I first I thought not another depressing World War II story, but I'm delighted to sat I read it and loved it! Of course there were trying times but the 3 young ladies gave each other support that their friendship was definitely worth reading about. That a young woman was so dedicated to getting books into the hands of everyone was quite rewarding as I am a librarian myself. The book is very good reflecting the times in London during the bombing but not so it is totally depressing but showing how the average person did the duties that were required at the time, This is the World War II book to read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ 3.5 stars! The story takes place in London during WW II and is based on a true story. The story is told from the viewpoint of 3 different women (Juliet, Sophie, Katie), and how the war affected their lives. My favorite storyline was Juliet’s - the creator of the underground library. I was drawn to this book because I love books about books, and the historical fiction aspect was a bonus. It was a very easy read, despite the timeframe in which it takes place. The book included themes about love, family and women’s resilience. This was the first book I’ve read from this author, and I’d definitely give some of her other books a chance based on this one. Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for this advanced reader copy!

I’ve always been drawn to WWII novels and love learning new aspects of the war and what life was like for those living through it. I learned about an aspect I’d never thought about in this story. These people were strong and resilient and did all they could to keep life going as normally as possible. The fact that this is also about books and a library make it even sweeter. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and loved learning something new. Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this wonderful book.

I have never read any of Ms. Ryan's books but if the others are like this one, I would definitely look for them.
Yes, this is another book about the atrocities against the Jews during WWII. However, this story intertwines three different women in London who have the love of books and libraries. Each chapter rotates through the three women, their struggles and how they come to rely upon each other to move ahead. Until the last 20% or so, I would have given this book a five star. However, there were parts that became a bit farfetched and sappy.
Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for my complimentary eARC of The Underground Library. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Historical Fiction set in WWII London, England is a favorite of mine. Throw in a library setting featuring strong women and I am ready to get cozy on my couch.
While equal parts scary and uplifting, The Underground Library portrays the unpredictable day to day life of 1940’s London.

Sofie is forced to leave her home and relocate to London where she finds domestic work with a horrid man.
Kate finds herself in a perplexing situation and is in desperate need of help.
Juliet is determined to make the Bethnal Green Library a welcoming destination for everyone.

The Library brings these three together but will it be enough for them to overcome the constant heartbreak of war ?

Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC of this story. I have enjoyed all of Jennifer Ryan’s novels but I think this is at the top of the list. WWII fiction that is based on a true story of the way the underground stations were used as shelter in London during the Blitz. This novel follows 3 female characters thru their experience during the war and just shows how the sense of community became so strong in order to make it thru the daily trials. Loved this book and strongly recommend it to everyone!

The Underground Library by Jennifer Ryan follows several women living in London in WWII as they create a lending library to serve neighborhood residents who spend nights underground in the tube, It’s both a romance and a chronicle of the power of community to overcome hardship, misogyny, and classism. It offers a glimpse of history with a happily ever after ending.

Jennifer Ryan made Juliet, Sofie and Katie come alive and steal their way into my heart. What a difficult life they each led both before and during the London blitz. Ryan made the tragedies inherent in the blitz so very real and the strength and amazing endurance of those living through it so very inspiring. I so appreciated Ryan’s ability to take a real historical event and create an unforgettable story that puts you in the middle of the underground library meeting all the amazing inhabitants while experiencing the horrors of the constant bombings, the bomb shelters, the womens’ strength and self awareness beginning to emerge, and the romances developing. Although it seemed a Hallmark moment I did appreciate the ending.
The camaraderie of those living in the underground library in spite of their very lives being at risk every day was so very admirable and heartwarming. The many examples of blitz spirit would be so very welcome in the world we currently live in.
Many many thanks to the very skilled Jennifer Ryan for immersing me in the daily lives of Londoners living during the blitz, Ballantine Books for having the wisdom to publish it and NetGalley for affording me the absolute pleasure of reading an arc of this amazing time in history.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Underground Library was such an easy book to devour in one sitting. After meeting our three main characters, I couldn't tell you which one was my absolute favorite. In all honesty, they were all quite likeable and deserved happiness. It also doesn't hurt that they were such great fans of books and reading.

Sofie, Katie, and Juliet probably had no idea what they were going to go through during this war. With the bond of library books and wanting the absolute best for each other, it isn't hard to wonder as to how they became such close friends. Or when they created such a bookworm community within London to try and cope with the war and bombs.

Whether they dipped their toes in romance or not, I went through a huge emotional roller coaster ride with each person's story. It wasn't easy reading what they all went through, and I was very surprised by some things that did happen. Which is absolutely okay because the people who did anything wrong or harmful to these girls or their friends will meet karma soon.

In the end, I'm really happy that they are finally happy and healing. This was such a good book, and I'm glad that I got the chance to dive into it.

I love reading books about books and I enjoyed the novel. Novel was written through alternative chapters, each through each woman.

Sofie Baumann needed a visa for herself and her family in order to live and work in England. Her employer was with a hateful man.Unfortunately her family was filled with conflict and Sofia was a refugee from Berlin. Sofia used the library to exercise her intelligence through the library.

Juliet’s parents did not approve, she supposedly was forced into a marriage that she did not want. the founding of the Bettina Green Library. However, Juliet was bright, so the library gave her away to do bookish things.

Kate Upwood was a smart woman and enjoyed working at the library and she had a secret.

I appreciated the strength of the women. My favorite genre is Historical fiction and I enjoyed the novel, I also liked the focus women also the many historical references

Jennifer Ryan, Ballantine books, and NetGalley for the opportunity of read and review the novel.

The Underground Library is a great novel based off a true story. I love that all of the main characters come from different backgrounds to form a book club of supportive women during WWII. Each character brings a unique perspective to the story, and I had not heard about underground libraries prior to reading this book.

Juliete as a deputy librarian sees a need for the people of London who are hiding nightly in the underground tube system. People need a distraction, and with books at her disposal, she creates an underground library for the citizens. Juliet is joined by book club members, Kate and Sofie who are the other main characters of the book. Kate is a young library staff member on the verge of going to university, and Sofie is a Jewish refugee taking shelter in London. I enjoyed the relationship between the main characters and hearing their backstories. I found the book to be very insightful of the Blitz, while also developing the personal lives of each of the women as well. Good historical fiction read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine Books for granting me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

* I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this book. All thoughts are my own.

4.5 stars

I loved that while this was set in WWII, it wasn’t set in the front of the war and was a fairly uplifting book. I enjoyed the focus on women and what they did during this time. I really liked the author’s writing; everything flowed so well and didn’t feel overly historical or tough to read at all. I even liked all of the characters.

I would recommend this book and will read other books by this author in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing- Ballantine for the Advanced Reader Copy, in exchange for my honest review.

The story of three women and the community that they create in World War II London. Juliet comes to town to become the new deputy at the library. Katie is helping in the library until university starts in the fall and Sofie is a Jewish refugee who comes on a work visa. The story intertwines as these women, through different circumstances find their logical family during hard times. There is a delightful cast of characters involved as well.

This is the third book that I have read by Jennifer Ryan. And I have not been disappointed yet. She is able to paint a picture of the WWII times but still show the powerful bound of friendship and sisterhood. I will continue to seek out other books by Ryan.

Recommend for those that like historical fiction or women's literature. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

3.5 stars
The community of the Underground during the Blitz
I loved the character development and intersecting stories of British, Polish, and German perspectives. This was easy to read quickly but had depth. My downfall was the huge bow to wrap it all together.

Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I struggled to get through this book, which revolves around the Bethnel Green Library in London during The Blitz of WWII. Told from 3 POV, I had trouble connecting to two of the three main characters, which made me struggle to get through the book. Part of it could be WWII historical fiction fatigue, which is no fault of the author, and part of it was because I read a similar book last year about the same subject (The Little Wartime Library) that was a more compelling story based upon the same events.

This is a good historical fiction book, just not an outstanding one.

Jennifer Ryan’s The Underground Library is told from varying points of view by three young women whose lives intersect at London’s Bethnal Green Library. As readers follow the main plot, they will come to know each woman’s back story that make her who she is, sometimes providing strength, other times obstacles to overcome.

The novel opens in the Baumann family library, May 1939 Berlin, as older daughter Rachel encourages 19-year-old Sophie to hurry. Time has come for Sophie, the lucky recipient of a visa from the British Embassy, to board a train for a dangerous ride. If she makes it to England without being caught, Sophie will fill one of the coveted positions for German Jews made available by the war-time labor shortage. Hoping for a welcoming family, Sophie finds herself working for widower Mr. Wainwright, who understands all too well her precarious position as the holder of a visa directly tied to this job.

Set slightly over a year later, August 1940, Chapter 2 shifts to Juliet Lansdown, a 26-year-old small-town British woman expecting to find herself in a bastion of liberalism. Juliet has reached London with a headful of innovative ideas she plans to put into practice as new librarian at Bethnal Green. Then she meets the stodgy, old-fashioned head librarian, Mr. Pruitt.

Also set in August 1940, Chapter 3 centers on Katie Underwood, an 18-yeqr-old local girl from a prominent family. She is working a summer job at the library before starting university, an educational opportunity Juliet Lansdown’s parents would never have deemed appropriate for their daughter. The one friendly face Juliet encounters at the library, Katie suggests a way Juliet circumvent around Mr. Pruitt’s intransigence. Before long, however, Katie will face her own very different challenges.

When book-loving Sophie finally has the chance to enter Bethnal Green Library, she arrives at an opportune time. Juliet’s first innovations is about to be realized. Other interesting characters become part of the change: Juliet’s delightful but messy landlady, Mrs. Ottley; the elderly Ridley sisters, Irene and Dorothy; and a flashy ex-singer, Marigold Saxby.

Little comes easily as practice air raids turn into nightly German bomber attacks. Nonetheless, the bombings also present an opportunity. Fleeing underground for shelter, Bethnal Green neighborhood residents need something to bring enjoyment and hope.

Although Jennifer Ryan depicts social issues and trauma, the Underground Library is a relatively light WWII novel focusing on an interesting assortment of characters who find the courage to cope and the strength to come together. At times, I found some of the historical material rather awkwardly worked into a character’s thoughts or a dialog. The more basic of that material should be common knowledge. Despite my one quibble, The Underground Library is well worth reading and should appeal to women who like historical or popular fiction.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine/Random House for an advance reader copy.

Shared on GoodReads and Barnes & Noble.

Wonderful story for everyone to enjoy. I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely. Happy reading!

Three young women must set aside their personal trials to save their community's library when it is bombed during the war. They will pull their efforts together as the goal becomes more difficult. In the end, they will realize their unselfish acts give them the strength to face the present and plan their future.

Set against the backdrop of WWII's Blitz in London's East End, this captivating tale weaves the lives of three distinct women, united by their love for reading. Sophie, a Jewish refugee; Kate, a college hopeful faced with societal challenges; and Juliet, a deputy librarian with progressive ideas, find solace and friendship in Bethnal Green Library. Amidst the chaos of war, their bond over books becomes a beacon of hope and resilience.

Jennifer Ryan doesn't disappoint with this latest offering. Through meticulous research and heartfelt storytelling, Ryan transports readers to a time of adversity, showcasing the indomitable spirit of the British people and the transformative power of literature. A testament to the strength found in community and the escapism offered by storytelling, this book is a stirring blend of emotion, history, and the enduring impact of shared stories.

While I enjoyed this inspiring story based on real events, the author sometimes got carried away with her effusive language regarding the role and effect of libraries and books. I feel her editor should have caught this, unless she needed to pad the story to meet her page quota.
Thanks to #NetGalley and #TheUndergroundLibrary for advanced digital copy.