This was a great book about life after WW2 in Europe. The author does an amazing job at bringing to life how people lived and worked differently. I have enjoyed the books I’ve read from her.

I started this one not realizing that it was a sequel to another book. I stopped listening in order to go back and read the first one but think that I could have done this one on its own. I was left waiting for the climx and when it got to the end, it was quite abrupt.

This book was really good! I enjoyed the story and the characters! The narrator was also very good, I feel that their voice matched the story!
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and to the author for the ARC!

The Married Girls is a post WWII story and is the second book in Diney Costello’s The Girl With No Name series. While I do recommend you start with book one, the author does include details that occurred in the first book allowing the reader to understand what’s going on and who certain characters are. If you enjoyed The Girl With No Name, I would recommend this book to follow up on the characters lives, but I would t recommend this as a stand alone.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to listen to the audiobook in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

In a small British village after WWII, Charlotte is happily married. The villagers have all but forgotten she was a German refugee who came as a child during the war. Harry Black, a fellow refugee, has never forgotten her though and means to find her, even though he knows she has a husband and family. Meanwhile, Felix, the local squire’s son has returned from the war a hero, and with a new wife. No one knows much of anything about Daphne, including Felix. Both women have secrets they want to keep in the small village where everyone knows everyone. When Harry finds Charlotte, her world blows up, tragically. And when Felix learns more about Daphne, so does his. It was an interesting read, with some totally unexpected plot twists.

The Married Girls has many interesting characters that lend supporting color and detail to the four main characters, Charlotte and Billy a young happily married couple with two small children and Felix and Daphne another young married couple with a troubled marriage. Daphne is the villain, deceitful and sneaky with her own agenda. As in the previous book, Harry, a friend from Charlotte’s past makes an appearance, and just like the previous book, I can’t understand what added value he brings. I can only imagine that with such an abrupt ending to The Married Girls the author has plans for a book 3 and Harry will be a significant player in that story.

I enjoyed the setting, the characters and the storyline. The reading in the audio version was captivating. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

General comment…. I did not realize this book was a sequel until other reviews mentioned it as being book 2. So with that being said, in my opinion, this book easily stands alone. What is more interesting is that after reading those reviewer comments I realized I READ the first one, Girl With No Name and never connected the two.🤷‍♀️

I did enjoy this one much more than the first, the only difference being I listened to the audio version of The Married Girls.

I enjoyed the setting, the characters and the storyline. The reading if the audio version was captivating. I thoroughly enjoyed it, I’ll be keeping an eye out for book 3.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher Head of Zeus for an opportunity to listen and experience this wonderful book.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the audio version. I was really excited about receiving this book. I didn't know it was part of a series. I enjoyed the story and it being almost 14 hours of audio and I only have 2 hours left and the book just all of a sudden turned woke. Sigh. The language is also bad in my opinion. There is some sexual description that I just felt like it didn't fit. It just seem to go down hill and I didn't like any of the characters. The only thing I did like was the narrator. She did a good job with all the characters and their voices. Very disappointed in this book.

Thank you Net Galley for an audio copy of The Married Girls. This historical fiction novel centers around Felix, Charlotte and Daphne. OMG did I ever hate Daphne's character. Very seldom do I ever have that emotion! Bit seriously., this is a good novel , and I really enjoyed it. The narrator did a fantastic job!

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this audiobook for a honest review.

Overall, I thought that this was a good story and character development was good too. I didn't know that this was a sequel. It seemed like this could be a standalone. The only thing I could really complain about was the ending. To me, the ending seemed too rushed.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* I didn't know this was part of a series but i want to rad the first book now for sure! This was long and kinda slow/too romance based for me but not so much it ruined the story. Would like to reread this after i read the first one.

This is a post World War 2 book about various couples and families in a small village. There was a lot of backstory that I don’t know as this is the second book in a series. The stories were told very well with one character it's fun to hate. Don't
want to ruin the ending but very satisfied. Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to review this book.

Charlotte Shepherd has happily settled into her role as wife and mother in the small town of Wynsdown after coming to England on the Kindertransport during the war. Felix, the son of the town’s squire, has returned to Wyndown with a fiancée in tow, Daphne, who has secrets of her own. For both women, the past won’t stay in the past, and it could affect their current lives.

I did not realize that this was a sequel until I finished the book. <i>The Married Girls</i> can be read as a standalone; they include details from the last book needed to understand this one. However, it took me a while to care about the characters in this book, and I think if I had started with <i>The Girl with No Name</i>, I would have been invested in the story sooner. The book ended on – not quite a cliffhanger – the expectation/anticipation of something happening in the future that makes me believe there will be a third book in the series. I think I liked a lot of the side characters in this book more than the main characters. Charlotte seemed to be a bit of a Mary Sue, and Daphne had no redeeming qualities. If you liked the first book of the series, then I would recommend this book to continue following the characters’ lives; otherwise, I would give it a pass.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.

This is a story of love and loss, betrayal and forgiveness, heartbreak and happy ending. It takes place a few years after the end of WW2, in England, where life is still difficult. Main character is Charlotte, nee Lisa, who came to England on a Kindertransport from Germany. She's now married to Billy, who helps with his parents' farm, and they have 2 children. Then there's Felix, son of one of the leading families in their little town, who works for the Air Force and has recently become engaged and then married to Daphne, who is of a different social status and is hiding some big secrets. Then suddenly, there's Harry Black, who'd come to England also on a Kindertransport with Charlotte. He'd fallen in with a gangster and moved to Australia to avoid prison when his boss escaped. He's now back in town to retrieve his boss's wife and daughter and get them to Australia before the boss dies.

I wasn't aware until now that this was part of a series. In any case, I didn't find Harry and Charlotte's relationship too confusing. Not sure if I'll go and try to find the first book.

But thanks, NetGalley, for this audiobook.

Contrary to some reviews I've read I quite enjoyed Harry's story and his contribution to this book.

The storyline is quite intriguing. Historical, compelling, at times a touch scandalous, and tense.
I listened mainly when I was in the car and found myself concentrating on the story more than traffic. Fortunately I had someone else to drive a good deal of the time.

I had not read the previous book so will go back and do so.
The narration is spot on and I felt like I was right there on the sidelines.
A few tears were shed.

An excellent read or listen to anyone who appreciates this era or complex personal relationships.

I was not aware before plunging into this audiobook that it was the sequel to a previously written book. The Married Girls by was the second book that I have read by Diney Costeloe. Previously, I read The Throwaway Children. Since I enjoyed listening to that audiobook I was excited to listen to The Married Girls. It was performed wonderfully by Justine Eyre. Although I had not read The Girl With No Name I don’t believe that hampered my enjoyment in reading The Married Girls. I do plan, however, to go back and read the first book in this series at some point.

The Married Girls by Diney Costeloe took place in Wynsdown, a quaint village in Somerset in 1949. All the inhabitants of Wynsdown knew one another and maintained a very close community lifestyle where neighbors helped neighbors in times of despair and happiness. Charlotte Shepard, the young German girl who came to England on the Kindertransport all those years ago, had found her place in this village as Billy’s wife and a mother to their son and unborn child. Charlotte and Billy lived in the home that Charlotte’s foster mother left to her upon her death. Billy worked at his parent’s nearby farm. Together they lived a meaningful and happy life. Charlotte and Billy soon welcomed their daughter into their loving family. They were happy and very much in love.

Felix, the squire’s son, had served in World War II as a fighter pilot and continued to serve his country in this capacity. During his time as a fighter pilot, Felix met Daphne on several occasions. Daphne was doing her part for the war as an ambulance driver first and then as a mechanic. Felix was quite taken by Daphne’s looks and soon fell heads over heels in love with her. They were from very different backgrounds and their social standings and early lives were the complete opposite of each other. Felix couldn’t have cared less about all those things. He brought Daphne, his fiancé now, home to meet his family. Daphne was harboring secrets from Felix and his family. She was devious, selfish, uncaring and even spiteful. I did not care for her character. How long would it be before Felix saw through her and discovered her secrets? Would Felix ever discover happiness for himself?

There were several subplots in The Married Girls that could have just been eliminated. They really served no purpose to the overall enjoyment of this book. I felt that Diney Costeloe added them just to tie up loose ends from the first book, The Girl With No Name, which I hope to read. The ending was quite abrupt but I fear that is Diney Costeloe’s signature for her book endings. I felt the same way about the ending of The Throwaway Children. I wonder if there will be a third book in this series? I would read it if there was. Overall, I enjoyed The Married Girls and would recommend it.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media for allowing me to listen to this audiobook through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

First lets start off the novel is the second in a series. I wasn’t aware of this when I started the audiobook. The book can stand alone. However, it would be a richer story if one had read the first book. It took a bit longer to get into the characters. The story has a brief story line of Charlotte and Harry, which I found unnecessary. It takes place mostly in a small town in England after WW11. It is filled with heartbreak, lies and great love. I felt the story ended abruptly. Justine Eyre did an excellent job with the narration.

Thank you #NetGalley, #DreamscapeMedia, #DineyCosteloe and #JustineEyre for the advance copy of the audiobook for my honest review.

Started listening but couldn’t get into it. It was hard to tell if scenes were changing and I’m going to put it aside for now. Otherwise written and sounds good

Reviewing
The Married Girls
By Danie Costelos

Daniel Costelos is back with “The Married Girls” a sequins to her wartime novel “A Girl With No Name.” Reading book one is not absolutely necessary however it may take readers longer to get into this novel without the backstory.

While readers won’t find the same smooth flow and character driven plot there’s still much to enjoy in this post war sequel. Following multiple characters, Costelos shows readers postwar life from many walks of life.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 3.5 stars for this enjoyable but slightly clunky sequel.

Thank you Dreamscape Media for this audiobook!! This is a continuation from the first book The Girl Without Name but can definitely go for a standalone. This has new characters introduced too. Though I enjoyed the story plot, I felt like I lost the main chain of the original story of Charlotte and Lisa. The romance was sweet and maybe too elaborate. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed smut too but its just the way it was placed for the better lack of word, and was off for me. However, I love the wrap up of small town England, its fascinating and interesting specially after the WWII time. The narration was good and I guess I can say that its mostly a love or hate the whole time!

Rather a different story about Britain after World War II
Justine Eyre the narrator did a wonderful job in telling the story and kept me interested till the end
A lot is going on in the story so not always the easiest way to keep track of it all.
First we have Charlotte who arrived in England on a kinder transport train.
Now happily married with two children and gets along good with her husband’s parents but feels uncomfortable with his sister.
Husband shows some jalousie when Harry is back on the scene. Harry has some shared experiences with Charlotte as the kinder transport train and orphanage.
These shared experiences created a special bond between the two of them even with Charlotte finding herself a wife and mother and Harry is making his future in the criminal world.
We also get a glimpse of the class culture at that time. Felix who by the sudden dead of his father has to give up his military calling to keep the estate from going under and Daphne his wife who would do anything not to go back to been poor. More and more is she getting entangled in lies. You might think her as selfish and not a very nice person but growing up poor and becoming an unwed mother at a young age. The stigma associated with both. Not that I excuse her behaver but I do understand what brings her to that point.
I think people that grew up in the forties and fifties in Europe will appreciate this story more than the younger generations because life and mentality has changed so drastically in the last sixty years.