1940, Nurse Annie Russell finds a baby on her doorstep one night. She is keen to reunite the infant with its mother but who could it be? Her family resolve to care for the child until the mother can be found but there isn’t much time before social services will take the baby for adoption…
The Ration Book Baby is an historical novel set in the Englsih countryside during WW2.
Annie Russell and her parents are at the heart of their community so a desperate mother knows she can leave her baby safely with them. Annie is keen to find the mother to check on her welfare and support her. She has a few clues to work on but isn’t sure if it could be a local woman or someone from the Polish refugee network.
Annie’s search is supported by her parents and other locals but it is her friendship with Wing Commander Chambers from the local air base that ads another dimension to the plot. I had my fingers crossed that the pair would fall in love but when he mentions he is engaged I thought my hopes were dashed!
There is a lot of emotion in this book from the baby plot thread as we hope for a happy reunion between mother and child. The village celebrates the successes of the airmen whilst also mourning the terrible injuries and deaths. Not everyone is accepting of the Polish refugees and I liked that the author didn’t shy away from including unpleasant aspects.
I felt that the historical elements of the book gave an authentic basis for the plot and was fully immersed in the past and plot. The language and dialogue also supported the historical setting and the social conventions of the era.
The Ration Book Baby is an enjoyable, emotional, and warmly toned historical novel.
The Ration Book Baby: An utterly heart-wrenching and uplifting World War 2 saga (A Village at War) by Ellie Curzon
England, 1940. Opening the box with trembling hands, she couldn’t believe it – a tiny baby lay inside. She gently lifted the newborn as it started to cry. Cradling the little one to her chest, she searched the darkness for any sign of whoever left it here. And as she rocked the child, something fluttered to the ground… a ration book.
Nurse Annie Russell anxiously listens to the terrifying sounds of planes and gunfire overhead, worried about what the morning will bring for the patients in her care. The boys from the local airfield fly up in the skies each night, risking their lives to protect the people of Bramble Heath village, but they can’t stop every bombshell. Until a knock at the door makes her jump.
Awaiting Annie on the doorstep is a hatbox. Peeking under the lid, she gasps – inside is a whimpering newborn, round cheeks glistening with tears. The poor little thing may be all alone, but someone must truly love the baby… Tucked into a hand-knitted blanket, there’s a precious ration book, vital for food supplies in these darkest of days.
Her heart breaking, Anniedoes everything she can to care for her tiny charge. But, without a ration book, she knows that the frightened young mother could also be in dire need of help too. Then social services bring devastating news. If Annie can’t find the helpless child’s family soon, the authorities will have to take the little one away.
As the Nazi threat grows, more and more of the brave pilots at the local airbase don’t come home. Is one of the fallen the child’s father? And with her only clue leading nowhere, can Annie find the answers she needs, and reunite the innocent baby with its parents before it is too late?
A totally unputdownable and emotional historical novel that will have you reading late into the night. Perfect for fans of Diney Costeloe, Martha Hall Kelly and Before We Were Yours.
About the author:
Ellie Curzon is the pen name of Catherine Curzon and Helen Barrell. Catherine and Helen began writing together in the spring of 2017 and swiftly discovered a shared love of the past and a uniquely British sort of story. They drink gallons of tea, spend hours discussing the importance of good tailoring and are never at a loss for a bit of derring-do.
Catherine Curzon is an author and historian of old Hollywood and even older royalty. In addition to a series of eighteenth century biographies and a sell-out play, she has written extensively for a number of international publications, and has spoken at venues and events across the United Kingdom. Catherine lives in a haze of Dean Martin atop a steep Yorkshire hill, with a rakish gentleman and a very woolly dog.
Helen Barrell has written two books on Victorian crime, and has appeared on BBC1 and Radio 4. She loves researching family history and rummaging in libraries and archives. Originally from the south-east of England, Helen now lives somewhere in the Midlands with a large ginger cat, who resembles a Viking, and a well-stocked 1960’s cocktail bar.
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Ella has a job she loves and is in a secret relationship with her colleague Lee. But her whole life falls apart one Monday morning when her boss tells her that Lee has been involved with shady dealings with another company. Now she is out of work and out of love, attempting to create a new start for herself…
Love at First Site is a light-hearted romantic comedy about rising from the ashes.
Ella knows she isn’t supposed to date a colleague but she and Lee couldnt resist each other. Now her whole world has crumbled as she loses her job after his dodgy actions and she sees his selfish ways at last. She heads off for a fresh start, pushing away from her comfort zone. I liked her bravery and spark which shine through once she stops being naively trusting of Lee.
Ella’s fresh start doesn’t go smoothly which provides plenty of gentle humour. She meets Noah whose thoughtful behaviour shows her how awful Lee really was. Obviously Ella is wary about having any romantic notions after her last disaster but I was rooting for her to get together with Noah who was soooo lovely.
The book is written in the first person so we get to know Ella really well and explore her emotions, choices and actions. I wanted to scream and shout at her at the beginning for being so trusting and always putting her own needs second. She is a nice person so I wanted her to find happiness. Her fresh start is fraught with difficulties and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I was invested in her success as the plot developed.
Love at First Site is a warm and enjoyable book about new beginnings. I really loved the last book I read by Phoebe Macleod: Let’s Not Be Friends.
Love at First Site
It’s a relationship under construction, and there are no warning signs…
Project Manager Ella Mackenzie thought she had her whole life perfectly mapped
out – just like one of her colour-coded spreadsheets. She is the last person to do anything
reckless or impulsive.
But when her and her terrible boyfriend split, she is left single, homeless and without a backup plan.
Suddenly, her whole worldly belongings are crammed into the back of her little Fiat, and she’s driving two-hundred-and-fifty miles across the country to start a new job that she should never have accepted in an industry she knows nothing about. What could possibly go wrong?
Ella doesn’t know the first thing about building sites, but thankfully Noah Harris is an expert in construction and is there to show her the ropes (and the ladders).
And, as Ella is about to find out, he’s an expert in a few other things too…
Author Bio –
Phoebe MacLeod is the author of several popular laugh-out-loud romantic comedies. She mainly sets her books in her home county of Kent and her first new title for Boldwood will be published in November 2022. They will also be republishing her existing titles from August this year.
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TRIGGER WARNING: misogyny and violence against women including sexual assault
Detective Eve Bennet is called to a polygamous community to investigate a missing newborn and mother. She herself is an apostate from the religious community and shunned while she tries to investigate. Can she defy her own family to locate the mother and child?
Lost Little Angels is the second book to feature detective Eve Bennet but I have not read the first in the series, Only Girl Alive. There are spoilers about events and outcomes from the first book so I would advise reading them in order.
Eve is tenacious and determined. She is also kind and caring. She knows what the community is like and fears for the safety of the women and children at the hands of their husbands and fathers. There is a personal side to the plot as she is targeted by the male members of her family. I really liked the strength of her character and her sense of justice as she tries to rescue women and challenge the dogma of the religious community.
The plot is quite gripping but the latter part of the plot is deeply unpleasant (I can’t give further details without huge spoilers!) I also felt very uncomfortable about the portrayal of the fundamentalist religion although this was contrasted by the positive portrayal of the non derogatory polygamous marriages of a fellow officer. The ending is certainly dramatic and I would read like to read future books in this series as well as catch upon the first.
Lost Little Angels is a tense book with a gripping plotline and strong female lead character.
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Book: Lost Little Angels
Author: Holly S. Roberts
Pub Day: July 19th 2023
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About the Book:
She wakes suddenly, realizing with a panic that her darling baby daughter should have woken long before now. Racing to the pink-colored nursery, she lets out a deep cry as she opens the door. The crib is empty. Her little girl has vanished.
It’s after midnight when Detective Eve Bennet receives a distraught phone call from an unknown number. The voice at the other end begs her not to hang up—a baby has gone missing. But what the caller says next makes Eve’s heart race. “She isn’t the first. There are many, many more.”
Rushing to the missing girl’s home, Eve finds the house empty, and when she knocks on their neighbors’ doors, not a single person answers. Whoever reported the missing baby doesn’t want to be found…
Secrets are held tight in the small town of Hilldale and as an outsider, Eve knows that the only way to uncover the truth is to persuade someone to talk. She finally has a breakthrough when a young wife goes against her husband’s wishes and tells Eve it’s not just babies being taken—mothers are disappearing too.
The woman leaves Eve a hand drawn map leading her to an isolated trailer park. What she finds there shocks her to her core. But she hardly has time to think before she notices a lone figure watching her every move. She’s not alone.
Can Eve save herself in time to finally unmask the truth before more innocent children disappear forever?
Fans of Melinda Leigh, Kendra Elliot and Lisa Regan won’t be able to put down this utterly gripping crime thriller from a USA Today bestselling author.
Author Bio
Holly Roberts began writing to alleviate stress in her day job, that of a homicide and sex crimes detective. Romance was her go to genre because she required a happy ending. She also touched on cozy mysteries and added six books to her forty book romance repertoire. Now that she’s retired and her mind at peace, she decided to delve into crime thrillers using her background and thirst for research to write the Eve Bennet series.
Holly has two movie/television options under her belt for her amazing life story. Part of the reason is Holly became a police officer at age 45 and led two high profile cases, one involving a serial killer. Now she enjoys the excitement of writing about crime while sitting at home with her two dogs, laptop, and a cup of hot tea close by.
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Jen is pretty happy with her life in London with a good job and romantic relationship with her boss. Until she gets a call from her boss’ wife who tells her she is pregnant with twins. Jen realises Jono has been lying to her for months and runs home to Scotland to escape her job and lover…
The Woman Who Ran For The Hills is a warmly written book about fresh starts.
I really felt for Jen as her happy life crumbles. She truly believed Jono’s lies that he was separated from his wife so the news that he is about to become a father again is devastating. It also means she has to leave her job too as he was her boss. Jen travels home to her dad in Scotland but finds that she has other issues to deal with such as her estranged sister. She reconnects with old friends who are eager for her to heal her heart by finding love again.
The book is written in the first person so we see Jen’s heartache and emotional journey. I really wanted her to find happiness so she can forget about Jono’s betrayal and face the future. She also has to swallow her pride, confront the past and make an effort to reconcile with her sister. None of this is easy but the light hearted tone of the narration and the gentle humour makes this a positive and uplifting read.
The Woman Who Ran For The Hills was a richly emotional book and I fully engaged with Jen’s story.
The Woman Who Ran for the Hills
Jennifer McAndrew thinks she’s living her best life in London – wonderful man, great job, happily child-free. Except the ‘wonderful man’ turns out to have a secret that ruins everything…
Shocked and devastated, Jen doesn’t know what to do. So, she packs her bags and runs for the hills – away from her problems, all the way to her childhood home in Scotland and the safety of her dad.
But her dad is a changed man. Busy with his girlfriend, golf and G&Ts, he doesn’t have time for Jen’s worries. And she can’t see her sister, Isla, who she fell out with years ago.
So, Jen rekindles friendships with her old school pals, Alison and Rory. They’re juggling work and young families, but still find time to take her out and set her up with some terrible dates.
The more time she spends with Rory and his daughters, the more Jen thinks there could be something big missing from her life. But could she ever go back to small town life? And can she forgive what happened in the past? Should a good friend become something more?
The biggest question for Jen is – will she try to solve her problems, or will she cut and run for the hills again?
Another brilliant laugh out loud emotional read, perfect for fans of Fiona Gibson, Tracy Bloom and Sophie Ranald!
Author Bio –
Carmen Reid is the bestselling author of numerous woman’s fiction titles including the Personal Shopper series starring Annie Valentine. After taking a break from writing she is back, introducing her hallmark feisty women characters to a new generation of readers. She lives in Glasgow with her husband and children.
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