The East End Girls by Jean Fullerton is a heartwarming story set against the backdrop of wartime London. From the very first pages, I was swept into the world of Corporal Effie Weston and her fellow WAAF members—Alice, Nell, and George—who band together to protect their community and each other during the Blitz. Fullerton captures the gritty determination of East End women with authenticity and affection, highlighting not just their strength, but also their warmth and wit.

Wow what a great story. I’m totally into WW2:fiction and this didn’t disappoint, I can’t wait for the next instalment in the series. This is the story of Effie and her new friends in the WAAF as they train to be ‘Balloon Girls’. This was so well written, life was tough during the war, particularly for women who were trained to do the men’s heavy manual work. This was a very emotional book, huge highs and deep lows. This book was so hard to put down, it really flowed beautifully. Jean Fullerton has written a cracking first instalment in this new series.

Thank you to netgalley and Bookouture for this brilliant ARC.

I was looking for a new wartime series to get stuck into after I wrapped up a few others and boy did this fit the bill! It was perfect.

I quickly warmed to the characters, loved getting to know our new gang of ‘Balloon girls’ and quickly became invested in their stories, relationships and friendships. It was so heartwarming to read!

We follow Effie as she begins her war work with the WAAFs, wrangling hydrogen balloons helping to protect her country. She crosses paths with a certain charismatic and handsome Flight Officer and finds herself pulled in two different directions. Stay with her current fiancé or follow the man who makes her heart race?

It was written really well, doing the era justice whilst weaving a compelling story. I found it easy to fly through chunks of chapters at a time as I was enjoying the story and it was so hard to stop! I think I consumed the book in a matter of days and was left rapidly researching if there was going to be a second book in what promises to be a great series.