A lovely snuggly book to settle down with. The characters are vivid, very old fashioned in outlook which made me giggle. Certainly can do a follow up for this one

Another great book in the goodwill house series. In the middle of the war Joanna and John await their Christmas baby. Already looking forward to the next book. A great series.

This series is just lovely. I really don’t want to leave the Harcourts behind! I don’t think that I have read all of the books in the series but this was like catching up with old friends again. Many of my relatives fought in the Second World War so I like to read books set in the war. This mostly deals with life on the domestic front, as Joanna and the family deal with rationing and wartime life.

In this one, Joanna, who has sometimes seemed a bit cold in former books, decides to give up her title and marry a handsome young pilot, who is much younger. They hardly know each other but she is pregnant. Joanna has her share of troubles worrying about John’s missions, but she now has some adopted children and her mother-in-law is also helpful. John has a harder time as he flies on secret missions, and has a series of accidents. The setting is well-researched, and the author sprinkles the book with wartime slang.

I kept imagining Joanna asAnna Neagle or Lily James! This book is incredibly English.

Heart-warming ww2 end of series

The Goodwill house series is a very engaging group of novels about the Harcourt family, land girls, refugee children and villagers during ww2. Perhaps they are best read in order, but, I was able to get into the plot having read one or two of the books a long time ago. I especially enjoyed reading about the challenges of daily life and the make do and keep smiling spirit. This is a very good book for sitting in your easy chair on your porch or next to the fire.

Thank you to the publisher who lent me a time limited e-arc via netgalley with no obligation. This review is optional and my own opinion.

This was another engaging read in this series. It does capture the uncertainties of wartime, the rationing and the affect on family life. There is also the danger that comes with war. I love how Joanna and her family work together and how they think of helping other less well off than them selves. There is also the romantic relationship between Joanna and John and their uncertainties. Even though it is set during the Second World War, it still leaves me with a warm cosy family feel. I received a copy and have voluntarily reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

It is sad to think that this is the last book in this series, and what a great series it has been. Set in WW2 with the Harcourt family plus the girls that have lived there during their stay in service doing war work. I really hope there can be more to come from this family even though it would be in a new location, after seven books it is hard to leave them all behind. Wish I could give this and the whole series far more than 5 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for this ARC

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

I throughly enjoyed reading this book, and wish it wasn’t the last one.

The story has moments that make you happy sad, cry and laugh, along with the happenings of the War.

It was interesting to read about how the occupants of Goodwill Hoyse got ready for Christmas, even though there wasn’t much to buy.

It had a good ending, but I’d love to see, maybe later on a return to Goodwill House, to catch up with these lovely characters’ lives.

I highly recommend this series.

Please don't let this be the last book in the Goodwill House Series! Yes, there was a nicely rounded-off ending to it, but there could be so much more to write about! I would never get bored! This is such an amazing series, I have loved every minute of it. This book, just like the previous ones, was a pleasure to read. I love Lady Joanna Harcourt, her family, her friends and the land girls that have lived with her. I also think that her current 'beau' is a real sweetheart and I love reading how he and Joanna compromise when it comes the their class differences. Joanna, of course, is an aristocrat, whereas John is very much a socialist.

In this finale, there is everything to make you run the gamut of emotions...death, birth, love, marriage, and of course all the drama of the war. I particularly liked seeing what preparations were made for Christmas despite there being very little of anything to be had.

I am sad that this series is now at an end. It is so good that it could be a successful mini-series on television!

Another great read from this author. A continuation of this wonderful series which I've throughly enjoyed. The characters are so lovely and warm and I always enjoy WW2 sagas like this. Will there be more? I hope so. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

I have read a few of Fenella J Miller's books and they never disappoint. Now I received this book from NetGalley and Boldwood books to read and I would like to thank them for allowing me to read an advanced digital copy! I absolutely loved it.

With that said I usually don't read a book that is in a series without reading the books before it but I didn't know this is the last book for the series when I requested it. I saw the author and I knew that I had to read it because Fenella J Miller has a way of writing that once you start reading her book you don't want to put it down. It is so easy to follow her stories and fall in love with the story and characters. Which I did while reading "A Christmas Baby at Goodwill House". Even though this is book #7 you can read it as a standalone and not miss much of the past storylines.

An excellent, heartwarming and tragic story during WWII. I enjoyed reading about Joanna and John, their love story and the trials they have to go through. A wonderful historical fiction story with wonderful characters. I highly recommend!

Highly recommend if you like historical fiction about WWII.
Loved it!

A Christmas Baby at Goodwill House by Fenella J. Miller

So this is the last book in the Goodwill House series , and I've very much enjoyed them.
These books can be read by themselves as standalones , but you will enjoy them so much more of you read them in order.
The books follow Lady Joanna Harcourt , she becomes a widow , becomes a sort of surrogate mother , houses Land girls, and even a baby !
Great stories , told during the war years and some brilliant characters.
You will be missed !

In an easy, somewhat stilted style, Fenella J. Miller spins the story of A Christmas Baby at Goodwill House. Written with a Downton Abbey style of prose, the plot has a gentle, endearing sweetness.

Lady Joanna Harcourt, a widowed 38-year-old, has fallen in love with lower-class 29-year-old John, a pilot for the RAF during WW2. The two have only met a couple of times when, scandalously, Joanna learns she is pregnant. Already the mother to newly-wed 19-year-old Sarah and adopted twins Joe and Liza, Joanna must relinquish her title and swiftly marry John.

As John must carry on his war duties, Joanna stays in her in-laws’ estate at Goodwill House with her younger children and former mother-in-law, who ironically adores Joanna and loathed her son. (My favorite character is the elder Lady Harcourt; she’s spirited and openly honest.)

The book's pace quickens when John, now a commissioned officer, is sent on several harrowing missions while Joanna’s pregnancy progresses. To pass the time and help the village children enjoy Christmas, Joanna and her family make homemade toys out of repurposed and found items in their large estate.

John is lost at sea days before the baby is due, and Joanna suffers a crushing blow.

A Christmas Baby is an easy read that, while lacking much depth, is enjoyable and age-appropriate from YA up. Fenella J. Miller ends the book with just enough intrigue to make you want to pick up the next in the series.

Thank you, Rachel’s Random Resources and NetGalley, for this opportunity to review. All opinions are mine. This review was uncompensated.

A Christmas Baby At Goodwill House by Fenella J Miller is a marvellous historical novel. It is the seventh book in the Goodwill House series but can be read as a stand-alone. I recommend reading the previous books first in order to see character progression and development.
The action is set during 1941 as we rejoin the residents of Goodwill House. It is the start of a new era. “I now make my decision on acquaintances based on who they are, not where they come from.” War is a great leveler. The old class system is crumbling. People earn their reputations and not by the circumstances of their birth.
All the residents of Goodwill House have kind hearts, helping where they can. As Christmas approaches, they are determined to ensure all the children of the village receive gifts. They truly do ‘make do and mend’ as they repurpose old toys found in the attic.
We also follow RAF pilots. We see the responsibility and the heartache. Also there are conflicting emotions when one is congratulated for shooting down the enemy. “He was uncomfortable celebrating the death of anyone, even an enemy.” Every pilot will have a mother somewhere.
We learn the value of family. Family is not always blood related but those who love and care for us.
Life still goes on in wartime. People die. Babies are born. Marriages happen. Life is uncertain so we need to love when we can.
All the characters were well drawn, likable and realistic. It was a pure delight to meet up with familiar faces.
As the novel closed, the Americans had just entered the war following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941. I cannot wait to read the subsequent books in this fabulous series. I do hope there will be many more.
I received a free copy via Rachel’s Random Resources. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.

Have read all the Goodwill House books and I am sad this one is the last in the series,they have all been a great read. It is both sad and joyful at times but Lady Joanna Harcourt keeps gripped too the story from start to finish. Her and John are excited about the news that she is expecting a baby along with the rest of all the family.I couldn't out this book down as I have grow to live all the characters that Fenella J. Miller wrote about. Thank you to the Negalley and Boldwood books for letting me read this great book

It’s the end of a seven-book series, and I’ve loved every one of the volumes. Goodwill House is another series where each book can be held as a standalone novel. I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Boldwood Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Each book follows Joanna, Lady Harcourt, who was widowed at Dunkirk, and the twin teenagers she’s taken in, along with her elderly mother-in-law. Joanna allows the military to house some female workers for the estate’s farms, called Land Girls. Usually, each book follows a few of the land girls while Joanna is in the periphery. This time, the focus is on Joanna and her love child, the sergeant whom she’s going to marry, and the relinquishing of Goodwill House to the military for the duration of the war as a hospital.

What I have loved about this series since I picked it up is the vivid detail of the deprivation families went through during the war, and the air raids, and the reality of planes getting shot down. While I’ve read a lot of WWII historical fiction, few have such detail and writing that really brought the war home to me.

While I found this final volume not as strong as the rest of the series, it’s still very good. I think what I missed was the slow burn of romance that the books also provide. In this volume, the romance is already well-established, although there are times when Joanna and her love, John, are separated several times while he performs his military duties.

Despite the fact that this book is named “Christmas,” it’s not until half-way through the book that the holidays falls upon Goodwill House, with Joanna’s forthcoming baby’s birth.

Great to catch up with the occupants of Goodwill House. A story full of ups and downs,sadness and happiness.Set during the war there is lots of drama and action.

Fenella J Miller has written the most beautiful, heartwarming family drama novel with A Christmas Baby at Goodwill House.
It has all the complex loving family characters that we love, in addition to a Christmas baby!
It has the intriguing marriage of two of the main characters, Joanna and John, the dashing air plane fighter pilot.
This novel just gave me all the feels. I loved it. Now I have to start reading from the beginning of the series.
#FenellaJMiller
#AChristmasBabyatGoodwillHouse
#BoldwoodBooks

Yet another good book. That finishes the series off. What a great place to end it with a Christmas book. It's fitting. 4****

A Christmas Baby at Goodwill House is the final instalment of a fabulous series by Fenella J. Miller. In it, we follow Joanna's surprise pregnancy and find out more about her new husband's life in the RAF. Joanna is downsizing her home, is no longer Lady Harcourt and is getting ready to move her family to a much smaller home in the village. The characters have all been fabulous and relatable; I could really envisage life during WWII in Stodham. I was so engrossed housework just had to take a back seat!!!!

I absolutely loved this, the final installment in the Goodwill House series. But, I am gutted that it is the end. I need to know what happens to everybody later on. Maybe, just maybe, Fenella will decide to add a follow on to the story someday.
Fenella writes in such a lovely style that I really feel as if I know these people and I will be sad if I don't get to hear from them from time to time :) For anybody who loves books set in the WWII era, this series is definitely for you.
I can't wait for whatever Fenella releases next.