It was a very well written energetic book. Great vocabulary and unique words were used. I love the aspect of adventure as a young child tries to find her place in this new town away from her beloved home.

Winnie has recently lost her husband and little Francine has lost her entire family but these two lost souls may be able to help each other heal. A cast of wonderful characters including a obtuse cat fill this story with compassion and warmth. It's a heart-warming tale that made me smile and cry at the same time.

A up=lifting WWII historical novel with many heart wrenching moments.
The story revolves around Winnie and Francine and how they navigate through the hardships and horrors of the War.
The story shows how resilient one has to be to survive and go forward in life.
A heartwarming story that will pull on your heartstrings.
Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This is part of a trilogy and I have read the second part but not the first. However, it is really more the theme versus the characters that is continued in the series versus the characters, so it can be read stand alone or out of order. In each book, a child who is an evacuee in WW II comes to live with someone and the characters form a relationship.
I think I preferred the second book to this third book, though it picked up steam later on. We meet Winnie, the adult, who is widowed and is in need of someone to connect to, and Francine, a 10 year old girl who needs a home. We follow the relationship that is formed between them and see Francine grow into an adult. Later on, Winnie needs to make a major life decision.
This is more or less a "formula" novel, but it is a good one. You know that it is going to be a heartwarming, feel good story, which is a nice change. The characters are fully developed, more through actions and dialogue than through exposition. I would rate this 4 1/4.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing me with early access to this novel in exchange for my honest review.

After looking it up I saw this was book 3 in wartime evacuee stories. I managed to follow fine, bit I think I'd get more if I'd read the others. And shall be sure to go back and do so and I can't wait after just this one.
This time it's Francine who is the evacuee. She's come to the village after losing her mum and siblings in the blitz.
She is taken in reluctantly in parts due to just losing her husband. She doesn't know quite how to love but knows she has to for this little girl who's also lost so much.
Winnie runs the local pub. And surprisingly with Winnies help things start to look up both at work and home. They both give eachother so much. In both heartbreaking and tender moments we join these two. Healing,hurting but supporting eachother too.
I can't imagine losing the people you love. And so many did at this time. I'm grateful for those who reached out to help others in need. Those little kiddies must be beyond frightened as evacuees.

Winnie loves Francine instantly and it was beautiful to see. Her loves shines off the pages.
An emotional but gorgeous read.

Love Lizzie Page books. You always know it will be an emotional read and this was totally that! Couldnt put it down! Highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is the 3rd book in the series so maybe at times I felt a little lost ! But over all good book

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is the 3rd book in the Wartime Evacuees series. It could be read as a standalone book but I think readers who have read the first 2 books would get more out of this book.
I like how the author has focused on 3 individual children with intertwining experiences. You get a nice perspective from each child/woman.

Loved this book. England, 1941: Heartbroken villager Winnie has only just lost her husband when she’s asked to house an evacuee from the city. Will these two lonely souls heal each other’s broken hearts? An inspiring and emotional story of love, loss and hope in the darkest of days. Grab this one or any of the author’s books at curl up and enjoy the wild ride. You won’t be disappointed.

In book 3 of The Wartime Evacuees, we follow Francine’s journey after losing her mum and siblings during The Blitz.

Winnie has recently lost her husband to the war and is still grieving. Running the pub (The Castle) that she and her husband had ran together is keeping her going.

We join Winnie and Francine at their most difficult times, when they both need help and guidance.

My heart went out to both Winnie and Francine. They had both lost their loved ones and both were struggling to cope … until they found each other.

Winnie’s immediate love for Francine was wonderful and I could feel it through the pages.

Francine was wonderful for Winnie, she helped to keep the pub going by coming up with great ideas.

A beautifully told story that had my emotions running all over the place!

My thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

My heart bleeds for Francine. She has been through so much. She had been evacuated once before but her mother wanted her to return to London. She left the safety of the country side for the bombs of London. She soon realizes there is no safe place in London.

She soon finds herself evacuated again, but this time as an orphan. She is dumped in the small village of Kettering. It isn't easy to find someone that can open their heart and home for a little girl lost. The social worker thought he had the best place for her. He thought he could help his friend, Winnie, and a little girl at the same time. Winnie thought otherwise..

Francine is soon placed with an elderly man. He had been on the foster list since 1905. I gained so much from her placement with Mr. Cohen. Francine finds purpose with Mr Cohen. He has a kind heart, something that she desparately needed. It would not last.

Everything changes when Francine enters The Castle Pub. She didn't know where else to go after her guardian did not wake up. Francine finds herself needing a new place to live. Winnie didn't know how much she needed Francine. The patrons had stories to tell, I just needed to listen. Francine was an inspiration as she helped Winnie. She loved the pub and it showed. She was soon finding ways to bring in more customers. The Pub was her safe place.

I was left speechless experiencing the struggles Francine has in school. Francine remained quiet. Francine took what was dished out. The fear of being removed from a safe place was not something I had thought about. My stomache ached. My heart cried. I didn't think it could happen in a small village.

What an incredible read! This story ties together history, a great story, and even more recent event topics into one incredible story. It tells the reality of living through a wartime and what happened when it finished. The characters became relatable and so realistic and it was hard to not be rooted for them and wanting to keep reading to follow their lives.

This story is set in England.
After losing her entire family (except her solider father) because of the Blitz and chicken pox, Francine is shipped off as a refuge.
She has much to learn. Just how far has Hitler’s ideology spread?
While I was disappointed with Francine’s personal relationship, the main story points are engaging and insightful.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. My opinions are my own.

The 3rd part in the Wartime series but can be read standalone which i did as i didn't realise it was. Great story which i thoroughly enjoyed .

A well written book about live and friendship during the Second World War. Winnie struggles to keep the castle pub from closure. Francine has lost her family during the blitz and is evacuated to Kettering. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Winnie is obliged to offer a home to Francine. The story evolves around the growing love and affection the two of them have for each other. As Francine gets older she becomes more involved with plans to keep the pub from closure. A warmhearted story.

I loved this book, it was an emotional read. Winnie and Francine meet during the war, they don’t realise it yet but they need each other to heal from the horrors of losing loved ones. It was heartbreaking and sad but also very healing and with hope. Follow these two, a woman and a young girl as they navigate loss and life together. This is a real cozy feel good book, although tragic there is also hope and love which is very uplifting. Highly recommend this book I really enjoyed it. Definitely worth five stars as I couldn’t put it down, I really needed to know how it would end.

When the Salt family seek refuge during the blitz, little did they realise that the shelter wouldn’t protect them. Francine Salt only escaped because she was being looked after by a neighbour to protect the youngsters as she had chickenpox.
When she was relocated to Kettering, care officer Scott Cuthbert thought he’d ask good friend Winnie Eldridge to take her in, only problem was that Winnie herself was suffering after the loss of husband Trevor and she could barely look after herself. Winnie was landlady of The Castle public house where the brewery representative informed her that she had to improve footfall or risk closing, how was she going to manage that? Winnie’s life starts to look up when the Canadian soldiers start to frequent the premises, is she getting over Trevor.
My favourite character was Winnie, least favourite was mr Williams (he was such a bully).

I felt there was a lot packed into last few chapters.

What a lovely story. Vivid and very well researched. Quite an emotional story but with happy vibes. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Book three, The Wartime Mother, can they heal each other's broken heart.
Another absolutely beautiful WW2 novel from this inspiring author.
Kettering Northamptonshire,
Widowed pub landlady Winnie Eldridge and evacuee little Francine Salt together in this heart- wrenching story.
Old Mr Cohen death bring these two together, Winnie takes in Francine and Tiger the cat at the Castle pub without the H.
She won't even think about sending this little girl back to a children's home in London who has lost her mother and siblings and her father away fighting in this war, and Winnie has a threat of a pub closure that both fight to keep open.
I got such a big lump in my throat reading this book that is filled with love, through a special bonding forming with all the highs and lows along the way.
Tissues on the ready as always from this author once again as she takes her reader's into another best seller.
I totally 100% loved it.

"The Wartime Mother" takes place starting in 1941. Francine is an 11 year old girl who has lost her mother, younger sister and brothers in a bombing. Her father is missing and not known as dead or alive. Francine is in need of someone to take care of her. She is first fostered by an elderly man Mr. Cohen. She grows to love the old man and his cat but when Mr. Cohen dies she has to be placed in a new foster home. She is sent to live with Winnie who lives above a pub that is owned by her husband { who is away and fighting in the War} the pub is called "the Castle" Francine enjoys living in the Castle and turns out to be a pretty helper in the Pub. Over the next fews years there are tragedies when Winnie's husband dies in the War. Francine is dealing the hatred by a bully teacher because she is Jewish.
this is a good story about characters trying to survive during World War 2. The book goes from 1941 to about 1955. I liked this book. It has good characters in Winnie and Francine. the author does a good job writing about what surviving during World War 2 and coming together to help each other.