Wartime London, Maggie lives with her mother, drunken father and younger sister. When her German mother is arrested and interred, Maggie is left to care for her sister and try to hold down her job in a bank. London becomes more at risk and Maggie's young sister, Violet, is evacuated.

All of the staff at the bank where Maggie works are moved to the countryside residence, Snowden Hall. Maggie is worried about Violet, she feels uncomfortable with the grandeur of their new workplace and something just isn't as it seems.

Great friendships form, the east end spirit ever present and the mystery solved. Great read which is based on a true story.

Its 1940 in wartime London and Maggie has just started a new job at a bank when the owner decides it would be safer to move the bank, and all its employees to the country.

Maggie's mother is half German and was taken away to Holloway but has since been moved somewhere but nobody could tell her where. Her sister Vi has been evacuated out of London but she doesn't really know where to. She jumps at the chance to move to the country in the hope of being able to find and see her sister, but can she keep her German heritage a secret from everybody else.

A nice gentle read

Really good book. The plot was well-written and engrossing. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Delightful and very readable story set in the Second World War. The main character is well-portrayed and a sympathetic character and her unusual background, far from being an embarrassment, turns out to be a great asset.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy

I loved the cover and thoroughly enjoyed reading this book set during the war. It was an emotional and interesting read.

As she was German, Maggie’s mother was held captive just for that reason and her father, as people did in that time, had the thinking that the rest of the family should stay together.

The bank at which Maggie goes for an interview is moving to Snowden Hall and Maggie will have to go there too.

Informing her father, who doesn’t let her go, her sister is evacuated, and Maggie also left so that she could be close to her.

If you love reading about the war period, you’ll love this book.

Highly recommend this book.

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<p>There are a lot of romance books set in World War 2, and this is another one, however in this one we meet Maggie, a bank employee whose mother is German, her mother has been arrested and she does not know where she is being held, her sister has been evacuted to a farm, and the bank she works for is being relocated to the countryside.</p>
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<p>It is a beautiful story which easily conveys the fear Maggie has of anyone finding out her mother is German and that she can speak the language, we follow her from a shy girl to a confident young woment who eventually helps the war effort by using her language skills as a translator, warm and heartening, lots of social commemtary of the time, a feel good book that is easy to read and leaves a warm fuzzy feeling at the end</p>
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A genuinely heart warming story, not a style I usually read but I really really enjoyed it! Not your usual wartime story but one seen from a different angle. Would definitely recommend!

England in 1940 is not the time or the place to be half German. Maggie is desperate to find her Mother, who was taken to Holloway as an enemy alien. Her young sister Vi has been evacuated from London and her father is a bully. When the owner of the bank she has just started working at decides to move the bank and it’s staff to his country estate, she jumps at the chance to go, once she knows where Vi is. But can she keep her secret?

This was such an easy book to read. It gives a decent taste of wartime England, the bombing, austerity and the characters are nicely written, although there are a few stereotypes in amongst them (bullying father, RAF cad, upper class ‘gals’). However, you could see Maggie’s character developing nicely as the story went on. A fairly predictable read but I’d be interested to see where her story goes next.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I'm 70% through this book and honestly nothing has happened . We know from the start that Maggie is half German and her mother has been interned because she is German. I suspect that is the secret.
Maggie has started work in a bank and its employees have been moved to the owners house in the country. Her sister has been evacuated 20 miles away and she is desperate to see her.
Maggie has a thing for the nephew of the Lord of the house who is a pilot and one of the bank staff has a thing for her.
I liked the characters in the book but the story is going nowhere and life is too short to read the other 30% which I might do eventually if I having nothing else to read.
Thanks to net Galley for the download.

A Wartime Secret by Helen Yendall is an epic novel set during 1940 that mesmerized me from the start.
The reader hears about life on the homefront as we follow a group of bank employees as they are relocated from London to the Cotswolds during the height of the Blitz. We see the camaraderie between the employees and the land girls as everyone does their bit for the war effort.
Many have secrets. For some if they came out, it could be catastrophic. We share the concerns of the characters and are able to empathise.
There are moments of immense bravery too – whether it’s learning to ride a tandem bicycle or something altogether more serious. There are pockets of courage.
The reader witnesses the strange affair that is an upper class marriage – made more for alliances than for love. It is less than appealing.
There were far reaching effects from World War I. Men who returned home from the battlefields often left part of themselves behind. Their relationships would be altered forever with their loved ones.
The Eastenders of London are a resilient bunch. They are the salt of the earth and very community minded. They keep calm and carry on, in spite of the devastation all around.
A Wartime Secret was a fabulous read that I thoroughly enjoyed.
I received a free copy via Net Galley. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.

This was a pleasant bit of escapism. It was an interesting story that moved at a steady pace. I found it well written and it was interesting

When Maggie’s new job takes her from bombed-out London to grand Snowden Hall in the Cotswolds she’s apprehensive but determined to do her bit for the war effort. She’s also keeping a secret, one she knows would turn opinion against her. Her mother is German: Maggie is related to the enemy. WOW... What A Ride!... blew me away… The narrative grabs the reader by the throat and doesn't let you breathe until the end… I read this book in one sitting. I stayed up until midnight devouring it!

It tells the story of a London bank moving out to the countryside with all the staff moving as well. It goes on to include elements from the Kindertransport story, the effect of mixed Anglo/German marriages and the friendships that develop.
A gentle story of life for adult evacuees and the relationships that develop in the big house. In amongst it there are moments of mirth and times of the horrors of the blitz. This is a gentle read really suited for bedtime.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher HQ, HQ Digital, for the electronic copy.

Now, this is a "nice" story which would make a decent Sunday afternoon film. Set in 1940 during WW2, we follow several months of Maggie Corbett's life. She's a young East End girl - a bi-lingual shorthand-typist working in a munitions factory. Her younger sister Vi has been evacuated to goodness knows where; equally her German mother has been interned and she knows not where. She's at home with her bully of a father, and her cat, Tabby.
When the munitions factory gets bombed-out she gets a job with Rosman's Merchant bank in the City, only to quickly find out the owner, Lord Joseph Ashford, had decided to move its operations, and staff, to their mansion in the Cotswolds. Of course Maggie's father won't hear of it, but when Maggie finally receives a postcard from Vi, giving her address in Gloucestershire, she packs her things, along with Tabby, and just makes the train in time.

Maggie feels like a fish out of water, her female colleagues are sophisticated, have clothes she could only dream of. Ray Maguire, in charge of the moving arrangements and newly-promoted, seems to take Maggie under his wing, although he too is unsure of his new duties. Gradually Maggie makes friends and is determined to get to visit her sister to make sure she's alright. Ray is on hand to help her.

When she encounters a young boy in the house and converses with him in German she immediately regrets it - what if her colleagues found out! However, Lord Ashcroft has some secrets of his own and they agree to help each other.

This is a story about friendships forged during wartime - friendships that could only be formed then with people from either end of the social spectrum. It has lots of feel-good moments, inevitable sadness and heartbreak but humour too. I just wished there was another "episode" to come.

A pleasant read.

Anybody who knows me really well knows that not only am I a book geek, but I am also a history nerd with a special interest in the Second World War. So imagine my excitement when I read the synopsis for ‘A Wartime Secret’. Let’s just say I was a happy like book nerd geek. I dived straight into the book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘A Wartime Secret’ but more about that in a bit.
I loved the character of Maggie and I warmed to her from the very start. In fact it didn’t take me long to feel as though she had become a friend of mine. Maggie hasn’t had the easiest of lives so far. Her mother is German and has been taken away by the authorities. Violet has been evacuated, which means that Maggie is stuck at home with her father, who quite frankly is a bit of a nightmare. He expects her to wait on him hand and foot and he won’t allow her to leave the family home just so he has somebody to look after him. I kept willing Maggie to stand up to her father, leave the family home and create a new life for herself. She manages to do just that but her problems don’t go away. Maggie is a lovely young lady, who sounds like the sort of girl you could rely on in a crisis and somebody with whom you could set the world to rights over a cup of tea.
I was drawn into the story from the very first word on the very first page and from then on, the book seemed to develop a hold over me and it was a hold that I wasn’t willing to break. I just loved everything about the book- the characters, the storylines and the setting. I had initially picked up the book only intending to read a couple of chapters but I became so wrapped up in the story that I lost all track of time and just how quickly the pages were turning. The pages were turning that quickly at one point that it was almost as if they were turning themselves. All too quickly I reached the end of ‘A Wartime Secret’ and I had to bid farewell to Maggie and the others. I found ‘A Wartime Secret’ to be the true definition of an unputdownable page turner of a read. I was gripped by the story from start to finish and on the edge of my seat throughout.
‘A Wartime Secret’ is superbly written. The author has one of those easy going writing styles that is easy to get along with and easy to get used to. In fact it was easy to forget that I was reading an actual book and not having a conversation with friends. I know that might sound odd to some. For me, the story hit the ground running and maintained a fairly steady pace throughout. I love the way in which Helen makes the reader feel as though they are part of the story and at the heart of the action. That’s how I felt at any rate. Helen has clearly done a lot of research into the period of the Second World War and this shines through in her writing an makes the story that bit more authentic.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘A Wartime Secret’ and I would recommend the book to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Helen’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

A lovely escapist novel set in war time. The book was very evocative of its time A good tale, well told

A lovely period love story. Maggie has a big secret that could make her life very difficult. It’s England 1940 and Maggie’s mother is German. The story gives and insight into life and options during the war in the EastEnd of London. An easy and insightful read.

A very enjoyable relaxing read. Some good characters and a strong, flowing storyline. It was Eastenders meets Downton Abbey. With moments that made me laugh and then the sad moments it made for a well written book that I would recommend. It seemed a short read but I think that was just because it was so enjoyable.

I was a little bit dissppointed, because i had heard this book was based on a truestor.y. And maybe it was, but i would have thought the author had a lot of possibilities writing this book. It was a little bit bland. The friendships and the romance were cute. But nothing more. Thank you to netgalley for letting me read this e arc in exchange for an honest opinion

I have just finished reading A Wartime Secret by Helen Yendall and thoroughly enjoyed the novel.
Join Maggie and the bankin employees as they move from the bombing city to the countryside.
Will it be drama free. Definitely not!
A good read.
Thanks to#NetGalley for the advance copy in return for an honest review.