I only recently caught up with the first of the series, which I loved and passed on to my friends. I didn’t realise that there were two books in between this one so I have a lot of catching up to do.

I wasn’t aware, going in, that this would be the final book in the Emmy Lake Chronicles, and I’m so sad about that because I’ve very much enjoyed reading about the characters at Woman’s Friend magazine. Having said that, Dear Miss Lake was the best possible conclusion to the series.

This is my favourite WW2 fiction series. The attention to detail is perfect, and I really appreciate the way the characters speak exactly as they did in the 1940s, which is really hard to write, especially as the language and tone is so very different to how we speak now. I read a lot of 1940s fiction because I love the charming style, and this is by far the best modern example I can think of.

There’s a line at the end of the book which, bearing in mind current world events, made me stop in my tracks. (This isn’t a spoiler!) It’s about having high hopes for repairing, restoring and rebuilding the world after the war ended (I have absolutely paraphrased that). And it made me sad to think all those people who put so much effort in to help defeat Hitler, who thought that was the last of it and we wouldn’t let history repeat itself again... what would they think of us now.

On a lighter note, I can’t wait to see this in the shops and really hoping it has a matching/complimentary cover to the rest of the series!

I loved this book and feel a little sad that there won’t be any more Emmy Lake stories. I thought this was a good book and showed how the war touched everyone at home and abroad. It was a great book to finish off the series and I shall miss reading about Emmy and her friends.

Emmy Lake us back in the final book set during WW2 and the magazine Women's Friend. It is 1944 and everyone is worn down by the war but are aware the end is nigh.
Emmy is still answering the problem page but also writing articles on the home front. She is juggling the pressures of work, family life and a husband serving overseas. Her friendship group widens to include women whose husbands serve in her husband's regiment. Getting an insight into the pressures and worries of families where the men are POWs means Emmy and the team come into conflict with the government as they step on a few toes.
With a mix of humour and pathos an excellent end to an enjoyable series.

It’s 1944 and the war is still grinding on and grinding everyone down so the offices of the The Ladies Friend decide to up sticks out of regularly bombed London to the grand old house of Bunty’s gran for the Summer. Sunshine and fresh eggs oh my. Everyone has a great time but that doesn’t mean the shadows of war don’t still touch our emery band. The children’s father is still at war and Charles becomes a POW. While Emmy’s is enlisted by the government to do some PR work promoting the work women are doing nursing over seas and Emmy finally gets to a war correspondent. These novels do a great job of balancing the nostalgic war time blitz spirit and bringing home the real hardships of what people were facing everyday alongside the gruelling wait for it all to be over one way or another.

London, July 1944. Journalist Emmy Lake's career is soaring: Woman's Friend magazine is a huge success, and she is finally realizing her dream of becoming a Lady War Correspondent. On the personal front, Emmy's husband Charles has been posted closer to home, and they and their friends Bunty and Harold have escaped to the countryside for a few precious summer days. They all know how lucky they are.

But after nearly five years of war, the nation is struggling. The "Yours Cheerfully" advice column receives more letters than ever, and even though it looks like the war might finally be over by Christmas, the situation is far from resolved. For Emmy and her team, it’s all about pulling together and pushing on. But then disaster strikes. Soon Emmy needs her friends more than ever . . .

I read and loved the three previous titles in this series so was delighted to receive the Netgalley of this series finale from Picador/Pan Macmillan - thank you so much!

Just like the other series titles it is full of heart, warmth, and humour, with a strong sense of 'found family', camaraderie and friendship.

However, it's important not to underestimate this series. It's not just a cosy story about a jolly group of chums keeping calm and carrying on - all the loveliness, fun and humour is balanced with an impeccably researched depiction of what life was really like on the Home Front during the Second World War. The dangers; the hardships; the deprivations; the the losses; the sheer weariness of living through 6 years of war; and the start of the huge, seismic social and attitudinal changes ahead, accelerated by the conflict.

Additionally, in this final instalment, we get a glimpse of the situation in Europe too, as they war approaches its end. The chaos as the Germans retreat and the allied forces advance; the casualties; the prisoners of war; hints of campaigns not going to plan and insufficiently resourced.

It was so lovely to be back in the company of the endearing characters that fill these novels and it feels like being reunited with old friends you know so well and of whom you have become so fond over the series. I gobbled it up in two sittings!

Dear Miss Lake is a testament to the power and importance of friendship in the worst of times. It pays respect to the contribution, stoicism and spirit of those at home - especially the women - and offers a tribute to the role played in the war effort of women's magazines, tasked with disseminating government messages; offering advice and information; and keeping up spirits.

It's a fitting conclusion to what has been a thoroughly enjoyable, and utterly delightful series. I'll really miss Emmie, Bunty and Co.!

This book is a fitting end to what has been a really lovely series set in the tough years of WW2. It covers so many of the social, rather than the military history elements. Always with thought and care, just as the readers of the magazine would want and expect. The ending was excellent and rounds things off well. I shall miss Emmy Lake and her band of disciples.

The final installment of the Miss Lake series does not disappoint!
The Allies have landed in Europe and are starting to make gains over the Nazis. V2 rockets are devastating areas of London and the coast, as the team at Woman's Friend make the decision to decamp to the countryside for safety.
The characters we have got to know and love, face many of the challenges which were real during this period of 1844-1945, and the authors research really shines through in the storylines followed by this novel: fear, missing loved ones, POWs, and more. The challenges faced by those on the Home Front are all very real
Highly recommend this series to anyone who enjoys novels set during WW2.

oh yes but oh no all at the same time. because wahoo we are back to this lovely series. but oh no because this will the last. and what a series it has been. a joy to read through every single one. and definitely one i would recommend to anyone and everyone. and once you are in it truly feels like coming home every time you get to step back into A J Pearce's world and what a world she has built for us with a host of brilliant characters in each. this was though a perfect kind of ending to the series and i feel lucky to have been part of it.
for this book Emmy isn't going to have it easy, shes got personal challenges coming at her with gusto but she also has her people around her too. people who are going through their own struggles and people who are sharing the struggles of the time too. the war has challenged many and it takes bravery to pull through such a span of time with life like it is. but its also built strength and community's. its also shown how much people can be there for each other and we see that in these books. ive loved getting to know this gang and other characters that have passed through each book. they've all had their place and vital place in each story told.
i felt so engaged with this book and how just because the end of war was a hope it didn't mean the "end" at all. for people had to come home, people who would forever be effected by being at war or even prisoners of it. and also for those who were at home having to keep literal fires burning(or not as the case needed to be).
through it all the bonds with a group stay strong. and you feel like they will make it through. like they will get there in the end even imagining life for them after the book.

Somehow, having devoured the delightful ‘Dear Mrs Bird’ a few years ago, I missed the fact it was the beginning of a series in which ‘Dear Miss Lake’ is the final instalment. Nevertheless, it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of book 4 and means I can now catch up with the rest of the series at my leisure.

We meet this cast of loveable characters during the closing eighteen months leading up to the end of the war. In order to stay safe and keep ‘Woman’s Friend’ in circulation, the publication team decamps from their London premises to the countryside instead.

The emphasis is on keeping their readership encouraged and answering the numerous letters they receive to the best of their ability while they struggle on a personal level themselves with loved ones injured or overseas serving the war effort.

Back home, the ladies knit, garden, cook, send parcels, support one another, write lengthy, soul stirring letters to their loved ones and wait for long periods, maybe months, to hear anything back from them.

There are heart stopping moments when all seems lost but the story is ultimately cheerful, full of good humour and positivity despite the darkness of the situation they might be in. Emmy Lake gets to do her first stint of overseas reporting which is a career coup for her.

If you love heartwarming historical fiction, based on events in WW2, great characterisation and superb storytelling, then ‘Dear Miss Lake’ can be read as a stand-alone book or enjoyed as the concluding chapters of an ongoing story. A perfect summer read. Grateful thanks to AJ Pearce, Pan Macmillan/Picador and NetGalley for the eARC.

What a wonderful series and this final book in no way disappoints. A gently-told story with loveable characters and endearing storylines is the perfect counterbalance to a setting that in real life must have been so harsh and challenging. A book to educate as well as entertain.

A perfect conclusion to what has been a truly delightful, heart warming series.

The author blends tragedy with comedy seamlessly. The now familiar cast of characters support each other through the toughest of times.

These books have been a real insight to the day to day struggles of women in the UK during WW2.
Thank you AJ Pearce for writing such wonderful stories, I can’t wait to read more from you.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the copy to review.

The final book of a lovely, heartwarming wartime series which can be read as a stand alone story. Journalist Emmy is determined to remain positive despite everything she and those closest to her face. Although this feels like a cozy upbeat read, author AJ Pearce’ does focus on the difficulties women faced, including years without news from their sons and husbands imprisoned by the enemy, with no financial support from the British authorities; babies born out of wedlock, and families struggling with loss, making this a really interesting read. Friendship is at the heart of what makes this such a positive read. This would make a great drama series for television.

'Dear Mrs Lake' is a worthy finale to the Emmy Lake series and I absolutely adored it. We meet many familiar characters from previous books and a host of wonderful new ones too. The day to day life of the Homefront is portrayed in exquisite detail and wartime spirit is much in evidence as the War draws to a close. Will Emmy get the happy ending she so richly deserves? You will have to read this fabulous book to find out!

This has been a lovely series of wartime courage and invention in the face of adversity and in particular it highlights womens experiences. Emmy and Bunty are great characters and I would love to see this serialised as a Sunday evening drama.

This was the perfect ending to what has, for me, been a thoroughly enjoyable series. These novels are light entertainment at its best, and sometimes, that is just what I need.

In this last book, Emmy faces her greatest personal challenge yet, but of course, with the help of her friends, and some new characters facing similar trials, she is able to navigate her way through; and we do know that things will work out for the best for her.

The cast of characters face the various challenges of life during the war with stoicism and bravery that feels quite real from a lot of letters, diaries and fiction written around this time. There is heartbreak of course, but laughter too, and the camaraderie between the group is heart warming.

I will miss Emmy and her gang and look forward to seeing what the author does next.

*Many thanks to Netgally and the publishers for a copy in exchange for an honest opinion.*

Emmy Lake & the Women’s Friend team ❤️

🇬🇧Emmy and her friend Bunty, her colleagues at the Women’s Friend magazine are in the final throes of World War, and the end can’t come soon enough.

🇬🇧The letters keep pouring in from the ladies who are keeping the home fires burning. But many have lost loved ones and others are missing those who can’t be contacted and are either missing or captured as POW’s.

🇬🇧Emmy and Bunty and their friends keep soldiering on, and while there are days of happiness, there is also the darkness and the sheer just “not knowing” that makes life hard.

✏️I have so enjoyed each and every one of the beautiful stories in this series. AJ Pearse’s writing style is cheerful even when times are hard, always trying to keep the glass half full even when there is a great big leak. I love how progressive Emmy is, and how her husband Charles loves her for who she is, how supportive her brother in law and boss Guy is and her the colleagues rally around each other. Parts of the story had me giggling while picturing London and the countryside rewinded to 1944. A delight ❤️🇬🇧☕️

My rating 4.5/5 - ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️💫

A fitting end to this thoughtful series which concentrates a lot on the role and lives of women in WWII, often through the lens of the problem page in "Women’s friend" magazine. I shall miss the company of Emmy and Bunty and their group of friends and wish Ms Pearce success in any new ventures - maybe a TV adaptation?
Thank you to netgalley and Pan Macmillan for an advance copy of this book.

I'm absolutely gutted this series has ended but I loved every page of this book. My only annoyance is that waiting between the books coming out meant I forgot who certain characters were but I'm looking forward to curling up and rereading the whole series, one book after the other. I think the ending to this book was perfect and made everything feel complete. This series had such a unique take on the war that I think it's a must read for anyone interested in this time period.

Thank you to AJ Pearce, the publisher, and NetGalley for providing a free copy of this ebook in exchange for a review.

I feel incredibly privileged to have received an advanced copy of this book. Having followed Emmy’s story from the beginning, getting an early look at this instalment was a real treat!

We’re reunited with the gang as Woman’s Friend faces a new challenge: the relentless doodlebugs from Hitler’s desperate final offensive. Forced to relocate to the countryside, the team adapts to life away from London. Bunty and Harold are still going strong, and the children remain with Emmy and Bunty while awaiting their father’s return. Despite the wartime setting, the tone remains light-hearted and cheerful, making for an easy, enjoyable read.

That said, this instalment lacks the strong plot that drove the earlier books. Unfortunately, Emmy’s story feels like it’s winding down, with much of the narrative told in summary rather than through compelling action. While the random capitalization (a quirk of previous books) is gone - thankfully! - the story itself feels stretched thin. At one point, Emmy gets an assignment abroad, and I thought, Finally, some excitement! But the opportunity is quickly squandered, and she’s back in England before anything meaningful develops.

Unlike the previous novels, which had momentum, this one feels like a series of disconnected events involving familiar characters. There’s no real driving conflict - just getting everyone to VE Day. The stakes are minimal beyond the overarching war, leaving the story without tension.
Despite these criticisms, I still enjoyed Pearce’s warm, engaging writing style, and I’ll definitely read her future books. However, this instalment feels unnecessary - almost as if it was phoned in to wrap up the series.