Manchester, 1940: The minute war was declared, best friends Sally and Deborah volunteered for the home guard, willing to do anything to help their boys fighting overseas. An Auxiliary Fire Service girl by night, Sally ends up stationed at the salvage depot by day. Working amidst the scrap metal and waste paper, helping to make do and mend, isn't quite the glamorous life in uniform she'd imagined! But she's determined to do her best and turn saucepans into Spitfires.
When Sally meets Andrew, a quiet carpenter with a heart-breaking smile who understands how important her work is, she finally feels as though her efforts to keep calm and carry on are making a difference. As love blossoms, Sally feels herself opening up to Andrew in a way she'd never imagined possible.
But then, just as Sally feels as hopeful as she can be in these times of war, a devastating air raid threatens everything she holds dear. As bombs rain down all over Manchester, deadly fires begin to destroy homes, and lives. With Andrew out rescuing families from the rubble, Sally rushes towards the plumes of smoke that fill the night sky. And is horrified to realise the very worst hit area has the salvage yard right at its heart.
Desperate to help in any way she can, Sally, with her fellow salvage girls by her side, sets to work. But what will they find when the smoke clears? Will Sally and Andrew get the happy ending they so deserve? Or will her one chance at true love be lost forever as the morning dawns...?
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This was the part of her job Sally hated.CHAPTER ONE, END OF JULY 1940
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(Bookouture, 16 April 2024, e-galley, 321 pages, ARC from the publisher via NetGalley, BlogTour 18 April)
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I enjoyed reading The Home Front Girls a lot. I loved Betty and Sally as characters. I really connected to the, and felt their friendship came across as really genuine. The author does a great job of bringing the setting and characters to life. I've read a lot of WWII books recently and this is among my favourites. This is the first in a series and I might read other books because I enjoyed this to much. The book starts off slow but this works really well and I liked the pacing overall. I'd recommend this
