This is a powerful, entertaining, emotional read. Grace and Bea are interesting, intriguing, complex, wounded, entertaining, relatable characters. The secondary characters added to the fabric of the story and my enjoyment – there are all kinds of characters in this story. Thompson writes her story with a deft hand that manages to have the reader both feeling the characters’ pain and wanting to shake them. Without going into great detail, the reader is sucked into what the world on Jersey during the occupation and what Grace went through during her imprisonment. I loved the nod to the main characters in The Little Wartime Library 😊. This book took me on an emotion ride – I laughed, cried, cheered, and got angry. The book and its word are easy to get into.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved this book! The start was a little slow but once I got into it, I got really attached to the characters. The story is told from two POV's; Grace, the town's librarian, and Bea who works at the post office. When the island is occupied by the Germans, everything changes for both of them. Both women help out the resistance in their own ways with a cast of amazing supporting characters. I fell in love with all of the residents of the island. I felt all the emotions while reading this book. It was sad, funny, inspiring and heartbreaking all at the same time. The ending wrapped things up well and I enjoyed the epilogue as well. The author's note at the end provided so much context on the storyline as well as the individual characters and who they were based on. I highly recommend reading this book!

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC of this book.

The Wartime Book Club by Kate Thompson is a captivating adventure filled with historical authenticity. The characters and setting are vividly brought to life through descriptive narrative, enhanced by meticulously researched historical details. Thompson's storytelling immerses readers in a richly detailed world, making for a truly engaging and informative read.

The Wartime Book Club by Kate Thompson is an achingly beautiful story set in the Channel Islands during World War II. Not only are blackout shades and food rationing necessary but innocent lives are constantly discarded in horrendous ways. The historical details are thoroughly researched and the novel is based on a true story which makes it even more harrowing and heroic. In addition to constant fear and sorrow are also snippets of romance, loads of courage, close bonds of friendship and intriguing information on what Nazis deemed to be problematic books. Talk about fascinating!

Dear friends Grace and Bea are horrified when Nazis occupy the islands for many reasons. But one which concerned them in particular was the banning of books. They realized the importance of securing, circulating and hiding them to bring spots of joy into otherwise desperate lives. It was a big part of the Resistance and the women risked their lives to do it. Their book club must have been the only bright spot for so many! Their empathy and understanding are evident in their calling. I love the banned book blurbs at the beginning of each chapter and the riveting information at the end of the book. Details like this make a good book great. The writing itself is gorgeous and the actions of the brave crushed my heart in the best way.

Snap this one up if you are looking for that WWII Historical Fiction with substance. It captivated me and left me breathless at times.

My sincere thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this stellar and unforgettable novel.

Oh heavens, this book was fascinating! The German occupation of the islands is such a new and interesting time in history - thank you for capturing the residents’ grit and compassion. What a horrifying experience. There were a few spots that felt really long but overall loved the book!

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book.
I love WWII historical fiction, but this one missed the mark for me. It was ok, very long book. The title is The Wartime Book Club and I was 30% into the book before a book club was finally mentioned. The book focused on two women (friends since childhood) Grace and Bea, their family drama and the occupation of the Jersey island by Nazis. While it was interesting learning about a different location during the war and the hardships they faced, I felt the book could have gone into more detail about the people of the club and what the meetings brought to them. There was a sweet love story woven through the book between Grace and a fallen American pilot, but overall I thought the book was just ok.

Just let me dry my tears! I cried for the entire epilogue and maybe a few pages before.

This is such a well told story of female friendship, love, pain, name the emotion - it’s here in the pages of this story.

I loved the inclusion and focus on banned books and censorship - a beautiful and unfortunately timely parallel with the story of the German occupation of Jersey. When we talk about history we don’t get taught, this one is included. When will I stop being surprised that there are stories about this conflict that I, a student of history, am unaware of? Perhaps never. And perhaps that’s beautiful in its own way because we get to keep discovering the stories of the past and how they are intertwined with lives being lived today across the world.

All the cheers, the stars and the bravos for this beautiful, if lengthy, work. Will be recommending!

this was a heartbreaking, fascinating, and overall a powerful read. it's the second historical fiction i read this year that i can confidently rate 5 stars. it is obvious the author did very in-depth research of true events, more so by using real people for inspiration. this truly does read like it's beautifully written to honor those who lived, suffered, fought, and died through WW2.

i LOVED that every chapter started with a book that was banned during those times because "they said so." but even then, the very premise that books had kept some people alive is, in my opinion, a testament to how powerful books are and can be. i personally read for escapism, adventure, and to keep my mind and imagination strong. so knowing that many came together to do the same to help them keep going through dark and devastating times... it's remarkable.

all in all, HIGHLY RECOMMEND! this is one of those novels that deserves plenty of praise and appreciation, especially for it's historical accuracy. even if you don't care for historical fiction, if you love books... then this book is for you!

thank you to NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read this book. i received this as an ARC and leave this review voluntarily.

I deeply loved and enjoyed this book so much that I IMMEDIATELY posted about it on my personal Facebook page to recommend it to my family and friends and one of my daughter’s teachers immediately purchased as a pre-order.

Thompson manages to squeeze SO much into this incredible book. Beautiful, heartbreaking, inspiring. I loved that every chapter begins by highlighting a particular book (or author) banned by the Nazis and their reasoning. There is so so much more to this than just a group of Jersey islanders who gathered to read together. There is so much more to this than the secret stash of “verboten” books Grace hid and smuggled to her patrons. This is a book about friendship, family, betrayal, loyalty, love, perseverance, bravery, and the lengths one will go to in order to just do something, even a small thing, to make a difference, even if it means risking one’s freedom. It is a testament to the belief in holding onto hope, choice, and small bits of freedom and it pays tribute to an island of individuals who hung onto whatever tiny thread of hope and will to survive they could, especially during a time when they felt forgotten and lost.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Forever, and the incredible Kate Thompson for an ebook ARC of this amazing novel which haunts me still, days after having finished it.

Thompson does a tremendous amount of research for her books and provides an additional 70 pages of information about the occupation at the end of the story. The characters of Grace, Bea and Red are based on information she obtained from oral histories of the islanders and jump off the page. No one knows exactly how they would react in the same situation. We can only hope we would have the courage to endure five years of an occupation and will continue to protect the right to read what we choose.

Just when I think that every WWII book has been published, I find a title that exposes me to another aspect of the war which I have not previously encountered. This follows two young women through their experiences during the occupation of the Channel Islands of England. Told in alternating views, the story is easy to follow and engaging. Thompson’s writing pulls the reader into the setting in a vivid fashion that allows you to feel as if you were peeking into the scene over Bea or Grace’s shoulder and feeling their feelings.

I especially appreciated the lengthy addition at the end of the book that gives a history of the occupation of the Channel Islands, as well as providing histories of the real-life occupants upon whom various characters in the book were based.

The Wartime Book Club is an incredible story about light in the darkest of times. With complex and interesting characters and told in two POV’s, we get to know the story of Grace, a librarian doing her best to survive occupation in Jersey, and Bea who works at the post office and feels compelled to do something about their situation.
It is such an interesting story and it is filled with emotion. It is sad at times but there is also hope and joy. Reading Historical Fiction books about WWII is not easy but with such talented writers as Kate Thompson who captivate you and choose to tell us stories that we might not know about, it becomes easier.
I really liked this book and I hope to continue reading Kate Thompson’s books.

This book was a fascinating read with moving characters and intriguing moments in the plot. I would encourage this to friends.

A nicely atmospheric novel of friendship- conflicted thought it might be- on Jersey during the German occupation. Grace and Bea are very different women who react to to occupation differently. That however changes and makes this a good look at the impact on life in the area. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good addition to the WWII homefront genre.

I enjoyed this book tremendously. The writing style had me invested in the story and the characters and I like Grace a lot as well as Bea even though she sometimes had me shake my head in disbelief about what she just did. The book captures the mood the islanders must have been in during the war years very well and the atmosphere is hopeful but desperate at the same time. Judging from the extensive commentary and sources at the end of the book, it was excellently researched and I loved to learn about the people who were real but also characters in this book.

Concerning the characters, Bea is a bit of a stubborn hothead at times but she is very likeable in that. She believes in a better world being possible and that sitting idle and not resisting the occupation by the Germans is not an option. In addition, Grace is my favourite character in this book. She is so kind and considerate and I just loved reading about her.

What I liked in particular was that every chapter opened with information on 1 book banned by the Nazis during WWII and the reason why. That was incredibly interesting to me and gave the book extra credits in my view. I haven’t read Kate’s other books yet, but I will change that as soon as I can. This book has my full recommendation for any historical fiction lover!

(A review will be posted on pub day April 9 on my accounts on instagram and Goodreads)

This was good, but also a fairly standard historical fiction novel set during that time period. I enjoyed the book club, but that has been done before and there are just so many books set in this time frame that this one didn't particularly stand out. There were a lot of characters and side stories to keep up with as well. Overall I liked it but it was not an all-time favorite.

Thank you for the ARC!

I have mixed feelings on this book. There were many things to like about this novel. It is clear that the author has done extensive research in order to write this story. She really brings to life the grim realities of war for the residents of Jersey. The book started off very strong but as it went on, I began to lose interest. I think it was just too long with too many characters and side stories.

The Wartime Book Club
By: Kate Thompson
Review Score: 3 1/2 Stars

Why Was This Book “Just Ok”?
While interesting, this book was very long. There were so many characters and storylines, it was hard to keep track of everything going on. I think, if the book was shorter, it would have been more engaging.

Do I still recommend it?
Yes. Overall, I think the story was well done, and fans of historical fiction might like it.

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The Wartime Book Club was kindly provided as an ARC by Netgalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing). Thank you for allowing me to read this book!

Release Date: 4/9/24

Today’s “Just OK Wednesday” is about The Wartime Book Club.

I went into this book with very high hopes. I have only read a few books about the Nazi Occupation of the Channel Islands during World War 2, so I was very excited to give this one a whirl.

Overall, I have conflicting feelings about this book. There are ALOT of characters, and they all seem to be doing things on the side of the main plot, which made it hard to keep up with at times.

I also feel that, if this book was shorter, it would have been more engaging to stay with. You could almost have 2 stories here, but because they are interwoven, it actually makes it hard to follow.

I did like the additional notes in this book. It's always nice when questions for a book club are added in!

With that being said, I do think people who like Historical Fiction would like this book. I did like it, I just didn’t love it.

Powerful and just so good!! It’s very rare for a book to leave me utterly speechless but this one…I just am in awe by the story that was told. Please write another one

This was a beautiful and heartbreaking story about two best friends living on the Island of Jersey during WWII. Grace is a librarian tasked with keeping the library open after the head librarian went to war. Bea is a postal worker, the only female mail carrier on the island. The two women could not be more different, but they have an unbreakable bond that keeps them together through many hard events. During the war both women do their part to help the resistance and try to keep their friends safe. This story was beautiful, and as to be expected of a book set during WWII, filled with so much heartache and sadness. A beautiful story about the power of books, friendship, and hope during dark times. I loved that this book was inspired by real life events, and all the information and pictures at the authors note at the end. I received an ARC and this is my honest review.