*received audiobook for free from netgalley for honest review*
Much, much, much better than i thought! asked for the book bc i like historical fictions and i loved the cover, started listening to it and i was scared it was going to be just romance but it was really good!

Beautifully written and read. This well researched novel is full of romance and intrigue. I loved it!

The London Restoration by Rachel McMillan was a good read. I enjoyed this historical fiction romance. It is not one to be missed. Hannah Curtis did a great job bringing this story to life. I give it four stars.

I can truly appreciate the amount of research that went into this book. The details are beautifully descriptive, and, at times, I almost felt like I was walking the streets of London. I truly did love the idea of Brent and Diana’s characters. I wanted to love their love story. That being said, I felt the characters really lacked development, and that the book was more focused on the scenery (which really was great!). Much of their relationship in the story focused on the past or the strain and the process to healing seemed much too fast. Certain plot points didn’t seem believable or rational, so the movement of the story felt stilted and disjointed at times. About 40% in I did start to like it a lot better and thought we’d finally hit our stride, but it stalled out again near the end. I felt like this book was trying to be too many things and you got lost in the weeds versus just enjoying the story for what it was. It was if the author forced the characters instead of letting them “write themselves”. This was my first book by Rachel McMillan, but based on her following, I would be willing to try another. I’ve only heard great things about her books. I thought this was so close to a stellar read, but it just missed the mark for me.
I listened to this book on audio. While I love a good British accent when you have a story based in Britain, I didn’t think this narrator was quite expressive enough. She captured some of the characters, but not all, and that didn’t help the flat pace of the plot.

The London Restoration is a masterful historical fiction novel, exploring post-WWII London. Architectural historian Diana Somerville’s knowledge of London churches and experience as a codebreaker intersect when she is asked to engage in one more post-war mission to find a Russian agent. Her husband, Brent, is a professor at King’s College who returns to his wife from the war a different man. As he fights the traumas from the front line that haunt him, he tries to rebuild his life and love with the woman he left behind who now feels, in some ways, like a stranger in his bed. Brent senses that Diana’s explanations of her wartime activities and whereabouts are fabrications, if not flat out lies. There is an undercurrent between them – a yearning for the time before the war and a yearning to make a new love after it. But the war haunts them, and they must face whether too much has changed, whether the secrets they carry will be their demise.

The physical destruction of London and Europe by the war is materialized further in the marriage of Diana and Brent. The ravages of secret missions, horrific scenes witnessed, and physical intimacy colored by emotional distance. While the buildings of a city can be rebuilt, removing indications of devastation, the lives of our characters are not so easily fixed. Externally, things look familiar, aside from Brent’s physical injuries, but their emotional turmoil remains a tarnish on their marriage that persists.

This novel is expertly researched with well-developed characters who are complex, intriguing, and heartbreaking. There are moments where it’s as if Diana and Brent are hugging through a wall. There is warmth and yearning, but they just can’t seem to know each other fully. I would recommend to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, exploration of PTSD and trauma, women in war, and architecture.

Thanks go to the publisher and Net-Galley for the complimentary audio copy of London Restoration by Rachel McMillan for the purpose of listening and reviewing prior to publication. My opinions are my own, and no one has influenced them.

London Restoration is an outstanding look at the start of the Cold War after WWII ends, and England’s effort to combat it. The characters hold secrets from their time during the war and both are afraid to tell the other. I thoroughly enjoyed the historical aspects of this amazing novel. I love old churches and the history behind them and have visited several mentioned in this book.

Diana Somerville’s character has many facets, one that prove fascinating. Since I too enjoy visiting historical places, I identified with her chosen path. I also became vested in her frustration over not being allowed to share why she wasn’t at her husband’s side when he received his injuries at the end of the war.

Brent Somerville is an intriguing character. I liked him a great deal and could understand his fear of sharing what happened to him at the end of the war. I also admired his patience with Diana when she’s doesn’t tell him why she didn’t rush to him while he laid in a hospital suffering from severe injuries.

The love story between the couple is built on a firm foundation, and even though they must deal with what happened during the war, both are determined to find the way back to each other.

I listened to the audio book of London Restoration and thoroughly became enmeshed once the story started. At first I wasn’t sure because it read like a documentary. Hannah Curtis is the narrator, and her lovely voice pulled me into the tale and kept me listening until the end. She brought the characters to life, and I could easily know which charter was speaking. There is richness and layers to her tone, and she read with just the right amount of emotion.

If you like historical fiction with strong romantic elements, and a narrator who adds to your listening enjoyment, then you want to grab your copy of this excellent novel. Whether you chose to read or listen to London Restoration, you are in for a treat. Happy reading and listening!

Diana Somerville has a fascination with London's churches. After the end of WWII she is intent on seeing these churches restored. At the same time, Diana is still entwined with MI6 in their pursuit of a Russian agent. To add another layer, she has come back to her husband who was injured in the war both emotionally and physically. As they both try to reintegrate into their lives, there are many layers they need to peel back to restore their relationship, as they are not the same people they were before the war started.

This book had a great premise. I would have loved more of the actual restoration piece. The bones of this story are great. I just feel that the fleshing out of story was lacking. I didn't have an emotional connection to the characters, so it made investing in them hard, or caring what happened.

Thank you NetGalley for an Advanced Listening Copy in exchange for my honest review.

Beautiful love story set around World War II! And set in London and around the churches. Brent and Diana are separated during the war. But even after the war, their is a distance between them. They both had different assignments during the war. Things happened to them. And there are reasons they can’t share the details with each other even after the war is over. There are times when the story is hopeful and romantic with their love story. And then there are times during the war that everything feels heavy and hopeless for the two of them. Can they find their way back to the way it used to be.

Ahhhhh, what a satisfying book!
There are only a few authors I will make an exception to my "no historical novels" rule, and McMillan is one of those. Her incorporation of historical details in her books are what make them stand above the rest in the genre. I was utterly fascinated with the architectural history and the information about Wren and the churches.
Yet, the strengths of this book also lie with the romance between the husband and wife, separated by secrets, wounds, and other ravages of war, yet ultimately finding redemption.
Add to all of this intrigue, spies, and more secrets and I was held captive by this lovely novel throughout.
I listened to part of this on audio and switched to the print version midway through so I could give opinions on both. The narrator has a lovely voice and although I did speed up the speech her narration was clear and heartfelt. If you like historical fiction with wonderful detail, you will not be disappointed by this novel, but even if you don't, the romantic suspense will pull you in and keep you invested in the outcome.

Due to this being the audiobook of The London Restoration by Rachel McMillan, I am reviewing the audio performance.

The voice was a sudden surprise as I began listening, I did not expect the accent ... And, I am so glad that the narrator became even more perfect for the story with the accent. I will be reviewing the content soon.

I wanted to like this book more than I actually did. The cover is stunning and immediately grabbed my attention. I thought the narrator brought a soulful, rich tone to the novel. Dianna Somerville, is an Architectural historian who has a special love of churches designed by Christopher Wren after the great London fire. Brent Somerville is a professor at Kings College. In each chapter the story jumps between storylines; when they first met and married days before he leaves to be a stretcher bearer in WWII, their time during the war (she worked at Bletchley Park) and their reuniting after the war where she is involved in a secret espionage mission. The first two areas worked for me, getting to know the characters and then their reuniting years later essentially still newlyweds but very changed. The espionage part was less interesting as it was vague on what they were looking for and how the pro-Communist cold-war influences were a real threat. I love London and have been to most of the churches that are mentioned. I am grateful they were restored and not demolished after the war. But there was too much about Wren and his masterpieces and it that slowed the story. I can tell I am less interested in a book when I finished three others while still reading this one. Clean for language, sex and only mild violence. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced audio book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a review copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a love letter to London, and I could not have loved it more. McMillan clearly knows and loves London, and it is the biggest character in The London Restoration. I adore Sir Christopher Wren's work, and McMillan worked in his churches and architecture perfectly- I actually learned quite a lot from this without realising it at all. If only all historical fiction would helpfully reference the history so well!

Diana and Brent are an interesting couple, both having led difficult lives during the war. Diana, a codebreaker at Bletchley Park and Brent, a stretcher bearer on the front lines, are getting to know each other once again. Not an easy task for most couples, but Diana and Brent do this against the backdrop of an MI6 mission featuring Diana's beloved Wren's churches.

Hannah Curtis is the perfect narrator for The London Restoration. She voices different characters without being camp or over the top. She has a wonderful gravitas, and I will be looking for more of her work!

Diana and Brett Somerville were newly weds at the start of the war. They have now both returned to London following WWII. Both carry scars be it mental or physical.
Diane is still working for the secret service and is unable to divulge to Brett why she wasn’t there for him when he needed her the most. Diana’s knowledge of London churches is needed to crack a spy network called ‘Eternity’. However, due to the official secrets act she cannot confide in Brett.
This is a great period book and the author has put a lot of research into it. I liked Diana but found Brett annoying and a chauvinist. But it is also a love story.
The narrator of the book had an hypnotic quality to their voice and made listening a pleasure. You felt that you were being transported back to the 40’s era.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review the book

(4.5/5) A well-researched and beautifully written story that begins at the end of WWII. It is more a story about love and a couple, Brent and Diana Somerville, reuniting and getting to know and love each other again after being apart for four years because of the war. Beautiful and vivid descriptions of London and the destroyed churches that Brent and Diana visit. There is a bit of suspense and mystery in the story that I enjoyed, and the going back and forth to different time periods of the characters was well done. The narration by Hannah Curtis was beautifully executed. Even though this really didn't take place during the war, I think many WWII historical fiction fans will love and enjoy this book. I highly recommend it.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for the review audio copy.

An architectural romance set against the tumultuous Second World War.
Brent and Diana Sommerville married just weeks before the war, and what should have been a happy reunion is marred by five weeks that Diana can’t tell him about. Flowing forwards and back in time this story follows Brent and Diana from the first sparks of romance, their marriage, their time apart, and the present, through trenches and churches.
Slow to start, this book builds gradually, as it dissects a marriage and the pieces slowly come together about who is the one dogging their every move. Remarkably well researched, with great attention to detail, this book does a great job of bringing that part of the war to light, highlighting the heroes who gave more than anyone will ever know.
The first half of the book sets up the second half well, and it all builds into a climactic suspense filled ending. Realistic characters give gravity to the situation, and I liked how it draws attention to the realities that many returned to after the war. It was a slow burn for me, I’m glad I kept pushing till the end.

The narration was well enunciated, I found the most enjoyable speed to listen at was 1.5x.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book is set just after the second world war and follows a married couple, trying to salvage their marriage after the war. Brent has PSTD and Diana has secrets of her own.
I found the story at settled dragging at times as essentially most of the conversation being

Diana: You keep your life during the war completely secret, I just want to understand!
Brent: I can't share that with you! I don't want to burden you.

it became repetitive after a while to the point I wanted to yell at Brent to seek help.

the descriptions of church architecture were beautiful and the mystery subplot enjoyable.

"The London Restoration" by Rachel McMillan is an audiobook that took me awhile to get into. The narrators are excellent but the story starts off slowly. It does pick up about halfway through and then pulled me as the listener in more fully.

The story is about Diana Somerville, a decoder at Bletchly Park and her husband Brent who served as a medic during WWII. After the war Diana is asked by her former supervisor to help him in his pursuit of a Russian with a code name Eternity. Brent assists her with the case as he hopes to find out more about her time during WWII for which she signed a non-disclosure agreement.

Diana and Brent reconnect as they learn more about each other's wartime experiences they reconnect with one another and both find out what's next for their after the war lives.

This is a rich, well researched novel that will transport you back to the years through and either side of WW2. At the heart is the marriage between Diana and Brent Somerville, a gently told love story that forfeits a great deal when the two are separated through war.

Brent is on active duty in the trenches, working as a stretcher carrier and returns to battle scarred London with physical and mental injuries. Upon landing in the city he discovers that Diana has had to be absent for 5 weeks. She has been entrusted with a secret mission which opens the novel in Vienna. Her war work was working at Bletchley as a 'translator' but her real activities were much more clandestine.

Diana is now doing a favour for a friend and colleague, Simon Barr, who has moved on from the physical war just ended, to a war of minds as the Communist threat begins to make itself felt. Brett has a sense, of course, that his wife is withholding from him, and of course she is. Her work is classified.  She has a huge interest in the Wren churches, even more so now that she is 'visiting' them, primarily for her own academic interest but also to ascertain whether drops are being made, assignations taking place within the often bombed out shells by "Eternity", a Russian agent. Brent is Professor of Theology at King's College and thus an excellent companion for her endeavours. When they happen upon an ancient artefact, they truly begin to understand the nature of Diana's mission.

Woven into the story is incredibly detailed research about the churches of London, in particular those designed by Wren. I guarantee that you will be better informed by the end of the book! And I think it would be such fun to read this book and then visit the churches mentioned in the novel, it would be such a wonderful way to get acquainted with this aspect of the city, a very different way of appreciating what London has to offer.

There is quite some gun wielding and plenty of tea drinking to set the story firmly on British soil. The writing is quite formal, which of course mirrors the style of the era - it can, though, make the story, and particularly the love element between Diana and Brett - feel just a little stiff. Overall an enjoyable read.

I was pretty excited for this one given how much I liked Rachel McMillan’s Van Buren and DeLuca series. This is definitely a departure from her other work (more historical fiction than historical mystery, and a heavy emphasis on the central romance), though there is still a mystery to be solved and the romantic aspects of this were pretty tolerable even for someone like me who really doesn’t like Romance.

McMillan crafts an interesting Post-WWII story that asks a lot of questions about how we change as people during a war and the aspects of it (be they personal, professional, or the intersection of both) that we can’t leave behind even after the fighting is officially over.

Of the two leads, it’s Diana who gets our attention. She’s smart, witty, and seemingly engaged in some pretty interesting postwar spycraft that somehow involves her love of and academic work on church architecture.

Her husband Brent is really only notable for his love for Diana. McMillan does a good job of describing the PTSD Brent is suffering after the war, but that’s not exactly new territory in historical fiction, and Brent (though admirably devoted to his wife and in the end proving capable of doing the right thing) is mostly whiny, jealous, and generally irritating. Interestingly, the far more interesting male character is Diana’s semi-mysterious boss Simon, who Brent incorrectly believes might be his romantic rival.

The mystery itself is a decent one, a touch convoluted in the solve but overall fairly well-crafted. And McMillan did a good job of connecting the church architecture plot line to the mystery, though they appear unrelated at first. The villain and the reveal of the villain too were pretty well done.

Also, I’m not quite sure why this is listed as Christian Fiction in addition to Historical Fiction. A character is identified as Christian and the book talks a lot about churches, but our principal character Diana is not a religious person and the emphasis on English churches is academic rather than spiritual.

An audiobook note: I liked the reader for this. She was expressive without being over the top and demonstrated the ability to shift characters subtly that is the hallmark of a good voice actor.

Spies and Spies and churches.
Don't be put off by the drawn-out historical note at the beginning of this book, it does get better. Unfortunately it's hard to skip the introductory chapters in an audiobook and I almost gave up at the first hurdle.

There were several elements of this book; some I enjoyed more than others. For me, the most appealing thread was the relationship between Diana and her husband, Brent. They had been madly in love before the start of WWII, but married in haste before Brent was whisked off to serve as a stretcher bearer on the front and Diana took a position at Bletchley Park, decoding intercepted German messages. After 4 years of war Brent was looking forward to seeing Diana and resuming their married life, but Diana was in Vienna, performing 'a favour for a friend' for a further 5 weeks and this gnaws on Brent's mind.

Diana has signed the Official Secrets Act and can't tell Brent what she has been doing, which puts an interesting pressure on their marriage. On her return she tells him she has been tasked with making an historian's report on the damaged churches of London and they visit several together. This apparently innocuous pastime seems to be fraught with danger and Brent is less and less convinced that Diana is telling him the truth.

I enjoyed this interaction between the couple, exacerbated by the PTSD symptoms that Brent is suffering. Diana's time at Bletchley Park, and the friends she made there were also interesting, although I did miss some of the switches in time if I lost concentration on the audio. I was less involved in the church aspect of the novel and the detailed descriptions of the Christopher Wren churches.

Overall I enjoyed this but my feeling was that there was a bit too much church description and the book itself could have benefited from some editing to make the audio about an hour and a half shorter.
3.5 stars.churches