A Ration Book Daughter: Perfect for fans of Ellie Dean and Rosie Goodwin

This book follows Cathy who has an abusive husband who is away due to the war. When a telegram arrives declaring that her husband is missing in action, Cathy can finally allow herself to hope - she only has to wait 6 months before she is legally a widow and can move on with her life. During this time she also meets Sergeant Archie McIntosh of the Royal Engineers' Bomb Disposal Squad. He is kind, clever and thoughtful; their mutual attraction is instant. I found this book to be a quick and fun read. The writing style is great and so easy to get into. I loved all the characters, they each have a distinct personality. It is however quite predictable, and I don’t love that the author just kills off the negative characters as a “solution”. I’ve read two of the books in the series and they both ended this way. Overall it’s a good read which is easy to get into but didn’t feel original in any way.

Another fabulous tale in this excellent saga of domestic life in WWII. Cathy's days as a blushing bride have long gone and she must now survive sharing a house with her nasty mother-in-law while her husband is off fighting. When he is reported a missing in action, she sees a chink of light at the end of the tunnel knowing that in six months time she could be a free woman. Cathy dotes on her son, Peter, and looking after him while doing her bit for the war and heading to the shelter each evening she finds herself unable to meet the rising cost of food and rent, so takes the decision to advertise for a lodger. Enter Sergeant Archie McIntosh of the Royal Engineers' Bomb Disposal Unit, a very handsome Scot. The attraction between him and Cathy is instant, but with Stan still just missing, can she risk doing anything about it? This fifth book in the Ration Book series sees us back with the trials and tribulations of the Brogan family as they each do their best to survive in wartime Britain. The bombs continue to fall and Londoners continue to do their best to survive each day, providing for their families and doing their bit to help the war effort. I feel as if I know this family well by now and it's a pleasure to catch up with each of their lives but the main focus of this book is Cathy. She has an indomitable spirit and is a loving mother and daughter just doing her best, but doing it very much on her own and dreading the return of her violent husband. Hardly surprising that there is a frisson of attraction when she meets a decent man. As always, this is an exciting, beautifully written and well researched story which makes me feel nothing but admiration for those who lived through WWII. The author has created a wonderful series; each book is a complete stand-alone read but also connects to the previous novels as well as those to come. The humour shines through the dark days making this a truly enjoyable read, one I'm happy to give 4.5*.

A Ration Book Daughter tells the story of Cathy, who has just received a telegram announcing that her abusive husband is missing in action. Relieved, Cathy starts counting down the days until six months have passed and she officially becomes a widow and free of her husband. In the meantime, Cathy meets Archie, a sergeant in bomb disposal, who is very friendly towards her and her son. The book tells the story of Cathy's battle with wanting to move on with life yet also still officially being a married woman. I haven't read any of the previous books in the ration book series, but really enjoyed this. Jean Fullerton details elements of wartime life whilst also incorporating a theme of romance. The book is well written and balances the difficult history with hopeful elements to the story. Having read this I will likely go back to read some of the earlier books!