Cover Image: Marriage and Mayhem for the Tobacco Girls

Marriage and Mayhem for the Tobacco Girls

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Member Reviews

Thank you #netgalley , #boldwoodbooks and #rachelsrandomresources for allowing me to read this ARC.

Incredibly insightful and emotional, I really enjoyed this book, even if some situations were very very real and difficult. It reminded me of how blessed I am.
We follow Maisie, Carole, Phyllis and Bridget on their individual journeys of friendship, distance, single parenthood with hard hitting decisions, Lizzie did a great job in bringing situations to life, describing the time and situations and how restricted people were. How life was in the stripping factory, a reminder of actual letter writing and patience.

I definitely recommend this book to those who are interested in reading out life in the 1940s.

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Such a bitter sweet ending to this book. My heart broke a little bit. It was lovely to once again to read about the lives of Maisie, Bridget and Phyllis, how they're helping with the war effort and being there for one another as best they can. Maisie in particular is such a kind hearted person and her relationship work Carol is heartwarming. The Tobacco Girls is such a good series, I'll be sad to see it finish.

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I received this ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in Exchange for an honest review.

I’ve read all the previous books in the Tobacco Girls Series so I was absolutely delighted to be able to read & review the next in the series as I just love this gripping Saga Series so much!.

The series follows 3 friends as they face numerous trials and tribulations during World War 2, you really feel as if you’re living during the war with them , the author truly evokes that experience for you.

You can read each book in this series as a stand-alone because the author explains everything that has happened previously.

I was so happy to return to the lives of Maisie, Phyllis, Bridget and now also Carole who Maisie has taken under her wing after a rocky start.

This is a truly heart filled unforgettable read, I just hope it’s not the last instalment.

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I love this series and was so pleased when I was approved for this next one in this series. It continues on from the last one so, you do have to read the others to know what’s going on. This was a sweet story and it made me feel warm and fuzzy inside at times. I would love for this series to continue to see what happens once the war is over and maybe go onto the 1950’sbut we shall have to see. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

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The key part of this instalment is the backdrop to D-Day and the Normandy landings.  The impact of this historic day sends shockwaves through the lives and loves of the Tobacco Girls. 

Phyllis finds herself reposted, along with her sweetheart, Mick.  Hastily made plans to marry are impacted by Malta’s own scars of war, and it seems that she will have to wait for her happy ever after.  In the earlier books, I wasn’t as keen on Phyllis and her poor choices, but I am now hoping that she finds the joy she’s been searching for.

Newlywed Bridget is redeployed to a field hospital to care for the wounded as they are brought back to shore.  She finds herself working exhausting shifts to ensure that her patients receive the best of care. It is a real eye-opener to learn of the restrictions that used to be placed on nurses as they dedicated their time to caring for the injured.  Forced to conceal her recent marriage, she is evermore determined that she has chosen the right path.

The most shocking part is learning about the illegal adoption trade during the war years.  The effects of these paperless transactions will have made it impossible for children to reunite with their birth parents in later years.  As D-Day strikes, new mother, Carole is caught in the middle of the scramble to deploy troops, news that brings eventual relief to Maisie.

The level of research that Lizzie Lane includes in her books is impressive and her ability to sway the reader’s perception of a character is remarkable.  I am definitely softening to Phyllis and even Eddie may not be completely rotten.

I really hope that the next book brings happiness to Maisie.

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I've been told that this book is the last in the series and I must say I am heartbroken as it is one that I have truly loved and followed from the beginning. Throughout the series we have watched the three women - Bridget, Phyllis and Maisie - who began work at the Wills tobacco factory in Bristol before the war, grow from strength to strength. We have seen a few new additions come and go over the years.

In MARRIAGE AND MAYHEM FOR THE TOBACCO GIRLS, it's May 1944 and the Normandy invasion, known as D-Day, is imminent setting the wheels in motion for the liberation of Europe and the beginning of the end of the war...at long last. But it isn't over yet and many lives will still be lost before victory can be claimed. The effects are felt the world over, and none more so than with the original tobacco girls despite now being scattered over hundreds of miles.

Bridget has moved to London to train as a nurse whilst having secretly married her longtime love, American tobacco plantation heir Lyndon O'Neill. As nursing and marriage are seen as vocations, a woman therefore cannot do both. However, Bridget hopes to keep her marriage secret and her career as a nurse for as long as she can. She maintains contact with her two friends by letter as often as she can sharing a piece of their lives with one another in an otherwise chaotic world. She and Lyndon have a flat in London in which they live when they both have leave but before long, Bridget receives news that her nursing unit is being relocated and all leave has been cancelled. Something big is in the air.

In Malta, Phyllis has found love with Australian reconnaissance photographer, Mick Fairbrother. After believing him to be dead, she was overjoyed to discover he was in fact very much alive and the two go ahead and plan to be married as soon as they can, with a passage back to Britain and their reallocations arranged. After her first rather disastrous marriage, Phyllis knows beyond a doubt that Mick is "the one" and cannot wait to become Mrs Fairbrother and live happily ever after...if they both survive the rest of the war that is. And then on the day of their wedding in sunny Malta, a raid hits sending everything into disarray. Will they get their happily ever after?

While back in Bristol is Maisie. Still working at the tobacco factory no longer a young frightened girl, Maisie has taken young Carole under her wing. At first, the young girl rubbed Maisie up the wrong way but it wasn't long before Maisie saw something of herself in Carole and when Eddie Bridgeman began hanging around her, and knowing Eddie's penchant for young girls, Maisie took it upon herself to look out for her. Which is just as well since she came acropper with the sleazy colleague who claimed his wife was ill and when Carole went around to deliver some flowers for her, she got more than she bargained for. Especially when it resulted in a pregnancy and thus the birth of a baby daughter she named Paula. In the wake of her experience and societal attitude, Carole understandably is not coping with motherhood very well...which is therefore leading her to make a somewhat drastic decision. And when Maisie finds out, she is livid.

But life in Bristol, and the world over, goes on despite the war. Maisie has continued to write to Sid, the young man she once stepped out with many years ago before he went off to war and is now locked up in a Japanese POW camp. Lyndon is now flying with the RAF leaving Bridget fretting he'll fly over enemy territory. And Mick does what Mick does which ultimately left Phyllis bereft and worrying for his safety. Is it too late for any of them to have their happily ever afters?

Meanwhile, something else awaits one of the three women back in Bristol which has the potential to change their life...but not before a terrible sadness.

I thoroughly enjoyed MARRIAGE AND MAYHEM FOR THE TOBACCO GIRLS and would hate for this to be the last in the series though things were tied up satisfactorily enough for it to be the end. Even so, I will miss the girls I have come to know and love over the last couple of years since this wonderful series began. While it is the fifth book of the series, it can be read as a standalone, as each book can suffice as such with enough background information given to keep you up to date and not lost in the slightest. However, I do recommend reading them from the start as you too can watch each of the women grow throughout their trials and turmoils they each face.

I cannot speak highly enough of this series and this book particularly is one of the best of the five books. Thoroughly recommended.

I would like to thank #LizzieLane, #Netgalley, #BoldwoodBooks and #RachelsRandomResources for an ARC of #MarriageAndMayhemForTheTobaccoGirls in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

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The Tobacco Girls Book 5

May 1944: Hope and excitement is in the air when news breaks of the allied forces landing in Normandy. D Day has arrived. However, the day-to-day struggles for the Tobacco Girls continue. Peace is on the horizon, but will their wishes and dreams win through and bring them a happy ever after?

Out of the three women, Maisie is the only one still working in the tobacco factory. Maisie, Phyllis and Bridget all have their own problems. Along with all the regular characters, we have some new ones as well. This has been a great series to read and this fifth book as been a great addition to it. Unfortunately it;#'s also the last book in the series. The characters are believable, likeable and well developed. The books have all been easy to read. Will the girls get a happy ending? You'll need to read this book to find out.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #BoldwoodBooks and the author #LizzieLane for my ARC of #MarriageAndMayhemForTheTobaccoGirls in exchange for an honest review.

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I love second world war historical fiction and this series is spot on. Number 5 and the last in the series, it can easily be read as a stand alone as there is just enough background information. It makes you laugh and cry in equal measure with lots of tension and hold your breath moments. All in all a great read.

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Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

Set in 1944, the story, at the time when Allied Normandy invaded England which started the wheels turning for France to be free.

But, the war hasn’t ended, the repercussions of the war will be forever. People will feel sad, face difficulties and anguish. They found some happiness in between terror. But their lives were now changed.

Each young women, the three close friends Maisie, Bridget and Phyllis are divided by the war and where they are, but they’re still connected by spirit. We see them more developed and changed, there’s also some new characters.

Carole is a single young mother and her daughter Paula, Carole is feeling weighed down with her daughter and Maisie tries to be a mother to both of them.

Phyllis, in Malta, is soon to wed Mick, but he’s a part of some dangerous assignments, and Nurse Bridget, married to Lyndon, sees those hurt and dying soldiers daily. They each know things can change instantly.

I recommend this series.

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This was my first visit to the Tobacco Girls, but it won't be my last. Even though it is part of a series, I felt it worked as a stand alone book, and I didn't feel lack of previous knowledge hampered my reading. I found it an enjoyable read, full of interesting characters and well researched descriptions.

Maisie, Phyllis and Bridget all have their own problems as the D Day landings occur. Maisie has single mother Carole living with her, and she is desperate to stop her having baby Paula adopted. Bridget is nursing, totally against the rules as she is married to American airman Lyndon - will he stay safe during the violent bombing raids? Phyllis is blissfully happy with Australian Mick. When he proposes, will their wedding go off without a hitch?

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First of all I love this series. And this is book number 5 in the series. It was good catching up with the Main characters, following their daily lives, their struggles. But this book felt a little bit rushed, it felt like it was trying to collect the loose threads. Still a good read though.
Thank you to netgalley for letting me read this e arc in exchange for an honest opinion

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Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and Lizzie Lane for the chance to read this ARC in return for a full and frank opinion

I had read all the previous books in the Tobacco Girls series and leapt at the chance to read book 5.
And it did not disappoint.
It was lovely to read more about the lives of the 3 'M's - even though they now led separate lived and did not all work as Tobacco girls.
And Carole's story was so sad - her decisions were hard and the 'person' she contacted about her baby was heartless. I loved the comment from Carole's father - that he had done terrible things but 'selling babies...........'

Reading these books is like pulling on a fluffy cardi and snuggling down to read about old friends and people that one can really relate to. (even though its almost a heatwave in the UK)

I understand this may not be the end of The Tobacco Girls and hope that this is true and that we may follow the girls into the post-War years.

I thoroughly recommend this series - give it a go

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Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for the chance to read this title in advance of publication.
I have really enjoyed catching up with The Tobacco Girls once again and am sad to have come to end of this series. I will miss Maisie, Bridget and Phyllis. Carole was also a great addition to this series.
I would recommend this series to anyone who likes wartime fiction. It's definitely a series to read from the beginning.

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Lizzie just doesn’t disappoint!
Maisie thought she’d helped Carole solve her problems but Carole has decided to make her own plans. Will Maisie be devastated when she finds out?
Phyllis has found love again with Jack who is a pilot flying dangerous missions. They decide to get wed but how many obstacles will be placed in their way!
Bridget is longing to be reunited with her husband Lyndon, someone else has plans to keep them apart.
I loved that we spent time with Mary, Bridget’s mother, hearing her own story was quite sad.

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Another exciting story about the three M's who are friends from working at the tobacco factory. They are split because of the war and each are serving their country the best way they can.
Young Carole and her baby,Paula are living with Maisie and she is like a mother figure to them. Maisie is totally in love with the baby but Paula dreams of being free and single and enjoying herself more. Can Maisie persuade her to forget her ideas of having Paula adopted or will she face a life without the baby she love in it?
Phyllis is getting ready to marry Mick in Malta and praying that the Germans don't ruin her plans.
Bridget is still nursing but hiding the fact that she is married as she would be sacked straight away. There is someone who doesn't approve of her marriage to Lyndon and she's not slow at letting Bridget know.

Marriage and Mayhem is a good title for this story as nothing ever goes smoothly for these girls even a wedding.
I loved being back again with the tobacco girls and learning how their lives are progressing. Each of the books in this series are so easy to get into and once you start you just can't put them down.
If you haven't read them from the beginning do yourself a favour and start now.
Loved this !

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Beautifully and thoughtfully written Marriage and Mayhem for the Tobacco Girls takes place in 1944 England during the Allied Normandy invasion which sets the liberation of France into motion. But war isn't over yet and its effects will be felt everywhere forever. No one is exempt from heartache, hardship and sorrow. It is incredible that people were still able to find joy in the midst of such horrors. But they viewed life differently. They had to.

Though the three M's, young women and close friends Maisie, Phyllis and Bridget are separated by war and geography, they are united in spirit and return in new ways in this saga. They've matured and evolved. New characters are introduced as well. Single teen mother Carole and her wee Paula are rooming with Maisie. Carole feels burdened by her daughter and Maisie provides them both with a mother figure of sorts. Adventurous Phyllis is in Malta where she is set to marry her love, Mick. But Mick is involved in dangerous operations. Nurse Bridget is married to Lyndon but must face the pain of injured and dying soldiers every day. Each lives knowing tragedy could strike at any moment. It is not the time to procrastinate. Many are impulsive.

My favourite storyline is that of Maisie, Carole and Paula. The compassion shown and lengths Maisie was prepared to go for love are incredible.

Historical Fiction readers looking for a new and interesting saga, do read this one. Though it is not crucial to read each in order it does feel like having tea with friends when you return to the same core group of young ladies.

My sincere thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the pleasure of introducing me to this lovely saga.

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I absolutely loved this book!
Marriage and Mayhem for the Tobacco Girls by Lizzie Lane is awesome.
The Tobacco Girls is set during WWII. Where we meet the strong resilience of these women that met, and bonded working in a tobacco manufacturing plant. Each going on to various causes to help win the war, trying to stay in touch with their families and the trials and tribulations with the men they love.
It is a heart touching story of the horrors of war, the strength of the women and their love of family, and being constantly worried about the husbands and men they love.

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The final book in the series I had mixed feelings starting this because I was excited to read more but sad it's the last book.

Maisie is looking after Carole and baby Paula. I feel for Maisie because she's the one that has been left behind. She's fallen head over heels for the baby and contemplates doing desperate things to keep them both close.

Phyllis is coming home for an after wedding party but disaster strikes on her big day. Phyllis is so unlucky in love and you couldn't help but root for her.

Bridget is hiding her marriage to carry on training as a nurse. It seemed so sad especially when there was a shortage of nurses that a married one would be sacked. One very hard-hitting point was the coffins being brought into the hospital prior to the D-Day landings. It gave me goosebumps.

I've really enjoyed this series, watching the 3 M's grow and the friendship they formed not only with each other but everyone else. It showed the camaraderie part and some lighter moments the war but there was also the gritty side of everyday life.

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In this latest part of the saga by Lizzie Lane, read more about the 3 M's.. Each with there own story of love, pain and friendship. Another easy and enjoyable read.

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Loved catching up with all the news about the three M's , as usual a lovey storyline and the same brilliant characters that you become friends with, so absorbed in the story that you really can't put it down until you have read it all and then it leaves you wanting to read more, all in all that's what a good book should do, can't wait to read more!!
Highly recommend

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