A Gift from Woolworths by Elaine Everest blogtour book review

 

A Gift from Woolworths written by Elaine Everest, publisher Pan, is available NOW in ebook, paperback and audiobook format.

The paperback is available from all good book retailers and the ebook is available for kindle, kobo, Google and iBooks.

To buy link: https://amzn.to/2QR690T

Product Details

Will the war be over by Christmas?
As the war moves into 1945 the lives of the women of Woolworths continue. When store manager, Betty Billington, announces she is expecting Douglas’s baby her future life is about to change more than she expects.
Freda has fallen in love with the handsome Scottish engineer but will it end happily?
Maisie loves being a mother and also caring for her two nieces although she still has her own dreams. When her brother appears on the scene he brings unexpected danger to the family.
Meanwhile Sarah dreams of her husband’s return and a cottage with roses around the door but Woolworths beckons.
Will our girls sail into times of peace, or will they experience more heartache and sorrow? With a wedding on the horizon, surely only happiness lies ahead – or does it?

I voluntarily reviewed an arc of this book. All opinions are my own and no content may be copied. However, authors and publishers may use elements of my reviews for quotes.

I am so pleased to be involved in the blogtour celebrating and promoting the next instalment in Elaine Everest’s Woolworth’s series; A Gift From Woolworths.

A Gift from Woolworths was nostalgia in abundance!  I absolutely adored this fifth story in the Woolworths series, it was a complete pleasure to read from start to finish.  I have to congratulate the author on creating the Woolworths series as it has brought to life an iconic, much-loved and greatly missed High Street store.  Not only has it had you dreaming of the pick-n-mix and the CD single chart from our childhood but it has brought with it the community of people living around Erith, Kent.  We learn of the hardship of families pulling together during times of uncertainty with the war years, we also learn of the daily struggles of loss, grief, fear and most of all of friendships old and new.

I loved returning back to Erith with the girls who first found friendship whilst working at Woolworths.  The girls have grown in strength and love and it’s now 1945 and we have glimmers of hope as the end of the war is in sight.  Our favourite young trio Freda, Maisie and Sarah are all facing new challenges with their lives with new babies and the prospect of a new love.  Betty, the manager of Woolworths that instigated the friendship of the girls, is also facing a new direction in her life, one that she thought would never happen and she’s having mixed feelings about it.

With the future looking positive with the end of the war the residents of Erith have lots to look forward to with a wedding also on the horizon.  However, all isn’t rosy and new acquaintances and a figure from the past bring danger and turmoil.  With an increasing intrigue and fear for the welfare of loved ones the drama increases and life for so many of our friends from Erith will not be the same again.

A story predominantly about life and love, of hardship, of making do and mend, of struggles and strife but most of all celebrating each small victory with your friends and a good old knees-up.

I hope one day Elaine Everest will revisit the Woolworths girls and give us another glimpse into the lives of Freda, Maisie, Sarah, Betty and Ruby.

The whole boxset of the paperbacks with a brown betty teapot, tin of loose-leaf tea and a bag of pick-n-mix sweets would make a fabulous gift for any occasion.  It would be a great ‘wellness’ treat as the books have that wonderful air about them.

About the Author

Elaine Everest, author of Bestselling novels The Woolworths Girls, The Butlins Girls, Christmas at Woolworths, and Wartime at Woolworths was born and brought up in North West Kent, where many of her books are set. She has been a freelance writer for twenty years and has written widely for women’s magazines and national newspapers, with both short stories and features. Her non-fiction books for dog owners have been very popular and led to broadcasting on radio about our four legged friends. Elaine has been heard discussing many topics on radio from canine subjects to living with a husband under her feet when redundancy looms.

When she isn’t writing, Elaine runs The Write Place creative writing school at The Howard Venue in Hextable, Kent and has a long list of published students.

Elaine lives with her husband, Michael, and their Polish Lowland Sheepdog, Henry, in Swanley, Kent and is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, The Crime Writers Association, The Society of Women Writers & Journalists and The Society of Authors.

Twitter:   http://www.twitter.com/elaineeverest
Facebook:   https://www.facebook.com/ElaineEverestAuthor/