I am so excited that Natalie Jenner’s newest historical fiction will be hitting the shelves this week! I fell in love with her writing ini her last novel, The Jane Austen Society so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to dive into Bloomsbury Girls!

This story is full of wonderful characters, exquisite details and some protagonists that you can’t help but love! Plus, it’s set in a bookstore. What more could you ask for?

I liked the idea of this book better than I liked the book itself. It’s set in 1950’s London, in a fictional shop called Bloomsbury Books. It centers around three women: Grace, who’s in an abusive marriage; Vivien, who longs to write and to manage the bookstore rather than merely stand at the cash register; and Evie, who recently graduated from Cambridge and feels she was unfairly denied a position working for one of the professors.

Two things made this book stand out for me. One is the setting of post-war London, where everyone is impacted in some way by recent events. Some of the men have come back traumatized, while others escaped the action or were not able to fight. Women were elevated in jobs and in higher education, and are now dealing with a society they thought would allow them to grow, but instead wants to put them back in their place. One characters is an immigrant from India, who’s come to advance his career and seek new opportunities, but instead experiences constant and overt racism.

The second thing that made this book stand out is the use of real life literary and publishing figures, such as Daphne DuMaurier, Sonia Brownell (wife of George Orwell), Peggy Guggenheim, Samuel Beckett, and Ellen Doubleday, wife of the American publisher. The real-life characters were what made this book particularly interesting to me, although I was disappointed by the lack of an explanation by the author of what was true and what was fictional (though we do learn that Sunwise Turn was an actual bookstore).

I enjoyed Tanner’s depiction of the three main characters, and the struggles they undergo. Grace feels she has to accept her life as it is, even though she feels like she’s imprisoned by her husband. Vivien goes through life challenging everything, which makes her an impressive figure to the other woman, but just being angry isn’t a way to find fulfillment and happiness. And Evie is brilliant but follows the rules too much, which I identified with, and doesn’t always see people for who they are.

I appreciated these three strong female characters and the ways that sexism and racism, both overt and subtle, holds the characters back. In a way, some of the most thoughtful moments in this book are seen through the eyes of the male characters, as they struggle to redefine their relationships with the women they care about.

This book is not billed as a sequel to Jenner’s The Jane Austen Society, but maybe it should have been. Evie and friends Mimi and Yardley come from that book, and her story in this book is very much a continuation of the events in the first book. I found myself frustrated by the frequent references to the book, because if I’d known this was basically a sequel I would have read the other book first.

If you read Jane Austen Society and loved it, I expect you’ll love this book as well. For me, it was fine but not momentous. I enjoyed reading about the literary figures and the reading and publishing world in 1950’s England. But Jenner’s writing style was a bit repetitive and had a bit too much “telling” for my taste. While there are some insightful moments, for the most part this story rolls out exactly as expected. This is a book where the characters lead complicated lives, which I appreciated, but ultimately the story is wrapped up too neatly, too easily.

This was an entertaining read, and I certainly loved its bookstore setting. It’s a book that other readers on Goodreads describe as “charming” and “sweet” — which I suppose is why it ultimately didn’t work as well for me.

Note: I received an advanced review copy of this book from NetGalley and publisher St. Martin’s Press. The book published May 17, 2022.

If you read and loved Jane Austen Society by the same author, you’ll love this one too. I think I may even like this one better. We hear the continuation of Evie’s story, with a whole new cast of characters, and a few cameos from the previous story. The story centers around three women working in a bookshop in London, all fighting to find their place in a male-dominated world. I loved the themes of friendship, hard work, and perseverance. I loved that each woman took control of their lives and fought for what they deserved. The ensemble of characters was fun and compelling, and I could easily envision this as a BBC style show. I loved the writing style of the book- it feels as is the narrator knows all the secrets of each character, and is letting you in on them bit by bit. Plus- a book about a bookstore? Can’t pass that up! Highly recommend! (If you haven’t read the first book, you could easily pick this one up and have enough info to make sense of this one.) Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the copy in exchange for an honest review!

This is a great followup to Natalie Jenner's The Jane Austen Society, even focusing on one of the main characters as well as several cameos from others! It starts off several years after The Jane Austen Society and tells about three women working at Bloomsbury Books. Evie, Vivien, and Grace are in different stages of their lives and are working at the bookstore for different reasons. But they start to tire of the 51 rules of the bookstore and the men who run it. This book does a fabulous job of illustrating English society after WWII, where women start questioning their "place" and want to "buck" the system. I also appreciated how she weaved in the appearances of other well-known literary women of that time. I loved Natalie Jenner's writing in her sophomore novel and will continue to seek out her books.

This was an absolutely wonderful historical fiction book! The characters were fantastic. Natalie Jenner's writing was delightful. Overall, I would definitely recommend to any historical fiction readers!

I received a ARC from the publisher and blog tour company.

Wonderful historical fiction.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and the publisher. This is my honest and personal review.

Title: Bloomsbury Girls
Author: Natalie Jenner
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Bloomsbury Books is an old-fashioned new and rare book store that has persisted and resisted change for a hundred years, run by men and guided by the general manager's unbreakable fifty-one rules. But in 1950, the world is changing, especially the world of books and publishing, and at Bloomsbury Books, the girls in the shop have plans:

Vivien Lowry: Single since her aristocratic fiance was killed in action during World War II, the brilliant and stylish Vivien has a long list of grievances - most of them well justified and the biggest of which is Alec McDonough, the Head of Fiction.

Grace Perkins: Married with two sons, she's been working to support the family following her husband's breakdown in the aftermath of the war. Torn between duty to her family and dreams of her own.

Evie Stone: In the first class of female students from Cambridge permitted to earn a degree, Evie was denied an academic position in favor of her less accomplished male rival. Now she's working at Bloomsbury Books while she plans to remake her own future.

As they interact with various literary figures of the time - Daphne Du Maurier, Ellen Doubleday, Sonia Blair (widow of George Orwell), Samuel Beckett, Peggy Guggenheim, and others - these three women with their complex web of relationships, goals and dreams are all working to plot out a future that is richer and more rewarding than anything society will allow.

I think this got off to a little bit of a slow start, but it ended up being very good. I loved The Jane Austen Society, and it was so much fun seeing some of those characters again. I loved all three of the main female characters, and I was fully invested in their stories. It was lovely to see famous literary characters come to life, as well as the secondary characters in the bookstore itself.

Natalie Jenner is a bestselling author. The Bloomsbury Girls is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Bloomsbury Girls is about WWII London and three women, Vivien, Grace and Evie and a old fashioned rare book store called Bloomsbury Books. The book story is ran by men and there are set rules in place which must be followed at all times. Each of the girls are determined to fight for their right to work in the bookstore.
How the women coped through sexism was interesting to read about. The story seemed well researched with information about womens rights/equality.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions and thoughts expressed are my own.

"Bloomsbury Girls" by Natalie Jenner is an uplifting tale of women working in a bookstore, post WWII in England, finding their voice in the world. I really enjoyed the tangle of characters, personalities, girl power, talent, love stories, and brush with fame. Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for the review copy. All opinions are my own.

The Jane Austen Society was high up on my TBR list last year and I enjoyed it, but when I saw Natalie Jenner was publishing this book, I was thrilled! The Jane Austen Society was just ok for me, I liked it but there were a few bumps that I felt needed to be ironed out, however I liked it well enough to be eager for Jenner’s next novel!

The Bloomsbury Girls is set in post WWII London which is such an interesting period to me. The world just came out of this massive war and they were still feeling to effects of rationing and economic instability but yet were rapidly bouncing back from a dark period in history. So the 1950s always seem like a very exciting period in modern history which is one of the main reasons this novel really made me pause and take note. Then I saw this book featured books, bookstores, and rare books—I mean come on could this one be calling my name any harder?!

If you love books and historical fiction this is going to be a easy book to pick up and enjoy. I am pleased to report that I liked this one a lot more than The Jane Austen Society, this book really drew me in and reminded me how much I love reading some of these post war era authors like Daphne Du Maurier and why I love reading and bookstores in the first place! This was a wonderful read and I certainly recommend it to book lovers!

Summary

The internationally bestselling author of The Jane Austen Society returns with a compelling and heartwarming story of post-war London, a century-old bookstore, and three women determined to find their way in a fast-changing world.

Bloomsbury Books is an old-fashioned new and rare book store that has persisted and resisted change for a hundred years, run by men and guided by the general manager’s unbreakable fifty-one rules. But in 1950, the world is changing, especially the world of books and publishing, and at Bloomsbury Books, the girls in the shop have plans:

Vivien Lowry: Single since her aristocratic fiance was killed in action during World War II, the brilliant and stylish Vivien has a long list of grievances – most of them well justified and the biggest of which is Alec McDonough, the Head of Fiction.

Grace Perkins: Married with two sons, she’s been working to support the family following her husband’s breakdown in the aftermath of the war. Torn between duty to her family and dreams of her own.

Evie Stone: In the first class of female students from Cambridge permitted to earn a degree, Evie was denied an academic position in favor of her less accomplished male rival. Now she’s working at Bloomsbury Books while she plans to remake her own future.

As they interact with various literary figures of the time – Daphne Du Maurier, Ellen Doubleday, Sonia Blair (widow of George Orwell), Samuel Beckett, Peggy Guggenheim, and others – these three women with their complex web of relationships, goals and dreams are all working to plot out a future that is richer and more rewarding than anything society will allow. (summary from Goodreads)

Review

This book features interesting characters, three unique women in fact plus some fun secondary literary characters like Daphne Du Maurier, Ellen Doubleday, and George Orwell’s widow Sonia Blair. It was fun watching the principal characters interact with these other more well known authors, it made my reader heart happy in so many ways! The three main characters will leave readers seeing themselves in many different ways. Normally when I read books with multiple main characters, I find that I connect with one more than the other mostly because I have something in common with them or see something I desire to be in the character. But in this book I felt that way about each and every main character which really made me feel connected to the whole story not just one character’s narrative if that makes sense. That to me is a hallmark of great characters!

While not the total focus of this book, romance certainly played a role and I love books with a little bit of romance and I thought that worked well for this one. There are three different male characters in this book and they are all very different. Overall this book has a wonderful character study across the board with a lot for readers to unpack and analyze. Aside from all the character struggles and stories, I loved seeing how women were treated in the work place. This book really shined a light on the fact that women were clearly NOT welcome in the work world and remember people this wasn’t that long ago! This is one of the reasons why I love historical fiction!

This book was well written and researched and it had the polish that Jenner’s previous book didn’t. I know a lot of people loved her first book but this one for me is her stand out novel. There is a richness in the plot, characters. setting and time period that stands out as superior. I loved exploring the world and the bookstore as well as all the characters. The story also stayed with me until long after it was over. If you love historical fiction you are going to want to check this one out. It’s so well written and I cannot say enough good things. If you liked her first book then you will LOVE this one. It was easily a 4.5 if not a 5 star book for me. I am so excited to see what kind of book she writes next!

Book Info and Rating

Format: 370 pages hardvoer

Publisher: May 17th 2022 by St Martin’s Press

ISBN: 9781250276698

Free review copy provided by publisher, St Martin’s Press in partnership with Austen Prose Book Tours, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and in no way influenced.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Genre: historical fiction

Natalie Jenner’s The Jane Austen Society was a delightful read in June of 2020, and her follow-up novel, Bloomsbury Girls does not disappoint. Once again Jenner has brought to her readership a wide cast of amusing characters, excellent storytelling and unexpected literary touchstones. While there are characters and narrative details which are tied to The Jane Austen Society, this second work stands on its own well enough that newcomers could easily begin with this title. That said, understanding the background of some individuals would increase the reader’s enjoyment.

A predominant connective character is Miss Evie Stone, a meek and young lady who not only played a pivotal role in The Jane Austen Society, but in her own quiet way is a heroine in the lives of the other women in Bloomsbury Girls. In Miss Stone we find a recurring theme of the novel: the desire for more. Evie is a graduate of Cambridge, yet finds herself toiling away as a mere book cataloguer. She has dreams for the future, but it is unclear whether they can be realized. In the same vein, her co-workers within the Bloomsbury bookshop often exhibit variations of the same yearning. The women are often inhibited by the patriarchal mores of society and the rules-bound bookshop itself. Some of the men also long for more, but various forces keep them hemmed in behind desks or in particular employment roles. As these individuals are finding their way in post-WWII London in the beginning months of 1950, the wheels of change begin to turn, and the adjustments which occur do not always run smoothly.

Natalie Jenner’s writing in The Jane Austen Society was enjoyable, but her skill has increased in the last two years. Her ability to weave a story, execute a turn of phrase and surprise this reader was simply enchanting. As a book lover, I highly enjoyed the literary cameos, with one in particular surprising me so much, I audibly cheered with glee when they emerged. The concept of Bloomsbury Girls is a simple one, but I was riveted from one chapter to the next. Many passages have been highlighted, with memorable quotes saved for future reading.

From a content standpoint, conservative readers can be aware that the “adult” material is approximately the same as was seen in The Jane Austen Society. There are a couple of bedroom scenes between two unmarried persons, but details are spare. Two men are in a secret relationship, but this element is not at the forefront. There is another thread regarding a married person, but I hesitate to give more details because of the “spoiler factor.” It may be sufficient to say that Jenner could have been much more colorful in the descriptions of all her adult relationships and the language that they used, but the strength of her storytelling did not necessitate this, and I appreciate her discretion.

Once again as I read Jenner’s work, I endeavored to assign “Hollywood casting” to the characters in the story. In this case the individuals that were chosen did not necessarily match the book characters perfectly in age or appearance, but sometimes were chosen because of the nature of their personalities. Evie Stone was once again “played” by Downton Abbey’s Sophie McShera. Juno Temple of Ted Lasso inhabited Viven Lowry, as did her co-star Nick Mohammed in the character of Ash Ramaswamy. Rachael Stirling of The Bletchley Circle was Grace Perkins. Actor Paul Bettany was Lord Jeremy Baskin. Dan Stevens, also of Downton Abbey, was Alec McDonough. There are other “casting” assignments, but in an effort to preserve the surprise of their appearances in the story, I will not reveal them here.

In addition to reading the text, I also supplemented it by listening to the audiobook version. I must admit, when I learned that Richard Armitage would not be returning for this second title, there was disappointment. I enjoyed his performance in The Jane Austen Society very much. However, narrator Juliet Stevenson has done masterful work in Bloomsbury Girls. Having a feminine voice for such a female-dominated story was really the right choice. She did have to portray male characters and did a fine job with this, but having a woman represent the majority view of the book made sense. I applaud the change in actors.

As a lover of books, book stores, and libraries, I highly enjoyed Bloomsbury Girls. It is not only a story of female empowerment, but it is a love letter to the literary and academic world. One of my favorite quotes from the novel holds true: “All great writing comes from a desire to escape, but you have to know what you are escaping to. The audience will follow anything you do if they are confident you know where you are going.” In Bloomsbury Girls Natalie Jenner knows where she is going, and she is leading her readers into a delightful story of yearning and fulfillment.

Bloomsbury Girls was the sophomore effort by author Natalie Jenner, after her popular debut novel, "The Jane Austen Society." Having thoroughly enjoyed the first book, I was very happy to be selected to read an ARC of Bloomsbury Girls.

The book is set in a bookstore in London in the early 1950s, soon after the close of WWII. This is certainly a golden age for bookstores, something I heartily mourn the demise of, so it was glorious to read about a bustling, thriving shop selling books on three floors, and the staff that worked there somewhat dis-functionally.

The shop is managed by Mr. Dutton and he has 51 rules that each employee must commit to memory. Each chapter started with one of these rules, a charming device, and the story would tie in with the rule. It propelled the story forward nicely and was clever. There are three women at the heart of the story, at a time when women are most certainly underpaid and undervalued as opposed to their male counterparts. We see one character from the previous book, Miss Evie Stone, one of the first females to graduate from Cambridge. There is also Vivien Lowry, whose aristocratic fiance was killed in the war, and who nurses the bitterness. Also there is Grace Perkins, wife and mother of two, whose unhappiness at home is balanced by her feeling of worth at the bookstore. These three will eventually band together and make great changes at Bloomsbury Books.

I really enjoyed the interactions of the various characters, and the coziness of the bookstore as their place of meeting. It was nice to escape to the era of the early 1950s, one I know only through my parents recollections and old movies. But I felt the author captured the spirit of the times, and her story was charming. It made for many pleasant hours of escape.

The Bloomsbury Girls by Natalie Jenner takes place in London during 1950. Bloomsbury Books is run by a general manager who has a set of “no nonsense” rules which are upheld by the other male managers of the various departments. When the general manager becomes ill and can’t continue to work, the three women who work there find opportunities to take control and shake things up for the better.

This book is a fun, cute read with a little something for everyone. Another fun side note, some well known authors from that era are added to the story in various sections.

- slow start
- intro of all the characters all at once at the beginning felt overwhelming, though the character list helped
- overall slower paced book than I was expecting, but I enjoyed the various dives into each character's mind and perspective. helped to understand their motivations more deeply, and helped me feel more connected to the main characters. Very similar to vibes of Jane Austen Society.
- Alec was incredibly unlikeable - so full of himself and his character growth/realization at the end felt rushed
- loved the cameos by some of literature's biggest names - a lot of their interpersonal relationships went over my head, as I'm not super familiar with du Maurier, Beckett, etc.
- loved seeing the growth of friendship between Grace, Vivian, and Evie - they worked together to build something - need more examples like this of positive female support and collaboration. Definitely one of my favorite aspects of the book.
- romance storylines (Grace/Jeremy and Evie/Ash) felt slightly unnecessary for the plot itself, but gave more depth to the characters
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'Bloomsbury Girls' follows the lives of Evie Stone, Vivian Lowry, and Grace Perkins while they work at a rigid, male-managed bookshop in London. Each of the talented, hardworking women have career aspirations outside of the bookshop that are stifled due to them being women.

The book takes place when London is recovering from the the Blitz. Circumstances arise that lead to the women taking larger roles in the shop's management. Will they continue to follow a strict set of rules outlined by the long-time manager or start running the shop as they believe it should be run?

Real life, prominent women are secondary characters in the book (i.e. Daphne du Maurier) which I loved. There is also mention of notable locations in London that the characters visit. The author, Natalie Jenner, wrote 'The Jane Austen Society' which I have not read yet. This book exists in the same literary universe with a few characters from her first book making appearances in this one. The three leading characters are all well-developed. They share a common interest in books and a shared motivation in being treated fairly even though they have different personalities, backgrounds, and aspirations. This book makes me want to 1) book a trip to London ASAP and 2) read all of the books by the female authors mentioned in the book.

I plan to read 'The Jane Austen Society' after thoroughly enjoying this book. The books do not necessarily have to be read in order as far as I can tell. The author gives sufficient context into past events in this book.

Bloomsbury Girls continues the story of Evie Stone, who was initially introduced in The Jane Austen Society. However, Bloomsbury Girls works perfectly well as a stand alone. Enough of Evie’s backstory, along with mentions of events and appearances from several characters from the previous book, occur throughout the narrative, bringing the reader more or less up to date.

Evie is one of the first group of women who were permitted to earn a degree from Cambridge University in the late 1940s. Her application as research assistant, with an excellent letter of referral, was denied due to the deception of a fellow student and the fact that he was male. Needing to earn a living, Evie applies for a position at Bloomsbury Books.

The story revolves around the three women — Grace, Vivien and Evie — who are all employed at Bloomsbury Books, along with an assortment of male colleagues, and showing the challenges and prejudices faced by women in a male dominated world and workplace.

Grace financially supports her family of two children and an unappreciative and unemployed husband who was damaged by the war. Vivien is single and independent, hiding her real feelings with an outward show. She’s a hard worker but is unable to secure a better position because she’s a female. Evie is young and still quite ingenuous, happily working in the rare books section of the shop and working towards bringing overlooked female writers into print.

Grace and Vivien particularly are restricted and frustrated in their roles, with much untapped potential, which in turn affects the shop. It’s stuck in a time warp, old fashioned and unchanged, directed by the manager’s daily rules. Privations of the war years are over but the management refuse to take action or even consider Grace’s and Vivien’s ideas to improve business. It was only when Mr Dutton is taken ill that changes slowly begin to be implemented, although it’s not a smooth transition by any means.

I enjoyed the inclusion of real literary figures such as Daphne du Maurier, Ellen Doubleday, George Orwell’s widow, Sonia Blair, to name a few, and their interactions with the characters, all of which are well rounded and believable.

Bloomsbury Girls is a delightful, character driven story of books, bookshops, women fighting for what they believe in and against prejudices. The pace is steady which works well for the story and the intriguing cast, each with their own dreams and goals. The Jane Austen Society was an impressive debut and this is a worthy successor.

I liked this, but didn’t love it. The premise sounds fabulous and fascinating, I just never really connected to the three women and the story was a bit slow. It was interesting enough to keep going, but I wasn’t as invested as I wanted to be. I did like the ending a lot though.
Anyway, not trying to be mean, I really enjoyed the Jane Austen society, and lots of other people enjoyed this one.

I was so excited to receive this book as an ARC. It was an awesome story about women working together and overcoming obstacles. I was hooked from the start and loved it!!!

Review will be posted on 5/25/22
Evie Stone has recently been passed over for a job she is most definitely qualified for as a recent Cambridge graduate and is starting to learn that in 1950, it's a man's world. Instead she gets a job at Bloomsbury Books and intends to re-calibrate her life. However, the boys club follows her even to the bookstore. Also working at the shop is Vivien Leigh, an outgoing and talented writer, who has recently been widowed. She has issues with Alec, her boss, who treats the women that work at the shop unfairly. There's a list of rules that one must adhere to when working at Bloomsbury Books and the rules don't lend themselves to women's advancement. Lastly, Grace also works at the shop to support her family as her husband is suffering from PTSD after the war and they have two sons. Things aren't easy for Grace though and her marriage is falling apart. There's a whole cast of secondary characters at Bloomsbury Books. There's Ash, an Indian immigrant, who deals with prejudice on a daily basis. There's also the shop manager who is dealing with health issues, and Lord Baskin, the landlord. There's always something going on at the bookshop with all these interesting people working there and especially once there's store events involving authors. If you have ever dreamed of working in a bookshop, Bloomsbury Girls by Natalie Jenner is the perfect escape.

Jenner, just as she did in The Jane Austen Society , provides readers with heartwarming characters in Vivien and Grace. You can't help but root for them. Fans of Jenner's The Jane Austen Society will also recognize Evie. I really liked all three of these women from the start. Each woman has their own issues to deal with, but they are determined to rise above them. Evie is trying to get ahead despite being held back just because she is a woman. Vivian's wealthy husband died during WWII, so she is trying to find her next step and figure out what she wants. Grace's story was especially heartbreaking in that her husband doesn't appreciate her and is very controlling. She struggles with the idea of leaving him though, because she has two young sons. All women are dealt difficult hands, but they make plans to come out on top despite the men that hold them back.

I love the setting of a bookstore. Bloomsbury Girls fulfills my fantasy of opening a book store and planning author events, etc. Even though many of the "rules" at the bookstore were antiquated, I still enjoyed the behind the scenes feel of running a book store. In fact, Jenner starts each chapter with one of the ridiculous "rules" and inevitably that particular rule is tested within the chapter. These rules are designed for men to get ahead, so it was a nice touch to start the chapter in that way and set the tone.

While I enjoyed The Jane Austen Society a little bit more than that novel, I still really appreciated its take on literary feminism. How frustrating to work in publishing and bookselling and have men hold such ridiculous rules over women's heads! I loved how Vivien and the women challenged the men and hosted events with female authors like Daphne du Maurier. Also, I appreciated all the literary figures in Bloomsbury Girls and learning more about lesser known authors from the time period, such as Jane Webb. I also enjoyed learning more about the time period after the war and how it impacted women once men returned from the front. It's a time of transition and I think Jenner captured post-war London well.

If you like at heartwarming historical read, check out Bloomsbury Girls this summer, especially if you are a fan of The Jane Austen Society. So, are you a fan of Jenner's novels? Is this one on your TBR list? Let me know in the comments below.

The women at Bloomsbury Books store are watching it crumble before their very eyes. Not literally, but it's been a couple years since Vivien's fiancé died in World War II, and the bookstore isn't seeing the economic windfall that other businesses have been experiencing after the war ended, not even with its iron-clad rules. Vivien has it out for the Head of Fiction, who stands in the way of almost everything she desires at work. Grace is a consummate professional, but her home life is in shambles after her husband comes home broken from the war. Evie is extremely intelligent, yet has been unfairly denied advancement in her chosen profession, now working at Bloomsbury to figure out her next move. Each of these women individually want the bookstore to succeed, but it isn't until Evie discovers something uniquely special that these three women have the opportunity to make a difference that defies what their managers, and society, expects of them.

Life takes us to interesting places, and sometimes we're there for a reason, to make a difference. After the events of The Jane Austen Society, Evie is in London trying to propel her career forward. That unfortunately means working in a bookstore run by rigid men who think the rules will save them as the world shifts in the post-war era. Evie and the other women believe that shifting the sales approach can help save the bookstore, but that isn't likely with the current managerial approach. I liked how each woman approached her desire to change things differently, and they applied their unique talents in ways that went underappreciated by those in power.

Not only is this an interesting story set in a bookstore, but it's also full of interesting imagined dialogue with famous writers of the post-war era, and an important commentary on individuals who are otherwise competent and intelligent, sidelined by societal expectations and bias. Bloomsbury Girls is the story of three women, each searching for fulfillment, advancement, and success after World War II, conquering their own struggles, and banding together to make a difference in a world dominated by the rigidity of the society, and men, surrounding them. Recommended for readers who enjoyed The Jane Austen Society, who enjoy stories about women making a difference against the odds, and who love stories set in bookstores, surrounded by rare books, where the books themselves can help make a difference in people's lives.