1941. The Blitz rages over London.And even in Cornwall, the war is being fought… realise there’s a battle to fight in Cornwall, too.
Together with local Hazel, who works on the base, they must come together to help the war effort. But will their friendship be enough to keep them safe?
The perfect uplifting wartime read for fans of Nancy Revell and Donna Douglas.
Praise for the Cornish Girls:
‘I was totally blown away! I am so invested in these women that I must read the next book!’ NetGalley reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘A fascinating story, beautifully written, with interesting characters I really liked. A most enjoyable read!’ Kitty Neale, Sunday Times bestselling author of A Daughter’s Ruin
‘Charming and exciting – this book had me hooked! I can’t wait for the next in the series!’ NetGalley reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘A warm-hearted story – at times I laughed and at others I held my breath … I loved the characters and I’m delighted it is the first in a series’ Pam Weaver, Sunday Times bestselling author of Goodnight Sweetheart
‘The perfect mix of light and dark – there wasn’t a dull moment!’ NetGalley reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘This is the first in a series, which is great news for fans of Betty Walker and the Cornish Girls!’ Historical Novel Society
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Wartime with the Cornish Girls by Betty Walker is the beginning of The Cornish Girls series. This is a charming story about three women who become friends and how they help each other get through the World War II. I thought this historical novel was well-written with developed characters. Hazel Baxter, Violet Hopkins, and Eva Ryder each have their own story. These three women come from different backgrounds, but they soon find they have a lot in common. Violet Hopkins is escaping the East End with her two nieces after the death of her sister. She does not want them to be scared that a bomb could drop and kill them at any minute. Eva Ryder is a party girl who ran away from her Uncle Teddy in London. After a bomb lands on the nightclub where she was dancing, Eva ends up in the hospital. She gets sent to her father, Colonel Ryder in Cornwall. Hazel Baxter works at Eastern House at the top secret Porthcurno military base. Her husband is off fighting the war and her teenage son, Charlie is eager to enlist. The three women all end up on Porthcurno where they come together to plan a dance which will raise morale and funds for the local church. We follow the ladies’ lives, the war, and what is happening at this secret listening station. It was interesting learning about this base in Cornwall. I found it fascinating and ended up looking it up online (there is a museum there now). The author provided good descriptions of Cornwall and captured the time-period. I enjoyed the British slang. Wartime with the Cornish Girls is a touching story (would make a great PBS series). I am looking forward to reading Christmas with the Cornish Girls when it comes out. Wartime with the Cornish Girls is an engaging historical tale about friendship, bravery, and overcoming adversity.
Wartime with the Cornish Girls by Betty Walker the first in the feel-good new Cornish Girls series. What can I say other than I loved it and read in a day.
1941. The Blitz rages over London.
And even in Cornwall, the war is being fought…
The story follows the lives of three women who end up together in the Cornish town of Porthcurno where a top secret military base is running during WW2. Growing up my gran and mum told us stories about the rationing, air raids over london and my mum being sent out to the country to be safe, because of this I was attracted to this book.
I found the characters to be well developed, and multi-dimensional. There were multiple sub-plots to keep you engaged and interested in the outcome.
I will definitely read other books by this author, i am excited to read “Christmas with the Cornish Girls” on November 25, 2021.
I requested and received an advance reader copy of this book from Avon Books UK and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
A remote spot on the Cornish coast of England is relied upon as a vital weapon in World War ll. Porthcurno is the setting for this eye-opening tale of three young women and their contributions to the war effort-how they come to “do their bit.”
Violet Hopkins lives in the seedy East End of London. In charge of her nieces and on the side of caution, Violet takes Lily and Alice to her Aunt Margaret’s farm in Cornwall to escape the nightly London bombings. The idea of trading farm & house chores for safety, room and board keeps readers’ hopes for Violet’s safety alive. Betty Walker’s endearing account of Violet’s family struggles and the determination and grit of Violet, Lily and Alice sets readers off on this intriguing journey to Cornwall.
Walker’s Cornish Girl #2 is Eva Ryder, London socialite and lonely daughter of a widowed military officer. Eva falls in love with RAF officer, Lt. Max Carmichael, but an evening date ends with a fatal bombing. The scare leaves Colonel Ryder no choice but to bring Eva to safety in Cornwall where he is part of a communications task force. The mystery of whether Max survives the bombing keeps readers hesitantly optimistic and turning pages.
Cornish Girl #3 is local, Hazel, who works at Eastern House on the base in Porthcurno. Betty Walker layers Hazel’s life of abuse and struggle with great empathy to evoke feelings of anxiousness as Hazel is desperate to protect her son, Charlie. The unlikely trio uncovers secrets, finds friendship and discovers self-confidence. As this wartime adventure unfolds on the Cornwall coast “information” is key. This is Book #1 in the series, which is great news for fans of Betty Walker and the Cornish Girls!
Well-written and enjoyable read. This book tells the story of three women living in England during WWII in 1941 – Violet, Eva and Hazel. Each is from a different background, but are brought together by the London bombings.
Violet – loving aunt to two orphaned nieces seeks to remove them from London and the ever threat of bombings from the Germans, but quickly realizes that there is danger lurking in Cornwall that may be worse then the bombings.
Eva – independent with a chip on her shoulder that puts her in grave danger (more than once) who learns that it is OK to rely on others and that she doesn’t always know best.
Hazel – a country girl with a husband she regrets and a teenage son she cannot understand who begins to believe she is entitled to some happiness.
All come together in Cornwall where the British established a listening station during WWII.
The story begins by providing a brief background on each of the characters and how Eva and Violet end up in Cornwall. The story shifts POV’s among each of the main characters. While sometimes this can make a story difficult to read, it made perfect sense here. It really helped me gain the perspective of each of the characters (I actually only had to go a couple of times to see whose POV I reading) and the author did a really nice job changing the tone/language to reflect which POV was being presented. The author also did a decent job of portraying the daily danger those living in England were facing during the bombings.
Readers should be aware that the book ends on a few cliffhangers as this book in a series. However, it also ends in a relatively good place and left me wanting to read more about Violet, Eva and Hazel (who I hope really gets the HEA she deserves).
I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Wartime with the Cornish Girls by Betty Walker
The minute I finished this I was looking to see if the author had written any other books! I looked up her name on Amazon and could find nothing under her name! If this is her debut book, WOW! I LOVED it!
This is an amazing book! I read this book in one sitting and I couldn’t put it down! My husband had to bring fast food home for supper!
The characters were fun, lovable, strong, sensitive and growing! I cannot wait for the next book! I adored Violet and the fact she was not overbearing, but she was exactly the type of sister I would have loved! There for you and guiding you and talking you through the bad stuff, but letting you grow up as well. Hazel as a mom and woman was remarkable! She was close at hand for her son and she knew that she couldn’t push him because she would have lost him totally! I cried when she did at one point because I felt her pain. I am not going to give a spoiler!
Eva was a blast of energy that kept you on your toes! However, deep down that girl had strength, morals, endurance, and ethics which she showed!
All the characters had depth and opinions and the book had development with continuity! That is why a sequel is going to happen with onward movement!
Betty Walker you are an hypnotizing author and I truly appreciate and am captivated by your novel!
I received an advanced copy from NetGalley and I willingly give my thoughts and opinions.
Anyone that enjoys historical fiction, set during WWII, will enjoy this one. The first of Betty Walker’s Cornish girls series, this one will have me waiting eagerly for the next.
We learn how another small British town, takes part in the war effort, with their role as information gathering on the location of German war planes, while in an old home, nestled and camouflaged among the rocky coast of the Cornish shore.
It follows the lives of three young women, with nothing in common, but to stay safe, protect their loved ones and do their part for the war effort. I loved the characters, strong, likable young women, with interesting backgrounds and lives. Of course, a little romance thrown in, provides the smiles needed while reading of the suffering and tragedy of war.
My thanks to NetGalley, Betty Walker and Harper Collins Publishers for the ARC. I loved it!
Porthcurno, Cornwall England hides an underground World War II military base where numerous military personnel as well as civilian aides are decoding German messages. Violet loses her sister in the London bombings and heads to Cornwall with her 2 nieces. On the way to Cornwall, she meets Eva who is also running from London dangers. Together with Hazel who lives in Porthcurno, the 3 girls band together to help the war effort.
Betty Walker is a new-to-me author, but I thoroughly enjoyed this story of the three young women who banded together to help one another as well as serve the war effort. Her historical research is obvious, and Walker brought the area, life, and times of the military and the civilians into a vivid picture. The novel is filled with history, suspense and romance; and I look forward to reading the next book in this series to see what happens next with the three young women.
**I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions are mine alone. I was not compensated for this review.
I enjoyed reading Betty Walker’s Wartime with the Cornish Girls. The story puts the reader in the middle of events that shaped the future of the brave men and women in Great Britain. Fortitude and courage allowed them to overcome the hardships of a war that took so much from them all. People who may never have met before the war were on an even keel through their work in the united war efforts.
It is no secret I enjoy historical fiction, and with the added bonus of a secret base on Cornwall with a bit of intrigue captured my attention. Of course, as with any story set during war, there is no ignoring the devastation of the lives lost, especially in remote locations where people least expect the intrusion of an enemy attack. I look forward to reading more of Betty Walker’s works in the future
Wartime With the Cornish Girls by Betty Walker is a World War II story of those left behind. Three women, Violet and Eva from the East End of London, and Hazel from Cornwall, meet in Cornwall and become friends, their lives intertwining and changing for the better. Porthcurno in South Cornwall is the location of a large military communications center, sending and receiving top secret messages around the clock. Eva’s father is the commander there and she has been sent to him to keep her out of trouble, after she ran away from her uncle and became a dancer in a bar in London. She was caught in a German bombing attack and her uncle was contacted. Violet lives with her mother and together they run a small cafe. She has two nieces, Lily and Alice, whose mother died in a bombing incident and whose father is missing in action. Violet is anxious to get them out of London to safety from the bombs and from some of their neighbors so they go to her aunt in Porthcurno. It was miserable; they were treated little better than slaves, but they managed, until the day her uncle tried to rape Lily. Instead of supporting Lily, her aunt stood with her husband, and kicked them out. Violet had me Hazel a few days earlier and decided to go to her for help.
This is a complicated story, as peoples’ lives tend to get. It certainly held my attention as one thing after another happened to each of them. Stories of those left behind are not nearly as common as Holocaust or battle stories. This is definitely women’s fiction as these woman struggle to keep their loves afloat. It was well though out and interesting. The characters are sympathetic and in need of love and support. They appear to be on their way to finding it. It is homey and gives the reader an idea of what life was like for many during this horrid war. I recommend it.
I was invited to read a free ARC of Wartime With the Cornish Girls by Netgalley. All opinions contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #wartimewiththecornishgirls