A truly excellent read, with an insight into the Blitz I'd never before encountered. The Underground Library is a story of three young women -- Juliet, Katie, and Sofie -- and how their lives are impacted by WWII, and how their love of books brings them together to not only unite their community but to, in many ways, save each other and themselves. I devoured the story in one sitting and couldn't recommend it enough. What a fantastic story of resilience and strength during such a dark, uncertain time!

This was a very interesting read. It’s definitely something I normally don’t read but the title dragged me in and boy was I happy I read it. I absolutely devoured it!

An interesting story about how things were during WWII for the civilians. I really enjoyed learning from their perspective.

World War II is a prolific subset of historical fiction, one of my favorites, but also can be tedious. So many have been done, can they all be done well? A new story from each? There are many perspectives and many stories, and much to be learned and admired.

This was one of the "lighter" WWII novels, if such a thing can be said. The horrors of the blitz are talked about, but not the main focus. The focus is three women who strive to better themselves, and in the meantime help others. I enjoyed the main characters and the surrounding community members who all become friends because of the library and the underground sheltering during the nightly bombings. Sophie, a young Jewish refugee, taught me the most about parts of history that were new to me, and made me think of the desperation and difficulties of anyone trying to escape. Of course I loved Juliette, the librarian and the story of the library bringing the community together. Katie is the other main character, likeable and strong, and supported by women around her, and in turn teaching her mother to be strong. A decent read, as I said not heavy as a WWII book. At times things were a little to coincidental or too neatly wrapped up to be believable, but overall I liked the story. Enjoyed the authors notes in the back about what was fact and what was fiction.

Thanks to NetGalley for the early read in trade for an honest review.

A true story about 4 women to get together to form an underground library for refugees during WW2. I love historical fiction and this one did not disappoint. There were a lot of side stories that were entertained by the circumstances and I enjoyed that part of the book. I recommend for anyone looking for a WW2 historical
Fiction.

In this tale, set in WWII London, we have three main female characters, and we get to know them through the events of the Blitz.

I liked that all three interacted at the beginning and throughout the book rather than the threads coming together at the end. I also liked the history woven into the story. The action is centered around Bethnal Green and its library and underground station.

The first woman is Juliet, who has just arrived in London to serve as the Deputy Director at the Bethnal Green Library. The head librarian isn’t thrilled to have a woman in his library, and he doesn’t like any of Juliet’s new ideas. Juliet is thrilled to escape her parents and hometown and mourns her fiancée, who has been missing since Dunkirk.

Katie is a young woman working at the library and planning to start university in the fall. She is also mourning the loss of her boyfriend in the war.

And finally, we have Sofie Baumann, a Jewish refugee who escaped Germany to work as a domestic. Her employer treats her horribly, and she finds some refuge at the library and with the other women.

As the nightly air raids begin, the women and all Londoners cope the best they can. After a time, people started taking over the underground station for shelter. I didn’t realize that this wasn’t sanctioned at first by the government. Life underground soon becomes a bustling hive with food, clinics, and ultimately a library and school.

There are some love stories, an unplanned pregnancy, and searching for missing loved ones, and this author has a way of writing about the characters so that I grew to root for them to find happiness amid an awful time in London. Don't miss her notes at the end that clarify some historical facts.

Sometimes you just need a story about a group of women who truly want the best for each other. Juliet, Kate, and Sophie are coming into the story from all different directions but they come together for their love of reading. This book was set in a time of extreme hardship during the blitz attacks in London during WWII and somehow Jennifer Ryan told a story of friendship and love and it was still based on real events during the war. And if you are reading or writing book reviews you know you have a soft spot for a book that is about the love of books. Overall a great read. Thank you NetGalley for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book tells the story of three women, Juliet, Sofie and Katie in WWII London. Juliet is the new deputy librarian of a local library where the head librarian sees the library as more of a museum than a place for people to gather. Sophie is a Jewish refugee working night and day for a grumpy old man. Katie is about to go to college and lives at home with her well meaning mother and father. This is the story of how a library brings them, and the community, together.

Really enjoyed this one. This was a piece of history I hadn’t yet known from WWII. I loved the theme of the library and how all these very different women all connected thought the story.

Thought provoking and well written. I really enjoyed and highly recommend.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy. Jennifer Ryan’s books are like a warm hug. You fall in love with the characters and truly enjoy seeing their stories unfold. The Underground Library was no exception. There were a lot of parallels to what is happening now with book banning, genocide, etc. so that was a bit sad to see how little has changed over the years.

A very engaging historical fiction story set during World War II in London, we follow the lives of 3 woman who are connected with the local library in different ways. Each character's story is unquie, well crafted, and engaging. I would reccommend for any lovers of historical fiction.

Book release date 3/12/24

This story takes place in London between 1939 and 1940 as the Nazi air strikes pushed into London. The book highlights 3 women- Sofie, a German Jew on a work visa as a means of escaping Nazi occupation, Juliet, with a new job as a deputy librarian in the Bethnal Green library, and Katie, a soon to be university student who works at the library. Their paths cross because of their love of books. Their friendship was forged because of their love of literature. Living through this trying time of love, loss, and trauma a small book group that started in a room of a library became the light in the darkness for an entire community.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

As a fan of historical fiction, the book gave me insight to parts of this war I didn’t know existed. I felt as though some of the storyline was hard to believe or over dramatized. That being said- I cheered for each heroine’s success and was invested in their story arc.

3.5 rounded up. Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books for the Arc.

I was happy with this book. I felt like it read very fast. When the Blitz comes to London, where does the Library go? This tale is rooted in history based on the men and women that took the library underground when the bombs started dropping. The women's stories were a little far fetched in my opinion, only because at the end, everything was tied up in a nice bow. There was no loss or heartbreak that makes a story great. I think that there could have been women that definitely had this experience, a Jewish refugee, a young woman moved to the big city, and another young woman who finds herself in a predicament. I will say that I did enjoy that they all met each other and became friends along with other minor characters throughout the book.

The author's note was also really interesting. I think the author did a great job with the research that went into this fictional tale. I liked hearing about the Isle of Man's internment camps and their purpose. I also love learning something new that I did not know about during WW2, such as the Underground Library.

I picked up this book on Net Galley because I loved the Chillbury Ladies' Choir. I'm not someone who reads a lot of World War II fiction but for Jennifer Ryan, I was willing to read a story during such a turbulent time. The Underground Library was a wonderful story of a library forced underground by the Blitz in London. Juliet is a deputy librarian in a world where men choose to keep tight control of management. Sophie is Jewish and has escaped Germany but fears opening her mouth because Londoners might think she is a Nazi. Katie's story touched me. Her fiancee is missing/presumed dead and she finds herself pregnant in a society that scorns unwed mothers.
This is a story of community breaking away from boundaries and finding kindness and love in others. I loved this book and would highly recommend it.

The Underground Library by by Jennifer Ryan

Juliet Lansdown is the new deputy librarian of the Bethnal Green Library. She's so thankful for this job to get her out of her parents' home and away from the people who know she was engaged to a man who is now missing from his military posting. Her new boss thinks little of women, especially working women, but Juliet is going to find ways to get around his first reaction of saying no to everything she suggests.

Katie Upwood will soon be starting university and that's when her job at the library will end. Her father is a boorish man who gives his wife and daughter little attention unless it's to belittle and criticize them. At least Katie has memories of her boyfriend who enlisted in the war as soon as he could. But then she gets news of him as missing in action, presumed dead, and things just get worse from there for young Katie.

Jewish refugee, Sofie Baumann, escaped to London from Germany and worries constantly about her sister, who wasn't able to find work like Sofie did. Her father refused to leave Germany and her sister stayed with him. Now, Sofie is trying to find out what has happened to her sister but her resources are few, especially since she works for a cruel man who hounds and berates her constantly. Her happy times are when she can steal into the library and visit with the kind folks there.

These three women come together and it's amazing what they can accomplish despite being considered not good for anything. The author's note at the end of the story lets us know which events and places are real and how they and the timeline may have been changed to fit the story. I didn't realize the Underground stations were used so heavily and in such a semi permanent fashion, allowing the people who sought shelter there on a regular basis to have a sort of home away from home. There really was an underground library and I know I'm going to read more about it in the future. Book reads, classes for children, and a medical area for those who needed it are set up and these clever characters are allowed to share their knowledge and skills to help themselves and each other. This story has sparked my interest in many real life events that I had already read about or knew a little about and introduced me to some new historical events I want to research.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for this ARC.

I read a lot of books in this genre, so the premise grabbed my attention. Sadly, I had trouble staying engaged due to pacing problems and little connection to the characters. For such a dark time in history, this book was unusual in its positivity. I enjoyed the alternate narrators, and each was distinctly drawn. As a reader, I did love the library aspect of the story. There was more of a romance angle that I expected (or preferred), and the ending was a bit too HEA for this genre.

Jennifer Ryan has delivered another fantastic WWII book with a setting of the homefront in London. This time she focuses on the role that reading and the library played when London was under bombing each evening. People found shelter in the subway and eventually, a library was brought to the subway to entertain, educate, and soothe the evening community.

In this book, we meet three young women who struggle with racism, classism, and women's rights as well as love, friendships, and motherhood. The library ties the three stories together.

I learned more about WWII and had to google for more information. If you think you are done with WWII books, read this book and learn about life in the subways, and internment camps near England.

This ebook was given to me by Net Galley to review. I should say, I requested this one because Ryan has become one of my favorite authors. I can honestly say that this book was an outstanding 5-star read for me.

Historical Ficton, WWII, Homefront of London, Jewish Immigrant, Library, Bombing of London

Juliet, Katie and Sofia become friends during the Blitz of London. Their stories are individual but their strengths united.. I loved the story and I was sorry to see it end. The underground library was a real event that took place during the blitz. I never knew about this. The book shows an energy, a bravery and a strong will that all 3 characters exhibited making each of their stories one you will not want to forget

It’s 1939 and 19-year old Sophie gets the chance to seek safety in England but has to leave her Jewish sister and father behind in Germany. Meanwhile, Juliet is a small-town British woman beginning an important job in London as a library director, allowing her to escape her rigid parents’ expectations. And Katie, who works in Juliet’s new library, has a bright future ahead of her when she discovers all her careful plans have been upended.

The Underground Library is the fourth novel I’ve read by Jennifer Ryan and it felt different than the others. While she always focuses on the WWII time period in Britain, particularly on the people left behind to find a way to live at home, this one felt much more gritty to me. The protagonists were truly dealing with devastating situations. The first chapter about Sophie having to leave her family in an effort to find safety was so heartbreaking to read. I don’t recall feeling so emotional after reading one chapter of a book before!

All three women had hurdles, two of them were particularly difficult. I knew things would turn out for the best but I was still invested in hearing their tales. They were all equally riveting. And, once again, Ryan taught me about aspects of WWII which were previously unknown to me. I loved learning about the Underground Library in the subway station! And I always find it interesting to hear the stories about the women left to manage their families’ lives while the men are fighting battles away from home. While women were given more opportunities since the men were away fighting, they still had uphill battles to gain any sort of freedom.

This novel moved me through the entire range of emotions. It was up and down, happy and sad, tragic and wondrous, dangerous and safe. It was about the importance of a support network and friends. I really enjoyed it and would like to thank NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read it before publication next month.

Thank you to Net Galley, Ballantine Books and Jennifer Ryan for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of the Underground Library. I thoroughly enjoyed this historical fiction novel. I loved the strong themes of the importance of female friendships, women realizing they can make their own decisions and of course, the recognition of the joy of reading.
I found the relationships of the women to be empowering. They cared and supported each other through thick and thin, The thought of a library set up in an underground tube station while bombs are being dropped overhead was brilliant. The read alouds and checking out books would be a life saver during such horrific times. The author's note describes how this really occurred and I found it very interesting..
I felt there were too many minor characters who were rather flat and easily forgotten. They weren't a major part of the story but I wanted to know more about them. All of the characters' problems were too easily solved. The pieces of the puzzle fit too quickly. It was rather predictable what was going to happen next-I wanted more surprises. Overall, I would recommend this novel, it was an enjoyable read.