by Lizzie Lane
Publication Date June 8, 2021
Published by Boldwood Books Ltd
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Genres: Family & Relationships, Family Life, Fiction, General, Historical, Marriage & Divorce, Sagas, Siblings
Pages: 314
Nothing will stop the The Tobacco Girls not even war...BRISTOL 1940.
The Tobacco Girls cling together as they realise that the clouds of war are turning dark, the world is becoming more dangerous and their lives more unpredictable.
Bridget Milligan’s big, happy family fragments when her siblings are evacuated to North Devon, then a letter from America further fills her with dismay.
Maisie Miles safe haven from both Eddie Bridgeman and her father is jeopardised and she is forced to move on, but where too this time? Phyllis Mason is struck down by tragedy and her life spirals downwards into despair until a new horizons beckons, but also perhaps great danger...
Regardless of the rationing, shortages and an ever-worsening situation, The Tobacco Girls all pull together and hope for better days to come.
My Review:
Dark Days for the Tobacco Girls, by Lizzie Lane, is the second book in her Tobacco Girls series. A lovely read that details the life of three young women in Bristol, UK during the fraught years of World War II. This book is full of the everyday struggles of the rationing, air raids, and food shortages that these women faced during those tough times.
The story takes place in Bristol, UK, and follows the lives of Bridget Milligan, Maisie Miles, and Phyllis Mason as they rely on their friendship to help them through the dark days of the beginning of the war in Britain.
Bridget comes from a large happy family with many siblings. All her younger brothers and sisters are evacuated to the countryside as air raids are expected in the cities. She helps her mother deal with the worry and the emptiness in her family home.
Phyllis has just married Robert and he’s gone off to war, but now she has to live with his difficult parents as she deals with her pregnancy and wonders how she will live in a loveless marriage when he returns. And Maisie has to hide from her stepfather and the gangsters who are after him.
These three women bond together and help each other deal with the struggles of war, families, and living through air raids, rationing, and food shortages.
This book resonated with me because I’m so interested in this period of time. My parents were about the same age as these characters and lived in London during this time period. Like Bridget’s siblings, my father was evacuated to the countryside and later joined and served in the Royal Marines and my mother served in the Royal Air Force.
The details of the struggles of rationing, and food shortages were very well described and I felt for these characters and their struggles. Also, the scenes with the air raids felt very real and were well described.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own
I love books that I connect to this one sounds like something I would like to read. Thanks for sharing your great review on this book.
Thank you Jodie! It was such an interesting book.
Hi Wendy! I noticed you’d commented a few times at Dear Author and wanted to drop by and check out your blog. I like that you review lots of books because I’m always on the lookout for new-to-me books & authors. Coincidentally, my parents were also both children in London during WWII and were both evacuated, so it looks like DARK DAYS FOR THE TOBACCO GIRLS goes on my never-ending tbr!
Thanks so much! The historical details in the book were very interesting. Gave me a good idea of what my parents went through.