(3.5 stars, rounded up)

Trigger warnings: cancer, grief, murder, war

Eva Harlow and Precious Dubose are fashion models in London during World War II. Both women are hiding secrets, including Eva's hidden identity. Eva thinks small-town Ethel isn't glamorous enough to be a model, so she's completely reinvented herself.

Eva and Precious are the best of friends before the war. Eva is dating aristocrat Graham St. John and is sad when he becomes a pilot for the RAF, leaving her and Precious alone in London. In Graham's absence, Eva finds herself embroiled in intelligence missions. But whose side is she on?

In 2019, journalist Madison Warner travels to London to interview Precious Dubose for a story about fashion during the war. During her interviews and investigations, Precious asks Maddie to find Eva if she wants the entire story.

Recommended for fans of World War II fiction and historical women's fiction. Mystery readers will also enjoy the investigation into Eva's whereabouts.

This was a fabulous book about two friends who are models, Eva and Precious, during the Blitz. A writer, Maddie, has come to London to tell the story of Precious and to highlight all their clothing worn during that period.
The story goes back and forth between present and late 1930s. Maddie finds that her research has uncovered a lot more than just clothing during Precious’s life and full of secrets. Given that Precious is almost 100 and in failing health, Maddie is determined to uncover those secrets and find more about the two friends.

The Last Night in London was yet another great historical fiction by Karen White.

White, known for her fantastic writing style of both history and southern fiction, does not disappoint her latest book.

Dual timelines, the Blitz, fashion, and friendship - this book has everything you could possibly need.

I read a lot of historical fiction that takes place during WWII. I found this book to be very interesting as it told of a different part of the war. People got involved without meaning to and it affected their whole lives. I always enjoy books that are told in different time periods.
If you are interested in historical fiction, then you will probably enjoy this book.

Karen White is an incredibly gifted writer, who does an incredible job of setting the scene in her novels, this book is beautifully written about London just like she effortlessly writes about the South. And you can obviously see her life experience from the fashion industry influenced here. The plot in this novel is about a former model named Precious Dubose who is turning 100 and British Vogue magazine is going to tell her story, so journalist Maddie Warner comes to London from Atlanta to interview her, and the book is told back and forth with Precious's modern story and her friend Eva's story from the late 1930s early 40s....

It all tied together quite predictably in the end. It wasn't my favorite Karen White novel; I knew what the "big reveal" was a mile away....but...the writing itself was as beautiful as ever.

3.75 ⭐️

Another historical fiction read and I couldn’t be happier. I love a good story that has depth and hear my & The Last Night in London had all of that. The story had two time lines, war torn London, during the blitz and the present day. Thank you to Netgalley & bestselling author Karen White for my copy of this book for an honest review. Eva Harlow and her American friend Precious Dubois are friends during the WWII. They are fortunate to have jobs and places to live and friends with means. The social circles they traveled in afforded them a great life. But Eva had a past and a tie with a terrible traitor Alex. Her ties with Alex, puts her relationship with her true love, Graham St John. She has secrets from her past, secrets in her present and every time she goes to tell the truth, her tongue is tied. Graham works for the war department and his traveling leaves Eva a long a lot. Time with her thoughts, which isn’t a good thing.
Modern Day, American journalist Maddie Warner comes to London to work on a story about WWII and clothing. Maddie and her friends dig deep while researching this story. She is to meet Precious Dubois and use her story to help the Vogue story. Maddie starts her interview and can’t get enough of to. She gets her friend and her brother Colin. She keeps to herself, has no long term relationships and has secrets of her own. This story is beautifully written. The two story lines blend together perfectly. There are twists and turns and surprises I didn’t even think of. It is such a great story of love, loss, war, deception and forgiveness. I was hooked from the start with this story. I loved the characters and gave it 4 stars. I am so glad I was able to read it. I have shared this on my Instagram page and reviewed it on multiple sites. I have read many books by Karen White and it didn’t disappoint. Enjoy!!!

The Last Night In London
By Karen White

Poignant, Gripping and Immersive

The Last Night In London is an intriguing historical fiction mystery set in two timelines; London in 1939 and in 2019, as three women’s intricate web is weaved through long buried secrets, betrayal and heartbreak.

The writing is gripping and immersive, with taut plotting, and chapters that move fluidly between timelines that leave you wanting for more. This is such an entertaining read and an exceptional one as my first book from Karen White.

I highly recommend this book for historical mystery readers and those that enjoy a carefully plotted story with strong female characters about family, friendships, and forgiveness.

The book follows dual timeline as with most historical fiction books. Usually, I like one storyline over the other. That was not the case with this book. I was swept away with both stories. I could not turn the pages fast enough, especially towards the end!
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The first timeline takes us to London 1939. Eva and her friend/roommate, Precious, are both fashion models. Eva meets handsome Graham, an aristocrat and pilot, and falls in love. Everything is going perfectly, until the rumors of war begin. Alex, a friend, soon discovers some of her secrets and threatens Eva, if she doesn’t do what he says. Suddenly, Eva finds herself in the middle of protecting her life and those she knows.
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The present timeline is in London 2019. Maddie is an American journalist that is in London to work on a story about Precious. Maddie has had a rough life, and finds she has a lot in common with Precious. She is also drawn to Colin, Precious surrogate nephew. The more she looks into Precious story, the more questions she has. There’s a lot of mystery in the past, and she wants to get to the bottom of it for not only for her story, but for Precious as well.
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I liked that all the women in this book were strong independent women, but also flawed. Many of times I got frustrated with some of the choices Eva or Maddie made. I kept thinking I had the book figured out, but the prologue at the beginning never seemed to fit my narrative. I love when a book keeps you guessing! Overall, this book was incredible!

Eva and Precious are best friends, flat mates and fashion models in London, 1939. Their lives are full of glitz and glamor, but also deceit and heartbreak. War is imminent in England, and their friendship becomes tense just as the first bombs fall. In 2019, writer Madison is thrown into the lives of London’s models when she meets and interviews 99 year old Precious. Through their conversations, Madison learns that not everything is as it seems.
I love dual timeline fiction stories that follow strong female characters. I was very into Eva and Precious’s story in the 1940s and I enjoyed these chapters immensely. I found the model life to be interesting and not something I have read about in other WWII novels. I was less invested in Madison’s story until about halfway through, and then the mystery gripped me and I binge read the second half of this book.
This is a great historical fiction novel which also has a lot of mystery components and some aspects were very thrilling. I enjoyed the writing and the story, and I won’t soon forget about Eva and Precious, and their strength.

I have tried to explain this book to two separate people and both times it has taken me way longer than I intended. So, instead of trying to give my ow brief summary like I usually do, I recommend reading the summary provided above.

There is a lot going on in this book. Not only does it alternate timelines by chapter, but there are multiple storylines for multiple characters. Maddie, who is the present day main character, is mostly working on a story interviewing Precious, but she also has her own demons to deal with. Eva, who is the past day main character starts as a love story but then ends up becoming a story of betrayal.

For some reason, even though I really enjoyed the story itself, I found it moved a bit slow for me. At no point did I ever want to quite reading the book, but I also never found myself getting sucked in or not being able to put the book down. Maybe it was the writing? I’m not sure.

White’s books also often have a bit of a twist to them which can be fun. It’s been a while since I read one of her books so I can’t remember if I figured out the previous twists, but this one I had everything figured out by about 40%. That could have also been the reason why this book took me a little bit of time to get through, since I found myself just wanting to know whether or not I was right.

A lot of the time when books alternate timelines, I do find myself drawn to one era over the other and that was the case for this book as well. I found myself more invested in Eva’s story occurring in 1939 than I was in Maddie’s story occurring in 2019.

The historical fiction part of this story was intriguing. I wanted to know what happened and I enjoyed all of the characters. The present day part of this story didn’t do too much for me other than confirm my hunch as to what the twists of the story would be. It’s not one of my favorites by White, but it was still a solid read that I enjoyed.

In London in 1939, Eva Harlow and her best friend Precious Dubose are aspiring fashion models trying to make a better life for themselves. Eva unexpectedly falls in love, but also falls into a web of spies and secrets as the city is devastated by the war. In present day, journalist Maddie Warner travels to London to interview Precious on her life prior to WWII, and begins to uncover secrets of the past.

WOW-I loved this book SO much; this epic novel is sure to be one of my favorite reads this year! The book is set in London and is a dual timeline novel, alternating between 1939-1941, prior to and during the London Blitz, and 2019. I was drawn to the story of the past, but loved the way the present day story intertwined with the events from years ago. While reading, I felt fully immersed in the atmospheric London setting through White’s beautiful writing. The author seamlessly weaves together history, mystery, and a touch of romance, and I would highly recommend this outstanding, unforgettable historical fiction novel.

FAVORITE QUOTE: “Home is a place that lives in one’s heart, waiting with open arms to be rediscovered.” {pg. 218}

Thank you so much to NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to Uplit Reads and Berkley Books for also providing me with a finished copy of the novel!

Captivating, enigmatic, and absorbing!

The Last Night in London is a mysterious, dual-timeline tale set in London during WWII, as well as 2019, that takes you into the lives of two main characters; Maddie Warner, a young journalist who unexpectedly stumbles across an intriguing story involving long-buried secrets and complex relationships after travelling to the home of a distant relative to write an article about wartime fashion, and Precious Dubose, a 99-year-old former model with a story to tell that involves more than just designers and styles but one that is also brimming with heartbreak and deception.

The prose is expressive and rich. The characters are determined, resilient, and brave. And the plot is an alluring tale full of twists, turns, drama, duplicity, emotion, betrayal, family, friendship, life, loss, romance and mystique.

Overall, The Last Night in London is a bittersweet, evocative, compelling tale by White that illuminates the enduring passion and power of unconditional love and is certainly the perfect choice for historical fiction lovers and long-time fans of Karen White’s work.

Stories that weave a protagonist in World War II Europe with a modern-day heroine have become so popular that authors not known for this genre are jumping on the train. Southern fiction writer Karen White (I reviewed The Night The Lights Went Out in 2017 and Dreams of Falling in 2018. Links are to reviews.) is the latest to dip her toe into these popular waters, taking one of her Southern characters and sending her into an exploration of the past. While the tone of The Last Night in London is a tad uneven, the book is a winner, in some places as moving and heartfelt as Ian McEwan’s Atonement.

For the complete review, click on the link below.

Thank you NetGalley for this beautiful book. I really enjoyed reading this book. I didn’t want it to end. It’s a story of friendships with lots of secrets. I look forward to hand selling this book in my store.

I’ve been wanting to try one of Karen White’s novels for a while now so when I saw that her newest novel, The Last Night in London, is primarily set in London during WWII, I thought that would be a great place to start, considering my love of WWII historical fiction. And it turns out I was right, as I found myself enveloped in an intricately-crafted story of family and friendship, romance and drama, suffering and resilience, all wrapped up in a web of long-buried secrets and deception set against the deadly backdrop of the Blitz.

I was sucked into White’s story from the opening pages of the prologue where we meet an unnamed woman running through the streets of London with bombs falling all around her. She knocks on a door, hands over a suitcase which when opened reveals there is an infant within, and then she flees into the night. Who is this woman, where is she running off to, and if that is her baby, why is she leaving it with someone else? I was already on the edge of my seat wanting answers to all of these questions and more. White’s story is a slow burn though so fair warning that lots of threads will need to be pulled together before those answers are revealed. The reveal is definitely worth the wait though so just enjoy the journey.

The story features a dual timeline, one set in present day London while the other is set during WWII London around the time of the Blitz. The present day timeline follows American journalist Maddie Warner who is traveling to London to interview Precious Dubose, a former fashion model, who is about to turn 100 years old. Maddie, a distant relative of Precious’, is only there to interview Precious about WWII fashion and her time living in London around the war, but the more Maddie interacts with Precious, she gets the feeling Precious has something weighing her down and that she would like to share more with Maddie than just her thoughts on fashion. The WWII timeline, coupled with some investigative work Maddie does on her own, slowly begins to unravel the long-held secrets Precious has been keeping for over 50 years.

Both timelines made for pretty compelling reads, but I was definitely drawn in more by the WWII timeline because I wanted answers to my questions from the prologue. I also loved the various characters that were introduced in this timeline, including a young Precious and her roommate, Eva, who also has her fair share of secrets. It was fascinating watching the two of them try to live, work, and love in wartime London, sometimes getting caught up in questionable activities with even more questionable people. I was captivated by their adventures and was waiting to see how their stories culminated in that moving scene from the prologue.

I very much enjoyed my first foray into a Karen White novel and look forward to reading more from her.

review will be posted on 4/27/21

Maddie Warner is a freelance journalist and has taken on a very exciting job researching wartime fashion during WWII. She is set to interview Precious Dubose who just so happens to be a distant relative. Precious was a model during WWII and is practically an expert on fashion. While there in London, Maddie encounters Colin whom she met in college while studying abroad. Colin's family is very close with Precious's, so their paths keep crossing, which is awkward since they had an almost moment many years before at Oxford. Flashback to the year of 1939 and readers are swept into Precious's fast-paced world as a model living in a flat in London. Precious lives with fellow model, Eva, who has recreated herself in order to separate herself from her working class background. While working in London, Eva encounters Graham St. John who is pretty much the man of her dreams. He has money, power, and connections; it's everything Eva thinks she wants for herself. However, things aren't easy as Graham is an RAF pilot and the war is raging on. The Blitz bombards London with its chaos and terror; in turn, Eva and Precious's lives are impacted forever. Meanwhile in present day, Maddie is unraveling Precious's story and finds secrets lurking in the dark corners of her past. Karen White's The Last Night in London is a captivating historical tale that fans of WWII fiction will enjoy.

Maddie is an interesting character in The Last Night in London. Avid readers of White's novels may recognize some of these characters from her previous novels, which is a nice touch. While I wasn't familiar with Maddie from White's Falling Home, I liked her as she is a complex character. She has issues of her own that she is hiding from and while spending time in London, she not only figures out Precious's story, but also comes to terms with her own. Unfortunately, her relationship with Colin was a bit predictable at times, so I found myself drawn to the WWII part of the story.

Like many other WWII novels out there today, White tells The Last Night in London through a dual timeline. I did find Eva and Precious's time period to be the most compelling, because you can't really compete with wartime London and the Blitz. There was romance, war, spying, traitors, blackmail, and dark secrets. I was completely hooked with this timeline and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough.

Since I found the dual narratives to be a bit uneven, I have to say The Last Night in London wasn't my favorite of White's novels that I've read so far. However, I did appreciate how White connected the two women despite the many years that separated them. They did have a lot in common regarding grief and I like how White suggests to readers that women are strong and can overcome tragedy. So, if you love WWII fiction and are a fan of White definitely check out The Last Night in London this spring.

So, let me know if you are you a fan of Karen White's novels and if this novel is on your TBR list. Do you like WWII fiction as well? Let me know your thought sin the comments below.

The Last Night in London is a dual timeline historical fiction told during WWII and current day. This story has love, friendship, betrayal, suspense, and forgiveness. In 1939 best friends and models, Precious and Eva get pulled in to secrets as England goes to war and London is blitzed. Decades later Maddie interviews Precious to write a piece about her wartime experiences as a model. ⁣
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The ending was fantastic, which brought all the stories together with a happy ending. There were times I guessed parts of the story, which took a while to come to light. I will definitely try other books by Karen White. Yes, this was my first! ⁣
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Thank you to @uplitreads , @karenwhitewrite and @berkleypub for this #gifted copy! ⁣

I really enjoyed this dual timeline historical fiction tale about friendship, love, and betrayal set in London.

The first chapter grabs you with a scene fraught with tension-- a lady with a baby is struggling to survive a bombed out part of London during the Blitz. This was such an intriguing start to the story that it compelled me to read on. I couldn’t put it down!

One timeline is set in London during WW2, which is such a fascinating part of history. It is one of my favorite historical fiction settings to read about and this book delivered! The glitz and the glamour of fashion models going to parties and dancing, contrasted with the horrors and intrigues of war.

I loved the mystery element of this book. I knew there was a secret that Maddie was working to unravel, but it was just under the surface. I did figure out what had happened pretty early on, but I still enjoyed the slow reveal of the secret.

I also liked the romantic tension between Maddie and Colin and was excited to watch their story unfold.

I recommend this book to all historical fiction lovers!

The Last Night in London is a novel about reinvention, the ways that our past can haunt us, and how hope and love can heal us.

We follow two women, Eva and Maddie, during WWII and the present. Eva is a model who lives in London in 1939 who reinvents herself after she falls in love with the aristocratic Graham right before the Blitz begins. Maddie travels to London in 2019 to interview Precious about her life in pre-WWII London, where she begins to unravel the secrets in Precious’ past.

White does a great job of creating Eva’s world, full of fashion, friends, and secrets. I thought it was unique to have much of the book set in the lead up to England entering the war and really setting the stage for what came next. It was fun to read about Maddie, with all her Southern sayings, too.

The main characters are fully realized, and both have morally grey areas in their lives, especially Eva. Her transformations and what she’s learned from her mistakes are fascinating to read about.

I especially loved the ending, where Maddie’s own secrets are revealed and the parallels between the two women are strongly drawn. There was many an earmarked page in the last 30 pages.

I guessed one of the twists fairly early on, though that didn't bother me much. I found some of the parts to be slow, and I got a little confused with the back and forth between the photographs. I also wish we'd learned more about Maddie earlier. I didn't like the way she treated Colin and felt like he gave her too many chances. I understood more about why Maddie acted the way she did with the final reveal at the end, but I would've been more sympathetic to her if we knew more earlier. 3.75 stars

The Last Night in London is an enthralling story about the bonds of friendship, the wonder of falling in love and the often painful experience of holding on to hope in the midst of unexpected hardship.

It begins with an exhibit. Ninety-nine-year-old Precious Dubose had been a model for decades and kept many of the fashions she had worn. When the Design Museum in London, the city where she has lived for most of her life, decides to do a presentation of 1940s fashion, Precious donates her wardrobe from that time period. Her honorary granddaughter Arabella is helping to catalog and prepare Precious’ collection for the display and as a magazine editor, sees an opportunity for a fascinating story in the elegant garments of that bygone era and the woman who’d worn them. Precious modeled in London and Paris during WWII, working for the likes of Coco Channel and Madame Lushtak; she’d danced at underground clubs during the Blitz and dined with Nazi officers during the occupation of France. An article about Precious would capture not just the hardships and turmoil of those years but the stylish beauty and magnificence of the era’s haute couture. And Arabella knows just the woman to write that feature.

Maddie Warner – who was at Oxford with Arabella – is currently a journalist but had also trained as a photographer and is a fourth cousin to Precious. The family connection will hopefully soothe Precious’ anxiety/reluctance to speak of the past, and having just one person write and take pictures will mean fewer people traipsing through the nonagenarian’s home. Maddie is happy to come to London and interview this living legend, but is far less pleased when she learns she will be sharing an apartment not only with Precious but also Colin Eliot, Arabella’s cousin and the bane of Maddie’s university years. As she tells Arabella, “Colin is the kind of guy a girl could really fall for. In a permanent way.” And Maddie feels she has just cause to insist on being with people who are only into temporary relationships; men who live in the here and now and never talk about the future. Colin is also less than pleased at the realization that the woman who’d spent years rebuffing and rejecting his advances will be sharing his home but reluctantly agrees to play nice for Precious’ sake.

Maddie and Colin plan to keep their distance from each other but that quickly becomes impossible as they find themselves caught up in investigating the details of Precious’ past. It’s a history deeply entwined with Precious’ 1940s flat mate, another gorgeous blonde model named Eva Harlow, whose large friendship circle had incorporated such disparate characters as the wealthy Alexander Groff and makeup artist/Czechoslovakian refugee Anton Danek – and whose lover, Graham St. John, a Royal Airforce Pilot with aristocratic lineage, had been close to Precious as well. It doesn’t take long for Maddie and Colin to realize the tale they’ve stumbled upon is far more complex than they had first thought – and to understand that finding answers to their questions will affect both their lives forever.

This book is written in a dual timeline format with the far more interesting story being told in the WWII portions of the narrative. While Precious, Maddie and Colin are the focal points of the contemporary piece, it is Eva who stars in the historical segment. And that’s a good thing, since Eva is easily the most likable of all the female leads in the tale. Raised by a drunken father who wound up in prison, and a downtrodden mother who’d had all her dreams beaten out of her, Eva is a master of reinvention. She has a knack for mimicking behavior and accents, and as a model at an exclusive fashion house, is exposed to people from all walks of life, and quickly learns how to pass herself off as a genteel young woman of good breeding who has fallen on hard times. Her skill at deception comes with a heavy price tag, however. Not only can she not be sure of what Graham will do once he learns the truth, she finds herself being blackmailed into unscrupulous behavior when a dangerous man figures out her secret.

Eva makes some poor choices as a result of her difficult situation, but I loved how strong, resilient and clever she is. Ultimately, she does all the right things and is definitely a heroine worth rooting for.

Precious is a side note in her own past. A transplanted Southern Belle in the rarefied air of European high fashion, she often seems to be nothing more than a frightened little girl playing dress-up. As the story progressed, I became more and more intrigued as to how Precious would go from being a wallflower to the belle of the ball she became in her later years – and the formidable woman Maddie is interviewing.

Maddie was the hardest of the characters for me to connect with. That’s understandable since she’s described as working very hard to keep people at a distance. The text alludes to a deep, secret reason for that, but I had guessed what it was within the first couple of chapters, and I think most other readers will, too. While I could understand Maddie’s reserved nature given her circumstances, that intellectual acknowledgment of her difficulties didn’t translate into the kind of emotional bond I think the author intended me to have with her. I found myself frustrated by her unwillingness to fully live because she had fears based on past events, and the effect those would have on her future. As a result, I wasn’t delighted by her inevitable romance with Colin. The relationship seems to be based almost entirely on mutual attraction and his willingness to deal with her anxieties and difficulties.

Graham and Eva fall in love with all the romantic trappings one could wish for, but their love story is strained by Eva’s lies and then takes a dark turn at the end which is very bittersweet.

Much is made in the text of how Colin looks a great deal like Graham St. John, and he proves to be similar in temperament as well. Both men are kind, dependable, gracious, brave, loving – they are near perfect heroes who work well as a foil for our heroines.

Among the quibbles I had with the tale was that a great deal of emphasis is placed on an idealized image of “charming” Southern heritage. Both Precious and Maddie hail from the South and Maddie has a tendency to talk about this a great deal and use grating phrases like “I could eat the north end of a southbound polecat” or “Is a frog’s butt watertight?” to emphasize whatever point she is making. I found those little colloquialisms and the regional romanticizing to be grating rather than endearing.

The Last Night in London is an intriguing look at survival, forgiveness, and love amongst the war-time generation. While the weak romances and nostalgic representation of the American South keep it from DIK status, I would still recommend it to any fan of dual timeline novels and lovers of WWII fiction.