Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for sending me an advance electronic galley copy of Dear Miss Lake for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
It was a joy to return to wartime Britain with Emmy, Bunty, and the Women’s Friend team in AJ Pearce’s Dear Miss Lake. This final instalment in the Emmy Lake series offers another heart-warming glimpse into the charm, camaraderie, and quiet resilience of life on the home front. I thoroughly enjoyed the first three books in the series, Dear Mrs Bird, Yours Cheerfully and Mrs Porter Calling (all affiliate links).
Dear Miss Lake opens with Emmy riding a wave of success. She is happily married to Captain Charles Mayhew and finally realising her dreams of becoming a Lady War Correspondent whilst still carrying on the important job of answering the letters sent into the Women Friend magazine’s advice column. But with the nation weary after nearly five years of war, she and the team have their hands full encouraging everyone to pull together and push on. Victory may be in sight, but nothing is certain, particularly for those who still have loved ones serving at the front. And when disaster strikes close to home, Emmy finds herself even further into the thick of things once again.
What I Liked Best About Dear Miss Lake
What I particularly enjoyed about Dear Miss Lake was the richness of the character development and as Emmy and those around her navigate an ever-changing, uncertain world. A J Pearce captures the complexity, uncertainty and bittersweet nature of life during wartime with a deft hand, and her ability to weave a plot twist into the story can take your breath away. Like the first three books in the series, this well-researched book also goes behind the propaganda and offers a heartfelt, sometimes poignant, glimpse of what life was really like for women on the home front during the second World War.
Although Emmy is at the centre of the story, one of the things I liked about the plot of Dear Miss Lake is how much is going on around her. From Bunty’s ongoing personal journey to the issues facing Guy, Monica and members of the Women’s Friend team, there is a real sense of everyone helping each other. These subplots – including threads involving family, friendship and romance, all add depth, heart and a sense of real life that makes it easy to get lost in the story.
Who I Believe Will Enjoy This Book
I would recommend Dear Miss Lake (affiliate link), and indeed the whole series, to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, especially stories set in World War II. If you enjoy stories about resilience, friendship, community and the strength of women supporting one another through challenging times, I think you would like these books as well.
I enjoyed Dear Miss Lake and the whole series so much that I was sad to see it end. In fact, I am planning to re-read all four books from the beginning so I can revisit the world of Emmy and Bunty once again.
You can find out more about A J Pearce and her books on her website.
Read my review of Mrs Porter Calling here.
For more of my favourite reads, check out my Summer Reading List!
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