Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins Australia for the ARC of this book. I had high expectations after loving The Brillian Life of Eudora Honeysett by the same author. The Air Raid Book Club is a sweet story about embracing change, enduring life's challenges, grieving, and healing. Though I enjoyed the main characters and setting, the plot didn't pull me through the pages. Hard things happened, but they were always quickly resolved without too much fuss. I also had a difficult time keeping the many side characters (patrons of Gertie's book store) straight, so that I found myself skimming ahead over their stories assuming nothing very significant would happen with them (it didn't). Another thing that niggled at my subconscious while reading--the author's research came through in the form of book recommendations and other subtext. It wasn't outright textbook-sharing, but some nuggets didn't feel natural or necessary to the flow of the story. Lastly, I'm wondering, is this book anything like The Blackout Book Club by Amy Lynn Green? I'm sure the story of literacy and relationships facilitated during WWII can be told millions of ways, but it's too bad that these similar titles are published in the same year. And what about The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society? I loved that one, but it draws on similar themes with a different format and story that hit more emotional and tension points for me than this one.

bookseller, widow, WW2, childless, rescued-children, England, middle-aged, personal-growth, perspective, grief, grieving, sensitivity, friends, friendship, support-system*****

There is life after devastating loss if a purpose and the ability to support and be supported by others can be found. This is what Gertie learned when she brought a German teenager into her home and life from before the bombings began. Together they worked with others to bring books into the lives of those under siege at home and to soldiers where they may be found. The story is gently told with great understanding and characters who quickly found a place in my heart.
I requested and receive an uncorrected e-proof from William Morrow via NetGalley. Thank you!

Set in London during World War II, "The Air Raid Book Club" is the story of Gertie Bingham, a grieving widow who is struggling to run her bookshop, Bingham Books, after the death of her beloved husband, Harry. The bookstore doesn't feel the same without Harry, and Gertie wonders if it is time to retire to the seaside with her faithful lab, Hemingway. Meanwhile, in Germany, Hitler is on the rise, and Jewish families are sending their children away for refuge. After a nudge from her friend Charles, Gertie takes in one of these refugees, a headstrong teenage girl named Hedy. As the Germans descend upon London, Gertie and Hedy start an air raid book club. During air raids, as bombs whistle overhead, neighbors and bookstore customers come together to hold lively discussions of everything from "Winnie the Pooh" to "Wuthering Heights." As the grim reality of the war hits home, the book club faces tragic losses, and they will need all the strength of their stories and newfound friendships to get them through the darkest days.

While this is a story about WWII, it is about so much more that: found family, community, friendship, and the power of books. This was an emotional, uplifting, and captivating novel. The characters were extremely lovable and well-developed, and I was truly invested in their well-being. This was definitely a more character-driven book than plot-driven. There were a few time jumps backward that disrupted the flow of the story, in my opinion. Overall, though, a heartwarming and inspiring novel that I highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was completely absorbed in this novel set in the World War II era with the stories of the everyday people who found meaning and solace in caring for each other - drawn together by stories and books. The characters seemed real, and the plot was not predictable, making it hard to put down. Thank you to the author for creating such a wonderful novel!

I hate to give two stars to such a "sweet" book, but this one is highly forgettable in the vast sea of WWII novels. It's so sweet , my teeth hurt while meanwhile millions of Jews are dying. I also found this book very predictable and the character development shallow.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Air Raid Book Club is a delightful and poignant WWII novel set in London during the Blitz (my all-time favorite setting for a novel). Gertie, a widowed bookstore owner, reluctantly agrees to take in Hedy, a young Jewish refugee, not knowing that the young woman will change her life forever. After a rocky start, books form the backbone of Gertie and Hedy's relationship, as they have built friendships all of Gertie's life. I loved this story for the characters, setting, and affirmation of the power of books.

In the crowded field of WWII women-centric historical fiction, this book sets it apart by having the main character be an older widow instead of the young vivacious girl looking to make her mark. Instead we get Gertie who misses her husband dreadfully and has thoughts of selling their bookstore and retiring. Instead, she is guilted into taking in a young Jewish refugee. From there, her world begins to change. Books play a predominant role throughout the story as the bookstore provides a haven (and bomb shelter) for the residents of London. Several other loveable, and not so loveable, characters inhabit the book and make for a rich and enjoyable read!

The Air Raid Book Club by Annie Lyons takes place in WWII London. The plot is centered around a widowed bookshop owner, Gertie, who takes in a German Jewish refugee, Hedy. You watch the characters relationships change and grow throughout the hardships they endure.
Annie Lyons writes characters that you fall in love with. You want to see them succeed, you want to be friends with them, and, in this case, you need them to survive a war in which the daily threat of a bomb dropping is constantly looming. The bookshop itself is a character, offering people an escape from the horrors of wartime.

Loved the bookstore setting and all the quirky characters. Gertie's shelter provided safety but also distracted people during the continuous air raids and encouraged the love of reading. Readers will love the author's portrayal of the many characters as each face hardships brought on by the war. I loved the relationship between Gertie and Hedy after a rather difficult beginning. Recommended!

The Air Raid Book Club by Annie Lyons is a wonderful, heartwarming World War II novel that takes place in England. The story centers around a widow, named Gertie, and the book shop she runs. With World War II looming on the horizon, a friend suggests that Gertie take in a German refugee. He believes that Gertie is the perfect person to help. Gertie takes in a 15 year old girl. They definitely do not get along and Gertie questions her decision.

Ms. Lyons doesn’t waive a magic wand and make their relationship work. She lets it evolve organically. Ms. Lyons does an awesome job of creating her characters and is wonderfully adept at letting the reader feel what the characters are going through emotionally. I thoroughly enjoyed the friendships that were formed and the sense of community during this dark time in history.

This is a wonderfully written story and you will not want to put it down. I truly was sad when the story reached it conclusion. This is my first novel by Ms. Lyons but I can tell you that it won’t be my last. I will be seeking out her previous novels and will be thrilled to see what she has in store for us next. Well done.

Thank you to Ms. Lyons, publisher William Morrow and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An amazing, if sedate story about more than book. This is the story of an entire neighborhood in London during WWII.

Highly enjoyable read about the lives, loves and loss of a bookstore set during WWII. I read this in a weekend and would recommend widely.

SYNOPSIS: This story follows Gertie, a woman who buys a bookstore with her husband Harry in the 1910's. With the passing of Harry, Gertie starts to lose her passion for not only the bookstore, but for life. She had a history of fertility issues and therefore didn't end up having children of her own. So when the opportunity arises for her to host a German child, Hedy, in the midst of Hitler, she reluctantly opens her home to new possibilities. As time and war progresses, Gertie and Hedy grow a relationship that is comparable to love between a mother and daughter. They continue the bookshop's beloved book club in the comforts of their air raid shelter to cope with the war that ensues above. The books is what keeps them safe. Although they don't acknowledge it as such, the found family trope is strong in this one. Through their hardships and the people they meet along the way, this makes way for a nice, heartfelt historical fiction piece.

REVIEW: 3.5/5 stars

PROS:
- WW2 is always a great, interesting, and heartbreaking topic
- Gertie is the sweetest little lady
- Hedy's character growth in this book
- Girl power is strong
- Found family trope
- Elizabeth and Billy were too cute
- There were some pretty good highlights
- Charles Ashford!
- The ending was sweet and wholesome

CONS:
- There were too many characters to keep up with (I don't remember Mrs. Constantine for the life of me)
- It seemed like there was too much going on outside of the main characters, the book club, and the war
- The story felt like it dragged in the middle up until about 80%
- I was hoping for a bit more of Sam and Barnaby

The Air Raid Book Club
Annie Lyons
Pub Date: July 11, 2023

Absolutely brilliant! I loved loved The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett and wasn’t sure if anything else by the author would top my love for that book. I was wrong! The Air Raid Book Club was so heartbreaking yet so hopeful.

Set in London during World War II, Gertie owns a bookstore, which she used to run with her late husband. Ever since his death, running the book shop has not felt the same, and has thoughts of retiring. With the start of the war approaching, Gertie agrees to take in a Jewish refugee, Hedy. With the help of Hedy, after a rough start in their relationship, Gertie starts to love her role in the bookstore again. As the war progresses, and hope is lost, Gertie and Hedy come up with the idea to start an air raid book club where neighbors and customers can come together to discuss books. It was amazing to see how much books brought people together throughout this book, and gave hope in tough times. There is so much more to this book, and I’m afraid if I go on, I will give too much away!

Nothing I write will do this book justice, so please, read this one! I think fans of historical fiction will love this book, and those that don’t typically read historical fiction will devour it, too!

📚Love and Loss
📚The Power of Books
📚Books about Book Clubs
📚Found Family
📚Historical Fiction (World War II)
📚Hopeful and Heartbreaking

Hands down, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Posted on Instagram on June 15, 2023 (Currently Reading): http://www.instagram.com/nobookmark_noproblem
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**Posted on Instagram (full review) on July 11, 2023: http://www.instagram.com/nobookmark_noproblem
**Posted on Instagram (mini review) early July, 2023: http://www.instagram.com/nobookmark_noproblem
**Posted on Amazon on July 11, 2023
**-will post on designated date

Historical fiction set in an English town and bookshop during World War II? Yes, please! The main character is Gertie Bingham, who is having a hard time taking any interest in life since her husband Harry’s death. Not even Bingham Books, the bookshop they founded together, lifts her spirits. But she’s forced to re-engage with life when Charles, a longtime friend of hers and Harry’s, persuades her to take in a teenage Jewish refugee named Hedy Fischer.

For the first time, Gertie must cope with having a young person in her house, and Hedy must adapt to a new country and manage the pain of her parents and brother not being able to escape Germany. There are rocky times, but Gertie’s dog Hemingway helps, as do the employees and customers of Bingham’s Books. When the Blitz starts up, Bingham’s Books founds an Air Raid Book Club, which meets in the bookshop’s air raid shelter.

This novel is a wonderful paean to books and their ability to bring people together and help people cope through the hardest of times. It’s also just a terrific female-centric historical novel about wartime England. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoyed Jennifer Ryan’s The The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir, The Kitchen Front, The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle, and The Spies of Shilling Lane, or Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows’ The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

This is my first book from Annie Lyons, but it won't be my last. I didn't know what to expect when I opened the pages, but I'm so glad I did. For being under 400 pages, Annie packs so much into her story. She gives you the good and the bad, the highs and the lows of life during war.

Gertie is still mourning the loss of her beloved husband, Harry, who she lost 2 years prior. Having met in her father's bookstore, they went on to open their own: Bringham Books. It becomes a local gem and they grow close to their neighbors and customers. Everywhere she looks within it's walls, Gertie feels the loss of him. Just as she's made the decision to sell the store and move elsewhere, World War 2 is declared and life changes.

When London becomes a target area, Gertie forms a book club to distract from the dropping bombs. A book is assigned each month and discussions are had about it in the bomb shelters. When a neighbor of Gertie's moves next door with her little son, she makes a children's book club for him. Bit by bit, the community becomes more tight knit.

Gertie's life is forever changed when her good friend, Charlie, asks if she would be interested in taking on a refugee from Germany. Being half Jewish, this child is being sent to London for her safety, with her family planning on joining her as soon as they can. Gertie has no idea what she's in for when she picks up Hedy Fischer, 15, from the train station. After a rough start, they begin to bond and grow close. In time, Hedy becomes the daughter Gertie never had. Gertie becomes Hedy's biggest fighter/supporter. During the course of the war, they fill the void left empty in the other's life.

I loved watching the community form into a family. The romances that formed, the friendships that grew out of the most unlikely of people. Under the most devastating times, these people helped each other through the nightmare. They held each other when heartbreaking news found it's way to their doors. They celebrated the good moments. Cried tears of loss and joy together. Lives were forever changed as they navigated the war together.

Annie Lyons wrote an amazingly touching story that hasn't left me once I finished the last page. She didn't gloss over the heartbreak that comes with war- she puts her characters through what really goes on during war. By the time you finish the book, you will have traveled the emotional map. You experience the good, the bad, the highs, the lows, the love and loss each of the characters did in the course of the book. It was well written and told beautifully.

A wonderful, heartwarming WWII novel centered around a widow and the bookstore she runs. 59-year-old Gertie misses her husband Harry terribly, and with his death she's considering selling the bookstore they ran together for more than 20 years. With World War II looming, an old friend convinces Gertie to take in a German refugee child, and soon 15-year-old Hedy is living with Gertie. The women don't connect immediately, and I really liked how Lyons let their relationship build gradually and not without conflict. As the town bands together in its war efforts, books and reading are vital to keeping up morale. Through good times and bad, the characters care for each other and build strong bonds. This is such a lovely story, with interesting characters and a plot that reinforces optimism and the power of kindness. Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for a digital review copy.

Annie Lyons is a talented author. Her debut novel, The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett, was one of my favorites from 2020. As a result, I was very excited to be approved to read an e-ARC of her newest book.

Her writing is her super power and I really admired the flow of her sentences, especially in the first half of The Air Raid Book Club. Her language drew me into the story of Gertie and her bookstore during WWII, which protected her patrons during air raids in London.

A book about books is always of interest and the number of books mentioned is impressive. I also appreciated that Gertie decided to host Hedy, a young German Jewish girl. She felt that it may help her to cope better with her grief upon losing her beloved husband, Harry. She eventually forms a close bond with her.

At some point the plot just seemed to drag a bit. Like the characters, I was waiting for news of Hedy's family. The waiting went on for a long time, which was realistic but almost too much. At the same time, Hedy's endurance and courage are evident and give Gertie hope when she is often pulled towards discouragement.

All of the secondary characters add layers of interest, especially young Billy Chambers.

For fans of World War II fiction, this may resonate with you even more than it did with me. I am grateful to have received this early from Net Galley and William Morrow. This is a 3.5 rounded up to a 4.

From publisher William Morrow:
London, 1938: The bookstore just doesn’t feel the same to Gertie Bingham ever since the death of her beloved husband Harry. Bingham Books was a dream they shared together, and without Harry, Gertie wonders if it’s time to take her faithful old lab, Hemingway, and retire to the seaside. But fate has other plans for Gertie.
In Germany, Hitler is on the rise, and Jewish families are making the heart-wrenching decision to send their children away from the growing turmoil. After a nudge from her dear friend Charles, Gertie decides to take in one of these refugees, a headstrong teenage girl named Hedy. Willful and fearless, Hedy reminds Gertie of herself at the same age, and shows her that she can’t give up just yet. With the terrible threat of war on the horizon, the world needs people like Gertie Bingham and her bookshop.
When the Blitz begins and bombs whistle overhead, Gertie and Hedy come up with the idea to start an air raid book club. Together with neighbors and bookstore customers, they hold lively discussions of everything from Winnie the Pooh to Wuthering Heights. After all, a good book can do wonders to bolster people’s spirits, even in the most trying times.
But even the best book can only provide a temporary escape, and as the tragic reality of the war hits home, the book club faces unimaginable losses. They will need all the strength of their stories and the bonds they’ve formed to see them through to brighter days.
******************************

My review:
I really liked this book. It made me feel happiness, sorrow, hope and fear; sometimes all in the same chapter. Gertie is a fighter and a survivor. She is a character of strength in a book filled with many. I have read a lot of books about WWII and a lot of books about books. But this one combined both those and offered a glimpse into what the people in England suffered during the nightly raids. I also appreciate the focus on the women at this time. Men were gone and fighting, worry about them was constant. For each happy event a distressing one was just around the corner. Life had to continue at home.

I mourned for Hedy. I wondered about Elizabeth and her young son. I hoped for Betty. And I cheered for Gertie. As with stories of war, nothing ever turns out happily ever after but there is always a reason to keep reading, keep going, and keep moving. Great book, heart breaking and heart warming story and strong characters.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book is set in London just before and during WWII. Gertie is the owner of a book store in London that she now runs alone, after the death of her husband. She takes in a young Jewish refuge. It takes awhile for the two to form a bond. This is a story about the ability books have to bring a community together. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.