This book just didn't work for me. I didn't warm to any of the characters (except George the dog who should have played a much larger role). I felt Colin's stiff British upper lip and some of the other English characters were too much of a stereotype. It was also too long and could have removed a couple hundred pages without hurting the story lines.

In this dual time framed novel we follow Precious and Eva while they navigate life in London during WWII. In 2019 we follow Maddie and her friends as she pulls together an exhibition to show case Precious life as a model in 1940's London, only to stumble on a much bigger story.

The Prologue of this book had me totally hooked and left me with a desperate need to find out what happened and why. As it turns out I was half right in my guess but I did not guess the full reveal, I was stumbling around with Maddie and her friends trying to work it out.

Karen White does an amazing job of transporting you back in time to London on the brink of war. You could feel the tension radiating off the pages. Part romance part historic fiction this novel is about friendship, love, loss and finding oneself when all else fails you.

Many thanks to Netgalley the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love a dual timeline novel, especially one with a mystery and this book did not disappoint. The author has an evocative writing style, and she had me thoroughly engrossed from the first page.

This is definitely a story that will stay with you long after you've read it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Publishing for sending me the ARC for this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was an immersive tale which was fun and enjoyable to read. It was very evocative on 1939 and was incredibly moving and uplifting.

The impressive prologue of this book leads the reader into a stunning story of love and deception, friendship and fear, spies, intrigue and secrets. Set in war torn London in 1939-41 and also 2019, this is a story reinvention and retribution.
For young models Eva Harlow and Precious Dubose in 1939, the glamor and beauty of the fashion world meets the London blitz and the men and women who become part of their lives. Good or bad, the characters are so very well done.
Maddie Warner, in the other part of the story set in 2019, is dealing with past trauma and facing an uncertain future.
This is a book that I couldn't put down. Karen White has the ability to entice the reader by putting the clues of the puzzle in front of you, with the answer just that little bit out of reach. Love a story like that. I recommend this book to other readers and it is definitely a 5 star read for me. I have pre-ordered a print copy of this book but I could not wait to read it!

In The Last Night In London, the dual storylines of Eva and Precious in war time London together with present day characters, Maddie and Colin together with a 99 year old Precious, makes for the potential for a very interesting read. Maddie is a writer, doing a special piece for London Vogue featuring Precious and her work as a model during WW2, and has an unresolved past with Colin, who has grown up calling Precious, Nana. There is obvious chemistry between Maddie and Colin and there is also a lot that Precious is holding back about her past.

The content of this book was intriguing, however, as a reader, I found the pace to be too slow to hold my attention fully through the book.

I enjoyed reading this book, was a great story, enjoyed the way the writer tied everything together. I did realise half way through who Eva was, it was great being in two time zones to get the feel of the story.
Great read recommend it to all who enjoy a good romance, a touch of history along with great sorrow of lost loves

I was drawn immediately by this captivating story of love, friendship and betrayal, and secrets that span the generations. It’s a terrific dual narrative, set on the eve of WWII in London, as two beautiful models, Eva and Precious make their mark in a London fashion house. Through a chance encounter the pair are invited into the lives of the privileged classes and as one finds love, a whole new circle of friends are revealed. Bound by lasting friendship, the women’s dreams are changed forever as war breaks out in Europe.

Meanwhile, Vogue journalist, Madison is drawn into a web of secrets and betrayals, as 99yo ex-model and resistance fighter, Precious DuBose, tells her story and explains how she reinvented her life. Pent-up emotions are revealed in the present day, as Maddie and Precious’s friend’s grandson Colin, work together to understand the past that links them both. It soon becomes clear that Precious seeks atonement for actions from the past.

The historical story is revealed when Maddie selects garments from Precious’s fashion career for her article and learns of the background. Precious explains the choices she and Eva made that had far-reaching effects. Meanwhile Maddie must learn to move beyond her fear and the deaths from her past. As Precious helps Maddie face her own difficulties— she raises questions as to why Maddie runs from relationships and encourages her to face her problems head-on, and take a risk for her future. As the end of her life draws closer, Precious must share the truth of her actions, while Maddie learns the price she paid for love.

This story has it all— fashion, espionage, romance, lust and betrayal, along with a fiercely devoted friendship. It's a beautiful story of a special bond between women that cannot be broken.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

4* Epic Stars

I have given 4* as I found the book a bit slow in the beginning and struggled to get into it, but I persevered and before I knew it, I was totally absorbed in the story. It alternates between the past in WWII, where we meet Precious and her best friend Eva who are models and the present, where we meet Maddie who is a journalist, coming to London to investigating the fashions during the war and interviewing 99-year-old Precious. What Maddie did not expect to unearth was the secrets, lies and betrayal that surrounded Precious and Eva.

The authors story telling during the war era was descriptive and engaging making it feel real. I enjoyed reading about the friendship and lives between Precious and Eva, it was more interesting than the story we were given about Maddie. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy historical fiction which has some mystery and intrigue to it.

This was my first time reading a book from this author and I look forward to reading more of her wonderful storytelling.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster Australia and NetGalley for my ARC to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Australia for gifting me a copy of The Last Night in London By Karen White in exchange for an honest review.

The Last Night in London is a dual timeline book about Precious and Eva in London during the Blitz and Maddison in 2019 while she interviews Precious for an article.

Not knowing much about the Blitz, I found it interesting to listen to their story and the life they led. Eva and Precious were wonderfully written it made me actually seeing them as real and reading their story as if it actually could of happened.

I recommend reading this lovely written story to learn of Precious and Eva's lives with their friends.

Would you make the same mistake or forgive the unforgivable?

#TheLastNightInLondon #NetGalley

Madison Warner is in London to help a friend with a story about Precious Dubose, an American fashion model during world war two who also went on to help the french resistance. As Madison goes through Precious's memorabilia and puts together her story, we also learn more about Madison's life and why she is so reluctant to settle down or let herself fall in love. But the handsome and charming Colin who treats Precious as an adopted grandmother doesn't make it easy for her.

The second story we read in the novel is Eva Harlow's. She was also a model and shared a flat with her best friend Precious in London before and during the early years of the war. Eva falls in love with Graham, an upper-class gentlemen who works in the war office. But Eva isn't her real name, and an acquaintance she meets - Alex - knows about her past and threatens to unravel her carefully constructed life if she doesn't cooperate. As a result, there are misunderstandings between Eva and Graham, and as the bombs fall over London, Eva is forced to make a choice between her best friend and her lover that will affect her for the rest of her life.

I enjoyed The Last Night in London and once I found the time to sit down and read the pages turned quite quickly. Eva's character made decisions which were understandable for someone of her position and because she was trying to protect herself. The love she and Graham shared was wonderfully developed, along with her complicated relationship with Alex. She was also still quite young during the war so her naiveté in some instances can be forgiven. Her relationship with Precious was also good, and they were more like sisters than friends, even at the end.

Madison's story wasn't as strong or as intriguing as Eva's. The romance with Colin was mostly one sided, despite the attraction on Madison's part, mainly because of her reluctance to fall in love because of personal reasons which had nothing to do with him. Her friendship with Arabella was a highlight and echoed Eva's friendship with Precious. It was nice to see Precious as both a young woman and then again as a very old woman with a story to tell. But once Madison completes her task and returns to the US for her sister's wedding, the ending of the novel itself felt drawn out.

The plot of Eva's story in particular is excellent. In the times before telephone communication was common, there was plenty of room for error and the author made excellent use of this. I don't want to give spoilers, but the reveals at the end were fantastic and tied both Madison and Eva's stories together quite nicely. However, I found that in Madison's point of view the description of every day rooms etc tended to become quite verbose at times and I would skip pages to get to the next line of dialogue or action. I didn't have this same problem when reading Eva's point of view.

All in all though, it was an enjoyable read and one I'd recommend to anyone who loves historical fiction.

My thanks to Netgalley for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

#TheLastNightInLondon #NetGalley

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it was riveting.

I loved the split in times from the Second World War to the present day and how the two story lines unfolded and twisted together.

A beautifully written book.

Thanks #NetGalley for the copy.

London, 1939, for best friends Eva Harlow and Precious Dubose the world is seemingly their oyster. Working as fashion models at the House of Luschtak allows them to mingle with the British elite. Eva finds herself swept into a whirlwind romance with the charming Graham St John, it is everything she has ever wanted. Yet the happiness they find is tinged with the threat of war and the forces of intrigue.
London, 2019, Madison Warner, freelance journalist is engaged by long tine friend Arabella to write an article on the life and vintage clothing collection of 99 year old Precious Dubose. As Maddie interviews Precious she tries to unravel the story of Eva of Graham who both seem too have disappeared during the war and also the secrets that Precious is reluctant is let go. For Maddie coming back to London brings complications in trying to shield her feelings from the irresistible Colin Eliot.
Karen White has created an intriguing story that works seamlessly crosses between two different time periods. The period before WW2 is well crafted as White has captured the hope and the fear of leading into the declaration and captures the horrors of the German bombing spree. The central character in the WW2 period is Eva Harlow, a woman who is desperate to be more than her humble beginnings. It would be easy for Eva to become a gold digger but that is never allowed to happen and you remain entranced by her journey.
In the present, Maddie is the central character but Precious is a strong contender. In the present, Precious is a survivor and carries the guilt of that. As Maddie unravels the truth, she also has to face her own past. The death of her mother, the fear of returning home to Georgia and not wanting to give herself over to love. Maddie lifts off the page and as the narrator in her time, it is easy to become part of her world. She is not a perfect person and grows by letting her shields down. There is a wonderful group of support characters and all of them are well rounded and distinct.
This is a book that works on many levels as the WW2 period is about friendship, love and betrayal, while in the present it is about accepting who you are and not being afraid to live.

The book has been a joy to read. It has mystery between both of the timelines and a great story line, really engaging the reader to keep on reading to get the answers.

I did not realise The Last Night in London is actually the third and final book in a series, as it were, by Karen White. It does work perfectly as a stand alone novel, although the first third was a bit hard going and perhaps it would have been easier to get into if I’d already known anything about Maddie as a character and had already developed an interest in her story.

Despite the slow start, I could feel that this book would be worth the effort, and it was. This is a devastating story of redemption, told back and forth between the modern day and blitz London.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. 4.5 stars.

Beautiful, lucid prose from start to finish. I was particularly impressed with lines such as "Grief is like a ghost" and "A life without rain is like the sun without shade". Such vivid striking imagery was present throughout the whole book and it was very helpful in bringing the setting of 1940s London to life. The world of fashion depicted in the book was meticulously researched as well and I greatly enjoyed this window into the lives of models in that era. Last but not least, Kate White writes all her characters with distinctive voices and memorable personalities. I found myself rooting hard for the lovers in both time periods and found the resolutions satisfying and bittersweet.

Thank you Netgalley for this brilliant novel. I truly enjoyed it and will be recommending it to others.

I did enjoy this story and found it fairly quick and interesting reading. The story revolves around two timelines - two models living in wartime London, and the present day, where we slowly uncover pieces of a mystery rooted in the London fashion world of 1940. I enjoyed learning about the life of a model in that period.

I found the mystery somewhat predictable, and guessed the "big twist" very early on in the story. I had only read The French Gift a couple of weeks ago and at times I almost felt like I was reading the same story as there are many similarities. I am in no way suggesting any plagiarism from either author but I suspect I may have enjoyed this one more had I not only just read the other one.

I struggled with finding the story and many of the characters believable. Some of the dialogue felt over the top. Possibly when historical fiction crosses with romance and leans more in the romance direction it is less my style.

I still think it is a solid book which clearly involved a great deal of research. I'd recommend it if you are more into historical fiction that leans into the romance element.

This was a really enjoyable, two timeline, historical mystery mostly set in London.
The prologue is well done and drew me into the story immediately. A beautiful woman running through London streets during the blitz with a baby in a bag.
In 2019 Maddie Warner arrives in London to do an interview with Precious Dubose, a 99yo woman who had been a model.
In 1939 Precious and her friend Eva are models at a fashion house and share a flat. This storyline is definitely the more compelling especially being set in the prewar and early war period.
The modern storyline was held back for me by the less interesting love interest sideline but when the characters were involved in solving the mystery of what Precious had done during the war the book is hard to put down. The pace is excellent especially as the story gets closer to the events in the prologue.
Themes of friendship, betrayal, honesty and family, coping with grief and reinvention.

This is not a book I would normally pick up, I tend to stray away from historical drama but The Last Night in London had me gripped from the start.

The reinvention of Ethel to Eva and the intertwining of the decades is beautifully written. Karen White seamlessly brought together the eras and just when I wondered where the story was going she adds Precious to the mix.

The Last Night in London written by Karen White enlightens historical fiction readers to understand what two young fashion models went through before and during WW2. The historical fiction is similar to a bibliography due to telling the memories of late 1930’s to mid 1940’s fashion model of what she went through during this period of time. This story tells of Precious’s actions during this time, those consequences impacted her family in current times. The main characters we’re friends during their college years, only to be reunited due to finding an ancestry linkage also writing a magazine article to reminisce Precious’s memories with clothing and accessories from her modelling career from pre-war and during war. These memories were freeing Precious slowly leading towards redemption from her actions. The storyline can be a little slow but it is written in a way that brings in the reader to see two characters being aware of feelings for each other they were afraid to action. During Precious’s memory flashbacks there is snippets of hints that she is not exactly who she is. Could have been a sad ending but it is a happy ending for a newly formed couple.

Review run date 31 Mar 2021 for Netgalley and Facebook. On 05 May 2021 my review will be posted on Amazon.com.au, goodreads, Barnes and Noble, kobo, googlebooks and iBooks. My WordPress blog is http://bluefalkon95adorationofallgenres.wordpress.com My Facebook reader blog page link, is https://www.facebook.com/BlueFalkon95-Readers-blog-104660277776984
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Simon & Schuster Australia through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.