Give AJ Pearce BIG APPLAUSE for Yours Cheerfully. Who knew WWII in the UK could be light and funny, as well as SERIOUS BUSINESS. I worried that Dear Mrs Bird was a one-off, but I needn't have. What will AJ think of next? I can hardly wait for NUMBER THREE.

Having thoroughly enjoyed Dear Mrs. Bird I was delighted to discover a sequel. It did not disappoint. It is London 1941, the war and The Ladies Friend continue. Emmy has more responsibilities at the magazine, both writing for the advice column and working on a project to encourage readers to go to work for the war effort. The author is adept at evoking life in England during the war years. Everyone is keeping their upper lips stiff, but there are real difficulties especially for women. The characters are believable and endearing. This book provided me with a lovely respite.
NetGalley-ARC

I adored Dear Mrs. Bird and was so excited to get my hands on AJ Pearce’s follow-up novel! Yours Cheerfully is the second installment in The Emmy Lake Chronicles series and I am thrilled to say that I loved it just as must as the first book! Just like the first installment, Your Cheerfully is a historical novel set in London during WWII. Unlike most other novels set in this time period, AJ Pearce does a fantastic job with focusing on women! I found the storyline fresh and original and really appreciated the viewpoint! I really loved catching up with the endearing characters! I truly hope AJ Pearce keeps this series going and going! I highly recommend Yours Cheerfully to absolutely everyone!

When the British government enlisted the help of local newspapers and magazines to encourage women to work in manufacturing plants during WWII, Woman's Friend stepped up to the plate to help. Even though rookie Emma Lake's responsibilities were to help respond to women's letters to the Cheerfully Yours column, she soon gained the confidence by her editor to do more. A meeting with the Ministry of Education led Emma into a crusade to help women workers find nurseries for their children. I enjoyed the book, and appreciated the peek into the lives of people during the are that are normally overlooked.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. A follow up to AJ Pearce's Dear Mrs. Bird, the story of Emmy who is asked by the Ministry to write articles that would recruit more women to work in ammunition factories during WWII. She meets Anne, recently widowed, on the train who is moving to be closer to her mother so she can watch her kids while she works at the factory. She soon learns about the hardship these women face while not only holding down the fort at home but also working 12+hours commuting and working. Though they are fiercely patriotic and want to do their part, they find it is almost impossible to raise their children and work in the factory with no outside help. Emmy must find a way to write stories that do not offend the Ministry but also shed light on these women. This book started out slow and took a couple of chapters to grab me but it turned out really good. These women during WWII, dealing with husbands in battle, most lost, trying to raise their kids, keep them fed and clothed while trying to not run theirselves ragged. #yourscheerfully #ajpearce #Aug2021

I received this ARC from NetGalley for free in exchange for an honest review. Absolutely heartwarming and wonderfully written. Just a feel good book that makes me eagerly anticipate another by this author. This book follows her previous one "Dear Mrs. Bird" but this book can definitely stand alone. Emmy Lake is a young lady in war torn London during WWII. She desperately wants to become a journalist and while the first book introduces you to Emmy and sets her up in her role at a women's magazine; the second book starts off with Emmy still working for the women's magazine. Emmy is funny and charming and has wonderful friends and coworkers that flesh out the story. I could not imagine anyone not enjoying Bunty and Mr. Collins and the rest of the group. The author makes the book so real. I could hear the characters speaking in my head. The book really came to life for me.I smiled a lot while reading this. Unfortunately this is one of those books that leaves you wondering if you will ever find another book that you like as much.

Though set in London during wartime (World War II), this turns out to be a very uplifting novel. The character featured, a young woman named Emmeline Lake, has the most winning, positive attitude imaginable, a very inspiring person.

Emmeline faces several challenges. Starting at the bottom working for a women's magazine called Woman's Friend, she quickly earned herself important responsibility as an advice columnist. When that starts off well, she is asked by her editor to lead the magazine's charge to support the war effort. Emmeline reports on women working in a munitions factory, using them as examples of how women are needed to step outside their homes to work while their husbands are away at war. Working women were desperately needed at the time to support the war. As if Emmeline didn't already have her hands full, she also becomes engaged to a soldier at this same time.

One can be encouraged and energized by how Emmeline copes with the adversity she faces. How she is able to succeed as an advice columnist at such a young age. How she handles the mistreatment of women in the workplace. How she maintains and strengthens her relationship with her fiance while he is mainly away, serving his country.

There are times in this book where it borders on being "chick lit" or a romance novel. As a male reader, that was not appealing. But the strength of Emmeline's character is moving to anyone, male or female, young or old.

I have been eagerly anticipating AJ Pearce's next book for ages now, and Yours Cheerfully SO did not disappoint! I was delighted to delve back into Emmy's world once more and see how she thrived at Women's Friend following Ms. Bird's departure.

Emmy and the rest of Women's Friend's staff are thrilled to step up when women's magazines are requested by the government to support the war effort and "doing your bit," but how on Earth do you go about that?? Female war workers face very real challenges that no one anticipates until they are in that situation - does Emmy do her patriotic duty and encourage women to fling themselves into war efforts, or stand by her friends who are being mistreated?

This book was wonderful in every way and a great follow up to Dear Mrs. Bird!

This is another WWII fiction that helps to round out the story and illustrate another aspect of the hardships endured during this time. Women are working in factories while their husbands are fighting. They are trying to maintain the household and raise their children while often not having the money or support needed. Desperate to hold onto their jobs they were forced to bring their children to work which resulted in being fired. This is a story about fighting for women’s rights as the group formed a march to fight for the needed nurseries. Emmy, the main character, used her voice via the women’s magazine she worked for to bring these problems to the forefront. Of course a romance added to the story never hurts as Emmy and her friend Bunty try to overcome all obstacles to pull the wedding off. Well written as you cheer these women along! #YoursCheerfully #AJPearce #NetGalley

Another interesting WW2 story... of which I have read a lot of . This was good but sad and predictable.

When I started reading this book, I'd just been begging friends for recommendations of books that would leave a smile on my face. I got exactly that from this book. Picking up with the characters from the first in the series, England during World War II is at the forefront, and the characters are coping with the shortages and uncertainties of the times. Emmy, trying to make good on the mistakes she made in the first book, is just trying to make her corner of the world a little better. She's a character who truly wants to help. There's no shortage of people in need of help, but she keeps pushing the envelope until she's well out of her depth. You can't help but cheer her on hoping she finds a way to get things done.

Yours Cheerfully by A.J. Pearce is an excellent WWII era historical fiction novel that is truly a gem. It is the follow up to the equally stunning Dear Mrs. Bird, and is a great addition to the series.

I loved Dear Mrs. Bird, so I knew I had to read this follow up. It is just as great as the first. One does not have to read its predecessor to enjoy the current offering by any means, but I think it will be enjoyed even more if read in order.

I loved following up with the staff, friends, and crew of Women’s Friend magazine. Emmeline (Emmy) Lake is an adorable, plucky, and endearing main character that sometimes gets herself into bits of trouble. She stands up for what’s right, but sometimes does not go about it the right way aka usually saying too much but not in a disrespectful manner by any means. She is a great character, and I always enjoy following along with her as she navigates the roads of war, love, becoming a journalist and writer, becoming a young woman, and “doing her bit” for her country.

I loved how the same wit, wisdom, sass, sarcasm, one-liners, and dialogue was still present in this book. The author does a great job of balancing serious topics such as women’s rights and opportunities and the atrocities of war with humor and lighter experiences with friends and family.

I really enjoyed seeing her relationship with Charles take the next step, her friendships with her coworkers deepen, and the new friends she made in this story. I always like Bunty, buy Guy is great, and Anne is a nice addition.

I really liked the ending as it ends at a great spot, yet sets the narrative up for potentially a next book. A book that I would most certainly love to read.

5/5 stars

Thank you to Scribner for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 8/10/21.

Charming World War II novel, second in the series which began with Dear Mrs. Bird. However, this book can be read as a stand-alone. Emmy Lake is a working at Woman's Friend Magazine, and has been promoted to writing the advice column under the tutelage of the wise and kind Mrs. Mahoney. But rather than merely giving advice to the lovelorn, the very real issue of women factory workers who are trying to raise their children while earning a living wage becomes an important theme. When Emmy and Bunty meet a young mother working in a munitions factory, the hardships of these single mothers and widows gives Woman's Friend a different viewpoint which allows them to make a real difference.
London in 1941, following the bombings of the city is described in sympathetic yet matter of fact terms. Her love story with the dashing Charles, her work environment, her friends: all picture perfect. The calm way that people would walk into work and hang up their gas masks surprised me, and there were many such anecdotes throughout.
This book has the same sort of "feel good" effect as The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and was a quick and delightful read. Highly recommended for those who would like to know more about the war years from the Homefront. I received this book at no charge from Netgalley and the author, but all opinions expressed are my own.

A. J. Pearce has written a wonderful sequel to Dear Mrs. Bird with Emmaline back in action doing her bit to promote the involvement of women in the war effort. When the Woman's Friend magazine starts a new series of articles about women working in war manufacturing plants, Emmy and her best friend Bunty befriend a group of young mothers who are struggling to find childcare, but desperate to continue working, both to support loved ones on the front lines, and to provide for their families. Never willing to commiserate without offering some concrete assistance, Emmy jumps into action, but will her help do more harm than good? Yours Cheerfully, is a true delight with a dash of romance, a patriotic march, and some zany wedding mayhem to lighten the very real hardships and heartbreaks of a world at war.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
As much as I enjoyed Dear Mrs, Bird, I knew this book would be a winner too. I do feel like the first half was a little slow and the second half felt a bit rushed. So it maybe could have flowed a little better but overall it's very enjoyable. I'm looking forward to a 3rd book in the series.

I was looking forward to hear from Emmeline Lake after where we left her off in Dear Mrs. Bird! She was establishing herself as a such stronger-willed and caring woman when we left her with her tragedy, so I was hoping to see bit more light at the end of the tunnel for her. And Yours Cheerfully delivered it!

Emmy started to take one more serious assignments where she could work as not a joke but proposer journalist and was given the opportunity to work with people who she wanted to help the most: women in the times of war losing loved ones yet pushing through to help their country. Emmy had a chance to develop a very unique perspective by sheer luck and she took that lucky moment to turn it into her next adventure.

Like I said before, I wasn’t so happy with where we left off Emmy, but this time we got a better ending. War was still going on, but Emmy no longer needed to be alone. I would be looking forward read about development at Women’s Friend office and with our female troop!

First, the plot was fantastic, such a great story of women supporting each other in so many ways during a difficult time in history. War time. So many war books tend to focus on the battles and this book took a unique perspective from the womens' side. The characters were likeable and relatable. It was easy to get into this book and feel the struggle that the women were enduring. At times I wanted to cry and other times I wanted to scream. I highly recommend this book for upper high school students and adults. As an American reader there were many English words I was unfamiliar with, perhaps a glossary at the front of the book would be helpful.

Readers like me who thoroughly enjoyed DEAR MRS. BIRD will welcome this second book about Emmy Lake, her best friend Bunty, and the continued challenges they and those around them face in wartime Britain. The story touches on some serious issues, most notably the struggle of women who needed or wanted to work in support of the war effort but could not find the promised childcare resources.

But as in the first book, the overall mood of YOURS CHEERFULLY is, unsurprisingly, cheerful, witty, and cozy. A fast and enjoyable read, it rates 3.5 stars for me (probably 4 for huge fans of the original book). Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC.

I loved Dear Mrs. Bird, the first book in this series, so I was excited to pick up this sequel. Catching up with the sweet main character was a delight. She is kind, resourceful, and above all, a good friend--one of those characters the reader wished they knew in real life. The author really brought the World War II homefront to life, and I loved it! Read with a cup of hot tea and a biscuit for a heartwarming treat!

The sequel to Dear Mrs. Bird could not have been better. By turns humorous and poignant, Emmeline’s story as an aspiring young journalist during WWII continues, but now she works to bring British women into the war effort.

I said it before, but it bears repeating, Peace is an author to keep an eye on.