The second in the East End Library Girls series and a welcome return to Cordelia, Jane and Mavis. Since Cordelia arrived at the library, the three have become firm friends. This book continues where the first one left off and we follow the lives of the three women and how they are surviving the war. Houses are bombed, children are evacuated and soldiers are injured, but the three are resilient and manage to cope with whatever is thrown at them.
I loved catching up with these three again. Despite the harrowing circumstances of war, the book has a lovely warm feeling. I enjoy reading about life during the war, the difficulties with housing, finding food and not knowing from one day to the next what will happen. It makes us appreciate everything we have today. The library helped bring the community together and for those who were lonely, I can only imagine that this must have been a godsend.
Although the second in the series, this could be read as a standalone. However, the first one is so good, grab them both and enjoy the adventures of the East End girls. I hope this isn't the last we hear from Cordelia, Jane and Mavis.
Thank you to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for the opportunity to read and review Hard Times for the East End Library Girls by Patricia McBride.
About the Book
As the war reaches London, they’ll band together… War strikes close to home for chief librarian Cordelia when her flat is bombed, and her beloved Robert is called up and sent abroad. Fortunately, her colleagues Mavis and Jane can help see her through hard times.
The three friends find purpose in making the Silvertown library a friendly sanctuary for their deprived and devastated community. But sinister forces, from callous bureaucrats to crafty criminals, still lurk among the stacks. Worse, Jane’s soldier husband is injured and suffers both physically and mentally.
With so many struggles Cordelia and her friends might need more than books to survive war's shadow. Can they find light in the darkness?
About Patricia
Patricia McBride is the author of the very popular Lily Baker historical saga series. She is now writing a new WW2 series for Boldwood, based in the East End of London during the Blitz, the first title of which, The Library Girls of the East End, will be published in November 2023.
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