This is set during the blitz in Manchester
It is filled with wonderful characters and is written so well
This is a story full of love, friendship and warmth.
Looking forward to the next instalment

I am very excited to read the rest of the series as I really loved this opener. Great characters that I will look forward to catching up with again.

I love historical fiction, especially wartime sagas, and I was excited to discover a new one in THE RAILWAY GIRLS which is the first in a new series by Maisie Thomas. So many books focus on women taking over where the men left off when going off to war as they sign up to do the jobs the men left behind. In this case, it was on the railways. Some of the work was hard going but some of it wasn't too taxing. However, it wasn't the done thing for women to go out to work especially since some men thought women didn't have the brain capacity to undertake anything more than keeping house. Normally this doesn't bother me because it is just how things were at the time, but some of the men I found to be so dismissive that they angered me with their narrow mindedness to the point of bullying. If they had any idea how much work a woman did unpaid in the home looking after their menfolk and families...

THE RAILWAY GIRLS follows three women of varying ages and backgrounds, and their friends, who have taken up jobs to assist in their own ways with the war effort. Mabel is from a family of "new money" who are desperate to maintain their social status when she signs up for work as a railway girl. Her family is not impressed but Mabel is careful to point out that reneging now would shine a negative light on the family, particularly at a time when her father was about to land a major contract. So to make the best of a bad situation her father arranges lodgings for her at a stately home so that she may remain in the social standing to which they have become accustomed.

Then there is Joan, who is the ugly duckling of two sisters orphaned at an early age with the death of both of their parents and having been brought up by their father's mother who is quick to lay any blame for their genes at their mother's feet. Joan is not the favoured sister of their gran either with Letitia holding favour in both looks and intellect whilst Joan remains firmly in the background and almost a skivvy to her gran. But the sisters adore one another and see no favour above the other as their gran does. Joan is also in love with her sister Letitia's boyfriend Steven. When Joan signed up to be a railway girl, their gran was outraged that she had done so behind her back. The sisters always thought that it was usually best to seek confession rather than permission where gran was concerned. Once she'd calmed down, their gran did state that it was probably all that Joan was good for anyway.

The third of the women is the older mother hen in Dot, who was approaching forty six next birthday. At home she had husband Reg who had once loved her and now belittled her with jokes and snipes. Her two grown sons Archie and Harry were married with a child of their own each and were now away fighting the Germans. Their wives, Pammy and Sheila, were as different as chalk and cheese. Pammy was posh and teaching their daughter Genevieve (Jenny) the finer things in life whilst Sheila was slovenly and lazy with her house in utter disarray and a young son in Jimmy who was a bit of a handful. Both women seemed to think nothing of relying on Dot for things which they were quite capable of doing while Dot now had a full time job of her own as well as keeping house to "ratty Reg" when she came home. Dot, it seemed, was everyone's skivvy. My favourite part was when young Jimmy gave all her pots and pans to the rag and bone man when he told the boy that it was for the RAF, and Jimmy had ideas about getting his very own Spitfire out of it. Dot had then chased the tag and bone man up the street and demanded her pots and pans back. It was rather funny to picture.

Aside from these three women are the friends they have made in Lizzie, Alison, Cordelia and Colette in their jobs with London, Midlands and Scotland Railways. From different walks of life, backgrounds and varying social classes each beholden with their own set of family problems, these women aren't afraid of hard work as they all step out of tradition and get stuck into the work they have each been tasked with...regardless of the narrow minded male perspective.

As excited as I was to begin yet another wartime saga series, I was disappointed in this one as I found it to be wholly uninteresting with a complete detachment to the characters. At first I thought it to be the introduction to the series with setting the scene and pace, but after reaching halfway when the pace was still sluggish and feeling no connection to the characters I found myself rethinking my position on this series. Most people say THE RAILWAY GIRLS is slow for the first quarter, but I'd reached halfway and it was still going nowhere fast. And by this point I found I didn't really care for the characters as much as I should have by now.

I really wanted to like THE RAILWAY GIRLS and enjoy my time with them but I just couldn't. Maybe I could revisit them at a later date and try again...but for now, I just spent two days trying to connect with them and their stories and I couldn't. I found the overly descriptive nature of the railways to be uninteresting and although this was set during WW2 there was barely a mention of their loved ones away at war that there was a sort of detachment there also.

I would normally base my recommendation of this type of book to those who enjoy wartime sagas, but as I love those types of books and failed to connect with those in this one, I am not sure how to do that in this case. But generally, if you do enjoy wartime sagas you may well like THE RAILWAY GIRLS.

I would like to thank #MaisieThomas, #Netgalley and #CornerstoneDigital for an ARC of #TheRailwayGirls in exchange for an honest review.

Not for me sadly. I struggled to get into it as I struggled to relate to the characters and didn’t finish it as a result unfortunately.

I very much enjoyed this book. It has a good story and excellent main characters. I would definately recommend this book.

I loved reading everything about The Railway Girls because my dad was a railway enthusiast and much of my early childhood involved standing on platforms and inspecting the trains as they arrived and departed. I was far too young to understand how the railway network operated and the importance of keeping the trains moving, especially in wartime.

So, I was excited to learn much more about railways through the eyes of three women who volunteered to work during World War II. Mabel, Joan, and Dot are very different women but they share a desire to contribute to the war effort and are given positions helping to keep the essential railway network operating at its best.

Maisie Thomas is an expert in developing warm, relatable characters with interesting backstories. However, she really excels at bringing intensely strong women to life. There was never a time when women were depended upon more than 1940 when the men were away fighting for their country. They experienced prejudice on every level but remained determined that they would roll up their sleeves and do the work as well as the men.

Dot had to be my favorite character. She was so kind-hearted but downtrodden by her family and her immense strength cried out to be put to better use. The book is well researched and every tiny detail feels authentic, in fact, some of the events actually took place.

I’m sure this series will be amazing and I can’t wait to see what the Railway Girls do next.

The Railway Girls by Maisie Thomas has Mabel, Joan, Dot, and other ladies volunteering to work for the railway during World War II. Mabel is eager to escape her hometown so she can get a fresh start away from the memories and the guilt. Joan and her sister were raised by their grandmother. Gran praises her sister, but Joan does not live up to her grandmother’s expectations. Joan wants to obtain a position and show what she is capable of to herself and her family. Dot has raised two boys who are now married with children of their own. Dot’s sons are off fighting. She takes care of the home and her critical husband, Reg. Dot is the mothering type and likes to be helpful. Each of these women who are different ages and from different social classes, come together to do their bit for the war. This group of diverse women start off as strangers, but they soon become close friends who stand by each other through thick and thin. The Railway Girls is the first book in the Railways Girls series. There is a great cast of characters in this historical novel. I thought the characters were realistic and relatable. They come from different social classes and each have a different reason for volunteering. Dot was my favorite. She is such a kind woman who loves her sons and their families. I could understand why she wanted to get out of her home each day. I did feel that Dot was taken advantage of by her daughter’s in-law. We get to follow the women through their day to day lives. Each of them want to help the war effort and are excited to be working for the railway. The women are assigned different jobs. I like that we get to see the various positions people work to keep the trains running. I could tell that the author did her research for this book. The author took us back in time with the clothing, buildings, the various battles and war engagements, and the men’s attitudes towards women in the workplace. Maisie Thomas’ detailed descriptions brought the scenes and characters to life. I did wish that the pacing had been a little peppier. The story got bogged down with the minutia of the ladies lives (a little too much detail). I enjoyed seeing the ladies come together as a group and grow as individuals. It was not easy living during World War II in England with bombings, rationing, and the extra work they had to take on. The Railway Girls is an emotional story with strong women who want to support their country during trying times.

As a result of one thing and another, I haven’t felt much like reading recently and, if my TBR pile had been a physical thing instead of e-books, it would no doubt be about to topple off my bedside table.
However, one evening, with a bit of free time on my hands, I knew just which book I was going to pick up first, The Railway Girls by Maisie Thomas. I’d heard good things about this book and it really didn’t disappoint.
While we briefly studied the Second World War at school, I can’t say I have read too much fiction set in this period but I absolutely loved all the details included in this book, which really helped bring the story to life.
In her bio Maisie says she likes writing "stories with strong female characters" and that certainly comes across in this book. Working on the railways as a woman was not for the faint hearted generally but the attitudes of some male colleagues certainly didn't make it any easier. It made me think how far we have come in some ways but also how far we still have to go.
Readers have posted on social media about which character is their favourite but I thought Mabel, Dot and Joan were all superbly written - not a weaker character among them. Even many of the secondary characters had something that held my attention. In fact, instead of three, there should be least five books or more in this series just so everyone gets a fair turn.
At several points I actually broke out in goosebumps - and it had nothing to do with being cold because it was boiling.
I was moved by Maisie's descriptions of air raids in a way that I haven’t been before. It was like being there in the dark, hearing the rumble of planes and experiencing the terror of falling bombs followed by the adrenalin rush of survival and then the urge to help.
The story is full of unexpected twists and turns and this was one of those occasions when I groaned when I read the last sentence because I definitely didn’t want it to end.
I genuinely can’t wait for book two - and it will be going to the top of my TBR pile.

There is certainly an upsurge in the use of older characters and this is something of which I heartily approve. In The Railway Girls one of the most engaging and interesting characters in Dot, who is well into her forties. She is the sort of woman who organises and takes care of everyone to her own detriment, but determined to strike out and help the war effort, through which she is to find a great deal of self respect.

That is the premise of this excellent book; women from different backgrounds who were thrown together in 1940 to help keep the nation’s vital railways running. The challenges they face, the friendships they form and even their romances weave together into an utterly believable tapestry, depicting wartime Manchester as it surely was.

Thomas’s research must have been meticulous but it is the richness of her storytelling that had me hooked. The detailed descriptions fitted so easily into the narrative the pictures were painted as the story moved along, and that is a rare talent. There is quite an extensive cast of characters too; not only Dot, Joan and Mabel, who will be the focus of the series, but other railway workers as well as their families at home.

For a debut novel this is stunning writing, perfectly paced and never rushed, a slow and realistic journey through the phoney war, Dunkirk and into the beginnings of the blitz.

What a way to start a new series! Maisie Thomas has created an amazing set of characters that get you on side straight away as they start their new lives working on the railways during the war.

And it's definitely a new experience for them, and the men they are working alongside! The attitudes of the time come across in volumes as they are looked down on by some, many thinking that they can't possibly do a job as well as a man - and not only from co-workers, it's from the men in their own families too! A time when women 'knew their place' and men wouldn't even lift a finger around the house. So to get these girls doing a variety of jobs in the railway sector in the North West allows you to see the prejudices they faced both at home and at work.

Mabel, Joan and Dot are the main characters but we also get to follow other women they meet along the way, and as they're all at different stages of life we get to see the different aspects they all face with this new way of life. What they all have in common though is their resilience and a desire to stand on their own 2 feet and that's what is brilliant about this book. They face up to their challenges and don't run away from things even if it is tough. The bond between the women is also really strong as they know they are all in the same boat. Dot was one of my favourite as she took no prisoners!! Despite the attitudes she faced from certain male co-workers she was determined to prove them wrong!

It was also fascinating to see how the attitude of their families changed over time, as at the beginning they thought they were bringing shame on the family by wanting to work! Even having painted toenails was seen as a disgrace at the time so heaven forbid that a 'woman' was to be seen working on the railway! Nowadays they would have had such pride in these women wanting to work at such a time and do their bit!

There was a great mix of drama and humour throughout the book, and it all felt so relatable! These were women you could imagine yourself wanting to hang out with and I'm so excited to see what else this series has in store for us!!

The Railway Girls is the first novel in Maisie Thomas's new series and opens in 1940 during the so-called Phoney War when the sense of immediate danger has diminished somewhat and some evacuee children have returned to their homes as it seems that little is happening. With men joining or being called up, women are needed to fulfil vital jobs in the workforce but their presence isn't always appreciated - and it's not always just the men who disapprove.
As the introduction to a series, the first few chapters are intended to present the cast of characters and to set the scene so the pacing is necessarily a little slower at first before the storyline really begins to take shape. Three women are primarily featured here but I look forward to learning more about the others in subsequent books. In the meantime, Mabel, Joan and Dot are all very different but have equally interesting stories. Both Mabel and Joan seem to be hiding something and throughout the novel which means they remain rather mysterious, even as their personalities take shape. Mabel is evidently grieving a fairly recent loss and it has clearly left her wracked with guilt but what did she do? Coming from new money, she doesn't quite fit in anywhere and attempts to put up barriers, convinced that she doesn't deserve to make friends. She is actually a very likeable woman who steps up with great courage to assist injured and dying men returning from Dunkirk, and as the story progresses I found myself fervently hoping that she would accept the offer of friendship and support she so obviously needs, particularly after an especially difficult time.
As Manchester suffers the devastation of the Blitz, they all need to lean on one another and on their loved ones but although Joan has a close and loving relationship with her sister, Letitia, the same can't be said for her grandmother. Of all the characters, I found Gran to be one of the most disagreeable. Poor Joan is constantly compared to her clever sister and Gran is also horribly prudish and judgemental. She occasionally shows a few glimpses of kindness, however, and it does seem that she loves the sisters in her own way. The same can't be said for her opinion of the girls' mother, Estelle, whose name is used as a warning and a threat to them by their grandmother; although there is some explanation of why in this book, it's something I'm sure will be a recurrent part of the storyline and I'm looking forward to more undoubtedly dramatic scenes in the future.
Although I really enjoyed getting to know both Mabel and Joan and found the chapters focused on them to be engrossing, I must admit to developing an early favourite character in the shape of the wonderful Dot. She is a middle-aged woman who is most definitely put upon by her family - especially her mealy-mouthed husband, Reg. She is a kind, thoughtful woman who has spent years looking after her family but now she is desperate for her own identity. The Railway Girls really celebrates the strength of women and I found it rather heartening that the two characters who are most prepared to challenge and speak out against the bad behaviour of some of the men are Dot and another married and slightly older woman, Cordelia. Despite facing doubts from a number of her new male colleagues about her ability to carry out her role as a porter adequately, Dot is capable and forthright at work so her wearied acceptance of Reg's dismissive attitude is an important reminder of how much of society at the time still viewed women, meaning that in some ways they almost welcomed the war as a means to escape the bonds of domesticity. However, Maisie Thomas writes with great insight throughout and as much as I cheered on the women's various successes, I appreciated the perceptive explanation as to why men might have objected to women taking on traditionally male roles in the workforce.
The author's thorough research is plain to see, especially when it comes to the scenes set at the railway. I found it absolutely fascinating - and really quite humbling at times - to learn of the different roles that women were expected to carry out there, from working as a desk clerk to more physical work such as porting or maintenance of the permanent way. The close friendships that form between the women, despite coming from very different backgrounds and being different ages meant that I was soon captivated by The Railway Girls and shared in their laughs and their tears. It would be impossible not to warm to these remarkable women who stand up for one another, volunteer for frightening and dangerous work, manage to run their homes, and cope with fear and heartbreak, all while being patronised and belittled by the men who begrudge them stepping into the jobs they consider to be outside their rightful place in society. Touching, exciting and thoroughly engaging; I'm already invested in the lives of The Railway Girls and can't wait to read Secrets of the Railway Girls later this year.

I so wanted to love this book having family from Manchester and having a railway enthusiast father. I found it quite hard to get into. Some of the characters were easy to like and follow but others I found 'hard work'. I will try the second book when it's released but it's not something I would rush to buy or read. I haven't been left wondering what happens like some books I read where I'm desperate for the new one to come out.

The Railway Girls is the first in a new series by Maisie Thomas and it was a great read from start to finish. I love historical fiction series which focus on a group of women during World War Two and even more so when the focus is on a specific trade or unusual work not expected that women would be capable of. I have read about shipyard girls and canal boat girls but now my attention turns to the dedicated women who worked on the railways. I hadn't given any thought to this aspect of the war prior to reading this book and it soon became a real eye opener. The research undertaken must have been very detailed as Maisie Thomas provided impeccable and interesting facts and details about all the various jobs undertaken by the group of remarkable women that we get to know. I presumed upon reading the blurb that the women would literally just work on the trains but there was so much more involved and I quickly became fascinated by everything I was reading.

The first several chapters were quite slow but as this is the first in a planned series I suppose this was to be expected as there were a whole new cast of characters who had to be introduced but in saying that I thought there was a fairly detailed introduction given to Dot, Joan and Mabel. There are several other girls mentioned as well and I do hope that they are allowed to come to the forefront in subsequent books as I really want to learn more about their stories. One woman in particular Colette, I have my suspicions as to what could be going on there and I am eager to see am I right or wrong? I did become a little confused as to who was who with the more minor characters in the group the women form but I had to remember that this book was centred on three women and that I can't be wanting all the information all at one time. Maisie Thomas clearly has a long term plan for what direction the overall plot will venture in and things will change and alter for the women over the course of the war and I just have to be patient to discover how the stories will develop and perhaps intertwine.

Dot, Joan and Mabel are three women who along with several others, Colette, Cordelia, Alison and Lizzie are a group of women amongst the first to be taken on by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1940. They come from all walks of life, have different backgrounds, are from different social classes and all have varying degrees of family problems going on. Women throwing off their aprons and setting out to work in the world was going totally against tradition as a women's place was viewed as being firmly in the home, keeping the house running and caring for their children. But times are a changing and with so many men away fighting women have stepped up to the mark and are more than willing to engage in hard work and pull together for the war effort and help in any way they can be it big or small. Throughout the story, which was filled with difficulties and trials and tribulations for the three women featured, they displayed such unity, strength, courage and sacrifice. They really were stepping outside of their comfort zones in more ways than one but at the same time they were also doing it for themselves as they each had their own internal little struggles they were trying to overcome.

Mabel comes from new money in that her father didn't come from a wealthy background rather he worked his way to the top and now owns his own factory. From the outset the reader can sense that there has been recent trauma in Mabel's life and really she wants to run away from everything. She wants to forget what has happened and only brief hints are alluded to until closer to the end of the story and even then I think we have barely scratched beneath the surface of what is truly going on with her. Mabel wants to do her bit for the war but not in the town that she lives in. She wants to strike out on her own and in my mind this was another way of evading and escaping from what was deep down tormenting her. She believes she is going for a test for a bank but when she arrives she discovers the building is in fact an office for the railways. Of course she is surprised but she is not one to refuse a challenge and she can't exactly go back to her parents with her tail between her legs given how she had so badly wanted to escape from where she had grown up. Also she feels she is paying a tribute to her grandfather who worked on the railways all his life.

I thought Mabel really was thrown in at the deep end in that she had to do back breaking, physical work out in the open with several other women who were known as length women. But she does form friendships with the other women who I have mentioned up above yet at the same time she did remain quite aloof and reserved. I desperately wanted her to let down her defences and share the load. They do say a problem shared is a problem halved but there was something big holding her back. I was glad that she did sign up to do first aid with the some of the other women and I have to say these scenes in the book were some of the best and so very detailed and informative. They soon become part of the frontline to help those who have been injured after bombs have fallen and there were some harrowing and gut wrenching scenes that unfolded. Mabel has an awful lot more to reveal to the group and to us readers and I am keen to see what exactly is going on. She is a character who has definitely whetted my appetite for more.

Joan was a divisive character for me. On the hand I felt great sympathy for her that she is forced to endure so much along with her sister Letitia from her grandmother. But on the other hand I thought yes your gran brought you up but you are now a young woman making her way in the world and you shouldn't be treated the way you are and why are you standing for it? Joan really needed to stand up for herself and strike out on her own but she was too afraid of the past and the influence that her gran exerts on her. The grandmother was one of the worst characters I have read in a long time. She was so spiteful, mean, emotionally abusive and strict and it all stemmed back to Joan's parents. She was an awful tyrant of a woman eaten up by past events that Joan and Letitia shouldn't be blamed for, despite being cut from the same cloth doesn't mean they can be blamed for misdemeanours not of their own making.

If it had been me I would have told her where to go. The scene with the red shoes was a prime example of this not to mention not being allowed to shorten the hems of their skirts. For Joan getting a job in the typing pool of the clerks office of the railways is meant to be an escape but perhaps there is something more sinister lurking there. Throughout the book she feels guilty that the other women are out doing more physical work and she longs to join them but she has to remember they are all doing their bit and every little bit makes a difference. On the romance side for Joan I felt desperately sorry for her as she can't help who she falls in love with and I was worried if it continued that it would affect and hurt others around her but thankfully things took a more positive turn.

Every saga book needs a matriarch, that one woman who is like the mother figure to all the others, and in this case this person comes in the form of Dot. She is so kind, caring, considerate, generous and loving that you want nothing but the best for her. She balances home life with working as a parcel porter travelling from Manchester to various destinations on a daily basis. She is really stepping out of her comfort zone but the reader is so glad to see her doing this because really and truly her family don't give her enough praise, love and attention that she deserves. She keeps the whole show running and will drop everything to help out her selfish daughters-in-law. Not to mention her husband Ratty Reg who she should really just walk out on. I don't know how Dot listened to his horrible comments and constant put downs.

Working on the railways is a breath of fresh air for Dot and she loves getting to know the young women. She does well to cope with the male railway workers who see women as taking their jobs when really all they were trying to do was help keep the country up and running in the most desperate of times. Dot loves mucking in with anything that she is tasked to do as she feels she is part of something vast, important and magnificent. I loved how in tune she was with the other women's problems and that she was always one step of the others in how to offer problems or offer comfort and solace. She is a fantastic character and I see a little glimmer of what is to come for her and I hope by the very end of this series that that has come true.

The Railway Girls was a great start to the series and a thoroughly enjoyable read. It's opened my eyes to an aspect of the war I hadn’t previously read about and provided the reader with interesting characters and great story lines that I can see running on for many books without losing pace or becoming too boring. Despite the slow start for the first quarter, and at times the scenes did jump on the page from one person to another without any notice as page breaks were needed, I enjoyed my time spent with The Railway Girls and look forward to a return visit in September when the second book in the series Secrets of the Railway Girls is published in September.

By February 1940 with the men at war, women were needed to do 'men's' work. We meet Mabel, Joan and Dot all from very different social backgrounds who apply to work on the railways in Manchester. As we get to know the girls we also learn masses about the railways in Manchester 1940s. The Railway Girls has a strong sense of time and place, there are many details about the clothes they wore, the attitudes to women, the food they ate and wider effects of the war that fascinated me. I sat up way to late unable to put The Railway Girls down and eagerly await the next instalment.

Welcome to today's stop on the blog tour for The Railway Girls. It just so happens that today is release day as well! So....happy release day to Maisie Thomas!

While WWII is a very popular setting for historical fiction at the moment there is a lot of variety within that setting and a lot of room for stories to be explored. One of the aspects that I enjoy is reading about women who had to take on unaccustomed roles just because of the war. Some examples of books I have previously read which focus on this include The Ambulance Girls series by Deborah Burrows and Land Girls by Victoria Purman. When I was offered this book for review, the title grabbed me straight away for exactly this reason.

The story begins with our characters coming together after successfully passing the aptitude tests to become railway girls. They come from all different walks of life, and all have their own reasons why they want to do their part for the war effort. Mabel wants to be out of her well to do home, to be independent and to hopefully be able to forget the traumatic events which are still taking their toll on her. Joan always feels like she can't do much right in the eyes of her domineering grandmother, especially not compared to her beautiful older sister and Dot is a salt of the earth type who wants to do her best to do her part, especially seeing as her beloved sons are fighting for the country. And if that gets her out of the house away from her miserable husband, well so much the better.

The book follows the characters as they each come together at Victoria Station in Manchester to begin their new roles. They, along with several other characters, promise to be there for each other no matter what, and they'll need that support base as they navigate the difficult new world that they have come into. Many of the men that they will now be working with don't believe that the women will be able to do the job, especially the hard, physical jobs like being a porter or making sure that the ballast beneath the rails stays in place by digging it and replacing it where necessary. It isn't easy to become friends just like that though. Each woman is very different, and there are plenty of secrets between them. Can you truly be friends if you are not willing to open yourself up?

One of the aspects that I enjoyed in this book was the exploration of social change. War is a catalyst for change in so many ways. Suddenly women whose sole role has been in the home for so long are now working in men's world, sometimes including having to deal with overt sexism, and yet, in many cases their home duties have not reduced at all. The way that women dress is changing rapidly. Joan's grandmother, for example, was adamant that Joan and her sister could under no circumstances raise their dress hems lest they be labeled as floozies and yet, we also start to see the advent of trousers. And socially we had the well to do young ladies mixing with the working class girls and becoming friends - something that would never have happened in normal life. And that's before we even think about war time romances, which seem to have an added urgency to them, or the impact of grief and loss within a community.


I did want to specifically mention one incident in the story because it is something I have never read before. One of most well known events in WWII is the evacuation of the soldiers from Dunkirk. I have read or watched plenty of accounts of those events, whether it be from the perspective of a soldier racing to get to the beach in time to be evacuated, or someone manning one of the small boats involved in the rescue. What I have never seen portrayed is the flow on effect that happened through the rest of the country. This book is set in Manchester which is a long way from the south coast of England, and yet the rescued soldiers were disbursed across the country using the railway and in these pages we got to see some of the ways that would have happened even that far away from the action.

I found it interesting that the author chose to use some Northern England style dialogue for one of the characters. I think it was used to try to show the class divide between some of the characters. It did also remind me of when I lived in Northern England for a few years.

As you can see, I have quite a lot to say about this book, so it is probably lucky that it is the first in a series, with the next book due out in September. There are plenty of other railway girls that we met in this book that we will have the opportunity to get to know more about as the series continues. I am looking forward to reading more!

The story starts in 1940 when the country is already in the grip of war. All those industries which once relied on manpower, now find that it is the women folk who have to keep the country together, from working in heavy industrial factories making ammunition, to keeping the canals and railways functioning, women were very much in charge of keeping the home fires burning. However, this didn't always sit comfortably with those men who stayed at home, and there was often resentment and bullying towards the female workforce.

The eponymous railways girls are pulled from all walks of life, from the posh girls with plummy accents, to the rough and ready northern housewives, there is a real mix of personalities and I think that's what really works as right from the start the women who are brought together to work on the LMS railway network do so with a sense of excitement, trepidation and pure northern grit.

Some characters I liked more than others and some I wanted to give a good telling off to, but throughout it all I sensed that this disparate group were going to get on like a house on fire. I especially enjoyed when the women all met up after their shifts to share their problems over a cup of tea in the station tearoom. However, it's not all about gossiping over a teacup, there's plenty more going on, and I enjoyed how the author gave attention to each of the characters so that we got to know more about them, not just the roles they played on the railways ,but also their, very different, home circumstances.

The Railway Girls brings this wartime period alive in a beautifully written historical saga and the author uses her own local knowledge of the area to really bring everything alive in the imagination. Whether it be observing the hard graft of physical labour on the LMS network, or typing invoices in the clerks' office, or waltzing in the Manchester dance halls, there is never a moment when the personality of the railway girls, or the sense historical authenticity doesn't shine through.

It's been a real pleasure to spend time with the intrepid railways girls and I am already looking forward to finding out just what happens next to them all.

I would like thank Rachel Kennedy at Random House UK, Cornerstone for asking me to review this book and be apart of the blog tour. Rachel has introduced me to some really amazing books, The Prisoner's Wife by Maggie Brookes and The Ship Yards Girls series by Nancy Revell, so when she emailed me about reviewing The Railway Girls I knew it would be a great read.
However, it was not only a great read but an amazing read. With The Railway Girls I found myself completely taken in by the story, the settings and the work on the railway was so vivid, the characters were believable and the plot kept me reading into the small hours.
This story follows Mabel, Joan and Dot and their work on the railway and their personal lives as WW2 gets underway. I was excited to read a story based during the war with the girls working on the railway. It did not disappoint. I loved all three girls and their individual stories. Maisie really captured the essence of each of her characters between the pages and I felt fully involved in their world. This is the first of a series and I am very excited for the next.
The Railway Girls is an exceptional story with believable characters that take you with them on their journey. A must read for all historical fiction fans.

I first came across 'The Railway Girls' when I was browsing for new books on Amazon. The blurb for the book described the book as being perfect for fans of Ellie Dean and Nancy Revell. I adore both ladies and I just instinctively knew that I would love 'The Railway Girls'. I must be psychic because I absolutely adored reading 'The Railway Girls' but more about that in a bit.
It seems a bit unfair to single out any of the three main ladies for special mention as they are all fantastic characters. I have to say though that I have a special fondness for Dot. Dot is middle aged, married and she has children, who she absolutely adores. Her husband needs a good slap with a wet flip flop because his attitude absolutely stinks. It might seem a bit strong to some, but I believe that he is a domestic abuser- maybe not physically but definitely emotionally, mentally and financially. Nothing is ever good enough for him. I really felt for Dot and there was many a time that I felt like jumping inside the pages of the book to give her a hug and to have a darn good natter over a cup of tea. Of course Dot's sons are away and doing their duty to their country and naturally Dot is ever so worried about them. Dot decides that she wants to do war work to keep her occupied, to feel as though she is doing her bit for the war effort and she views this work as being a way of supporting her sons. Of course her hubby doesn't agree with her and thinks that she has no chance of being a 'Railway Girl'. Dot becomes a bit stubborn because in a way I think she think 'I'll show you, you beggar'. Dot is determined that she will make her work a success. Dot comes across as the Mother Hen sort of character- much like Peggy from the 'Cliffehaven' series, written by Ellie Dean, and Gloria from 'The Shipyard Girls' series, written by Nancy Revell. Dot is caring, supportive, determined, warm hearted and a true friend to those she cares about.
Reading 'The Railway Girls' soon became an addiction and it was an addiction that I was not going to break. I initially picked the book up only intending to read a couple of chapters to get started but I began enjoying the book so much that I ended up reading more like a dozen chapters than a couple. I managed to binge read the book over the course of a day. The book wasn't exactly glued to my hand but it might as well have been because it travelled everywhere with me. I couldn't bear to miss a single second of the story. I seemed to race through the story and I reached the end of the book far quicker than I wanted to. I had mixed feelings about getting to the end of 'The Railway Girls'. Don't get me wrong, I was pleased to finish the book because it meant that I knew how this instalment of the series finished but I was enjoying the characters, the author's writing style and the storylines so much that I just didn't want the book to end. I soon cheered up when I looked on Amazon to see that the second book in the series called 'Secrets Of The Railway Girls' is due for release on 17th September 2020. I can't flipping wait.
'The Railway Girls' is brilliantly written. I always know that the sign of a good book is when I find myself become far too involved in the story- so much so that I start to interact with the characters as if they were real or I want to jump inside the pages to give certain characters what for. 'The Railway Girls' is one such book. The author grabbed my attention from the synopsis and she drew me into the story from pretty early on. Maisie describes her characters so well that they almost seem to jump off the page and they seem just as real as you or I. Indeed, by the end of 'The Railway Girls' I felt that the girls had become friends of mine. I felt as though I was part of the story and that's thanks to Maisie's fantastically vivid and realistic storytelling.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'The Railway Girls' and I would definitely recommend this book to other readers. Maisie Thomas is just as good an author as Nancy Revell and Ellie Dean. I will most definitely be reading more of her work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

Railway Girls #1

4.5 stars rounded up to 5

Set in 1940 during the Blitz in Manchester. Dot, Mable and Joan are just some of the women who are working on the railway, doing men's work while the men are away fighting for their country. The women come from different backgrounds but they have each others backs. The women have a special bond

The author has research the era and the background of the women working working on the railway. It's also an informative read as we learn about Victoria Station and the steam trains. What wonderful characters the author has created. They all had their part to play in this beautifully written book. 8ts filled with love, loss, humour and the trust then women had in each other. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Random House UK, Cornerstone and the author Maisie Thomas for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"The Railway Girls" is a welcoming book, full of strong characters and an even stronger sense of community. It's well-written with a plot and characters that you can invest in emotionally (which is a must with this genre for me). There are some pretty tearful moments, but also times when I was smiling along with the characters. Looking forward to the second book in the series.

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advance copy to review. This review is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.