I really enjoyed this book. It combined two of my favorite things, books and community. I received this advanced reader copy from netgalley. I was interested in it because I have read the Chilbury Ladies Choir, which I really liked as well. I enjoy fiction that is based on real events but also has Indian characters. I read this book in about 24 hours because I was enjoying it so much.

The Underground Library by Jennifer Ryan is set during the London Blitz of World War II. It revolves around the lives of three very different women, Juliet, Katie, and Sofie. The three of them are passionate about the library for their own reasons. When it is destroyed by bombs, Juliet manages to move the books down into the nearby unground station where the residents of Bethnel Green, London go for shelter each evening. People were able to form book clubs, exchange ideas, share hope, and more. Even with these good things happening, the future of the library and the women is unknown and the story explores all of this beautifully. Juliet, Katie, and Sofie are all characters I enjoyed learning more about and feel they each had sufficient backstory. At the end of the book, the author talks about the real events and people that inspired this story.

I really enjoyed this WW II historical fiction novel. It follows three different women with different backgrounds and challenges who are each helped by the library that ended up in the Bethnal Green tube station during the London Blitz. It’s a great story of resilience, friendship and the power of literature. I appreciate how Ryan writes without coarse language or sexually explicit scenes.

"It was terrifying, monstrous, these people thinking they could obliterate history and culture and reinvent it the way it suited them. My father wanted us to see it so that we could understand what was coming.”

Juliet has started her new job as Deputy Librarian at the Bethel Green Library during World War 2. She's determined to breathe some life into it regardless of the challenges she comes across. Katie is one of the library volunteers who Juliet has taken under her wing and embraced as part of her world, when Katie's boyfriend dies while fighting at the front Katie realizes she's not only grieving but has a secret she is hiding as well. Sophie is a refugee that sees the library as a haven. When the library is bombed, Juliet moves it all to the underground and keeps it running and keep the spirits of their community alive!

This was a great book. I've read a ton of WWII historical fiction novels and this one felt like I was in it with them. This one didn't yank on my heartstrings quite as much as some others, but there were definite moments of loss, love and friendship that were all very well done. I wish I could have jumped into the book and screamed at Juliet about Victor because she really did have her head in the clouds on that one, but overall, this book is really well done, and I enjoyed myself while reading it.

Wonderful book! It didn't grab me at first, but as I continued I became fully invested in the story. I imagine some people might complain that a lot of it gets neatly tied up in a bow at the end, but sometimes that's what the heart needs!

The Underground Library
By Jennifer Ryan

Based on a true story, this book is about the London blitz during World War II by the Nazi air forces. We have all heard the stories of the resiliency of Londoners while their lives and homes were being destroyed night after night.

This book is told from the perspective of three young women: Sofie, a German Jew who manages to escape Berlin leaving her family behind, only to become the servant of a brutal and abusive employer in London; Katie, a middle class Londoner whose young lover is serving overseas; and Juliet, who comes to Bethnal Green to escape her oppressive parents and to work as the assistant librarian.

These three young women, together with the women who befriend them and the men who come to love them, have extraordinary stories to tell about the war in London. But more importantly, their stories come together in the story of how a bombed out library, moved to an underground tube station, became the center of a community of survivors.

This is an uplifting book. There were tremendous losses, to be sure, but the people herein managed to make things better not only for themselves, but for others as well. By coming together and helping each other, they stayed strong. Too bad we haven't learned that lesson in our current society.

4.5/5

Another great one by the fantastic Jennifer Ryan!! Her books are among my very top most anticipated. Every time I find out one is in the works and has a release date, I can barely contain myself until I have it in my hot little hands.

One thing I love about Ms. Ryan's stories is that they center women in a part of history that feels very dominated by our very brave male service members. Her books are the only WW2-centric books that I seek out because they are lighthearted and fun, with quirky characters and charming settings.

This book reminded me of The Kitchen Front and The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle, which both showcase the resourcefulness of the main characters. I loved that this story celebrated books and the role a good written story can play in centering us when our world is off-kilter. It was easy to tell that Ms. Ryan loves classical literature, and each mention of a classic story made me smile. I had no idea that large chunks of the population moved underground during these bombings and strikes, and I would have never guessed they set up a thriving library, medical center, and other small businesses. The war rages in the background of this book, but it never overtakes the story. I just loved it so much, and once again, I find myself impatient and eager for her next story.

I received a digital review copy from the publisher via NetGalley, but I supplemented that digital reading with a large print copy from my library's shelves. Many thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this gem of a story.

A great read! I truly enjoyed it! It’s a world war 2 historical fiction that tells a story that takes place mostly in England. The 3 protagonists are all amazing women! I found myself reading it like a movie and really feeling anxiety about the characters situations. It really sucked me in. Thank you for letting me read this wonderful story!!

This was such a great read. I felt myself in every scene along with each person. I loved each character. Juliet and her strength and love for the library as well as the books housed there. Setting up and taking care of the underground library was great! Reading hour being shared by her and others kept things going!

I loved Sophie’s story. Her strength in doing all she could do in order to find her sister. In meeting Mac as the first person to look for her sister Rachel. Then going through some troubles along with Sophie.

Katie was another character that I really enjoyed. She was such a strong female character.

I really loved the Miss Ridley’s’ they were really neat characters in this book! I loved there showing up in so many places in this book. They made me smile.

The scenes and characters were so well developed I felt like I was in every par of this book!!

A heartfelt historical nonfiction story detailing events in 3 different young ladies life during the blitz in London. Katie, Sophie and Juliet life stories along with their resilience will have you feeling all of feels. I loved this book.

Thank you #NetGalley, #BallantineBooks, #RandomHouse, #JenniferRyan and #TheUndergroundLibrary for the advance readers copy for my honest review.

I loved the characters in The Underground Library. They were fully developed, making me feel like I was there experiencing the war along with them.

Women working together can be very powerful even when their world can feel hopeless. During the WWII blitz of London, Juliet takes a position of deputy librarian which is usually occupied by a man. Katie is a young woman due to start university and working at the library in the meantime, also awaiting the return of her fiancée from the front. Sophie is a Jewish refugee who finds escape from her verbally abusive employer in the library. Several other women who are library patrons join with Juliet, Katie and Sophie to start a book club and when the library is bombed, they convince the head librarian to let them salvage some books and set up a library and nightly readalongs in the underground tunnels where people take refuge. Each woman also faces her own personal struggles with family and relationships but find that they can resolve any issue with the help of each other. The books become a huge comfort to the residents of London in a time of fear and uncertainty.
I really enjoy the research that Jennifer Ryan includes in her stories about WWII. I always learn about something inspiring from this time period in the little known facts that she discovers and shares with her readers. This book was entertaining, informative and enjoyable although predictable as usual. I’m not a fan of romance novels and I found the “happy endings” to be on the corny side but most readers will enjoy this feel good book.

This story was quite interesting and I knew it would based on the premise. I enjoyed the protagonist and her zeal and push to show her worth and value. I really enjoyed it and I would read this author again.

World War II historical fiction has had quite a run these last few years. Jennifer Ryan capitalizes on that trend and the love of books by setting her novel in a war torn London library that is forced into the underground commuter station. Three young women are featured. Juliet escapes her parents, village, and a controversial ex to work in the Bethnal Green Library. Katie spends her summer working in the library and missing her presumed dead fiancé. Sofie finds solace in the library after fleeing Germany as Jews lives were becoming threatened. Ryan creates tension and beautiful romance If you enjoyed her earlier books, you will enjoy this as well.

The Underground Library by Jennifer Ryan is a WWII historical fiction with the survival of the Bethnal Green library at its heart.

This book is told from three points of view. First, we have Juliet who is the new deputy of the library after her fiancé has gone missing in action. Next we have Katie, a resident of Bethnal Green who has her sights set on college when her life takes a different turn. Last is Sofie, a Jewish refugee who has become a domestic servant who desperately wishes to reunite with the family she left behind.

There is a lot to enjoy about this book. I especially liked our three main characters and how they each found their voices and confidence in their own way. I also loved several of the supporting characters who formed a community that extended beyond the walls of the library. Jennifer Ryan does a wonderful job painting a portrait of this town and its resilience during war time.

At times the characters fell flat for me. The romantic connections had a lot of heart but lacked suspense or tension. It seems like any time the book started to get heavier Jennifer Ryan wraps the scene up and resolves it quickly.

Another wish I had was that our three female characters became a little more intertwined. They were strong individual characters that I felt could have been even stronger together. For the most part their storylines were separate unless it was convenient to have one help the other.

A place where this book really stood out was in the historical content. I had no idea these underground stations took on such a life and culture of their own. I found myself wishing for a station map and trying to imagine just how large it was!

One small note before wrapping things up is that if you have read Nineteen Steps there is an incident that occurs at the Bethnal Green tube station that happened in real life. I kept preparing myself for this to take place but Ryan chose not to include it in this story.

Ultimately I rated this book a 3.75 out of 5. I enjoyed the story and the characters.

World War II historical fiction is a soft spot for me. I will almost always pick it up and read it, and not all of it is good. But this book was phenomenal. It kept me engaged, and the perspective switching was well done. The three points of view formed a cohesive unit.

Some points surrounding the men in the story were very predictable. Victor coming back and turning out to be both abusive and actually a deserter was super obvious, and so was Christopher being alive. I loved the themes of found family and female strength and resilience weaved throughout. I will definitely read more Jennifer Ryan again.

5 stars! Jennifer Ryan is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. She weaves incredible stories along the backdrop of WWII, and I often continue to think about her novels long after I’ve read them. The Underground Library is equally heartwarming and heart wrenching, and I was astonished to learn that parts of it are based on a true story. I highly recommend this novel!

I think I have read all of this author’s books as ARC’s. I know when I request them I do so without even seeing what it is about. They are an automatic go-to thing. So when I got this one I was so excited to read it. However, life got in the way and I started reading this book later than I wanted to. I tried to read it multiple times but between tiredness and the lack of interest in the book. I really wanted to like it but I was confused by all the character lines and it just wasn’t pulling me in like they normally do. I decided to use my monthly audible credit and get this book and listen to it thinking maybe it would change the way I absorb the book. I was glad I did. I listened to this book at every chance that I got.

Sophie is a German Jew who is fleeing Berlin on a work visa as a housemaid. Katie is a young woman who finds herself in the family way after her long-term boyfriend is declared MIA, she works at the library as a clerk. Juliet is a young woman escaping her hometown after her fiance of 3 years deserts the English Army. She takes a job at the Bethnal Green Library as Deputy Librarian. These women’s lives intertwine in ways that you grow to love. Juliet has to get through the “red tape” so to speak of being a woman in a man’s world. She is the one who starts the underground library in the tube station after the library is bombed in one of the Blitz bombings. Katie tries to hide her pregnancy till her mother finds out and she loses it and states she will hide her pregnancy and the mother will fake hers. Sophie is a housemaid for a not-so-nice man. Julie and Katie know each other through working at the library and Sophie comes in to get books. The story is sweeping, wonderful, and heartbreaking at the same time. I adored every minute of this book. Its about books and that is a winner in my book.

I also like the ambulance worker portion of the books as I myself am an EMT. It hit me on another level seeing people at their worst but doing your part for the community at large. I thought that the characters’ stories melded well together. I was annoyed at first with the switching of the storylines but eventually about a quarter of the way through the book the stories come to the point where they are intertwined with each other and it wasn’t an issue. I loved all of the secondary characters that were in the book. They were the comic relief in some parts and deep and meaningful in others. I wanted each and every one of them to succeed. The author’s note at the end states that while the events in the book really happened she just changed some of the locations so that it flowed well with her book. I had no clue that the underground subway actually housed clinics and libraries. I knew that people used them as air raid shelters in the war but didn’t know the extent of everything else. I think the author knocked another one out of the park and have recommended it to some people all ready. I can’t wait to see what she writes next.

This was a wonderful story. It's based on the true story of the Underground Library at Bethnal Green Tube station during WWII. It's told from 3 perspectives Juliet who came to London to run the Bethnal Green Library, Sophie, a Jewish immigrant from Germany who escaped at the start of WWII and Katie whose boyfriend is missing in action and is dealing with family drama. I love stories told about London during WWII during the Blitz.

My thoughts: I had family friends who lived there during the Blitz and I also lived in London in the 80s and heard lots of stories about the underground and the time during WWII and the bombings that occurred frequently. It was a wonderful story about how reading and the library helped heal and bring others together during the frequent bombings and the time they had to spend down in the underground. I loved the characters, the family dramas, and the weaving together of people's stories with the library at the center of it. It also spotlighted how some people treated immigrants who were escaping Germany and other countries and Jews during this time as well as the internment camps that Britain had. I definitely would love to read more by this author.

Thanks to @randomhousepublishing-ballantine @netgalley and the author for this ARC.

Interesting and informative historical fiction based on the Bethnal Green Library during World War II. The book follows 3 women and their personal lives during the war, connected by the library. When the library building is damaged by bombs it moves to the nearby Underground station, where it becomes the heart of the community.

Well-developed characters, each with their own story line, and how they experience the war. Interesting learning about the internment camp on the Isle of Man.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free e-ARC of this book.