4.5/5 This was a delightful and heartwarming book set in WWII England. A story about food, women making sacrifices, love, and friendship. I loved seeing the recipes in the book which gives the reader an idea of what ingredients were used at the time when rationing was in place and ingredients were limited. An endearing and fascinating read. This is the second book by Jennifer Ryan that I have read and enjoyed very much. Highly recommend for historical fiction fans.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy.

Because I adore historical fiction and creating recipes in the kitchen, I had high expectations for this novel.

During World War II, a British radio program sponsors a cooking competition to encourage women to prepare creative meals with their wartime rations. Four women, with intertwining lives, square off against each other in the contest. Each woman, eager to change or improve her life, has her eyes set on the first-place prize—co-host on The Kitchen Front program.

Unlikely friendships develop and the women support each other through hardships. I enjoyed the book and the idea behind it, but the story moved a bit slow for me. I also thought the characters' conflicts and lives wrapped up a little too neatly at the end.

I appreciate the advanced copy and the opportunity to read and review this book. Thank you!

Thank you to NetGalley, Ballantine Books, & Random House for the opportunity to read and review this book before it's publication date! This in no way affected my review, opinions are my own.

DNF @ 15%

THIS ONE HURTS, Y'ALL. I loved the Chilbury Ladies' Choir, and The Spies of Shilling Lane was SO GOOD. I'm not 100% sure what it was, because the writing was exactly what I've come to expect from Jennifer Ryan (namely, it was great). For a novel that seems like it's going to be very character driven, it was difficult for me to get into any of their stories (and I found a couple of them unlikable to the point of eye-rolling UGH). It might have been my mindset while trying to read it, and I'd like to give it a go another time. But for now I've got to call it for what it is - I've been trying to read this book for over 2 weeks and we've got to hit pause.

This was such a fun book! I would recommend this one to any historical fiction fan. It's a good mix of a cooking challenge reality TV show and Downton Abbey with a little bit of the book "The Chicken Sisters" mixed in. This is a unique take on a WWII era that isn't like anything else I have read. The book follows four women who are competing to be the star of a radio show where they give women creative ideas to cook tasty meals while dealing with wartime rations. We also get a glimpse into each of these women's lives where appearances aren't everything. I really enjoyed this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballentine Books for the advanced reader's copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. "The Kitchen Front" is available now.

#TheKitchenFront #NetGalley

Like Ryan's other books, this one is a WWII story, but told more lightly that most, which I find very refreshing. The BBC is conducting a cooking contest using war rations in recipes, and the winner of the contest gets to host the cooking show. The four women that enter are as different as can be, and also low-key enemies at the start of the book. But as the book, and the contest, unfolds, they find they need each other more than they first realized. Its a lovely story about friendship and sisterhood and the ways food (and war) can bring women together... and that they are stronger together.

Very enjoyable story - enjoyed the food and reading the recipes at the end of each chapter. The book features the stories of four women - a women war widow named Audrey who is struggling to keep her family afloat, her sister, Lady Gwendoline that married the local lord, Zelda Dupont - a career chef that fell for a cad and is now pregnant, and Nell a cook's assistant to the best cook in the county. All the storylines tie up nicely together - not the deepest book in the historical fiction genre but very entertaining.

I was quickly transported to 1940s England by the details and pace of this novel.

The Kitchen Front is based on a BBC cooking show during WWII. The show was created to boost morale during the difficult war years and instruct people how best to use their limited food supplies. In the book, four women compete in a cooking competition to become the first ever female co-host of the radio show. The first contestant is Lady Gwendoline a social climbing aristocrat with an increasingly controlling and abusive husband. The next contestant is her estranged sister, Audrey, a widow trying to live on a war pension and hold on to her home while raising her children. Zelda is a professional chef trying to make it in a male dominated field. The final contestant, Nell, is a kitchen maid using her natural aptitude and training to rise above her station.

Will all four women divide the town by competing against each other or will they work together to form a friendship? The recipes included in the book reinforce the authentic historic details throughout the novel. They are a unique detail that, along with the characters, would make this story a great candidate for book groups.

Although not a book I would purchase in my professional role, it is one that I will be recommending in my personal life! Thank you so much for allowing me to have access to the digital arc!
I am a sucker for historical fiction books that portray women supporting each other through trying times and add in a baking competition, count me in!

This was a sweet tale of four British women vying for a job as a radio host during WW2, how their lives intersect, and how wartime rationing affected the lives of women. I liked it and found the history fascinating.

The Kitchen Front follows four women, Audrey, Gwendoline, Nell and Zelda, in WWII England. The women are loosely connected in the beginning and through a cooking competition for a coveted spot on the BBC show "The Kitchen Front" become close friends and supporters. The characters are well drawn and you can't help but be interested to see where their stories go. Recipes are a bonus and it is interesting to read about the substitutions that rationing brought about. An enjoyable book that I see many patrons reading and discussing in book club.

Set in WWII, The Kitchen Front paints a picture of some of the hardships of war, and especially of preparing food while on short rations. Four women, antagonistic competitors all in a cooking contest, are forced to work and even live together through a strange set of circumstances.

Gwendolin is the high and mighty lord's wife. Her sister, Audrey a war widow barely scraping out a living with her three sons, Nell is Gwendoline's maid and Zelda the unmarried but expectant chef from London. Seemingly disparate characters, they must, of necessity, overcome their distaste for one another to carve out a compatible existence.

This book was a study in the development of friendship and delightful read, but I don't think I will try out any of the recipes with which it introduces each chapter.

This novel tells the story of four women with diverse backgrounds and experiences who come together to compete in a cooking contest to become the voice of the British Ministry of Food broadcasting during World War II.

This is a story of female friendship triumphing against the odds, and can sometimes feel a bit trite. (The two sisters, at odds for most of their lives, come back together in a dramatic and emotional reconciliation that made me roll my eyes.) But if you enjoy heartwarming stories of women coping on the home front of World War II, this book will be for you!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

What a treat this story is from start to finish. London is reeling on every front. Food supplies are short to nonexistent. Buildings arebombed on daily basis. Fear is everywhere. In an effort to boost morale,the BBC through its program The Kitchen Front starts a contest to all levels of society to compete for a spot as its first female co-host . The competition focuses on a widow in desperate financial straits, an in service maid who eyes the prize as freedom from a life of service. A Lady of the manor escaping a marriage gone sour and menacing of late. A chef tired of the male dominated hierarchy. All valid stories in need of change, but who will fate favor. Rather than spoil give yourself the joy of discovery during a time when hope was just a word.

This is perfect for my library patrons who prefer a gentler read with a happier ending. I enjoyed learning something new about the female experience in WWII and thought the characters represented an interesting cross section of experiences.

I loved The Kitchen Front! I loved the characters and loved their development throughout the novel. I also enjoyed how they all came together and how all the stories intertwined. I thought this was a very unique way to view the lives of those on the home front during WWII. Highly recommend for fans of historical fiction! I can't wait to see what Ryan writes next!

Enjoyed this comforting story about women's ties, community and a baking contest in an English village during WWII. Can you cook your way to a better life? The four women whose stories are told give it a try. I've wondered what it would be like to have food rationed so strictly that my favorite buttery chocolate chip cookies were just a dream. Recipes (most that I'm not tempted to try!) are included after each chapter. The characters, conflicts and story weave together to make a satisfying read for anyone who loves historical fiction featuring strong women. Highly recommended.

4.25. A wonderful and captivating historical fiction read about a contest to encourage creativity in cooking delectable dishes using the limited supply of food and rations during WWII England. I really liked the Chilbury Ladies Choir by this author, so was looking forward to this one. It did not disappoint. It also is in the same genre as The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, another well done novel. The incredible mouthwatering dishes prepared by the women in the contest as well as how creative the four women were in collecting the necessary ingredients and putting them into very interesting recipes added great depth to the story. As a perk, the real recipes become part of the story. The four women were contestants on a BBC radio show, with the winner to be the first woman co-host of the program, which was then hosted of course by a man. Ryan did a wonderful job in creating diverse characters who come together in the end for the competition:. estranged sisters, one who lost her husband in the war and the other married to a wealthy businessman and landowner, a young stuttering kitchen maid who was raised in an orphanage and learned to cook under the tutelage of the head cook of the manor house, and a pregnant woman chef from London. Their stories are all unique and not so obvious on the surface. Great character development, and although a predictable ending, nonetheless a great read. I received an advance copy of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased and candid review.

After 'The Kitchen Front' BBC radio program (established to help housewives cook nutritious and appetizing meals, given wartime food rationing) announces a cooking contest in 1942, four very different women are desperate to win, each with a compelling reason.

Very slowly, the four competitors come together as friends, not rivals. They help each other to a wonderfully satisfying conclusion, bringing new beginnings out of the ashes of war. The Kitchen Front is a real feel-good read, just what we need in dark times.

This book is about 4 women in a cooking contest during wartime.

It follows Gwendoline, Audrey, Nell, and Zelda through growth, hard times, loss, and up until friendship has been reached between the 4 of them.

The book started slowly for me however, I still enjoyed it. About midway through I was a reading maniac and couldn't put down the book! Great writing and great story!! I liked each woman and I appreciated how we as readers were able to gain insight into each woman independently. This allowed me to understand each woman better and it allowed me to see what each woman could bring to the others and I am so happy that they forged a great bond!!

A wonderful look at the lives of women on the homefront during WWII, and their struggles to survive, to feed their families, and to find connection even during the worst of time. Fascinating and heartwarming.