I really liked Jane Healey's other book, so I was excited to read more from her, but, unfortunately, "The Beantown Girls" was rather disappointing.

There was a lot of insta-love in this novel, which was bad enough, but then at the end it resolved the protagonist's main conflict in a rather disgusting way in my opinion which kind of destroyed the book for me.

I still rated it three stars because it's easy to get through, but there are definitely much better novels on WWII out there which do not simplify everything so much.

A highly recommended read for lovers of historical fiction. This is mainly the journey of three friends during World War II and how their friendship helps them to sail through that difficult time. Beautifully written, The Beantown Girls is both moving and enjoyable. It makes you believe in friendship and the importance that having a few but good friends in your life.
It is my first time reading a Jane Healey book and I look forward to reading more of her work. My next read would be The Saturday Evening Girls' Club: A novel, also by Ms Healey.
Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read The Beantown Girls for free.

During the last year of WWII, Fiona, Viviana, and Dottie volunteer with the Red Cross as Clubmobile girls. Fiona's fiancé has been missing in action for over a year and she is determined to find out more. Viviana is an outspoken vivacious girl while Dottie is shy and reluctant to share her musical talents. As Clubmobile girls, they travel from fort to station, delivering donuts, coffee, and supplies to boost troop morale.

This was a quick read. It featured strong female characters, which I loved. I've read a lot of WWII books, and this is the first time I've heard of the Red Cross Clubmobile girls. Overall, well worth picking up!

Fiona Denning has her life completely planned out. Her Fiance will return from the war, they will get married, and live happily ever after.......

... But when Danny's plane is shot down in Germany her future is in ruins. Instead of staying home, she recruits her two best friends, Viviana and Dottie, to volunteer with the Red Cross.

This is the story of love, friendship, heartache, and strength. Jane Healey has wove a vivid tale that made me weep, made me laugh, and made me feel. The best kind of books are the ones that make you feel. I actually finished this book weeks ago, but I have just been able to get over my book hangover that it gave me.

I loved it!

5/5

**I received a copy of this novel, from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review**

Fantastic story of bravery and friendships between these women.. This is a must read, even if you aren’t into historical fiction I really think you can enjoy this book. The author really captured the essence of these women, as well as the servicemen, during WWII. I learned many things I did not know and enjoyed this story very much

I tried to read this but could not get into it. It tells the story of four women who volunteer overseas during WW II. One woman is looking for her fiancé who is missing in action, another is shy musician and another is a woman who is flirting with all of them but can one win her heart overseas?

I just could not really sustain my interest, but I'm not sure why.

I couldn't get into this one! I wanted to like it and the story was overall going well but it just wasn't a story for me at this time. I like the plot concept.

I love the genre and found the characters were very endearing, especially the camaraderie of the women.
However I found the writing style lacking and the storyline quite predictable with one or two scenes totally implausible.

I loved this book! World War II is one of my favorite historical eras and I feel like it did a really great job at balancing information with entertainment. I grew so attached to the characters throughout, and it really felt like I was a part of the Clubmobile Girls. It made me want to learn a lot more about the Red Cross! I definitely recommend this one! 4/5⭐️‘S

Great book. Really enjoyed learning about the Doughnut girls. There was just enough about the horrors of the war to make you appreciate WWII soldiers and what they went through.

In 1944, Fiona Denning learns that her fiancé’ is missing in action and presumed dead. At home, in Boston, her family wants her to accept his death and move on. Fiona can’t move on until she knows for sure if he is dead.

Fiona convinces her college friends, Dottie and Viviana, to become Red Cross Clubmobile girls. They travel to London and beyond in war zones handing out coffee, doughnuts and a little cheer to the troops.

The Beantown Girls is about love and the relationship of three friends. It shows the devastation and heartbreak of WWII, along with the comfort the Red Cross provided at that time. You will laugh, you will cry, but most of all, you will be moved. This is an excellently written book with will grab you and not let go. The characters are deep and multi-faceted. The dialogue is smooth and believable. So much so that you will forget you are reading and just watch the movie in your head.

I love historical fiction about strong women in WWII. This book has joined the list of favorites. I will be sure to search for new books by this author.


I received an ARC from Lake Union Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book.

I don't read a whole lot of historical fiction. This is a MUST read if you are a historical fiction fan. It was interesting to learn about the Red Cross Clubmobile. Hadn't ever heard of it.

The Beantown Girls by Jane Healey

Brief Summary: Amidst WWII, Fiona Denning signs up to join the Red Cross Clubmobile girls when her fiancée is reported missing in action after being shot down over Germany. She and her two best friends are sent to the front of the war to bring comfort, a sense of home, and doughnuts to American soldiers serving.

Highlights: The women who went to serve had such a sense of patriotism, of wanting to do their part but they were also looking for adventure. Healey accurately captures the sense of living for the moment because they didn’t know what the future held for themselves or their loved ones. This book provides a true snap shot of what its like to be left behind when a partner goes to war, a widow, or someone goes missing. This book is also a true testament to the power of female friendship.

What makes this book unique? I am a well-read historical fiction connoisseur and I had never heard of the Clubmobile Girls. I loved what they did and how they made a positive impact on the soldiers’ morale.

Explanation of Rating 4.5/5 I was caught up in this educational and heartwarming read! I also love how Fiona processed her grief and moved on.

Favorite Quotes: Living in the midst of the war was it’s own reality and all of us that were living in it longed for intimacy and connection; however fleeting because it reminded us of what mattered most.

This is great for book clubs. I received my ARC for free but I purchased my own paper copy before I finished the book so that I can have a copy for my own library!

Thank you to Net Galley and Lake Union Publishing for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review

This was a great story about underappreciated females during WWII. The Beantown Girls begins in 1944 with a woman who's fiance gets called to war-- and then gets reported missing. She and her two best friends volunteer for the Red Cross Clubmobile and head overseas to support the effort. They live a life they never dreamed of and in doing so, found out so much more about themselves. I loved the friendship and their strength. I thought it was a cute story and I'm glad I got to know more about the real women in the war.

I loved receiving an advance copy of The Beantown Girls and regret waiting so long to write my review. Everyday a new WWII book arrives and most are repetitive in one way or another, yet this subject drew me. In many ways, this book is predictable but I thoroughly enjoyed it as it reminded me of my parents. Relationships happened fast in WWII. My father saw my mother across the USO dance floor and married her six weeks later, their friends married after three days and both marriages lasted 50+ years.

I've heard stories of the Red Cross charging soldiers in WWII and this book didn't address that issue ( Google this for the true story) but the story is based on carefully researched events and the 'Clubmobile Girls own stories which leads to a well crafted novel. Plus, who doesn't want friends like these, strong yet vulnerable, courageous yet afraid, honest yet supportive.

Oh my stars I love this book!

I have a weakness for WWII novels. There are times when I feel that there is nothing new, in this time period, that I have not read. Then a book like this comes along shedding light on something that I had not heard of – the Red Cross Clubmobile girls.

Fiona, Dottie, and Viv, dubbed The Beantown Girls, join the Red Cross Clubmobile girls during WWII. They travel daily giving troops a little comfort from home through coffee, donuts, music, and reminding them that their family and friends back home love and miss them.

This is a story of friendship, determination, and courage. Jane Healey used humor from time to time while never forgetting that there is a war going on and countess lives were being lost. There was romance, heart-break, and many intense moments for all these characters. They all experienced tremendous growth and self-discoverey while putting their lives at risk in order to bring joy to others.

I didn’t want this story to end, it stole my heart! I couldn’t believe how attached I got to these three characters and even many of the other characters that they forged friendships with along the way.

I received an ARC of this novel through Netgalley in exchange for my review. Oh I can’t say enough about what a great novel this was to read! What a terrific story about the Red Cross Clubmobile girls: Fiona, Vivian and Dottie who left behind the comforts of home during WWII to bring donuts, coffee and a slice of home to the soldiers in England and France. Although the girls each came to the Red Cross for different reasons, they had similar desires to work tirelessly to help our soldiers in anyway possible. This was just such an interesting story and I loved following each of the girls’ stories as they worked their way through the war. A lovely story about some unsung hero’s whose war service was overlooked. This was a terrific story!

This historical fiction story of the Red Cross Club Mobile girls was not only interesting but also extremely well researched. This is one aspect of WWII I hadn't heard about and I found myself enjoying getting to know these educated young women who went overseas to help with the war effort. What prompted their desire to do so was the fact that Fiona's fiancé goes missing. She, along with her friends Viv and Dottie make a very long journey and in doing so discover parts of themselves along the way. I would consider this lighter historical fiction with a focus on friendship, sacrifice, and hope

I received an Advance Review Copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I loved this book! I thought the characters all had depth to them from the beginning and to see how they developed over the course of the book made me love them more. They're the type of girls you want to be friends with. Strong, smart - don't mess with them - but they show signs of vulnerability that make them relate-able.

The premise of the book follows three friends from Boston who join the Red Cross as Clubmobile volunteers bringing coffee, doughnuts, and joy to the soldiers in England and Europe towards the end of WWII. The book follows their experiences from their training, through romances and personal growth, through the end of the war and how they move on post-war.

The writing was excellent - everything came together nicely in the end (I hate loose ends!) and the book was perfectly balanced between joy, sorrow and every emotion in between. I laughed out loud a few times as Jane Healey clearly has a great sense of humor and writes in a way that keeps the reader wanting more. I found myself rooting for these women (the three main characters and the ones they meet along the way).

As someone who reads a lot of WWII novels, I enjoyed this fresh perspective on the war. I had never heard of the women who volunteered and I think their stories deserve to be shared.

I thought this book was good, but it had a couple of issues: too much romance and too many coincidences.

I thought this story was going to be about girlfriends and their experiences in the war. It was that, but it was also about women finding men. I was expecting something more like 'Code Name Verity' and this was a lighter version with the women falling for different soldiers and discussing relationship issues. I didn't mind some of it because I do feel that it represents the times to some extent, but it was overdone in my opinion.

I also found the story to be too coincidental at times. The soldiers in different groups and the Red Cross girls kept going to or ending up in the same places as other characters. They didn't just end up in the same countries, but the same towns, often bumping into each other. It was just too coincidental and unlikely, which made it difficult to believe at times.

With that said, I still thought it was a good story. It kept me engaged and interested in seeing what would happen next. There were certain parts that were written in a way I prefer with less romance and more focus on the relationships between the women or what they observed and went through themselves during the war.

The book was not too light and had some moments that were wonderfully portrayed. There were sad parts as well as happy parts and funny parts. I enjoyed that the girls didn't start out perfectly good at everything, however the end was wrapped up a bit too neatly for my taste, making it unrealistic for a war story, but you grow to care about these women, so it was easy to overlook this.

Overall, I feel like with the issues I had with the story should have made me like it less, but I still really enjoyed it. I think if I had been expecting a romance, I would not have had an issue with the way it was written.