#BlogTour: The Wartime Bookclub by Kate Thompson @katethompson380 @HodderBooks @RandomTTours #TheWartimeBookclub #KateThompson #RandomThingsTours #Ww2

Book Synopsis:

Jersey, 1943. Once a warm and neighbourly community, now German soldiers patrol the cobbled streets, imposing a harsh rule on the people of the island.

Grace La Mottée, the island’s only librarian, is ordered to destroy books which threaten the new regime. Instead, she hides the stories away in secret. Along with her headstrong best friend, postwoman Bea Rose, she wants to fight back. So she forms the wartime book club: a lifeline, offering fearful islanders the joy and escapism of reading.

But as the occupation drags on, the women’s quiet acts of bravery become more perilous – and more important – than ever before. And, when tensions turn to violence, they are forced to face the true, terrible cost of resistance . . .

Based on astonishing real events, The Wartime Book Club is a love letter to the power of books in the darkest of times – as well as a moving page-turner that brings to life the remarkable, untold story of an island at war.

My Review:

Wow I absolutely loved this book. I was a bit nervous about reading it as I’d loved The Little Wartime Library so much and I thought that I couldn’t possibly love another book as much- but I was wrong and very wrong.

I thought this book was incredibly well researched and I enjoyed learning more about the occupation of Jersey during WW2. The author lays bare the grim reality of life during this time and I found it shocking to learn about all that they had experienced, especially how some of them decided to inform on their neighbours. There were however some very brave people who worked to help save their fellow Islanders from persecution and sabotaged the Nazi regime at every opportunity.

The story is told from the point of view of Grace and Bea, two very brave headstrong girls who I loved following throughout the book. Both of the girls go to great lengths to help their fellow islanders and my heart was in my mouth as I followed them on some of their exploits. Grace in particular was one of my favourites and it was so heartwarming to see her boosting morale through the power of books. It made my bookish heart very happy to see how books helped others and brought them closer together.

I thought the book had a great pace to it and there always seemed to be something happening to keep me glued to the page. Even in the slower moments I found myself just enjoying hanging out with the characters and feeling like I belonged in their little group of book lovers. There was lots of action and plenty of twists that made the book very hard to put down. I think I pretty much inhaled the pages as I read it so fast as I was so desperate to find out what happens next and to check that all the characters are alright. The ending was brilliant and I loved that the author continued the book so the reader can see where all the characters end up. The author has included a lot of her research at the back of the book which I found fascinating. It was so interesting to learn that most of the events in the book actually happened and that the characters were based on real life people. One of the characters says that she hopes people learn more about people’s experiences on the ‘home front’ and this book just brings to life the everyday experiences of war.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Hodder and Stoughton for my copy of this book. If you’re a fan of historical fiction set in WW2 or just appreciate a fantastic story then you need to read this book. Highly recommended by me!

About The Author:

Kate Thompson was born in London and worked as a journalist for twenty years on women’s magazines and national newspapers. She now lives in Sunbury with her husband, two sons and two rescue dogs. After ghost writing five memoirs, Kate moved into fiction. Kate’s first non-fiction social history documenting the forgotten histories of East End matriarchy, The Stepney Doorstep Society, was published in 2018 by Penguin. She is passionate about capturing lost voices and untold social histories.

Today Kate works as a journalist, author and library campaigner. Her most recent books, The Little Wartime Library (2022) and The Wartime Book Club (2023) by Hodder & Stoughton focus on two remarkable libraries in wartime. Her 100 libraries project, celebrates the richness and complexity of librarians work and the vital role of libraries in our communities.