Alice moves to the village of Churchwood with her retired father just as WWII breaks out. She is desperate to be useful but, nursing both an injured hand and a broken heart, she expects her prospects of finding employment are poor, and worries that she won't fit in with her new community.
Kate lives with her family on Brimbles Farm, where her father and brothers treat her no better than a servant. With no mother or sisters, and shunned by the locals, Kate longs for a friend of her own.
Naomi is a wealthy 'take-charge' sort of woman, who is looked up to for owning the best house in the village. But privately, she carries the hurts of childlessness, a husband who has little time for her and a deep-rooted insecurity.
Can starting up The Wartime Bookshop bring these three women, and the community of Churchwood, together?
Review
'A cosy winter read if ever there was one... a refreshingly comforting book telling the story of a little village, with some wonderful character developments in the process'-- Anything Goes Lifestyle Magazine, Book of the Month
'A delightful wartime saga about a young girl making a difference in her new village... a story that illustrates how kindness and refusing to give up can change so much. It is also a sweet love story... Beautiful book and I loved it '-- Rosie Clarke, author of the Mulberry Lane series
'Written by Lesley Eames, an author with romance at heart , The Wartime Bookshop is a wholesome novel questioning how friendship can be the answer. Snuggle up and experience her storytelling for yourself '-- Chat Magazine, Book of the Month
'A pleasure to read for anyone who enjoys a good wartime saga' -- Lizzie Lane, author of The Tobacco Girls
' A real cosy novel of women and friendship. I'm looking forward to seeing what this threesome gets up to next'-- Bishop's Stortford Independent
'I enjoyed The Wartime Bookshop. Well written, well researched and likeable... It was uplifting to see Kate, Alice and Naomi slowly change and, through the bookshop, reach their potential'-- Fenella J. Miller, author of Duty Calls at Goodwill House
' A delight from start to finish - the perfect comfort read!' -- Vicki Beeby, author of The Ops Girls series
'Filled with a treasure trove of well-drawn characters that leap from the page, and a plot that's well paced, well written and brilliantly researched. I could spend hours in the company of Alice, Kate and Naomi who by the end felt like firm friends. The Wartime Bookshop is a must-read for all saga fans '-- Fiona Ford, author of The Liberty Girls series
'I thoroughly loved reading The Wartime Bookshop. Lesley Eames brings history to life in this beautiful tale that's both gripping and uplifting about three very different women who come together during a time of war. A resounding 5-star read!'-- Andie Newton, USA Today bestselling author of A Child for the Reich
About the Author
Lesley Eames has always loved books and writing. She read voraciously as a child and has read voraciously ever since. She also wrote stories as a child although busy careers in law, event organization and then charity fundraising and marketing made finding writing time in adulthood tricky. When she took maternity leave to have her two lovely daughters, she hoped she might find more writing time. Unfortunately, no one told her children, so once again time constraints continued to be a struggle. Now she has the luxury of writing full-time although she mixes this with creative writing tutoring, mentoring and occasional editing.
Lesley has 90 published short stories to her credit alongside four historical sagas set around the time of WW1 and into the Roaring 20s. The Wartime Bookshop is her fifth book and her first venture into the WW2 period. Originally from the north west of England (Manchester), Lesley's home is now Hertfordshire where The Wartime Bookshop 's fictional village of Churchwood is set. Along her journey as a writer, Lesley has been thrilled to have enjoyed success in competitions as varied as crime writing to writing for children. She is particularly honoured to have won the Festival of Romance New Talent Award, the Romantic Novelists' Association's Elizabeth Goudge Cup and to have been twice shortlisted in the UK Romantic Novel Awards (RONAs).