Member Reviews
Really enjoyed this book by Rosie Clarke set in the war years and telling the story of those living in London and their loves and lives. Would recommend it to anyone. Would make a good holiday read.
Book 2 in the Mulberry Lane series. Having read and loved book 1 in the series , I dived straight into this one . We are back on Mulberry Lane yet again with the characters we were introduced to in book 1. Another great read and we learn more about life in the East End of London during WW 2.
I love books set around World War 2 and was delighted to find a new series to follow. This is the second book in the series. We go through the whole range of emotions with the characters as they deal with life during the war - happiness, sadness , grief mixed with the everyday life relationships.
It has been a really captivating read where you really care about learning more about each character. I can't wait to read the next book.
A Wedding at Mulberry Lane by Rosie Clarke is the second book in the Mulberry Lane series. It is January of 1941 in Spitalfields, England. Peggy Ashley runs the Pig & Whistle pub on Mulberry Lane where she is the matriarch of the lane. She is estranged from her husband, Laurence who is currently at an unknown location assisting the war effort. The last thing Peggy expected was to fall for the dashing American, Captain Able Ronoscki. Maureen Jackson has quit working in her father’s shop and enlisted as a nurse’s aide. She is getting her required training when bombs fall on the camp killing her two new roommates. When Gordon is sent overseas, Maureen makes him a promise regarding his daughter, Shirley. Janet’s husband, Mike has been injured and is suffering from amnesia. He cannot remember Janet, their little girl or their life together. World War II continues and so must life at home on Mulberry Lane. Journey back in time to find out what happens next to the residents in A Wedding at Mulberry Lane.
A Wedding at Mulberry Lane is an engaging historical novel. I suggest reading the Mulberry Lane series in order. I thought A Wedding at Mulberry Lane was well-written with gentle pacing. There are smooth transitions as we switch from character to character. The characters are realistic, well-developed and a nice mixture (various types of personalities). They continue to grow as the series progresses. We get to see how the war affects the those left at home and how they handle their new responsibilities. They are the type of characters that you want to get to know, you care about them, and you look forward to visiting them again in the next book. Rosie Clarke captured the time-period with the language, clothing, people’s feelings, and the events occurring at the time. A Wedding at Mulberry Lane is an emotional novel. There is love, heartbreak, grief, joy, and hope. The Mulberry Lane series is one that gets better with each installment. It is one of those books that keeps you up late (because you want to find out what happens) and then are sorry when you finish it. If you like engaging novels set during World War II, I highly recommend A Wedding at Mulberry Lane.
A story of a community that pull together against the tragedy of war. Family members dying or badly injured and friends and neighbours helping each other through the tough times. An enjoyable read and I can’t wait to read the next book in this lovely series.
Review: This book is the second in the series and is just as good as the first. Rosie Clarke writes amazing historical novels and this is no exception. As you turn each page you fall deeper into the story and feel like you are right there among the characters. Can't for the next book.
This is a 5 star story and is the second in the Girls of Mulberry lane, story. The series is set during World War 2 in London. In this book our main character is Maureen. She is a friend of Peggy, the publicans wife. Maureen has had to give up a lot to help her dad run the local shop. So when he remarries she decides it's time to start a new life on her own. I look forward to the next one!
When I was invited to take part in the blog tour for this book I decided to read the previous book in the series first, The Girls of Mulberry Lane, which I greatly enjoyed. So I was familiar with all the wonderful characters in this book before I started. It can, of course, be read as a stand-alone novel, but why not treat yourself and read both, they are excellent.
In this novel, the war is well and truly underway, and the strength of the women of Mulberry Lane comes to the fore.
These women are working women, coping with the stresses of living during wartime, looking after families, and the people in their community.
There is such a strong community spirit, everyone helps each other out and looks out for each other. People keep going during the tough times in the war.
It was great to catch up with Maureen, Peggy and Janet again. Times have changed for them all with the war. Maureen is training as a nurse, working hard, but loving the opportunity to do something worthwhile, but also trying to maintain a relationship with Rory.
Peggy is running the pub without her husband, trying to manage with the constant shortages, and trying to look out for her daughter Janet. Things have changed for her and her husband, and everything is different in wartime.
Janet’s husband is back from the war, but he has changed totally.
In all of this there is warmth, humour and kindness. These wonderful characters will draw you in and weave their fascinating stories.
I was left smiling at the end of the book, eagerly awaiting the next instalment!
A book to savour and enjoy, perfect for these winter evenings. Highly recommended.
Thanks a million Netgalley and Bookouture. I simply ADORE all of Rosie Clarke's books and this one didn't disappoint. I'd highly recommended it.
I didn't realise that this was part of a trilogy , it can be read as a standalone novel. Very enjoyable
Although I hadn’t read the first book in the series I found it very easy to get to know the wonderful characters in this book which is set during World War 2.
The story has different threads for the different characters but they are all entwined in some way due to the Mulberry Lane setting of the title.
This story is primarily a story of the strength of the women and the way they handle the hardships and the separation caused by the awful war.
I would highly recommend this book and sincerely hope that there is another book in the series in the pipeline as I want to know more about what happens to Peggy, Maureen and the other brilliant characters in the future.
What a pleasure to be back in the Pig and Whistle and be re-acquainted with all the residents of Mulberry Lane!
Rosie Clarke’s second book in this series continues with the ongoing saga of life in London during the Blitz.We find out how Peggy and her family are managing in the local pub, struggling to maintain a business despite rationing and bombing. Janet, her daughter, is striving to come to terms with her injured husband having lost his memory but has to keep going for the sake of their baby daughter Maggie. Son Pip is now serving in the RAF, with very intermittent trips home. Her husband, Laurie, continues to work for the war effort and is posted far from home, but the shadow of his affair with a younger woman casts a long shadow. Friend Maureen’s life continues but no longer at the beck and call of her father, she has taken up nursing and has Rory back in her life. She finds herself with a whole new set of friends through her new career and is feeling loved, valued and happy with her vocation. We pick up the threads of life with all the characters from the first novel popping up, and it’s a truly great sequel.
The strength of the local women during this time is astounding .. surviving on low rations with a dearth of goods in the shops and yet they look after each other and it is easy to see why they didn’t go back to being subservient after the war was over. Having to make decisions on a daily basis to keep not only their families, but the community, together. This is both a fascinating and entertaining read. I’ve always been fond of books set in this period and am already looking forward to the next in this series. Definitely a set of novels not to be missed!
My thanks to publishers Aria for approving my copy via NetGalley. This is my honest, original and unbiased review.
Rosie Clarke takes us back to Mulberry Lane with the second exciting, compelling and dramatic installment about this East London community, A Wedding at Mulberry Lane.
Working as a nurse is not a walk in the park and that is something which trainee Maureen Jackson knows only too well – especially as on her first shift, the hospital where she is working at is heavily bombed! Poor Maureen’s plate is close to overflowing for not only does she have a very trying and demanding job to contend with, but the inhabitants at Mulberry Lane certainly keep her on her toes! With a busy job and a plethora of problems to juggle back at the Lane, will Maureen manage to keep all the plates spinning…or will they end up shattering all around her ears?
The other women at Mulberry Lane have got their own problems as well. Landlady Peggy Ashcroft adores her job running the pub on the corner of the Lane. The pub is not merely her livelihood, but her heart, soul and her entire life which keeps her pretty busy and occupied, however, when a dashing American captain comes into town and takes a shine to Peggy, tongues immediately start wagging! Will the indomitable Peggy finally found some happiness or is she destined for further disappointment?
Janet Ashley counted herself as one of the lucky ones. Unlike the other women in the Lane whose husbands died on the front line, her beloved Mike came back to her from the war safe and sound. Or so she thinks. Unfortunately, the man who walked through her threshold is a virtual stranger who has no memory of her or of their daughter. How is Janet going to cope? Will she find the courage to fight for her marriage? Or is this a battle that is already lost?
With the war raging on around them, will the women of Mulberry Lane find the strength to keep fighting for their loved ones and their communities? Or will the Blitz destroy everything which they hold dear to their hearts?
Rosie Clarke is terrific as always and A Wedding at Mulberry Lane is packed with her trademark warmth, fantastically drawn characters, nail-biting emotional drama and searing intensity. A gifted writer who can bring the past to life like no other, A Wedding at Mulberry Lane is a wonderful tale of community, friendship and healing that is poignant, addictive and difficult to put down.
A fantastic World War 2 saga from one of the genre’s finest, A Wedding at Mulberry Lane is a warm-hearted read that readers will not easily forget!
I am having a binge on historical fiction books at the moment so I was delighted when I found this book! I liked the cover and the blurb drew my attention immediately so as soon as it arrived on my Kindle I got stuck in!
I loved the characters and their interaction made the story a really great one to read. The story was well written and I really enjoyed every page, it was a delight to read for me, five stars from me and I really, really enjoyed it - looking forward to reading the next book in the series!
Great read catching up with the characters. A very enjoyable book.
A Wedding at Mulberry Lane is the second in the Mulberry Lane series by Rosie Clarke, and it really was lovely to catch up with Maureen, Peggy, and Janet again. When I read The Girls of Mulberry Lane I had been disappointed about the way it ended due to the number of loose ends it left - thankfully Rosie put me right on Twitter and let me know that the next book in the series would be out on the 1st December!
So back to the book in question...A Wedding at Mulberry Lane see's us return to London to find out how Peggy, her daughter Janet and their friend Maureen are coping with what life, love and war are throwing at them.
Maureen has left Mulberry Lane (and her ungrateful father) behind her as she starts her nurse training. She is determined to assist in the war effort by caring for those injured in the war whilst fighting for love - the love of her childhood sweetheart Rory, but also the love of her friends as the bombs continue to rain down across England, putting everyone she loves in harms way.
Peggy loves her life as landlady of the Pig & Whistle in Mulberry Lane. Despite shortages and rations, her pub remain the hub of the lane, a place where the local residents feel safe but also a place where celebrations happen - celebrations of love and life. Whilst caring for her customers, Peggy is left dealing with her own demons...the discovery of her husbands secrets, but also the arrival of a rather handsome American soldier.
Janet is delighted to have her beloved husband Mike home from the war, but what she discovers is that war can really change a man. Along with their young daughter, Janet finds herself fighting for a man who doesn't remember either of them, whilst he struggles to deal with his injuries.
I am a big fan of the characters in these Mulberry Lane novels. Peggy, Janet and Maureen are all strong females who are forced to fight for love and life at a time when death and destruction were so prevalent. Whilst the three of them are fictional characters, the setting they find themselves in is anything but fictional. London during the Blitz was a dark and dangerous place to be, where death could find you even if you weren't a soldier fighting at the front. Despite the nightly air raids, the unexploded hidden bombs and the total destruction of homes and livelihoods, Londoners were forced to go on, day in and day out as they waited for news of their loved ones, ever hopeful that their friends and family would make it home safely. The role of women during this time was so important as they held together their families and worked hard to keep businesses afloat. Rosie Clarke captures all of this within these novels, and I cannot wait for the third instalment in this series to find out where the war takes these strong, hard-working women.
A really lovely book and a real page turner. I was really touched by the character stories and the plot. Strongly recommended.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Aria
This was a really nice good story to read, followed on nicely from book one.
It was interesting reading how some of the characters had moved on from book 1.
This could also have been read as a stand alone story as it finished nicely and explained the history of the characters.
Still a great mix of characters with their own stories mixing with others, with some newer characters being added.
This is wonderful historical fiction that is so character driven you'll wish these women lived on your street. Clarke is a storyteller, which is less common than not these days. She'll pull you into the lives and loves of Maureen, Peggy, and Janet quicker than you'd think, even if you haven't read the first book. WWII UK was a tough place to live; these three experience some of the worst of it. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Try this one if you want a good read full of heart and hope. I'm looking forward to the next in the series.
Such a lovely read, clearly part of a series but that didn't affect my enjoyment at all. The characters were fun and well developed and there were lots of them which kept the story moving along. There is a lot going on in Mulberry Lane - and the backdrop of the war is a very tense addition. I will put a longer review on my website as part of the book tour in December, but I wanted to share how much I enjoyed it x