#BlogTour ‘Christmas With The Teashop Girls’ by Elaine Everest

About the book…

Christmas with the Teashop Girls is a heartwarming and moving story of wartime love, bravery and hope, by the bestselling author of the Woolworths series, Elaine Everest.

It is late 1940 and the war feels closer to home than ever for Rose Neville and her staff at the Lyon’s Teashop in Margate. The worry of rationing hangs overhead as the Nippies do their best to provide a happy smile and a hot cup of tea for their customers. When a heavy bombing raid targets the Kent coastline, Lyon’s is badly hit, throwing the future of the cafe into jeopardy.

The light in Rose’s life is her dashing fiancé Capt. Ben Hargreaves and planning their Christmas Eve wedding. But she must also plan to take two new step-daughters into her life and get on the right side of her wealthy mother-in-law, Lady Diana. Is Rose ready to become a mother so soon?

When Rose’s half-sister Eileen makes contact, it seems that Rose’s dreams of having a sibling are coming true at long last. But her friends begin to suspect that something is not right between Eileen and her husband: just what are they hiding?

As the Christmas Eve wedding draws near, the bombings intensify in Kent and London, putting everything and everyone Rose loves in danger. Only one thing is for sure: it will be a Christmas she never forgets . . .

Sometimes , even a huge horror fan like me needs a welcome break and this is perfect.

After reading ‘Wedding Bells At Woolworths’, I jumped at the chance to read Elaine’s latest novel, ‘Christmas With The Teashop Girls’ which was published in hardcover and ebook editions on September 3rd by Pan Macmillan. Huge thanks to Megan at ED PR for my review copy.

This, to me, is a very timely novel as it reflects a time where there was no such thing as ‘normality’, where the world was in a state of flux and life is lived one day at a time. The town of Ramsgate was at risk of constant bombing due to its proximity to France, and at the time when the book is set, there were almost daily air raid warnings. The pluckiness and sense of community really shines through in the scenes where the residents of Sea View guest house(run by Flora, mother of central character Rose), the workers at the Lyon Cafe and friends shelter below ground.

The conflict between personal and social responsibilities weigh large on Rose’s mind as she and her Nippies create a sense of the every day in their teashop-with so much turmoil, a visit to the teashop presents a sense of normalcy. However, her impending wedding,her role change to step-mother of 2 daughters she has yet to meet and her manageress title means she is juggling a lot of responsibilities.

The conflict between all these roles is balanced by the warm hearted support group Rose and Flora have around them, no one in this book is truly on their own. As the story develops, the sense of danger from the Nazis and someone more close to home, is really amplified by the constant need to remain quiet about the postings of various teashop workers other halves, talking on trains and in public. It really hits home that casual talk can be weaponised against the innocent.

There are a lot of heartbreaking scenes which really reflect the reality of the lives of many women in 1940-they are keeping the home fires burning whilst digging through rubble looking for survivors of bombs, raising the next generation and supporting their loved ones who are off fighting. All of this whilst running businesses and looking after themselves! That is a tall order!

This may not be the usual type of book that I review, but it is absolutely a recommended read from me. It is a break from doom and gloom, horror and death and is a breath of fresh air-as you read you become aware of just how steadfast these women had to be in order to make it through these incredibly challenging times. The sense of them just sitting there waiting for their menfolk to come home is swept aside, these are smart women who not onlt empower themselves, but create spaces for others to become empowered also. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Ramsgate and spending the holiday season with the Teashop Girls, and look forward to dropping in on them again.

About the author…

Elaine Everest, author of Bestselling novel ‘The Woolworths Girls’ and ‘The Butlins Girls’ was born and brought up in North West Kent, where many of her books are set. She has been a freelance writer for twenty years and has written widely for women’s magazines and national newspapers, with both short stories and features. Her non-fiction books for dog owners have been very popular and led to broadcasting on radio about our four legged friends. Elaine has been heard discussing many topics on radio from canine subjects to living with a husband under her feet when redundancy loomed.

When she isn’t writing, Elaine runs The Write Place creative writing school at The Howard Venue in Hextable, Kent and has a long list of published students.

Elaine lives with her husband, Michael, and their Polish Lowland Sheepdog, Henry, in Swanley, Kent and is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, Crime Writers Association, The Society of Women Writers & Journalists and The Society of Authors as well as Slimming World where she can be seen sitting in the naughty corner.

Twitter @ElaineEverest @panmacmillan @ed_pr

Links-https://www.elaineeverest.com/