A great ending to the tales of the three M’s. I have really enjoyed reading about their journeys together and apart during World War Two. It is sad to say goodbye to characters that you’ve enjoyed during this series but hopefully Lizzie will have something just as enjoyable for us readers soon. I highly recommend this series.

I have not read any books of this series until this one. I was surprised how quickly I fell in love with the Three M's.

I enjoyed this book and stayed up until 2 am last night to finish it. I'm not sorry I lacked sleep and will feel yucky today.

I was hoping everything went well for Maisie, Phyllis and Bridget. These were hard times. I can't imagine what they had to go through. The strength of these women were amazing.

I think I need to look up the previous books and discover their back stories. Great book.

I’m writing this review crying! I’ve read and loved every single book in this fantastic series, following the three M’s lives through their jobs at the tobacco factory, the awful war and different relationships.
Reading this has been bittersweet, amazing catching up with them, but sad knowing it’s for the last time. As always, Lizzie has told the story beautifully, winding up their different stories in different ways. 100% recommend this wonderful series

This is the sixth and final book in the superb Tobacco Girls series . I’ve read and adored every book in the series . Truthfully I’m gutted that this is the last book and I feel like I’m losing dear friends . Like all the previous books I was hooked on this final one and honestly didn’t want it to end . A huge 5 ⭐️ for the final book in what has become one of my favourite saga series .

I read this series from the beginning and have loved every single book so it's bittersweet that it has come to a end. I honestly think this one is the most emotional of the series and what a brilliant conclusion. Maisie is determined to care for Paula after Carole's sad passing. Bridget doesn't want to leave her family and friends. Phyllis gets devastating news about her husband. It really tugged on the heart strings particularly because I knew it was coming to a end but it is done in style. I love how the three M's look out for and care for each other. There relationship shines through even in the toughest of times and I wanted to be a part of that. A Fond Farewell for The Tobacco Girls is a well established and researched saga that I derived great pleasure from.

Very poinient conclusion to this wonderful series. It was very fitting. I'll be sorry to say goodbye to Maisie, Bridget and Phyllis. A Fond Fairwell for the Tobacco Girls focuses on the aftermath of the war the devastation it left behind and how people got through their days. Though heartbreaking it was uplifting and the three M's friendship really was something special to see them through thick and thin. The ending really did tie it all up nicely but it did tug at my heart strings. I've become such a fan of Lizzie Lane since reading this series and I can't wait to read more from her in the future.

Absolutely loved this series and gutted its come to the end.

Feels like I am losing friends as I have invested myself in the characters.

Lizzie lane is a fabulous author so if your a fan of family sagas then she is one of the best

All is fair in love and war...

I have followed this series from the beginning and I have loved accompanying the girls over the course of their respective journeys. This one is somewhat bittersweet in ending and in reviewing this final installment.

Bridget O'Neill, nee Milligan, prepares to join husband Lyndon in the United States to begin their lives together however she is finding leaving Bristol, her family and friends behind somewhat difficult. And so she takes on several crusades of her own to keep her firmly in Blighty for the time being. When she hears her father has a new lady friend, she is keen to stop by and check up on him ensuring he is well looked after as well as her younger siblings. But it's the plight of children as young as 3 being shipped to Australia with no promise of being adopted at the other end that keeps her here as she uses her influence and the O'Neill money to investigate further. Meanwhile, Lyndon is at first understanding knowing how difficult it must be for Bridget to leave the place she was born and grew up as well as her family and friends. But when the weeks turn into months and he still hasn't seen his growing son, he becomes impatient in wanting his wife and son home with him in the United States. Bridget's excuses are running out. Will she follow her husband and make her new home with him? Or will she stay in the place she's always called home?

Phyllis Fairbrother, nee Mason then Harvey, married Australian Mick on the ship bringing them back from Malta after an unexploded bomb ruined their wedding and saw Mick rushed off to hospital. Now they are back in England, and the injuries Mick sustained in that explosion see him back in hospital with no chance of returning to his homeland of Australia with Phyllis to set up home and a vineyard. Instead Phyllis must find a home for them close by for his regular appointments with the surgeon. So she decides to settle back in her home town of Bristol in one of the new prefab houses purposely built for returning servicemen and their families. A face from the past pulls a few strings to get them the new place but Mick is far from grateful for the shoebox when he could have had acres of land at his fingertips back home. But a chance encounter with a friendly neighbour and veteran from the first war helps Mick put things into perspective. Will he settle for England or will he continue to grumble for a dream that is out of reach?

Maisie Miles, the only one of the three M's who has not married, still works at the tobacco factory and lives in the house her grandmother bequeathed to her. Her sweetheart Sid was taken prisoner in the Far East and is currently a POW in Changi. She took in young Carole Thomas who found herself pregnant after being attacked by someone she thought she could trust and as a result didn't want the baby. Maisie, however, fought tooth and nail for Carole to keep the little baby even after she was tricked into an illegal adoption. Now Maisie has grown fond of the young girl who is now two and approaching her third birthday and has gotten used to her being around. But all that is about to change when Carole announces that she has gotten engaged to Joe Shaw though she has yet to tell him about little Paula. Maisie doesn't begrudge Carole some happiness but she doesn't want to lose Paula either. But with Joe coming from Liverpool that would be where they will settle. Until tragedy strikes leaving 2 year old Paula orphaned and Maisie is determined to keep the child as her own. But when Sid returns from the Far East, will he be willing to take on someone else's child?

There is so much packed into this final installment that I have barely touched on any of it. It is by far the best and it is with bittersweet emotions that I bid farewell to those I have come to love. The book opens with VE celebrations though was in the Pacific still rages on. When the announcement that the Japanese have surrendered spreads, the VJ celebrations begin.

Over the course of this series we have seen many characters come and go. Some likeable, some horribly vile. Some get their comeuppance while others await theirs. However while Eddie Bridgeman was one of those such characters, in this installment we see him redeem himself.

A fitting end to an enjoyable series, we now have the Coronation Close series to enjoy in its place.

I would like to thank #LizzieLane, #Netgalley, #BoldwoodBooks and #RachelsRandomResources for an ARC of #AFondFarewellForTheTobaccoGirls in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

A Fond Farewell for the Tobacco Girls
Lizzie Lane
Pub Date July 28, 2023
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
I have not read the other books in this series but found this one to be very enjoyable.
Lane writes from the heart and I loved the research that went into this final book.
I recommend it highly.
4 stars

Lizzie Lane, thank you for introducing me to the Tobacco Girls in your first book.
A Fond Farewell for the Tobacco Girls is an amazingly powerful completion story for my favorite tobacco girls, Maisie, Phyllis and Bridget.
This book has all the elements to pull at my heartstrings, making me cry and throwing my head up in pride for the fine women that I got to know and care deeply about.
What a beautiful story of Maisie, Phyllis and Bridget showcasing all the trials of war, love for each other, courage, determination and dedication to their families and the country they loved.
I’d go see this story in the theater.

#LizzieLane
#AFondFarewellForTheTobaccoGirls
#NetGalley

All good things have to come to an end and this is the final book in this series. What an ending,, what a great series this has been. Well worth 5 stars.

|Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for this ARC

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

I have loved reading each book in this series and this was a perfect ending, with new stories beginnings, some ending with tears.

It’s sad that we’re saying goodbye to Bridget, Maisie and Phyllis, but I hope that Lizzie Lane may write another book which will let us see how their lives are now.

I highly recommend this series.

I can't belive that this is the sixth and final book about the tobacco girls,Maisie,Phyliss and Bridget.
They have grown from their humble beginnings in book 1 to the women they are now. The war is over and the three women are together again briefly until the all embark on new lives to be separated by distance but not in their hearts.
There are a lot of ups and downs in this book, their lives changed by the war they struggle on.
There is plenty of laughter and happiness and also a few tears and sadness through the book.
I have loved this series and always looked forward to the next one. All good things come to an end and we have to say goodbye to them but we leave them all enjoying a better life than the one at the beginning.
I envy anyone who now decides to read all six books one after the other,what a treat you're in for.
Thanks to Lizzie Lane for a great series.

A Fond Farewell For The Tobacco Girls by Lizzie Lane is a marvellous historical novel and the sixth book in The Tobacco Girls series. It can be read as a stand-alone.
The action is set in 1945 as the second world war in Europe has ended but the war in Japan continues until August. We follow lives trying to adjust to peacetime.
War had robbed so many of so much. Men returned, a shadow of their former selves, sometimes with limbs missing, sometimes with altered minds. Some men focused on what they had lost and not what remained. It would take the purity of a child to remind them.
Old soldiers from World War I help to rehabilitate young soldiers from World War II as they bond over a mutual love of flowers. We learn the importance of poppies.
Family is important. Sometimes family is not blood related but heart related.
We ‘see’ the broken lives in Japanese prison camps. The conditions were horrendous. Small steps are needed to rejoin life again.
Some were war brides to American G.I’s. Demobilisation separated families until wives and children could sail to America.
Britain began to rebuild after the war. Buildings were far easier than people to rebuild. “All we’re getting now is about rebuilding… How do you rebuild people?” Love, care and understanding were the order of the day.
All the characters were wonderfully drawn, likable and realistic. Community and friendship radiated from the pages. I thoroughly enjoyed the book.
I received a free copy from Rachel’s Random Resources for a blog tour. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.

I have followed and loved this series, so it’s bittersweet to be reviewing the final instalment. The 3 M’s, Maisie, Bridget, and Phyllis have each known sadness as the war years have passed over them. Possibly one of the most sympathetic members of the friendly trio was Maisie. Her arrival at the tobacco factory was via a different path as she was manipulated by her Dad.
This final book finds Maisie now financially secure and providing shelter to a former factory worker and the child she was raising despite being conceived in the worst circumstances. Determined to keep mother and child safe, Maisie had put her life on hold. She had even been prepared to adopt baby Paula if the need had arisen.
While Phyllis and Bridget were now both married, Maisie finds comfort in her fledgling friendship with Sid, who is now a POW in the Far East. Her loyalty to Sid, even though they’d never actually courted, was a source of pride and also a protective shell to avoid the advances of would-be suitors.
This final instalment could not have been any better. The joy from VE day was palpable even though we are reminded that the war in Japan is still raging. Lizzie Lane writes from the heart and it’s easy to see how much knowledge and research was involved throughout the series, but certainly in this dramatic conclusion.
This is definitely focused on Maisie, but we still get to follow the other characters and even see the vile Eddie Bridgeman redeem himself. I have honestly loved these characters and I’m reassured to imagine their continuing journeys through peacetime.
Thanks, Lizzie Lane, I loved it!

this is book 6 in the tobacco girls series by Lizzie Lane and the final book.
I was looking forward to the finding out about how the girls were getting on and sad there would be no more.
It was an excellent read, I I shed a tear or two as the story unfolds.
Excellent

Thank you for the chance to read this ARC in return for my honest opinion.

I was looking forward in some ways to the final instalment of the Tobacco Girls and in other ways not. It seemed to be the end of an era after 6 books and of course it was.
And it is a fond farewell to them, the three M’s all find love, new beginnings and possible sadness and whilst there could be a follow up there is no need.

It was great to get the girls all together again in Bristol and to understand some of the effects of the aftermath of a terrible World War, the book is well written and obviously well researched.

There is terrible sadness for one of the little characters, but with the ‘help’ of one person who seems to to have rethought their sometimes underhand ways, all turns out well in the end.
The War in the Far East of course didn’t finish in May 1945, the hardships suffered there were heart rending. Very thought provoking

It’s sad to leave the girls and their friends and neighbours but I am sure that Lizzie Lane will have something else up her sleeve for us - she already has a new series which is worth searching out.

A well deserved 5 stars for a brilliant read for the end of the series

This is the final book in the "Tobacco Girls" series and the story opens as victory in Europe is announced. The privations and tragedy of the second world war is ending and with this each of the tobacco girls must resolve their own stories. Maisie is the main character and awaits news of her sweetheart who is still in a prisoner of war camp as the war in Japan continues. She is unsure if their relationship will have survived particularly as she becomes the carer for her friend Carole's young daughter. Maisie loves Paula and when Carole is killed she is left to fight to adopt the young girl. Phyllis is married to Australian airman Mick but their dreams of setting up a vineyard in Australia are shattered when he receives a terrible medical diagnosis. And then, Bridget is preparing to move to America with her baby boy to join her husband but the ties of home are difficult to loosen. She must decide if she can leave behind her family or journey to start a new life with her husband.

This a great insight into what life was like for women during the war. There is tragedy and difficult themes around loss and adoption but it is told with a gentle touch. Each of the tobacco girls has a story which is interesting and engaging without being mawkish and melodramatic given the subject matter. I haven't read the other books in the series but was able to enjoy this story without feeling I was lacking knowledge of the characters. The prose is well written and the story flows along at a good pace. With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read and review this book.

Good bye to the strong courageous kind lovely 3 M 's. I.have followed them through all the 6 books. I.have laughed with them , i have cried with them and I have cheered them on. What a way to.say goodbye
Thank you to netgalley for letting me read this e arc in exchange for an honest opinion

A fond farewell for the Tobacco Girls - Lizzie Lane

The author does a really good a setting a scene and character based descriptions, you really feel part of the story and it is so easy to picture all that is happening. This was such an interesting read, showing really strong friendships and relationships after the War. We get to see the girls go on to the future adventures. Look forward to more books from this author. Thank you so much Netgalley and Boldwood Books for this e-arc in return for my honest thoughts and opinions.