An excellent historical fiction, well plotted and heartwarming. I liked the characters and the vivid historical backgorund.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Really enjoyed this book about, family, friendships, love and how books can bring people together in the darkest of times. I hope there's another book.

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin for this eCopy to review

This was a departure from what I normally read, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I felt Carrie was a very believable character and felt very invested in her to make a success of her little railway Penguin bookstall and hope she can stay strong and wait for her boyfriend Mike despite it being months and not hearing from him.

I felt it was rich in historical detail about living through the bombing raids and having to deal with brothers and sons going to war. A great escapist read with a happy ending and I'm crossing my fingers that there will be more as I would love to find out what happens next!

Carrie and Johnnie are twins, they’ve just turned 18 and it’s 1939. Johnnie dreams of being a pilot and as war breaks out, he immediately signs up for the RAF. Carrie wants to join the WAF, but sees how disappointed their mother is that Johnnie has voluntarily signed up that she rethinks and wonders how she can help the war effort from home. There’s an empty unit on the railway station platform, she looks into turning it into a bookshop also selling papers, magazine and some stationery. With the help of her uncle, she does just that, she loves books and Penguin has launched an affordable range of the classics as well as new authors. She meets new people, both other workers at the station and regular passengers, she seems to have this ability to know exactly the right book for them.
Charming book, easy to read, describing some of the camaraderie between those at home and also the trauma of war, both on those in the forces and those behind - worrying about loved ones at war and life under blackouts, air raids and rationing.

What a lovely story. I really enjoyed this book the characters were great and I held my breath waiting to see how it would unfold. Would definitely recommend this book

Started this book last night and reluctantly put it down for bed. Was desperate to finish it this morning. Fell in love with all the characters of this book and really hoping there will be a follow up! A lovely heartwarming ww2 story and how everyone rallied round each other!

This story is set at the beginning of World War 2 and is about Carrie Anderson who would really like to do something like her twin brother in the forces.Carrie decides to open a little book stall in a little stall n the railway station to help troops and travellers of the trains.She gives a book to an officer Mike which starts a love story.Things turn rough when Mike ends up going abroad,will he return. I look forward too the next book in the series.Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK.

One of those books that gives you a warm, tingly feeling! Set in 1939 at the start of WWII, Carrie is frustrated that she is unable to do something worthwhile for the war effort, while her twin, Johnnie, is off training to be an RAF pilot. When she stumbles upon the idea of opening up the long disused newspaper and book kiosk at the station, Carrie feels a sense of purpose and as well as a successful business, she finds herself with new friends in Bette, Ruby, Eric and Penny, as well as a love interest in Mike.

The characterisation in the book was excellent and I found myself feeling like I was part of the story, I could imagine chatting to Carrie whilst browsing for books and taking a seat in the cafe while Ruby baked some treats!

I felt the ending was a little sudden and I definitely think these characters have more to do!

4 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Joanna Toye and Random House Cornerstone for an ARC in return for an honest review.

I have not read much historical fiction before but i do really enjoy everything about World War II , so i thought that i would give this a try. I am so glad that i did as it was very interesting and a beautifully written story…

There is a lot of historical details in this story and it really brings this wonderful era back to life…

It was a very easy book to read and i found myself speeding through the pages as i couldn’t wait to find out how everything was going to happen and end…

A beautiful story with wonderful characters and i thoroughly enjoyed it all…….

Whilst the prospect of opening a bookstall at her local train station is daunting it is also a dream come true for eighteen year-old Carrie Anderson whose love of books shines through. Catering for those who are passing through this busy station on their way to London, Carrie not only caters to general passengers but also to the troops who are en route to France. Carrie's colourful display of sixpenny Penguin paperbacks soon proves to be very popular and are a welcome escape from a troubled world.

Setting the story at the very onset of WW2 allows the momentum to grow slowly and as we get to know Carrie and her lovely family so we begin emotional ties which will last throughout the whole of the book. In many ways it is a gentle coming of age story as by running her own business Carrie starts to gain in confidence and independence whilst at the same time experiencing an emotional attachment to a handsome officer. The other characters who form a big part of the story have their own particular troubles and I have enjoyed getting to know Bette and Ruby in the tea-shop, and also Penny who takes up the role of railway porter. The warmth and companionship of these women help Carrie through some troubling times and add a lovely dynamic to this charming story. The ending of the book certainly lends itself to a continuation and I hope we get to see more of Carrie and her family and friends in future stories.

The Little Penguin Bookshop is a really lovely story which shows that when people are struggling to come to terms with what's happening to them books can be a welcome escape from reality.

The Little Penguin Bookshop is a lovely, engaging, gentle and charming story from Joanna Toye. Initially, I did find it hard to get into as the plot as it was slow to get going but around the halfway point I felt the story found its rhythm and things picked up a lot. Set during World War Two we are introduced to Carrie Anderson and her family. It’s August 1939 and rumours of war abound as Hitler begins to extend his control beyond Germany. Carrie works with her father in their newsagent and stationery shop. All her life Carrie had wanted to be a librarian but there hadn’t been enough money for her to stay on and complete her school cert and now as her mother isn’t strong enough to work in the shop it’s Carrie that her father relies on. Prior to this she had worked in Boots and enjoyed it but she knows her duty and loyalty lies with her family.

Instantly you think that Carrie is kind, caring and compassionate and that perhaps boys are afforded more opportunities than girls. As her twin brother Johnnie is training to be a draughtsman with long term plans to become a pilot. It’s all he has ever longed for whereas Carrie’s dreams are put on the backburner but it’s not that her parents are being stern and strict with her rather than Johnnie. It’s more that was the role of women at the time but when war is declared all that changes and their lives will never be the same again. The terror is real for everyone. Suddenly, a gas mask has to be carried at all times, Anderson shelters come into use and every available piece of land is turned over to growing vegetables. Soon rationing is introduced and all those little luxuries that people took for granted are gone. Johnnie signs up for the R.A.F and is sent away for training. This will be the making of him as it has all he has dreamed about for many years. Yes, perhaps not under the circumstances of war but he is finally getting to put his love of planes and flying into practice. But what of Carrie, again here is where her loyalty shines through as she knows she can’t sign up and leave the town of Brockington as her mother would be sick with worry and its bad enough Johnnie going away without her daughter leaving too.

Carrie feels that she has to do something worthwhile during the war and it has to be close to home. Here is where her love of reading comes to play. All her life she has adored books and the escape that it offers her into other worlds. Books give her the experiences that she hasn’t had yet and perhaps won’t for god knows how long now that everyone’s lives have been interrupted and derailed thanks to the war. Her father had given her a little corner of the shop to sell books but it hadn’t been that successful but an idea strikes when she sees the book stall at Brockington station has been shut for some time. Charismatic Uncle Charlie (her father Norman’s brother) who at first seemed a bit of a wheeler dealer and liked some ducking and diving provides her with the funds to take over the stall. I was totally wrong in my initial assumptions of Charlie and over the course of the book I could see that he had a good heart and loved Carrie and her family as he had no children of his own. Charlie’s intentions were always good and he helped out in any way he could and if he hadn’t allowed Carrie to get started with the book stall than she would never have met the man who became the man of her dreams.

A varied cast of characters is introduced as Carrie establishes her stall at the station selling books, magazines, newspaper and bits of stationery. I loved getting to know all the characters but at times I felt we barely scratched the surface in getting to know them and their stories developed a little too late in the book. Bette runs the tea rooms with young girl Ruby who appears to be a bit airy fairy and more interested in chatting up troops than making cakes and teas. Bette could have been even more of a matriarch figure than she was throughout the book. I felt her role was underplayed a bit and that Carrie was more of that figure than Bette was to everyone at the station. Bette’s son Eric is a porter and despite thinking he wouldn’t be called up for war his papers soon arrive. Of course, Bette is anxious and hopes that he will just have work somewhere in Britain but her wishes don’t come to pass and things venture down a dangerous and worrying road for poor old Eric who I didn’t think was the strongest of men by any stretch.

Penny arrives to replace Eric as porter and Mr. Bayliss is not impressed that a woman has been sent to do a man’s work. Again this another example of men believing a woman’s place was in the home. Mr. Bayliss was arrogant and lazy and shied away from hard work and there was an awful side to him that I wished I hadn’t had to read about. Penny was a fabulous character but again I felt she was under used and I would have loved for a real deep friendship to have developed between herself and Carrie much earlier on. Penny is cheerful, resourceful and fiercely independent but she was definitely hiding something and to say she was an enigma would be an understatement. She wasn’t to be pushed around and there was a mystery surrounding her which I did have a feeling about. I was proven right but none the less she was a great addition to the story I just wanted more of her even though I know the main focus was on Carrie. Johnnie too had a vital role to play and I am glad the issues and problems he encounters in the R.A.F were brought to light and given this was only the start of the war there is a lot more that can be explored centring around Johnnie.

Carrie believes she can feed the troops minds through books as they pass through the station on their way to war and over time she grows in confidence and adores her job and all the people she meets be it a mother and daughter who make regular trips to London or simply soldiers passing through on their way to training or on leave. The title suggests it’s a book shop that is in operation but it’s a stall, but the Penguin books stated in the title do feature. I loved all the mentions of the different books Carrie was reading and what they meant to her and the recommendations that she made to others. This quote really summed up how Carrie felt about the power of books and the work that she was doing at a time when people needed distraction and escape from air raids and the constant fear of invasion. ’To escape into a book, to let it take you into another world for a while-it’s the greatest thing on earth’.

I did think there were chapters after the initial setting up of the stall where nothing much happened and there was a bit of repetition and the book stalled ever so slightly. But when Carrie meets officer Mike who is passing through the station and they converse over books that’s when the story picked up one again. It’s clear from the outset that although the meeting may be brief and subsequently she doesn’t see Mike until he pops up again several months later, that there is a connection between the pair. Carrie is smitten and falling fast for him as so many did during the terrible times of war as people never knew when a meeting would be their last so every opportunity was taken especially when it came to love. This could have seemed over the top and that lust or love developed too quickly but instead it felt natural and real.

Events on the continent take Mike away and Carrie must remain hopeful and steadfast that Mike will return safely to her and they can try and establish something concrete and long lasting. Plenty of angst, twists and turns, and despair ensue as the characters lives diverge and meet again thanks to the war. Without doubt, the second half of the book was by far stronger and I found myself really enjoying it. The ending has certainly left room for more from these characters as I wasn’t quite ready to leave them so I hope Joanna Toye has more in the works for Carrie and co who provided me with a delightful, interesting and appealing read.

Thank you for the chance to read this ARC in return for my honest opinion

I don't think I have read any other books by this author and though I appreciate the idea that books and reading can bind us together especially during times of adversity , like War, I found it a bit cliched and full of characters I felt I had met before in other books by other authors.
it centres around twins - Carrie and Johnnie - who at the outset of WW2 realised that their lives would have to take different routes. Carrie needed to stay at home to support her mother with bad memories of WW1 and Johnnie could follow his dream to become a pilot.
Penguin Books did bring Carrie and her beau together - but as I had anticipated he was lost then found as happened so often after Dunkirk.

It was a lovely book and kept me interested enough that I wanted to know how it finished but I really didn't gel with the characters at all. They all seemed slightly superficial to me.

Maybe I need to find more by this author to compare?

I loved this charming saga about Carrie, a book shop owner (with help from the charismatic Uncle Charlie) at the start of WWII. Bette, Penny and Ruby who work in close proximity to Carrie are a warm band of women who will stick together through thick and thin and Carrie's twin, Johnnie, and love interest Mike bring the drama of the battlefields and the realities of war to this story.

I'll definitely be looking out for the next in the series!

Set in 1939 just as the second world war breaks out, Carrie Anderson hopes to join the Forces alongside her twin brother Johnnie who has enlisted, but due to family commitments she realise her Mum needs her at home, and so she stays behind to help man the fort. With the help of her Uncle, Carrie decides to open a bookstall in the local railway station. She might not be fighting on the front line but with books she hopes to bring some escapism to travellers, troops, refugees, housewives and evacuees who travel through the station. In the height of war everyone needs something to take their minds off things and the Little Penguin Bookshop is born.

This is a really lovely book, showing just how the books can change your whole world and bring people together. It is very well written and the author has managed to make the characters very likeable and you easily come invested in Carrie and what she is trying to do. I haven't read anything by Joanna Toye before but I will definitely be checking out some of her other titles.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for an advanced copy of this book one exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The bookshop of the title is actually a book/newspaper/magazine/stationery stall on a station platform in SE London during World War 2. As the war starts everyone's lives change, especially as young men volunteer or are called up. When Carrie's brother enlists she hopes to follow him in to the Forces but feels obliged to stay at home to support her parents. She is inspired to re-open the stall at the local station in the hope of passing on her love of books to all those passing through.

This is a story of family, friendships and love against the backdrop of war. Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this book.

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

I thoroughly enjoyed book.

The story is set at the start of the Second World War, and is about Carrie who loves books and reading.

Carrie opens a stall on a platform of the local station selling magazines, books and refreshments.

We see how the war affects those that live in the village and work in the other businesses.

The characters were lovely and relatable, you feel for them as you’re reading the story, as they’re going through what’s happening to their loved ones in the war.

I highly recommend this book.

Set during World Ward 2, The Little Penguin Bookshop is a heartwarming delight.
Carrie opens a bookstall at a train station as her twin brother Johnnie joins the RAF. Amidst times of strife, people rely on books to take them out of this world and papers to keep them updated with what's happening in the here and now.
Carrie's bookstall becomes an essential part of the community and with it chance meetings that forge friendships and more.
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When her twin brother joins the RAF, Carrie does her bit for the war effort by opening a newsagent and bookshop on the local railway station. It’s stocked with Penguin books, from classics to modern tales and I loved this part of the story as she helps customers choose the right read, and meets fellow bookworm, Mike.
This is a well researched and well written book, filled with comforting tropes, and it’s one which I know most Second World war saga readers will love. However for me the characters somehow stayed on the page rather than creep into my heart, and I was sad about that. I'm not keen on the star system, but as I have to it's 3.5,

WW2.
Carrie Anderson runs a book stall in the local railway station. It's a remarkable love story thats see's Carrie's world turned around.
Will her true love return? Her paperback book stall keeps her busy.
This will bring tears to your eyes .
A very heartwarming read.

Having read a few books by this author I have really enjoyed them, and this one is no different.
A book that makes you think it's quite a light read which is good to have at times.
I can highly recommend this for a very enjoyable read.