorstep as her husband is called to serve. Josie decides to get a job as every able-bodied person is to be helping the war effort. But then the Blitz affects Josie’s life in significant ways she never imagined from her personal life to her new work life.

Rhys Bowen uses the history of WWII England to inspire her writing constructing a realistic storyline. Through her atmospheric writing style the magic begins from the opening sentence to the last. By the portrayal of characters with their dialogue, thoughts, expressed emotions, and reactions I feel like I would recognize them on the street if I met them in person and the conversation of greeting reflective of old friends. They have strengths and weaknesses. They have flaws. In other words, the characters are human. Yes, there are some that are more flawed than others. But there are some like Josie who inspire others with her thoughtfulness, her kindness, her courage, her willingness to learn new things, to try new things, and especially her resilience.

My sincere thanks to Rhys Bowen, and Lake Union Publishing for my complimentary digital copy of this title, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

#WhereTheSkyBegins #NetGalley

Where the Sky Begins tells the story of Josie, Cockney housewife whose life is transformed through a series of circumstances not uncommon to many who were in London during WWII. When she is bombed out of her house and has her collarbone broken during the blitz, she's sent to the countryside to recover as her husband she no longer loves is sent to war. She spends her recovery with Miss Harcourt, a miserable member of the gentry who is embittered by loss. As she thaws Miss Harcourt by starting a tea shop for the nearby RAF and starts to fall for one of the pilots, she feels torn by her new feelings and the husband she no longer loves. As Josie's circumstances change, her pluck and courage don't and one things for sure--don't underestimate her!

The best part of this book was Josie. She's awesome. She's bold without being brazen, she's honest, down-to-earth, hard-working, creative, and so relatable. I loved her from the very beginning. Where many of the characters feel two-dimensional, she's so lovable from the first page. I also loved the history Bowen incorporates from the beginning and the time the story spans. Plus Josie's interesting jobs (no spoilers) later in the book are so interesting. And the country setting, tea shop, and more are so cute! I love how she always can make do with what she has.

I didn't like Mike, Josie's RAF boyfriend, or any of that plot line. I will never get behind any form of affair in a story as a plot line, and this story was no different. None of the men in this story were particularly lovable except for Dr. Goldsmith and Mr. Badger. Many of the characters felt two dimensional and could have been fleshed out more.

I'm a huge fan of Rhys Bowen and World War II novels, so I was super excited to read Where the Sky Begins. Like all of her novels before, this one did not disappoint. I felt like this one had a unique point of view. Josie wasn't rich. She did not live in a large estate home. She was content with her life until she wasn't. After surviving a bomb in London, she was relocated to a large home in the countryside. There, she learned who she was and what she wanted. That did not necessarily include what she'd had and where she'd come from. She makes friends and learns what love really is. This is another amazing story from Rhys Bowen. The story and ending are so satisfying. I give it 5 stars!

Josie married to escape a bad home life, only to end up much the same. Happiness only begins for when her husband is drafted and she finds work in a London tea room. Then the bombing begins and her life is changed forever.