We continue with the story of the families and also the land girls in this series and certainly was just as wonderful as the rest of the books.

Sheila has her work running the shop along with her sister. She sees families in the village and wants to help them. Selina is looking after her nephew and nieces after her sister died and is getting closer to the solicitor William. The land girls wonder with men returning will they still be at the farm and what will happen afterwards.

It was really good to catch up with all the characters and what was happening with their lives. I always find as soon as you start reading these books that I want to carry on reading to see how things turn out.

The book certainly didn’t disappoint and was fantastic enjoyed the story.

Would recommend the book.

1947, Cornwall. In the latest instalment of The Cornish Girls Series the story focuses on Sheila and her shop in Porthcurno, Postbridge Farm where her daughter Violet and son-in-law Joe live and Bodmin Moor where ex-land girl Selina is taking care of her late sister’s three children.

Sheila has been widowed twice, she knows what it’s like to struggle and she wants to help those in the village doing it tough and she joins the council and starts a committee. Bernard Bailey and Sheila grew up together, they have gone a few on dates and when things get a little more serious Sheila isn’t sure if Bernie would expect her to give up her shop and independence.

Caroline Ponsby is one of the original land girls, she enjoys working on Joe’s farm with Tilly, over the years many of her co-workers have left, and when Grace Morgan arrives and she feels strange around her and will they ignore the obvious chemistry and at a time when society disproves.

Selina is adjusting to life on Bodmin Moor and at Thornton Hall, she’s busy trying to help her nieces and nephew get over the loss of their parents, manage the estate, and wants to learn to drive. William MacGregor is the family solicitor, he’s a huge help and she wonders if he’s just lonely or could their relationship develop into something more.

I received a copy of Brighter Days for the Cornish Girls from Avon Books UK and NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. I have read and enjoyed the seven previous books in the popular series and this narrative is mainly told from Sheila and Selina’s, Caroline and Grace points of view.

The story emphasises the war might be won and over, but rationing continues and the winter is going to be a harsh one, how soldiers are slowly making their way home to England, and when they return they will want their jobs back and some of the women have enjoyed their new way of life and freedom.

Full of descriptions of life in post-World War Two England, and the beautiful scenery in Cornwall, the farm and animals, and Bodmin Moor. I’m looking forward to the next novel and finding out what happens to the familiar and new characters, and I really admire Sheila she’s the matriarch of the family and the glue that holds them all together and she’s really funny as well.

Betty Walker's a very consistent and award winning historical fiction author and I highly recommend all the books in The Cornish Girls Series and I will be very sad when it ends and once again a five star read.

This story takes place just after the war has ended. Things are looking more positive as men begin to return home and the country starts to rebuild. But for the land girls it means the beginning of the end. Soon they will no longer be needed on the farm and will have to either return to their old lives or find somewhere new to go.
But for now, there are still regular power cuts and food shortages. The bitter winter weather means the land girls are just as needed as ever, helping on the farm and in the local community.

I loved the characters in this book. There is lots of positivity and romance, which I thought works well with the time period, as the country is rebuilding after the war and people are more optimistic.

Caroline is fascinated by the newest land girl to arrive at the farm, Grace. But after embarrassing herself by revealing her true feelings about friend Selina, can she risk opening up again? I liked Caroline and Grace's blossoming relationship and thought it was portrayed realistically.

Meanwhile, Selina has moved to Bodmin to look after her sister's orphaned children and faces her own challenges.

Sheila is busy running the village shop and getting involved with local politics and charitable causes. Can she find time for romance too?

An enjoyable and hopeful book. This is the eighth book in the series but can easily be read as a standalone.

I would recommend this to anyone looking for a feelgood, romantic saga.

Brighter Days for the Cornish Girls by Betty Walker is the continuing story of women who moved out of London to Cornwall to escape the blitz. There is no real plot, just a slice of everyone’s lives as they journey into the future. There are deaths, babies, marriages, good years and bad ones. It is the story of life. The characters are excellent, one comes to know them and care about them, including their faults. The romance isn’t all for the young, which is heartening. But, most of all, the story is real. It could have happened and it is a look at a time and a place we will never be. Always a good thing. Could be read a stand-alone or better yet, start at the beginning.

I was invited to read Brighter Days for the Cornish Girls by Avon Books UK. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #AvonBooksUK #BettyWalker #BrighterDaysForTheCornishGirls

This entire series about the Cornish Girls is very readable and enjoyable. The different lives they come from and how adaptable they are makes for great reading. Looking forward to the next in the series.
Many thanx to NetGalley, the author and publisher for allowing me to read and review this book.

Cornwall, 1947. Tragedy strikes the village ad Sheila is determined to help those who are suffering and soon finds herself seeking out new ways to make a difference, But when her long-term beau proposes, she faces a dilemma: can she give up her new purpose in life?

Land girl Caroline throws herself into her work after her close friend Selena leaves the farm, and finds solace in a new friendship. But when a new arrival comes to the farm, she can't deny the attraction that springs up between them. Will she find the courage to follow heart?

Meanwhile Selena is adjusting to life on Bodmin Moor. While helping her late sister's children to navigate their grief and learning to cook, she finds unexpected companionship with William, the family solicitor. And she begins to imagine a future filled with happiness.

The war may be over, the men are coming home, and we learn how Selena's getting on looking after her late sister's children. We meet some new characters, some are nice, others are unreliable. There were a few stories taking place in this book, but they seemed to tie up all the loose ends. This is a well-written series. I liked the authors writing style, she made this book so easy to read.

Published 22nd May 2025

I would like to thank #NetGalley #AvonBooksUK and the author #BettyWalker #BrighterDaysForTheCornishGirls in exchange for an honest review.

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

I enjoyed reading this book.

Even after war has ended, times are still hard, Sheila and her sister Margaret work together in the shop, Sheila is proceeding into politics locally and trying to find different ways to help local politics and finding more ways to help the villagers as food is still being rationed and because of the bad winter, there wasn’t much crops.

At the farm, a new land girl arrives to take the place of Selina and Caroline really likes her.

We also read more about Selina, who is now solely in charge of her sisters children.

As war is over, the men are back to look for work, so it seems the land girls won’t have their jobs for much longer. They are concerned about what they’ll do next.

I highly recommend this book.

I thought this series was finished so it was nice to discover that we are following the family at the farm and the land girls into 1946. Times are still hard and rationing still in force. Sheila, whose a great character, struggles with getting stock for the shop she runs, alone now, as her husband has died. They also have one of the harshest Winters in memory.
What I liked about this book was the fact we followed Selina's story too. She had left to look after her sister's children while her sister was sick and then died. It was a change from the farm seeing how she lived and coped with all that had been thrown at her. I remember her as not being the nicest person when she was at the farm but here she seems to have grown up and improved a lot.
There are numerous stories but Caroline, a land girl, seems to get a lot of page time. Her story is dealt with sensitively but I did find the outcome a tad unbelievable.
All in all a great read and a fast read.

Many thanks to Avon Books UK and NetGalley for an early copy.

Don't worry if you haven't read the earlier books as this works fine as a standalone that's a portrait of friendship and life in post War England. The women, as well as their romantic partners, are all relatable with troubles (as well as joys) that will resonate. What's really important is how they support one another. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It's a good old fashioned read.

Although this is part of a series, this book can easily be read as a standalone. Two families linked throughout the war are now focusing on getting their lives back on track, now that the war is over.

England is struggling to get past the devastation the war brought. There are still food shortages, regular power cuts, and much damage caused by the bombs. Friendships have been formed or broken, and in this story, we read about some of those friendships.

I enjoyed reading about the friendships that formed between the land girls helping out on a farm run by Joe and his wife, Violet. Other family members live on the farm, and they all pull together during tough times. The family dynamic works well and makes for great reading.

I also enjoyed reading about life for Selina, a land girl who used to work for Joe but who now finds herself living in a grand home looking after her two nieces and a nephew because their parents, her sister and brother-in-law, have both died.

Between the two families, there are some happy times, some trying times, and some beautiful romantic times. The book deals with racism, overpowering parents, gay relationships and grief. Of course, it also deals with how people coped when things started to change after the war finished. There was a perfect balance of light and dark moments. I didn't feel that the characters were blasé about what they had all been through, but it was good to see them starting to enjoy life again, and as romantic relationships formed, I was so happy for the people in question.

This book and the whole series have been a pleasure to read, land girls had to deal with so much and I am glad their stories have been told. The girls in this book are fictional characters, but land girls did exist, and I am sure they experienced much the same as the girls in this book.

I really enjoyed this book. Surprisingly I had not read any of the previous ones in this series but I loved all the characters and will go back to the beginning to meet them.
I loved feisty Sheila who was worried about giving up her newfound independence if she decided to follow her heart. She is such a stalwart of the community having found her feet after losing her husband and moving to Cornwall with her daughter Violet.
The Land Girls were brave souls too working so hard on Joe's farm after all the young men had gone to war.
I particularly liked Selina who bravely took on her sister's three children after tragedy struck.
I read into the wee small hours until it was finished. I was so engrossed with all their lives.

Thankyou netgalley for this Arc. I realise there will be a no 9 and I can't wait.

I had read the other books in the series and looked forward to this one - but wondered how Betty Walker would deal with the aftermath of WW2 and the lives of all in Porthcurno, Bodmin and the surrounds.

But she dealt with this in a brilliant manner. She also dealt with the continuing rationing and the terrible winter of 1946/7 and the flooding that followed.

She managed to give a story to all the characters in the book and then bringing all the LandGirls from the previous books back together for the wedding of a long standing character was a masterstroke.
There was certainly a lot of new life being born to many of the characters - and hopefully for some in the future.

There was some repetition of some of the passages that perhaps weren’t really needed but all in all this was the perfect end to the series - if indeed that what was this book was.

Selina’s story - looking after her late sisters children (not a spoiler as this was in the previous books) was poignant. She certainly had her hands full at times. But she grew in herself and dealt with all life threw at her.

All in all a fabulous read and a great series. Thank you

Another instalment in the Cornish girls saga,it is now 1947 peace at last after WW2. Grace a land girl arrives at Postbridge farm run by Joe and Violet Postbridge .Selina has left to go and look after her nieces and nephew on Bodmin Moor after her sister sadly diedwhich she is finding hard work but is helped by William the families solicitor.Caroline is getting over Selina leaving and becomes friends with the new land girl. Violets mum Sheila is trying to help those in the village who are still suffering after the war but wonders if her gentleman friend will let her continue helping.Thank you to Netgalley and Avon Books UK.

having this series of 8 books in your life feels like youve got a group of friends. or you manage to time hop to a different era to view a groups life over a time lapse. because coming back to them feels so warming and familiar. this book did have a feeling of it might be the final one though which did make me a little sad. its been one of the best series war time and other that ive had the pleasure of reading.
all the characters managed to capture you throughout the books. you never once wavered in wanting to know the stories. and whether you favored some over the others(i know i did have my fves) you still wanted to get to know and keep knowing how every single one Betty wrote about was getting on. all their stories were perfection to the books contents.
the war time cant have been easy and Betty doesnt make it fluffy to the point its unrealistic. but equally we arent here for that type of book. and i didnt want to feel over wrought every time i came to read! this book balances it all perfectly every single time you come to read the next installment. and because the years went on as did the war, you really follow them all the way through. and what i loved more is that even the the war ended and the books could have with it. well, thats not life. because the consequence or lives changed from it went on long after. so being able to glimpse this next part too felt like a true bonus.
this is just the best series. and im both lucky and sad that i got to read it. if it is indeed the last.
and i am hoping above hope that Betty has another coming soon if not new series then new books. because she truly has captured my heart with her books and i know i could read anything by her.
a nod to the covers too. they are always so encapturing for the reader. and have matched the titles and innards really well.

It was lovely to revisit old characters and meet new ones. Thought the story wasn’t as good as the previous books from Betty Walker, I still enjoyed reading it.

This is actually the first in the Cornish Girls series that I have read and I will definitely be going back to start at the beginning.
A really well-written and moving story that brings all the characters from previous books back together.

I have enjoyed all this series of books following the lives of the Land Girls on a Cornish farm during the war. This was, however, one of my least favourite in the series. I felt too much emphasis was put on the storyline of Caroline which was continued over from a previous book. I missed the other characters and sometimes felt like old friends had been forgotten. I could not decide on the book coming to a close if there would be more to come or not?

Thank you to the publishers, NetGalley and author for allowing me to read an Arc copy.

This is the 8th book in the Cornish Girl's series and I'm hoping it's not the last one although everything seemed to be tied up at the end.
Shelia is happy and doing well in the shop with the help of her sister Margaret. She's venturing into local politics and finding more ways to help the villagers who are finding life hard. Although the war has ended there is still a lack of food which is still being rationed and a very hard winter destroys crops which is the last thing everyone needs.

A new land girl is posted to the farm to take Selina's place and Caroline is very taken with her.
We get to know more about Selina who is now taking care of her sister's children.
Now that the war has ended and the men are coming back to the village and looking for work it looks like the land girls will be losing their jobs and the girls are very worried about having to leave the farm.

I loved this book and being back in the Cornish village with the girls and the family. Love is in the air and everyone seems to be having babies. War is over and life goes on. Lovely read.

The latest installment in the Cornish Girls series gives the reader more of a chance to explore Selina's story. In a previous book, she left her role as a Land Girl to care for her sister's children, and this book gives an insight to her life. The storyline between Caroline and newcomer Grace is sensitively explored, and I really liked seeing more of Sheila's life in detail - she is wonderful constant character. This book did feel like a conclusion in many ways - if it turns out to be so, it would be a lovely end to a wonderful series.

I have thoroughly enjoyed following the Cornish girls and this was no exception. It was good to see the girls enjoying their lives a little more after the war although times were still difficult for them. This was a fascinating read of love, friendship and how women supported each other. This was a really good read.