The third book in the Emmy Lake Chronicles is just as charming as the first two. As usual, it is best to read the series in order to have a better understanding of the characters.

World War II drags on. Emmy Lake is still enjoying her job with Woman's Friend newspaper. That is until the Honourable Cressida Porter inherits it and tries to turn it into her personal scrapbook. On the homefront, Emmy misses her husband who is at war and she also must endure an expected tragedy. But like every other person in Great Britain during this horrific time, Emmy, her friends, and co-workers stick their chins up and keep going.

Although overall it was enjoyable to be back with some of these characters, it was a bit of a bog to get through. This book had one of the most detestable villain characters since Umbridge from Harry Potter and about 70% of the book dealt with that. The first book in this series, Dear Mrs. Bird, is one of my favorites, and I kind of wished it stayed a stand-alone novel.

But I will be keeping an eye out on what else A.J. Pearce comes out with!

Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for the advanced e-reader copy to review.

This wonderful series continues with another great edition to the story. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley.

Loved!! This series is a balm for a historical fiction weary heart. I love that it hits on important topics and is very real, but also more uplifting in nature. I love the characters we have gotten to know over the course of the series and hope for more!

Dear Mrs. bird remains one of my favorite historical fiction books. I am so happy AJ Pearce continues to write about Emmie and Bunty, I love the characters and the can do spirit in the face of war. Two thumbs up and a wish for more sequels!

This is the third book in the series featuring Emmy Lake and her publishing friends in London during WWII. It is full of charming characters who the reader cares for as they get through all the challenges of war. This series has all the feels, but overall is charming and uplifting. I enjoyed this one while visiting London on vacation. I’ll look forward to see what happens in the next one.

Another excellent read by this author. I read her first two novels in the series, and this new one does not disappoint! I appreciated seeing how the characters had grown, and enjoyed the new characters as well. As with the first two, this one is emotionally well drawn and greatly enjoyable.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I received this book in kindle form from NetGalley and wish to express my thanks to them and the publishers for being able to review this book before it is available in the United States.

True to form, best friends Emmy and Bunty are doing their best to ride out the Second World War as well as keeping on top the adventures of their daily lives in the third installment of The Emmy Lake Chronicles.

The book opens with Lord Overton, the publisher of our favorite magazine Woman’s Friend having died and the future of the magazine up in the air. Although not clear on their future, the team led by Guy Collins- Emmy’s now brother-in-law, continues to work.

At the same time, Bunty and Emmy’s friend Thelma and her three children: George, Margery and Stan are visiting for a weekend in Pimlico. They have recently relocated to a “horrible flat” after having been bombed.
Bunty asks them all to come and live in the top floor of her grandmother’s large house for the duration. I won’t give away everything but with three children in the house, there are no shortage of adventures.

The real drama begins when the titular Honorable Mrs. Porter, inherits Woman’s Friend from her uncle, the previous Lord Overton. Cressida Porter, ,”oh you must call me, Egg!”, is a stereotypical, spoiled socialite complete with small dog, Little Winston in tow. Despite every effort of Guy, Emmy, their advertisers, and the readers, Mrs.Porter is determined to bring the newly christened “Friend” to a higher class of reader.

The sycophantic Madame Pye is Mrs. Porter’s biggest fan. She’s sure the more selective advertisers will support Little Winston’s photo spreads, Mrs. Porter’s poetry - which must rhyme, or it just isn’t poetry at all, and the latest fashions. Meanwhile poor Emmy is relegated to covering society wedding. Gone are the “dreary, depressing readers letters” of Yours Cheerfully.

I love the inner monologues of Emmy and her struggles with each new round of chaos the war is bringing. I also enjoy the descriptions of the locations and each supporting character- more than once I totally lost myself picturing daily life with the magazine staff and children - in the shed.

This a great series with characters you will easily become invested in and can picture going on with lives long after the book has ended. A nice easy read perfect for the summer!

Another heartwarming and endearing installment in the Emmy Lake series.

It's been about a year since Emmy married Charles and he went off to fight in WWII, leaving her to do her part on the homefront, which consists of continuing to volunteer as a telephone operator at the fire station and running her advice column "Yours Cheerfully" where she helps readers face the challenges of wartime. Everything is going well. She still lives with Bunty, and is surrounded by love from her husband and her little found work-and-home family. She is also enjoying her role as editor at Woman's Friend.

However, that changes when socialite Mrs. Porter becomes the new owner of the magazine. She completely upends the flow of production, deciding to take the weekly in a new direction that does away with any practical wartime advice and instead focuses more on elite fashion and frivolity. All of the changes are impractical. Not to mention out of touch with the reality that most of Woman's Friend's readers are facing. It is therefore up to Emmy, Guy, and their friends and colleagues to find a way to wrest back control and save the magazine they love so much.

It was wonderful to be back with Emmy and her friends again. She's as cheerful and optimistic as her column, which makes for a palate cleanser when juxtaposed with the harshness of this time period. I also liked how, even though there were moments of tragedy, as would be expected during war, there was still this overarching sense of hope, of camaraderie, of ordinary people banding together to try and make a brighter future for everyone. Talk about an uplifting message!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for the ARC in exchange for my review.

This third book in the Emmy Lake series is the first I’ve read from AJ Pearce and I quite enjoyed it. After three years of war, the women in Britain need answers to their questions and Emmy enjoys giving them advice in her Yours Cheerfully column. The magazine owner dies and his niece who’s totally out of touch with reality inherits the weekly. At first seen as a breath of fresh air, she soon reveals her true colors of wanting to turn the magazine into impractical frivolity. Subscribers and advertisers flee in droves. Emmy and her colleagues must save their beloved magazine and their jobs. A more light-hearted look at life in England during WWII.

It was lovely to be able to revisit the world of Emmy Lake and her friends in 1940s London, England. Her husband is still away fighting the great fight and she is enjoying her work at Woman's Friend. That is until the Honorable Mrs. Porter comes in as new owner of the magazine. Filled with sad moments and courageous tales, Emmy Lake is a delightful character filled with optimistic and bravely in all that happens within the book. She has a great support of characters that get developed more further than the previous books. I have enjoyed Ms. Pearce's books that they have a delight in reading their life during the early onset of World War II. I appreciate reading a book during that era with a different take that we don't see in historical fiction. In all, I was happy to revisit this world and grateful to see if there will be more Emmy Lake Chronicles in the future!

Thank you Netgalley for the ability to read this prior to publication in return for my honest review!

3.25. I so enjoyed Dear Mrs. Bird and then its sequel, Yours Cheerfully, all part of the Emmy Lake series. Dear Mrs. Bird was very creative taking part in WWII and documenting the lives of those in London. It follows Emmy Lake, who so much wanted to be a war correspondent but instead takes on the role of a secret advice columnist in a woman’s magazine. In both early novels, we watch Emmy advance in her career to become an editor. This one, however didn’t move me at all, perhaps because she used the same themes and format. I also don’t tend to like novel series. This one involved the emergence of new owner who with her patrician mindset wanted to change the magazine to focus on the privileged class versus the everyday people of Great Britain and the resulting impact the wonderful and tireless staff. AJ Pearce is a good novelist but I would prefer a different genre for her future novels. It was an easy novel to read despite the similarities to the other two Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an advance copy in exchange for a candid and unbiased review.

This is the third installment in the charming series starring Emmy Lake, who writes the Yours Cheerfully column in the "Woman's Friend" magazine. While Emmy's husband Charles is away at the war, we see snippets of her letters to him, where she remains cheerful despite the problems on the homefront, not the least of which is a major shake up at "Woman's Friend". Their benevolent owner/publisher Lord Overton has died after over 50 years of the magazine's existence and he has left it to his niece, The Hon. Mrs. Porter. Mrs Porter is lovely and appears to be quite pleasant, but she has no idea what the readers of "Woman's Friend" are actually living through. While most ladies in England are drawing lines on the backs of their legs to simulate seams in their non-existent stockings, making do, making over, or doing without; Mrs Porter changes the basic premise of the magazine to be one of parties, custom frocks, and pictures of her ugly and mean dog, As their subscription list declines and their advertisers leave them in droves, Emmy, Charles's brother Guy, the editor, and her friends have to save the magazine. At the same time, there is tragedy with the loss of a dear friend, and a new love interest for another. Help comes in the person of an unexpected source. I received this ARC at no charge from the author AJ Pearce and Netgalley, but all opinions are my own.

Mrs. Porter Calling is the continuing story of Emmy Lake. This story is filled with humor, hope, heart, love and with a gentle reminder of sacrifices made by many people during WWII. This series is just the best!!!

I love the characters in this book. As Emmy continues responding to her articles in the "Yours Cheerfully" section, we get introduced to many fun and often distressed characters along the way. But with a new person in charge, this could all change. So Emmy, Bunty and friends must try to save the day. There is plenty of cheekiness to go around!

I was completely immersed in this story and these characters.
I absolutely loved this book.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

It was a joy to be back with Emmy Lake and her friends in this third book in the series. While this book is light at times, it also is set during WWII so deals with many serious issues as well. I enjoyed learning more about what living during this time may have been like for ordinary people. An enjoyable read and I'm hoping for a book four in the series!

This is the 3rd book of the Emmy Lake series. I had not read books 1 and 2, so I can safely say this book can stand alone; however, now that I am reading book 1, I do understand all of the characters better. Author does a marvelous job portraying how London residents fared during 1943 bombings.
Mrs. Porter is now publisher of Women`s Friend, and a friend she is not. She wants to completely change the magazine to showcase frivolous articles about clothing and food no one can afford. Emmy and her friends set off to save the magazine from utter ruin. While I laughed out loud at Mrs Porter and her grumpy dog, I also shed tears at the death and destruction Hitler caused. I hope there is a 4th book in the works.

Having already pre-ordered a copy of this third installment in one of my favorite series, I was nonetheless delighted to be granted an e-galley thanks to Netgalley and Scribner. I fell in love with Emmy Lake within a few chapters of Dear Mrs. Bird and my love for our plucky heroine has only grown. In Mrs. Porter Calling, Emmy's beloved magazine, Woman's Friend, unexpectedly changes hands and becomes the property of the Honourable Cressida Porter, who, along with her dog Small Winston, is truly unforgettable. As things at the magazine change drastically, Emmy, Guy, and the other staff members fight to keep the spirit alive that makes Woman's Friend special to so many women in Britain as World War II rages on.

I was happy to be back in Emmy's world as she and her found family of magazine staffers, fire department personnel, neighbors and friends, "do their bit" and help each other through the immense difficulties of a nation at war. I rarely cry while reading books but Pearce has managed to squeeze a few tears from me with each installment of the Emmy Lake Chronicles. Emmy, who narrates in first person, is funny and relatable and all the characters have been thoughtfully crafted to feel authentic and unique.

Pearce has truly created something special in in a subgenre (WW2 historical fiction) that often seems over-saturated. I highly recommend the entire series and Calling Mrs. Porter will definitely be among my top reads of the year.

Another delightful installment, featuring the lovable Emmy Lake and her band of loyal friends and colleagues. Heartbreaking, hopeful and triumphant…exactly what this author does best.

I've been enjoying this series and getting to know the characters better and better. However, book 3 wasn't as strong as the first two. Story was predictable and moved along slowly. (I did get choked up at the appropriate moment about 2/3 through the book--no spoilers). It seems there is room for one more in the series when the men return from war (or not) and the magazine takes off. Is there another one planned?

This is a heartwarming story that I read in one sitting. It reminds us once again about the hardships and sorrow suffered by ordinary people in WWII Britain.