Wartime and Spanish flu to contend with in this one!

Alice's dilemma is such a tricky one and you can understand why she doesn't want to cause disruption to her family. She's inquisitive and determined to get to the bottom of things and I can appreciate that. Not sure I'd have had her patience or ability to unpick without challenging her dad immediately.

Molly has her own worries and i felt like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. shes supportive of her husband but it seems she needs a little support back. Mental health and PTSD in men was very much a taboo back then and this shows us how that can impact people and their families. Ted is another example of that and is affected worse than most. You can't help but feel sorry for Victoria and Ted. They really try but it's just not easy.

I do love Christmas and this ends on a really positive note despite all the things the characters have ensured (and their community). The women have a lot of strength in this and the family/community spirit is a good thing to end on.

I loved catching with friends Victoria, Molly and Alice who all work at Foyles Bookshop in London. It’s 1918 with the end of the war becoming more than just a possibility but the three friends have their own lives to navigate. Although this covers the hardships and issues faced during WW1 this is such a heartwarming read about family and friendship and supporting others during the highs and lows of life. Each of the main characters has their own individual stories threaded through this but through it all their togetherness shines through. Alice is convinced that her father is hiding something quite monumental, Victoria is coming to terms with the challenges that her fiancé Ted is facing daily now he is back from the front, and Molly is hiding her own secret. At times this is an emotional read but one that draws you in. Thanks to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for the ARC

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

It's 1918 and Alice, Molly and Victoria continue their work in Foyles Bookstore and are still there for each other and their friends to help and support them.

The girls each have their own worries, Alice is suspicious of her father and when she looks into it, she shocked by what she finds out. Molly is hiding a secret and Victoria’s fiancé is still suffering from what he faced on the frontline.

When the flu epidemic break out and those visiting the bookshop start to get ill the girls find a way to help them by taking books to houses so that they can still find some joy. As well as helping those coming back from the war find some peace in a book, as well as the children wanting to read.

Soon rumours start to spread of the war ending, but those that have come, it still seems to be ongoing, for they are still facing the trauma.

The story was well written, kept you turning the pages to read what happens next.

It had times when you felt emotional reading what the soldiers went through.

I highly recommend this book.

The next instalment of the Foyles Bookshop Girls saga. Victoria, Alice and Molly have become like sisters as they are so close but also work at Foyles Bookshop in London. This storyline sees WW1 finish but for many returning soldiers their war is till going on inside their minds. A new baby is born, a family is thrown into turmoil and one of the girls husband dies. A little bit predictable at the end but then who doesn’t love a bit of cheese. Thanks to Elaine, Boldwood her publisher and NetGalley

I have been missing out. This is the first book I have read by Elaine Roberts. I will definitely be going back and reading the rest of the series. The author writes characters that I couldn't help but become invested in. The story being about World War One made for a fascinating story.

The Girls of Foyles are dealing with a lot of issues. The girls have husbands coming home different than when they left. They are dealing with shell shock, severe injuries, nightmares, loss of purpose and so much more. London is being bombed bringing back what they had hoped to have left behind.

When the Spanish Flu hits the worst becomes unbearable. The girls are dealing with one tragedy after another. Family issues do not go away in war time. For Alice it will be a defining moment. Thank goodness she will have the girls by her side.

Christmas is coming and London can finally celebrate. It will be the first without war, but there is much that must be done. Leave to the Foyle Bookshop girls to bring a smile to those around them. After many tears while reading about the trauma, the devastation and loss it was nice to close the book knowing that there was a brighter tomorrow.

It’s 1918 and the three friends Alice ,Victoria and Molly who work at Foyles Bookstore believe that war is coming too an end when people start being struck down with flu. They all have their own troubles,Alice finding out her father has another family in Norwich,Victoria’s intended is suffering terribly from serving in the war and Molly has a secret she is keeping from her friends.This has been another great story in the Foyles Bookshop series.Thank you to Netgalley and Boldwood Books.

It's 1918 and World War I is rumored to be ending soon, but the trauma to it soldiers continues to rage. As book three picks up, the Foyles Bookshop Girls, Victoria, Molly, and Alice, are still doing all they can to provide top-notch service and books to their loyal patrons, returning soldiers looking for solace in a book, and children, all while also trying to keep morale up as the war and it's casualties continue to mount while everyone anxiously awaits a truce.

Book 3 finds Victoria doing all she can to support her fiancé Ted as he struggles with the nightmares of his war service, Molly and Andrew starting their family, and Alice and Freddie raising two small sons during wartime and a huge secret that could destroy Alice's family . A minor character who is anything except minor, Foyles Bookshop Manager Mr. Leadbetter, stands out in this story. His love of books and the bookshop as well as his caring and fatherly attitude towards all of his employees shines through in this story. He is a truly good man who gives his all, especially through the influenza pandemic.

A recurring theme through the Foyles Bookshop Series is the devotion of the staff to each other and their customers. They are truly doing their part to support the War to End All Wars with their comradery, knowledge of books, attention to detail, and truly supporting each other through all of trials life throws their way. The girls know that they and their patrons find solace in the books and the store itself is a safe haven for many returning soldiers who are still fighting the war in their minds.

It's certainly uncertain and rocky times for the bookshop girls but through it all there friendship remains steady. With a flu epidemic sweeping the world everyone is on high alert. The characters are my favourite and I don't think there is anyone that I don't like because they all have a great part to play in the story. I was swept away back in time with this beautiful book and I wouldn't change a single thing. I will say that you may need some tissues.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this novel, the sixth in Elaine Roberts’ Bookshop Girls series.

For those unfamiliar with the author’s Great War saga, the bookshop in question is Foyles, located on the famous bookstore alley, Charing Cross Road in London, England. It is managed by the avuncular Mr. Leadbetter, who sees his store as a haven for the war-weary and books as the proverbial balm for the soul. These are sentiments wholeheartedly shared by his female clerks, the series’ bookshop girls, and often repeated in some form by each of them as well as some secondary characters. The ‘girls,’ childhood friends who are only ‘girls’ because that was what most under-30 women were called in those days, have worked as a team since their hiring. By now, in the war’s final year, Molly and Alice are married, and Victoria marries Ted early in the book. Alice has two little boys with her returned veteran husband Freddie. Molly has not been married long to Andrew, also a vet, and is newly pregnant. Although both men struggle with shell shock—as post traumatic disorder was then called—Ted’s version is the most severe. Victoria is so anxious that his illness will prevent their marriage that she doesn’t even buy a wedding dress, content to borrow from Alice. They all tell each other what she tells Ted: love, patience, friendship and family will get them through it.

Despite the title, the much anticipated victory doesn’t come until the book’s end. The story really has to do with the challenges still being faced on the home front, the shortages, rationing, blackouts, fears about bombardment, the problems of returned men, and the ways in which women have valiantly stepped up to fill the roles of the missing men. Some, like Freddie, Andrew and Ted, have profound but invisible wounds; many will never recover from their physical damage; and many others will simply never return.

In addition, just as rumors abound about the German defeats, the world is shaken by the Spanish Flu pandemic. Under Mr. Leadbetter’s guidance, the bookstore increasingly modifies its practices in order to protect its staff and customers. These are strikingly like the ones adopted during the recent COVID crisis: masks, ritual disinfecting of all surfaces, gloves, home deliveries, periodic shutdowns to let the worst of it pass. Perhaps because all this is recent memory, you can really feel the fear and dread layered over the larger picture of a terrible and seemingly unending war.

The constant refrain, literally, is that the war has changed everyone and everything. That is readily apparent in the on-going challenges of living through the fourth year of a war that, when it began in September 1914, was supposed to be over by Christmas. But it’s also repeated constantly, and usually followed by the corollary that the bookshop girls had stood resolutely together to see each other through whatever ear brought them. This includes a dark secret that Alice uncovers about her family. Another repeated phrase refers to Molly, who, practically from the first month of her pregnancy, is ever posed with ‘a hand (sometimes both) on her baby bump.’ That sounds far too contemporary for the way middle class pregnant women behaved in public over a century ago.

Even without reading any of the five earlier volumes, this one tells an affecting story about how women on the home front—a Great War concept—individually and together contributed to what finally, at long last, did become a victory, and certainly did bring about stark changes that could never be undone.

With war coming to and end the bookshop girls are heading into a new era. Alice Victoria and Molly are more like sisters now having been there for each other for so long. So when problems rise the girls always look out for each other and help through the good times and bad.
Brilliant to catch up with the Bookshop family loving this series and hope it continues as there are further adventures to be had by the girls

I love this series of books. We are now coming to the end of WW1 and everyday people are waiting to hear the news that war in Europe is over. They long to sleep in their own beds at night instead of in cellars or shelters.
The three women are still the best of friends and still working in the bookshop. I do get the impression that the shop is bigger than I first thought and has a lot more staff who barely get a passing mention.

Flu is sweeping through Europe and the UK which is just one more thing for everyone to worry about.
Men are coming home suffering from shell shock , having nightmares, jumping at loud noises, being depressed etc.
It's shocking to hear how these men were looked down on as being cowards by some people for not coping with life at the front. Thank goodness we know different now.
Another great episode in the series which I hope just goes on and on.

This book was excellent. I've read all of the Foyles Bookshop Girls books and this has to be the best yet. The story was very emotional, I cried a few times, but it also had humour, drama and love in it! I loved the fact that the drama didn't stop as soon as WWI ended. Elaine writes so well, every new book feels like catching up with old friends. I hope it's not the last we see of the girls, I'd love to know what happens later in their lives.

Book 3 of 3 - a great WWI saga. I suggest reading them in order. Great story and characters. I enjoyed the series.

another spectacular addition to the series and another fabulous visit back to the bookstore and the girls.
there is so much more to contend with as we come back to the friends lives. the impact of war is truly heartbreaking in this one and something im glad was touched upon with the skilled writing of Elaine. i adored being back with this group of friends. and truer friends you couldn't find. i almost get emotional now just thinking of how brilliant the friendship group is. we all need a group like this please?
we are once again given an insight into the courage and bravery of the time. war involves evil and it brings those we love most into that mix. so the feelings and emotions surrounding it are heightened from the start. when people you love are hurting, at risk or feeling the fall out of something horrific it can cut you down quick. to keep getting up and either being strong or supporting yourself and others is something of a true testament to love of all kinds.
Elaine manages to portray the really difficult things like shell shock and mental health tragedy's in this book but never overwhelms us or makes it feel too much. it should never be hidden from and i know at the time it would have been treated in a way that mostly worsened the conditions. so to not feel like it was either washed over or too much is true skill.
and then woven throughout or the other moments. the bravery and friendship and cosy feelings all wrap us up and make this book another winner.
peacetime doesn't always bring peace to those who are home or come home. but the bond between our girls means its always easier, always manageable or always supported.
bravo for another amazing book.

The nostalgia shines through from every page. As always, you're just simply left wanting more, more, more... Fabulous!

Another poignant story in the series and while the war is coming to the end, there are new heartbreaking changes for one of the characters and a secret is revealed for another, this storyline always amazes me with the strength and reliance that people living through the horrors that war causes, not just to those defending freedom but also their families who fear losing their loved ones.

This book was so good. Another wonderful addition to the series. Good writing and good storyline.
A great saga to read

Another wonderful book in this English saga. Series.I love the characters and really enjoyed visiting them again their world their lives.#netgalley #boldwoodbooks.

What a beautiful story! The Foyles girls, Molly, Victoria’s and Alice have grown closer over the years, drawn together through the war and family issues. Their husbands have a special bond too, appreciating the difficulties facing returning veterans, non more so than Ted.
Alice and sister Lily have suspicions about their father’s behaviour. When Alice decides to do something about it she could never have envisioned what she would discover. Life isn’t what she always believed.
Molly is harbouring a secret of her own, but due to Andrew being busy with work and helping veterans she can never find the right moment, how will he react?
Molly is offered a new position, will the others be accepting of it.

I really enjoyed this book, very informative making you really appreciate what the returning men went through. Especially after keeping everyone at home safe.
My favourite character was Ted, quiet and unassuming even with his demons. Least favourite was Luke.
Look forward to more by this author.

this is a book in a continuing series but can be read as a standalone. set during WW1 about the girls who work in a bookstore during the war. great story.