The Air Raid Book Club is a really good story. It tells of bookstore owner Gertie Bingham and what happens when she takes in a teenage German refugee. One of the great parts of the story is all the books they discuss, it will give you some ideas for your next read. The characters are so well done in this one. From the kind and strong Gertie to the cautious and lost Hedy, and the bookstore crew, they all really bring something to the story. Even the ones you do not like at first will come around. The story itself is well done and will give you a glimpse into what it was like for people in London during the bombings. It is not all sunshine and roses either, there is plenty of sadness and death in this one. For those who love a good historical fiction read with a strong female lead, this is perfect for you. I thought it was great and look forward to more by this author.

I love stories..this was a great one! It also gave me so many more books I want to read! Mrs. Bingham is a widow who owns a bookshop she started with her late husband. She starts thinking about selling her shop because it holds too many memories but she decides he take in a Jewish girl from Germany. They start the air raid book club to help nights spent in shelter from the air raids. This books is filled with love and heartache…yes I cried..and the love of reading books. Such wonderful characters you’ll fall in love with them!Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this advanced copy of The Air Raid Book Club…This is one I’ll be buying for my bookshelf!

Gertie Bingham has has a great life. She married the love of her life and they started a bookshop the fed their souls and love of books. Now that her husband is gone, and with no children of her own, Gertie thinks of selling the store and retiring to the coast.

With Hitler rising to power and a second war looming, a friend asks Gertie to take in a German child. With reservations, she agrees and a teenage girl comes to live with Gertie. Soon she finds new reason for getting up each morning and couldn’t dream of selling her bookshop. When the war comes to London, Gertie finds the shop’s bookclub helps the locals to get through the blackouts and air raids. Soon the club is extended and then they add books to the shipments they send to the soldiers. Gertie finds more than just a new reason to live, she finds a new family and friends that soothe her soul and give her as much as she is giving them.

I really enjoyed this one and can’t recommend it enough. I loved Gertie, Hedy, and all characters, especially Hemingway and Billy. It was nice to read the story from a different side of the coin where there were some soldiers as supporting characters, but the focus was on the people left at home to keep the home fires burning.

“Two lonely strangers, clinging to the same lift raft as the storm raged around them.”

This story follows Gertie, a bookshop owner and her life following the death of her husband, Harry. Gertie feels as though she has lost all meaning of life until she meets Hedy. Hedy is a young girl who has escaped from Nazi rule in Germany and is in need of a home. Together Gertie and Hedy discover what it takes to survive the war and not lose hope.

I really liked that this story focused on how important books can be and how a single story can change your life. The themes of loss, hope, finding purpose and family are present throughout the entire story.

I loved the aspect of the close knit town and how everyone came together to help with war efforts. There were many characters throughout but each one had their own importance in the story. I especially liked, Billy the next door kid neighbor.

Historical fiction has easily become my favorite genre and I especially enjoy stories set during WWII which is why I was drawn to this book. I am so thankful that this was my first approval from NetGalley.

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
▫️WWII story that takes place in London
▫️Story of humanity and kindness of neighbors
▫️Creating a new family and starting over

Thank you to @williammorrowbooks and @netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book before it’s publication date!

The Air Raid Book Club is by a new-to-me author and I just loved her writing style. From the very beginning of the novel, I was hooked on the story of Gertie and her husband Harry who open a bookshop in a small town in the UK after WWI. After Harry passes away, Gertie continues to run the bookshop with a cast of likeable and interesting friends and relatives. When WWII is on the horizon, childless Gertie agrees to host a Jewish refugee teen from Germany, Hedy Fischer, who changes Gertie's life in so many wonderful ways. I have read many books based in London during WWII that talk about the experiences that folks there faced but this book really brought that period of time to life for me. It had a bittersweet ending but I still highly recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

The Air Raid Book Club is a novel about a widow named Gertie who owned a bookstore in London during World War 2..Just as she had decided to retire she learns about a program to take in German children. She takes in a teenage girt named Hedy. It is not known that the Hedy has a Jewish father until further along in the story and what didn't seem possible was that most of Gertie's friends and neighbors would have been so welcoming to Hedy. Gertie has not had any children and it was not easy in the beginning to deal with Hedy who missed her family and did not want to be separated from them. As time goes on Gertie and Hedy's relationship improves as news of what is happening in Germany becomes more apparent. There is tragedy and happiness as Gertie and Hedy have to rely on each other more and more as the war progresses. I really liked the characters and felt that the author did a wonderful job bringing the characters to life. I was sorry when it ended. I would recommend this book highly to anyone who is interested in life in England during WWII.
Thank you NetGalley for letting me read an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! What an engrossing read! You find yourself in London at the start of the war. Gertie starts a bookstore that becomes the center of life. Books help all sorts of people cope with the frightening world around them. Just as they do now. A must read!,

The Air Raid Book Club is a novel set in World War 2 London, England.

Gertie is a bookseller who takes in a young German refugee, Hedy.

Gertie and Hedy take on the bookstore together, along with the perils of war. Together they create the Air Raid Book Club to help their community through the challenging times.

The themes of love, loss, found family, friendship, and resilience are overwhelming. I found myself so emotional over the character growth and touching relationships that formed. This book is so powerful. I cared deeply for every character which can be challenging in a cast of so many. It was raw, earnest, and felt like a love story of humanity and kindness.

This is my first 5 star read of the year and I will be recommending this to everyone for a very long time!

Annie Lyons knocked this one out of the park! I couldn't put the book down. In fact, I read it in two days!!! A record for me. Funny how you can take a small bookstore and do so many things and yet how a small bookstore can bring so many people together during such a tough time. War can have such an impact on lives, expecially during this time period. I cannot fathom what they went through. However, having the people you love the most, by your side, typically, love always wins. Despite the war, Gertie and her "gang" (as I will call them) won and it made me want to have my own bookstore (withouth the war of course). Thank you, Ms. Lyons, for writing this! I will recommend to everyone I know that reads!

Ever since reading 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘶𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘢 𝘏𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵, I’ve been anxiously awaiting author Annie Lyons’ next book.  While historical fiction isn’t my usual go-to genre, I had to give this one a go.  I’m so glad I did. 
 
Here we have a story about books bringing people together in harrowing times.  It’s a study on connecting with people – even with those we may not like or enjoy or even have anything at all in common with.  It’s a testament to patience and not giving up on people even when it seems like the only way.  We could all learn a lot from the often inspiring, sometimes cantankerous but always endearing characters in this book. 
 
This is an easy recommendation for me.
 
My thanks to @williammorrowbooks and @netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book before its publication date.

I had put the World War II books aside for the past few months. After awhile they had just seemed like the same stories, different people. When I saw this one, written by Annie Lyons, I thought I would take a chance on it. I am very glad I did. Set in London, Gertie and Harry owned a bookshop. When Harry died, Gertie felt that life had lost meaning for her. She had started to make plans to sell the bookshop and move to the coast. World War II changed things for Gertie, when 15 year old Hedy, a Jewish child was evacuated from Germany for safety. Homes were needed for many children and Gertie was impressed upon to take a child in. Gertie's life changed at this point and she no longer wanted to sell the bookshop or move out of London. The many air raids in London were the impetus for the Air Raid Book Club. The theme running through the story is that a book can change your life, even if it is just at one small point of time. Well written and definitely not a run of the mill World War II novel, I felt honored to have received this digital ARC from William Morrow and NetGalley. This opinion is in my own honest words.

this was such a good historical novel, it had what I was looking for from this type of book. Annie Lyons does a great job in telling a realistic story and creating characters that you care about. I enjoyed how good the story was and it worked in the time-period. I loved the found family trope in this book and glad I got to go on this journey.

"Gertie was relieved but remained outraged by this turn of events. Galvanized into action, she persuaded everyone she knew to write to The Times on Hedy’s behalf. A week later, a young female journalist appeared at the bookshop, asking to interview her. “How do you react to the story that the prime minister ordered the police to, and I quote, ‘collar the lot’?”