Skip to main content

Christmas at Liberty's - Fiona Ford

Christmas at Liberty's (Liberty Girls #1)

Description

The first novel in the Liberty Girls series will be loved by fans of Elaine Everest, Nancy Revell and Mr Selfridge.

September, 1941.

Mary arrives in war-torn London nursing a broken heart and a painful secret.

When she is offered her dream post as an assistant in the fabric department at Liberty store, she knows this is the fresh start she needs. Amid the store’s vibrant prints and sumptuous interiors, Mary finds a new family who can help her to heal.

But not everyone will give Mary such a warm welcome, and the trauma of her past will soon catch up with her.

As Mary and the Liberty Girls endure the heartache and uncertainty of war, it will take a steady heart to keep the magic of Christmas alive.



Review

I saved this book from my personal book shelf to read over the Christmas period, but really you could read it at any time of the year.

Liberty's is one of my favourite stores and I was a little nervous at how it was going to treated. I needn't have worried because the descriptions and details of the store where just spot on, I could see it all in my minds eye. I also love Liberty fabrics, so the fact that Mary gets to work in that department was a bonus for me. 

What I enjoyed the most about this book was the social history aspects. Set in 1941,  I learned quite a few things I hadn't known about before, especially some of the war time rationing. I loved how everyone in the book pulled together to make the most of what they had and each other. What wasn't so good was the way Mary was treated by society and her family- it really brought home to me the way society in general has changed in this respect.

One of the characters that was so vivid was Mrs Matravers, such a colourful and changing character who more than added to the varied story line. This certainly wasn't a saccharine read - it has warts and all.

I am a little behind in this series as there is already a follow up book and a third to be released in 2020.

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. 


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Invisible Women's Club - Helen Paris

  Description Readers have fallen in love with this beautiful, heart-warming and uplifting story about one woman's journey from invisibility to being seen once more... 'A  heart-lifting  and  thoughtful  read, that gives a huge shout out to the  power and strength of women ' 'This book is  all heart and soul  ... and just the right amount of  humour ' 'A story of  courage  and  strength  that's  witty ,  warm  and filled with  wisdom ' 'Helen writes so sympathetically about characters who may not fit into the 'normal' bracket but are so  likeable and instantly relatable ' ------------------------------------------------- Ignored. Seventy-something Janet Pimm is invisible. Spending most of her days alone, she tends her beloved allotment with the care and love she doesn't receive from people. Plants, Janet thinks, are more important than friends. Overlooked. Janet's neighbour, Bev, has reached the age when a cloak of invisibility th

Clues to You - Claire Huston

  Description One murder mystery weekend. Two rival sleuths. They’re looking for answers. But will they find love? Kate Brannon is delighted to be attending her first murder mystery weekend in a movie-worthy Victorian manor house. Still getting over being dumped, cracking the case would be a welcome boost to her flagging confidence. And the prize money wouldn’t hurt either. But Kate’s dreams of victory become a nightmare with the arrival of Max Ravenscroft. Smart, enigmatic and annoyingly handsome, Max is Kate’s sleuthing nemesis. When she and Max are forced to work together, Kate despairs. But, as the investigation brings them closer, she finds being his partner in solving crime isn’t all bad. With growing suspicions that the game is rigged against them, can Kate and Max beat the odds to find the killer? And, as their partnership deepens, can they find romance too? A sweet romantic comedy with a cosy mystery at its heart. Perfect for fans of Kathryn Freeman, Laura Jane Williams and Ka

Wednesday's Child - Yiyun Li

Description ‘One of our major novelists’ Salman Rushdie‘One of our finest living authors’  New York Times A dazzling new collection of short stories, spanning 15 years of writing, from Yiyun Li, the prize-winning author of  The Book of Goose  and  Where Reasons End A dazzling new collection of short stories written over a decade, spanning loss, alienation, aging and the strangeness of contemporary life – from Yiyun Li, the prize-winning author of  The Book of Goose A grieving mother makes a spreadsheet of everyone she’s lost. A professor develops a troubled intimacy with her hairdresser. And every year, a restless woman receives an email from a strange man twice her age and several states away. In Yiyun Li’s stories, people strive for an ordinary existence until doing so becomes unsustainable, until the surface cracks and grand mysterious forces – death, violence, estrangement – come to light. And even everyday life is laden with meaning, studded with indelible details: a filched jar o