Nice wrap up to the series. I've enjoyed this light, feel good series and getting to know Emmy, Bunty and the rest of the gang. I would love the author to revisit them sometime down the road!

Another wonderful read about Miss Emmy Lake and Bunty. Ive loved this series and have read all of them. I look forward to whatever new subject AJ Pearce decides to write! Thank you NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for granting me this ARC in return for an honest review. All opinions are my own. #DearMissLake, #Simon&Schuster.

4 found family stars

This is the final book in the cozy Emmy Lake Chronicles. Throughout all four books, we have great characters and hear the most from Emmy Lake. Emmy works at “Woman’s Friend” magazine and strives to make the war a bit more manageable for women as the war slogs on. There are inventive recipes, fashion suggestions, and a column for advice. Emmy would love to be a war correspondent, but at that time, no woman could serve in that capacity.

Early in the book, the whole magazine team escapes to the countryside to avoid the continued bombing of London. Emmy and Bunty love the time there, along with the children they care for, while their father is away at war. Emmy’s husband is nearby too, and that makes everything easier. Then a proposal leads to a summer wedding, and the band of friends can almost believe that things will be normal.

Things don’t remain idyllic forever, though, and soon Charles is called back to active duty.

As Emmy puts on a brave face to be optimistic for everyone, she’s struggling to keep her spirits up. As news about Charles grows very scarce, she fears the worst. There’s a bit of war department drama in this one.

The magazine team really does become like family, and I rooted for all of them, hoping loved ones made it through the war and that Charles would return to Emmy. The found family really bonds and brings out the best in each other. There are not happy endings for everyone, but I liked how this one ended up.

Now that this series has concluded, I look forward to what this author writes next!

I have really enjoyed the Emmy Lake series, and this last one did not disappoint. After five years of war and continuing bombardment brings the team to the countryside. Times are still very hard and the characters and their articles impart the virtues of resilience and hope for a brighter future..
It's also shows the importance of friends in good times and bad.

read quite a bit of historical fiction, a large number set during WWII. They tell the stories of women fighting on the home front and of the day to day struggles they faced and overcame. I selected this novel because I had read one other in the series (this novel is the fourth and final volume) and enjoyed it. But I got a bit more than I bargained for this time.

In the span of just over 300 pages there are two weddings, two births, two reconciliations, one major relocation, one (temporary) abandonment and one imprisoning. And that is only the main plot. With all of these events, you would think the plot would keep me the most entertained. But it wasn’t.

As evidenced by the title, this novel centers around a magazine (remember those?). The publication is considered mandatory for women, featuring everything from inventive ways to repurpose rationed food, to how to alter clothes, to the centerpiece of the series - an advice column. In amongst all of that is sometimes found some anecdotal tales of daily life. This is where the novel shines and surpasses the slightly above average plot.

Protagonist Emmy gets sent to newly emancipated Brussels to interview the nurses at a military hospital to give her readers an on the ground viewpoint of how our men were treated and how hard they worked. It is this subplot and the subplot about the treatment of Prisoners of War that give this novel a breath of fresh air in an often repetitive genre. (Don’t get me wrong, I often find comfort in repetition.)

These stories educated me. I have read some novels set in military hospitals (Donna Douglas’ Nightingale series comes to mind immediately) and enjoyed them but this seemed more real - more gritty.

The struggle to get information is also a pervading theme. Considering the magazine’s chief purpose is to inform and entertain their base, it is also an interesting juxtaposition to see the struggles with red tape and bureaucracy. Seeing what happens to Emmy after she publishes her article about a POW’s wife is nothing short of eye-opening (not to mention angering). It is always important in this age of ubiquitous continuous information to note a time when things took - well, time.

I enjoyed the book and was pleasantly surprised. I will read other works by the author wherever the end up going.

This is a lovely historical fiction book with real feeling and a lot of history. I have grown attached to Emmy and her crew. Unfortunately, I think I have had enough. This book moved so slowly, I thought it would never end. AJ Pearce is a great writer, but needs some fresh material. The characters are wonderful and she is great about introducing new events and conflicts to keep things interesting. Good work, but this is the last I will read.

It's July 1944, almost 5 years into WWII, and the bombs are still dropping on London. With the devastation everywhere, Women’s Friend magazine moves everyone—employees, spouses, and children to the countryside and safety for the summer. However, as the war raged throughout Europe, not everyone remained safe...

"Dear Miss Lake" is the final book in "The Emmy Lake Chronicles" series, and it was great to be back with this wonderful group of book friends who hope for an end to the war soon. The Women's Friend magazine staff remain committed to doing their part to keep their readers focused and inspired to do the same.

As with each book in this series, A.J. Pearce gives the first-person narration through Emmy Lake's voice, and the dialogue between the characters feels authentic for the era. There are heartwarming and heartbreaking moments sprinkled with enough charm and humor to uplift you. All of this provided consistency, uniformity, and balance to the series.

If you listen to the audiobooks, Anna Popplewell narrates all four and does a fantastic job as Emmy's voice. Her voicing of all characters is gender appropriate, and voice inflections reflect the emotions throughout the series. Binge-listening or reading would be a treat!

"Dear Miss Lake" explores themes of resilience, community, the power of friendship, and the strength of female voices. I wasn't ready for this series to end. I want more about these characters living their lives after WWII, and how this book ends, that feels like a possibility!

4⭐

Thank you to Scribner and A.J. Pearce for the gifted DRC through NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.

It was lovely to revisit with Ms. Emmy Lake and the gang at Women’s Friend offices during the last few years of WWII. With drama, MIA husbands, and overseas correspondents, we are delighted to be in the world of Emmy as she navigates England in its reality of the impact of the war that has been ravaging for far too long. Although the time period is a hard one in reality, the author brings light into the dark times and these cast of characters you just come to love through her other books. As always, it’s wonderful to visit Emmy in this series. Also sad that it has come to an end.

It’s the end of the war and also the end of the Emmy Lake Chronicles. After three installments, wherein we have shared the heartbreak of Emmy and Bunty while they survive the Blitz during World War II, the series closes on a fairly satisfying end.

Again this is a charming novel and it’s wonderful to continue knowing how Emmy and friends keep coping in wartime, although I’d really suggest you read the first three books in order, “Dear Mrs. Bird”, “Yours Cheerfully”, and “Mrs. Porter Calling.” Emmy and Bunty have finally moved to the countryside, away from aerial destruction, but when you think that perhaps Emmy and Charles will have an early happy ending in this book, he’s called back to the front and ends up as a POW. This gives Emmy another purpose, supporting the left behind wives and sweethearts like her.

Ms. Pearce continues with detailed historical settings and facts — I particularly continue to love the slang of the time and warm familiar feeling I get from the characters. I hope the author continues with a new set of engaging stories as we bid Emmy goodbye and good luck! 4 stars!


Thank you to Scribner and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

In this final installment of the Emmy Lake Chronicles, it is near the end of the war and Emmy and her colleagues at Women's Friend Magazine are trying to help as many women as they can through advice columns and other helpful articles, and after 5 years at war, they are just at the point of trying to hold it all together. The magazine team spends the summer at Emmy's best friend Bunty's rural home and Emmy and her husband Charles begin to discuss life after the war (when he is home on leave). Unfortunately Charles is taken as a POW and Emmy takes on a new cause.

I loved this series, I thought it was a lighter way to experience WWII and since that I recently went to the Churchill War Rooms in London and learned even more background (I could have spent hours there), I enjoyed this one even more. This final chapter in the series hit a little closer to home for me since there is a big storyline about prisoners of war in Germany and as I've shared in the past, my grandfather was captured at DDay and remained a POW in Munich for the remainder of the war. Over the series, I have become familiar and attached to the characters so I was happy to see closure to the story I had been reading for years. I enjoyed the audio as well, I think this one does well as an audiobook (maybe it's the British accent) but I ended up reading about half of it. The story captures many of the women's issues at the time and did so in a way that never felt too heavy.

Thank you to Scribner and Netgalley for the ARC to review

This wraps up the quartet about a team of journalists working to buoy up the home front in England during WWII. Its a sweet story about a lovable group of people and their struggles as the war ends. Someone always has to be the last casualty, and there are trials in store for Emmy Lake and her friends. I'm sorry to bid farewell to the characters.

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

The final installment of The Emmy Lake Chronicles did not disappoint! From the start, I have enjoyed entering the world of essential women’s work and a peek into the vital role journalism during WWII that shaped and influenced the Brits to rally around the needs of the government to win the war. At the basic level, yes, it was government propaganda, but I appreciated the way in which it was presented by the author as both positive, yet she didn’t hesitate to show the shadier side of it as well. Following the friendship of Emmy and Bunty as well as the love story between Emmy and Charles were satisfying endings to the plot lines of each relationship in the series. I wish it would continue, but I will be equally eager to read forthcoming works by the author, whether they are stand-alones or the start of a new series. Well done! While my opinions are my own, many thanks to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the ARC.

My favorite since the first book in the series, and a satisfying conclusion that hit all the right notes. We get to see Emmy and Women’s Friend (and friends) straight through to the end of the war, and while there remain tragedies, there are also moments of cozy joy that made this a delight.

A nice, little slice of history populated with wonderfully written characters and a plot that keeps you engaged until the last word.

I read many reviews where the reviewer claims to have sobbed while reading. I'm not that person. Except I was with this last in a series I've adored. I actually burst into tears near the end, which was both a surprise and an indication of how Pearce has been able to make this wonderful group of men and women in London during WWII feel like friends. Emmy writes an advice column for Women's Own, a magazine which works with the Ministry of Information. The Women's Own staff-all of them-decamp to Emmy's pal Bunty's countryside estate to escape the German bombing and build an even tighter community than they already had. The women, and Guy, pull together even as events see changes in almost all of their lives. There are marriages, babies, and happiness but then the war intrudes once more and changes everything for all of them. This is a lovely, engaging, atmospheric novel of the Homefront with terrific characters. It will be most appreciated by those who have been following along. I'm sorry to see it go but Pearce ends it on the right note. No spoilers. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Great read.

It's 1944 and England is still mired in the fighting of WWII. But this time, Emmy's husband Charles gets called back to active duty and he is reported as missing and later as a POW. This opens a whole new line of research for Emmy - what resources are available to the women whose husbands/sons are reported as missing or POWs. How can they find out what happened or where they are? She reaches out to other women in those situations and she is determined to help them, however she is able. All this while she is nervous and worried about Charles. Meanwhile, some of her articles or those about her reach the wrong ears at the Ministry and she is called on the carpet. However, it doesn't put a damper on her determination to help however she can. While there are many lighthearted moments interspersed throughout Dear Miss Lake, the last chapters are rather tense as the war is drawing to a close. What will happen to the POWs?

This novel has a very different feel than the previous ones in this series. It has its upbeat moments but there is a much more serious feel to it. This is the final novel in the Emmy Lake Chronicles, and I will miss reading about Emmy and the rest of the employees at Women's Friend magazine.

I enjoy this series and have really come to love these great characters, they are warm, funny, loyal, hard-working, and charismatic. In this book, WWII is coming to an end and the characters are leaving, coming home, making plans for what's next. It's not a fast-paced read, but a leisurely narrative of friends and intertwining lives.

This is the 4th and final book in the Emmy Lake series. The author did a beautiful job of continuing the story as well as wrapping up the series. All of the characters that readers have come to love are back. It is nearing the end of WWII and that plays a role in the story as well. These books give a good feeling for some of the challenges that people at home faced as well as the soldiers. I’m not a huge reader of historical fiction, but I have loved this series from the beginning. There is just something endearing about Emmy and the other characters and there’s always plenty going on in the plot as well. This could be read as a stand alone, but I highly recommend reading them all for the most complete and satisfying reading experience. A perfect ending to a very enjoyable series. I hope AJ Pearce has something new on the horizon for us.

#DearMissLake #NetGalley

Dear Miss Lake by AJ Pearce
(The Emmy Lake Chronicles #4)

I've enjoyed all four of the books in The Emmy Lake Chronicles. One thing I enjoy about the series is the simple humor throughout each book, just friends and relatives who love and care for each other finding the everyday humor in life, despite the very difficult times they are living. This fourth book starts in July 1944, hopefully heading towards the end of the war. London has been under siege, Emmy and her friends and family have lost so many loved ones, friends, and acquaintances, and as they hopefully get closer to 1945, they are hoping that the living can make it through this war intact.

Emmy's husband, Charles, has been posted near home but eventually he gets sent overseas again. Emmy's best friend, Bunty, has lost so much in the past but now she is heading towards marriage to her fiancé Harold. Eighteen year old Hester and former mail room boy, Clarence, are a couple and there is the dread of Clarence being sent into the heat of battle. There is such a great feeling of family, the family each person was born into, but just as importantly, when the world is falling apart, the friends that have become as much family as blood relatives. The story shows how much it helps to not be alone, to be willing to help others, to allow others to help you, to be there for each other. And heaven help the person who tries to do your friends and family dirty, because having the backup of those who care for and love you makes the world a better place.

The Woman's Friend magazine is doing well, even when the crew moves to the country so they can get a break from the London bombing. Emmy wants to help the women who are at home keeping things running, really keeping things running. So many have lost their men, mothers, wives, children, fiancés, friends and family are hurting from the bad news overseas. Men are dying, men are missing, men are POWs and the people at home need emotional support even if it can't change reality. Emmy gets to see the suffering up close with a special assignment but she also suffers losses at work as she begins to be more open to her readers about the truth of how hard the war is on the people back home. The government wants her to print the most rosy and favorable news when Emmy sees everyday that the government is dropping the ball on helping people to survive all the losses of the war.

There is much heartbreak here but the sense of caring for each other lightens my heart. I'm going to miss this series but I'm also happy with the way it's ending. I really can picture these people continuing to be a "family", to finally feel able to be more truthful about the hardships of war, of life going back to "normal" when woman lose the jobs they have been holding down while the war has been raging, how realities need to be faced concerning giving support to those who have fallen on hard times rather than ostracizing those people. I look forward to what ever AJ Pearce has in store for us in the future. This has been a fun series to read and discuss with DeAnn so check out her reviews to see her thoughts.

Thank you to Scribner and NetGalley for this ARC.

Thank you Scribner for this arc.

I was kind of expecting two more books in this series to take us through the last two years of the war but when I saw this is the last one, I knew it would be a whopper. There is trouble, there is (still) making do, there is heartache, and there is joy. Just what I expected. There is so much to keep a reader inhaling this book.

Several Events occur and the Looming Shadow, that I thought must be coming over the horizon, arrives. Actually there are two of them to bring the staff into the thick of what many other people in the country have been coping with – some for years.


The optimistic “the war is almost over” feel at the start of the book is definitely tempered fairly soon. As this series hasn’t avoided some characters being lost to war, I held my breath to the end. And while the staff at the magazine are fairly broad minded and accepting, some of the wider public isn’t and of course dealing with the government is always a joy. It was delightful to settle into another, and final (sob) book with these wonderful people. I feel as if I’ve come to know them over the course of four books. Most of them mean well, try hard, and when they stumble, they pick themselves up and keep going with the help of this wonderful found family. I will truly miss them. A-