I had a great time with this book.

The writing was fantastic, the storyline was good and enjoyable and I liked the characters.

A charming book, full of interesting information on how a group of girls become experts in the maintenance and operation of hoisting barrage balloons during the blitz. Corporal Effie Weston finds romance with Flying Officer Nathan Fitzgerald. But the path of true love runs anything but smooth for Effie and Nathan. Can’t wait for the next book in the series.

Enjoyable book telling the story of a group of girls learning to manage the Barrage balloons which played a vital role in the protection of the country during the war. The book is well written and the characters personalities come across well to the reader making it easy to decide who to like and who to dislike!

I did find the second half of the book somewhat predictable with Effie's predicament and feel this features in too many wartime novels. I would have liked there to have been more storyline based in France and how the Resistance workers saved Nathan and Frobisher. All in all a light and easy read and I look forward to the next in the series.

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

Effie is a lovely heroine—young, determined, and strong. Along with her WAAF pals Alice, Nell, and George, she faced the horrors of the Blitz with bravery and a lot of humour.

I loved the girls' bond and friendship as they dealt with air raids, hard work, and the occasional moment of fun.

Nathan—Oh, Nathan. He and Effie met on a station platform, and their special connection was obvious from then on.

Their romance was lovely, and on several occasions I sighed with happiness for them. Until life got in the way.

I liked how the story included both heartwarming moments and depictions of war.

I felt for Effie's struggles, whether it was standing up to her parents or waiting for Nathan's fate; it was very moving what she went through.

If you enjoy WWII historical fiction with strong heroines and a dash of romance, this is the book for you.

I've read several books with a similar title and a recent book on barrage balloon operators - finding those two things combined yet again left a repetitive feeling in head. Overall I found this to be a fairly light story - overbearing fiancé at home is quickly usurped by a dashing military suitor (plot twist, a black airman) who of course turns out to be Effie's soul mate. I'm unsure if I would seek out a sequel or want to know more about the characters' journeys as their war progresses. As seems typical in these WAAF stories, there's a beautiful rich one in the mix and another who is the average mean girl. Upon reflection, I didn't find anything new or especially novel in this story - the interracial relationship notwithstanding, but that actually felt a little kitschy as if it were tossed in for shock value.

I really enjoyed this start to this new series. I loved the characters and was very interested in what they did. Looking forward to the next one in this series. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Title: The East End Girls
Author: Jean Fullerton
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A chance encounter at a train station becomes love at first sight for Nathan, a pilot from Barbados who is assigned to a base in England, when he saves Effie from a thief attempting to steal her suitcase. Not so impressed, Effie’s fiancé, Leonard. The East End Girls takes the reader through the training that Effie experiences to hold a barrage balloon during air raids, as well as Nathan’s assignments to fly into occupied France to drop off and pick up secret operatives during the war. The war is a backdrop for the developing romance between Effie and Nathan.

Positives: This is my first read of a mixed race couple during WWII. It was a breath of fresh air. I had to look up information on the barrage balloons to get a visual and understand the difficulties that Effie and her crew faced in wrangling control of the monstrosity. This book is also the first one in a series according to the book cover. Effie’s balloon crew is a mixed bag of characters that I look forward to reading more about in the series hopefully.

Struggles: There is the obvious racism of those not accepting of a bloc pilot, much less a mixed race couple. The book was a bit of a slow start for me, but about 1/3 of the way in, it was hard to put down.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the advanced copy. Opinions expressed are my own. This book will be republished on June 27, 2025.

#netgalley #arc #bookstagram #TheEastEndGirls #Bookouture #JeanFullerton

was excited to read the latest by Jean Fullerton. I read her entire Ration Book series and LOVED it. East End Girls lacked the same charm. It was heavier on historical details and lighter on the character development. I’m hopeful that as the series continues, the characters will become like old friends who I’m excited to see again.

WWII in London, the girls do what they can to help out during the war. A wonderful heartbreaking story. I was given an ARC of this book. This review is my own.

In 1942, London was being targeted by the German Air force in what became known as the Blitzkrieg. Able bodied men of all ages were being recruited into the Armed Forces as Britain was suffering terribly in Europe, leaving a shortage of people to carry out essential work.
One of the defenses against the German planes where a series of massive cigar shaped balloons hoisted every night to form a barrage across London. Women were being recruited to train and carry out the heavy work of maintaining and launching these balloons.
In The East End Girls, Jean Fullerton tells their story once again as Effie and her crew face up to the cold, wet, brutal, unforgiving training to be to become an essential component of Britain’s defenses.
Flying Officer Nathan Fitzgerald has been seconded to a secretive air force base to fly a Lysander plane across the channel to drop off and pick up agents from France. He is from Jamaica, well respected in the air force and is a man who is skilful in his work as a pilot as well as well educated.
Effie comes from a family of some consequence in Waltham Abbey. She is engaged to Leonard and is expecting to marry the following year. She meets Nathan at St Pancras station as she is about to have her suitcase stolen. They are intrigued but put it down to nothing more than a chance encounter.
Their pathways begin to cross in the most unlikely manner, and it is not long before they both realise there is something deep forming between them that they can no longer deny. This deep love will cause a most hurtful schism within Effie’s family but will also show her the invaluable help and love of the women she has grown to know and love as they have worked tirelessly together to help defend the East End of London night after night.
The East End Girls is the first in a new series and is one that is an excellent blend of history and fiction carefully woven together to create a very plausible, enjoyable story which sets a high standard for the following books in the series.

East London 1942 WW2 historical drama.
WAAF corporal Effie Weston is leaving her parents and fiancé Leonard Forester in London to head off for her fourteen week training at Bletchley.
Joining up with 906 balloon squadrons Alice Nell and George.
Attending a dance at the corn exchange in Bedford she bumped into flight officer Nathan Fitzgerald after he helped her at the train station St Pancras captured by his incredibly blue eyes she took a turn around the dance floor in a whirl her Knight in shining armour from Barbados in the west indies she falls head over heels and the break up with Leonard and preparations for her up coming wedding to Nathan can't come quick enough.
A perfect start to a new series from this inspiring author.

The east end girls Effies story is unique in every way.
So unputdownable heartbreaking and touching right to the end.
Loved it in every way.

Historical drama set during World War Two. An interesting story about barrage balloon girls,something I didn't know existed

Heartbreaking and exciting in equal measures.
Effie Weston joins the WAAF to do her bit for the war effort, however she gets a lot more in return. Already promised to the Leonard, who her parents think would make the ideal husband, he is quite jealous when a handsome RAF flight officer comes to Effie’s rescue at the train station. Said officer Nathan Fitzgerald stays on Effie’s mind afterwards. Effie becomes friendly with her crew members on the balloon squad, George, Nell, Maeve & Alice. When allocated lodgings with Florrie at the maid of Norway boarding house they don’t realise what a good friend they have in their landlady!
Nathan is busy flying SOE ops with the insufferable Probisher who is quite the liability, will he prove dangerous during ops?
Will Nathan and Effie’s paths cross again?

I really enjoyed this book, there is the usual banter/bickers between the WAAF’s and then there is the excitement of Nathan’s story. I have to say my favourite character was Nathan for his strong moral compass. Least favourite was Probisher for being such a boor, quickly followed by Lily.

I do hope there will be another in this series.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This book had potential to be so much more, but I felt like I read a cobbled together mess. I enjoy a good historical fiction, especially WW2, and the fact that this was following the women and their efforts, I was intrigued. It just didn't hit the way it should though.

This book follows Effie, who was in the WAAF division. Her fiance and parents aren't thrilled that she pushed off her wedding to help the war effort, but are somewhat understanding that she feels called to do it.

The day she is headed to her new location, she meets Nathan Fitzgerald, who is a pilot with the RAF. They both felt sparks of attraction, but neither acts on them. Once they both get to their locations, they run into each other a few different times, and apparently they both knew they were in love with each other since their first brief meeting. Effie calls off her engagement, and immediately gets engaged to Nathan.

Her parents aren't happy, and want nothing to do with her, as Nathan is from Barbados, and not a white man like they wanted her to be with. They turn her away again when Nathan goes missing in action, and Effie comes home pregnant, looking for support.

Nathan finally makes it back, and him and Effie are married. In a span of a few months, they went from strangers to married with a baby on the way. The timeline was so unbelievable, that I struggled with their relationship. I love a good love at first sight book, but this wasn't it.

Not only was the timeline and story all over the place, so many words were overused. The word "blooming" was used so much, that I actually complained to my husband about the frequency of it.

Overall, I would not recommend this book to anyone. It was boring and unbelievable. I appreciate the research into what these people did for the war, but other than that, this book was not well done.

I absolutely loved this book I thought it was going to be predictable but it wasn't
It built a picture of all the characters and was well researched, and a wartime job I've not read about before so made a refreshing change
I'm looking forward to the next two books

East London, 1942:With the men at war, can the women of the East End band together to defend their loved ones, their city and their country? Be prepared to put your life on hold! Taut and tense from the first page to the closing paragraphs……loved it! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I love books by Jean Fullerton and this new saga doesn't disappoint.
Based in London in 1942 Effie Weston joins up to the Women's Auxiliary Air Force . Follow her and her friends Alice, Nell and George as they face war together.

The East End Girls by Jean Fullerton

Another heartwarming book by this author . I love how she writes so eloquently about the era and it's the perfect way to chill out by reading her novels.
We are introduced to Effie Weston and the other characters Alice , Nell and George who have,all joined the WAAF .
We follow their story as they do their bit for the war and help others during the blitz in London.
Highly recommend .

Read and reviewed in exchange for a free copy from NetGalley. Although I really enjoy wartime sagas, I have only read one of Fullerton's books previously. I was keen to get my teeth into a new series, and this exceeded my expectations. I was invested in Effie and Nathan's story throughout; Fullerton created real care for the characters, and the racism they experienced was written sensitively. I also enjoyed the focus on barrage balloon girls, which I have not seen explored in this type of series before. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

A well written storyline with wonderful characters.
A flew through this book and look forward to the follow ups.
My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my copy.