Member Review

The Good Time Girls at War by Fiona Ford takes us back to 1940 in London to the Hammersmith Palais de Danse. We get to meet Renee, Nancy, Violet, Maisie, and Temperance who work at the esteemed Palais. The Good Time Girls as they are called are a diverse group with each woman having a different job at the Palais. They all work together to entertain the people who visit the beautiful dance hall. There is drama, romance, action, a touch of suspense, and a wee mystery or two in The Good Time Girls at War. There is quite a bit going on in this historical novel. Each character has their own backstory and storyline. We also get to meet family members and other workers at the Palais. I like the diverse cast of characters in this story. We get to see how the attitudes of people and the war affect each one of them. I like all the strong female characters in the book. We get to see how the friendships at the Palais help each one of them and bind the group together as a family. Of course, there are a few bad eggs (what family does not have a black sheep or two). I thought the author captured the time period and the location. It was interesting learning about the Palais. I would have loved to have seen in its heyday. I did find the pacing to be a little slow because there were so many characters and storylines. The Good Time Girls at War is a good book, but a little fine tuning would have made it a great tale. I liked seeing the employees at the Palais come together as friends and a makeshift family. It was great the way they were there for each other. The ladies had each other’s backs. I thought The Good Time Girls at War was an emotional story with grief, fear, joy, kindness, anger, frustration, and love. The Good Times Girls at War is a charming historical novel with shocking secrets, dazzling dancers, bombs bursting, a bungling buffoon, a churlish MC, a meddlesome mother-in-law, and forever friends.