When Sally and Deborah volunteered for the home guard while WWII was raging, they both thought that the jobs they would be doing would be more than what they actually got assigned. Primarily, they will be doing salvage work, and it doesn’t take them long to realize that this job is indeed as important as other jobs for those who serve.

As their characters were drawn out in this first book in the historical saga series by Susanna Bavin, this book also highlighted jobs often not mentioned during the war effort. Their work was indeed vital, and both Sally and Deborah saw firsthand the devastation that the war was bringing. For example, food rations. So difficult to read and to imagine, but it was just one of the tragedies that the victims of the war experienced.

While this book shows how Sally and Deborah’s friendship blossomed, there was also a romance blooming, and this added another layer to this well-written book. As this is the first book in a new series, I am eager to see how both the setting and the characters continue to be affected by the war.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

I read 10% of the book and the plot and characters were not catching my interest. Unfortunately the story was not compelling enough to want to continue reading.

Thanks so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc. The opinions are my own.

What a wonderful book telling the story of the woman who were Home Front Girls and a brilliant start it a trilogy.

Sally and her best friend Deborah work together they have been best friends since they were small. Due to circumstances Sally ends up going to work in a salvage yard where she becomes friends with Betty.

I enjoyed reading about what the home front girls did it was very interesting to find out of what happened to them.

The characters worked well together and the story flowed.

Would recommend this book.

I enjoyed this story set in WWII in Manchester. This focused on those on the homefront and their efforts to support the war. Sally and Betty are the main characters who come from different walks of life. They work at the salvage depot during the day and as auxiliary fire service girls at night. It mostly focuses on Sally, even though we can hear both of their points of view. We learn more about Sally’s best friend Deborah, friendships, as well as her whirlwind romance with Andrew. It is a story of female friendships, romance, and service to their country during the war. This was the first in the series and I can’t wait for the next one.


Thanks to @bookouture, @netgalley, and the author for this ARC.

I enjoyed reading The Home Front Girls a lot. I loved Betty and Sally as characters. I really connected to the, and felt their friendship came across as really genuine. The author does a great job of bringing the setting and characters to life. I’ve read a lot of WWII books recently and this is among my favourites. This is the first in a series and I might read other books because I enjoyed this to much. The book starts off slow but this works really well and I liked the pacing overall. I’d recommend this.

A very enjoyable story with a different angle on life in WW2. We first meet Sally doing her bit for the war effort by working very happily in the local food office by day and fire watching by night. She is in an awkward relationship with Rod, the brother of her best friend, but she gradually realises that he is not the one for her, This leads to a major falling out with her friend and work-mate, Deborah, which causes repercussions in the workplace. Sally finds herself redeployed to the salvage depot, which initially she finds less satisfying, but a new friendship, a new love interest and a new home give her a different perspective. This book is a lovely read and introduces characters I hope to meet again. I missed Sally, Betty and Deborah, not to mention Andrew, once the book came to an end, and I felt I had enjoyably learned more about wartime Britain.

The Home Front Girls is the first book in Susanna Bavin's planned trilogy. If you enjoy WWII historical fiction, you're going to want to add The Home Front Girls to your 'to read' list!

I was hooked in the first chapter. Sally and her bestie, Deborah, work for the Food Office making sure that shop keepers are following the rules for ration books. But the latest 'sting' has repercussions for both Sally and the store clerk, Betty.

I thought Bavin's settings were wonderfully described. The book is set in 1940 Manchester, England. Bavin and her family lived in Manchester for many years and that personal view really works in creating a setting.

Her characters are also wonderfully created. It's very easy to have a favorite, one you'd like to know in real life. And those you wouldn't! Keep your eyes open for Mrs. Lockwood! And who else you ask? Well, I think a budding romance adds a lot this book as well!

I really enjoy this time frame. The 'Keep Calm and Carry On' attitude, the looking out for your neighbours, the social mores, and family. There are lots of hard choices to be made - and duty to follow.

And Bavin has included all of that and more. I'll be watching for the second book.

Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres that I don't read nearly enough, and WWII is my favorite time period to read. There are so many books about WWII, so I love it when a book takes a different angle, like this one. It was so interesting to read about the role that women played in fighting the war back home.

This is the first book in the series, and I'm excited that there's more to come since I loved this book so much! It's out today, and on Kindle Unlimited!!

4.5/5 stars rounded down to 4 stars.

The Homefront Girls is the first in a trilogy by Susanna Bavin which follows two young women living in Manchester and their experiences during World War Two. It’s a nice easy read. A good family saga typical of the genre showing the fear that everyone livid with during the long years of war and they dealt with it on a daily basis. Every aspect of life was altered and that nothing could be taken for granted in war time. Every minute counted and should be appreciated. The book does get off to a slow start and given the blurb I thought the story would specifically follow Sally and Deborah but that was not the case as a different girl did come into the story several chapters in. To be honest, I was glad Deborah didn’t feature that heavily apart from the initial chapters as I really didn’t like her character at all especially the way she reacted to Sally sticking up for herself. The story was all the better for changing tack and concentrating on Sally and Betty. There’s was a tentative relationship initially but I enjoyed seeing how things changed and why.

July 1940 and Sally White lives with her parents in Manchester and works in the Food Office alongside her best friend Deborah whom she has known all her life. People are slowly becoming accustomed to life during wartime and the constant fear of invasion by the Germans is ever present. Everything has completely changed for the people of Britain. Air raid shelters have been established. Anderson Shelters have sprung up in gardens. Any available plot of land has been turned over to growing vegetables. Carrying gas masks everywhere and the blackout have become routine. Rules and regulations have to be strictly adhered to. Gone is the freedom they had known and enjoyed. Now that the phoney war is over the threat of bombs being dropped is becoming a dangerous reality.

Sally is a confident and capable young girl who wants to do all she can to help with the war effort. Working in the food office means she is responsible for giving out ration cards and helping housewives with planning and recipes. She also goes undercover and tests that shopkeepers are not giving out more than the allotted rations or doing so without ration cards. Here is where she encounters Betty when she is out on one of her tests. Betty spectacularly fails the test leading to a huge fine and being fired from her job. Needless to say when the two women meet again through different circumstances Betty has a huge chip on her shoulder and the pair don’t get off to the most auspicious of starts.

I loved Sally from the start as she always knew her own mind and she wasn’t afraid to follow her heart even when it meant going against what society expected or the wishes her parents had for her. She had had a few brief dates with Deborah’s brother Rod before he was sent away to work in the shipyards and both families expected them to get married. But any scene where Sally and Rod were together there was a sense of unease emanating from Sally. That she wasn’t fully comfortable in his presence or he never made her feel good about herself. He was sneaky and pushy and little things he did made for uncomfortable reading. There was definitely a mean steak to him. At a birthday /farewell party for Rod a surprise proposal should mean happiness all round but Sally follows her gut and declines. I thought fair play to her she knew she wasn’t happy and could never have a long lasting and contented life with Rod. But saying no to him led to divisions between both families and the loss of the friendship with Deborah.

Here is where Deborah showed her true colours. The way she reacted was awful. I know Rod was her brother but could she not have seen that Sally must have had very valid reasons for not agreeing to marry Rod? Deborah makes Sally’s life miserable in the Food Office. So much so that the conflict leads to their boss arranging for a new job for Sally in a different area in Manchester working in a salvage depot. Here is where Sally’s strength of character really came to the fore and she pushed her own feelings aside and took on this new role with grace and dignity and again she was determined to make a difference in this new role.

Romance does feature for Sally and I loved how this connected to the new job in her life. Meeting Andrew at the Food Office made her realise that her suspicions were correct and that Rod wasn’t and never would be the one for her. I did think they really rushed things in that a proposal came very very quickly even by wartime standards and her mother clearly thought so to. But the solution that was reached meant it opened a different aspect of the plot and it drove the second half of the book on. Making it much stronger and interesting.

As for Betty, it’s not that I disliked her but that I found her quite immature and the way she reacted to things was unnecessary. Losing her job in the shop and her stepmother finding her the job in the salvage yard meant that she had to move out of home. Which really was the making of her as she had to grow up and take responsibility for things. That it wasn’t just her individually soldiering on through the war. That with team work and initiative both she and Sally could do great things. When Sally arrives to begin work at the salvage yard I thought Betty gave her a very frosty reception and she was definitely still smarting with her over losing her previous job. But she was young and easily slighted and brooded far too long on things. A good dose of reality was needed and was received as the two women volunteer for fire watching duty each night. These scenes were quick and dramatic and brought home the danger people faced on a nightly basis and it brought the two women closer together after what one would call a very rocky start.

It was fascinating to read about work at the Food Office and the salvage depot. I had never given any consideration to this aspect of war work before. Yes, I’ve read a few fleeting lines in books saying all metal was given over to the country to be used in the war but the way Sally and Betty operated the depot and what was brought there was really interesting. I really loved the angst and annoyance brought about by the character of Mrs Lockwood and I was desperate for her to get her comeuppance in order to let the good qualities of Sally and Betty shine through. There were a few twists and turns towards the end of the story which added a little bit of meat to the plot and made things a bit grittier.

I had been waiting for that fine line between things being all nice and pleasant and then that added depth that the book needed and it did come. I enjoyed the ending but it made me realise that things are only really getting started and that there is potentially a lot more ahead for the Home Front Girls - Sally and Betty. Friendship, family bonds, working together as a unit and a community, sacrifices and hardship are all themes explored in this enjoyable read and I am glad that I have book two Courage for the Home Front Girls waiting to be read on my Kindle as I wasn’t ready to leave the characters behind as they had only hinted at their potential and the stories they still had to share.

The Homefront Girls marks the first installment in Susanna Bavin's fresh trilogy, also named The Homefront Girls.

The story introduces Sally and Deborah, who willingly volunteer to support the soldiers in WWII. Sally aids the auxiliary fire service at night and works at the salvage depot by day, sorting scrap metal and paper, among other items – a role she never anticipated. Her encounter with Andrew sheds light on the significance of her contribution and offers her a listening ear. Could love be blossoming between them?

Susanna's captivating writing style immediately draws readers in, immersing them in the characters' life and workplace.

Get your hands on a copy today.

Got this book at the last minute and read in 12hrs, Just love Susanna Bavin as an author and have read all her other titles.
The Home Front Girls is the first of a series and is about friendship, hope and endurance during the Second World War. Lovely characters who grow in friendship during their uncertain time. Looking forward to the 2nd book in the series.
My thanks as always to Netgalley and to Bookouture for the early read

The time is 1940 in Manchester.Sally and Deborah volunteer for the home guards to help the war effort.Sally goes on to work at the salvage yard to work sorting the scrap metal and waste paper.Sally meets Andrew a carpenter and sadly has to tell Deborah's brother that she can't get engaged to him as there is somebody else. While Andrewi is out helping families from the rubble after a shower of bombs got Manchester Sally is going to where the plumes of smoke are coming from and finds out it is the salvage yard.Will Sally and Andrew come out safe from all this and find love.Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture.

THE HOME FRONT GIRLS (The Home Front Girls Book #1) by Susanna Bavin is an easy to read story set during WWII that follows two young girls in England as they work and find love on the home front. I had a difficult time wanting to continue reading this story because the introduction to the characters is very drawn out with not much of interest happening. While the research for the story is interesting and apparent, I felt the characters were somewhat two dimensional.

I was personally disappointed, but the story may be written and targeted to a YA historical fiction audience reader and they may enjoy it more.

The Home Front Girls is a story about hope, courage and friendship during the early days of the Second World War. I loved reading about Sally and Betty, how they grew as people throughout the book, the bravery of these young women and how close they became as friends in spite of their rocky start. I cannot wait to read the second book in the series. Can thoroughly recommend to anybody who enjoys sagas.

This is the first book in a new historical saga series by Susanna Bavin. I found this to be an easy but at the same time a really interesting read. I’m a huge fan of historical saga series so it’s always great to have a new one to look forward to. It was really interesting to learn about the food rationing ‘tests’ and subsequently after that about the salvage depot where both Sally and Betty worked. As with the majority of these saga series there was a romantic element to it and I enjoyed this part also. I look forward to watching these characters develop over the course of this series. A great start to a brand new saga series.

The Home Front Girls is the first book in the series of the same name by Susanna Bavin.

It is an enjoyable sweet story which focuses on two young women, Betty and Sally, their families and in Sally's case, her love interest, Rod, or is it, Andrew? Much of the story focuses on where the women work and what they deal with in their endeavours to do their bit for the war effort.

The author did a lot of research into this book. I was fascinated to learn about salvaging, the fire patrol, rationing and what being a worker for the food office entailed. I even learned what was involved in looking after bodies that had been affected by chemical warfare. Nothing too gruesome, don't worry!

I love a story that can teach something while having characters that I can become fully engrossed with their family life, friendships and romances. There were some very unlikable characters in this story too which always makes me want to read quickly to see if they get their comeuppance.

This was a very nice story and I will definitely read other books in the series as they are released.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this wonderful book. It was fantastic!

Thank you for the chance to read this ARC in return for my honest opinion

I had not read any of this authors books before - or to be honest any of those she writes under other names - so came to this with an open mind.
I do love historical fiction and sagas and have read many about the role of women in WW2 - but this was a totally new take on that role and the jobs that women were expected to take whilst on The Home Front.

This centred around Sally and her role in The Food Office - she has a massive fallout with best friend and an errant brother which means she is side-lined to a job in Salvage.
The book is well researched and explores the lives of Sally and eventually Betty who actually meet under difficult circumstances in the beginning of the book.
I found their work as fire-watchers fascinating as well.
And of course there has to be an obligatory love story.

A well written book that is obviously the start of a series but one I look forward to following.
A pleasure to read - and a page turner. A tale of hardship and friendship.

This is a new World War Two series and this one is set in the Food Office and then the Salvage Depot. I have read a lot of sagas from this time but this is a first time about Salvage and was interesting to find out more about all the recycling that was done so many years ago. Sally loves her job working in the Food Office with her best friend Deborah. Things take a turn for the worse when Rod, Deborah’s brother proposes to Sally in front of all their family and friends. Unfortunately although this is what everyone was hoping for it’s not what Sally wants. With upset and arguments Sally ends up moving to work in the Salvage Depot. There’s a lot of ups and downs in this first book which makes great reading and I look forward to reading book two in this great new series.

Really enjoyed this lovely book. Really enjoyed the characters and had some lovely witty moments in it! Looking forward to reading the next book. Already earmarked it for some of the customers I know who love these books! Thank you!