She has managed to avoid their pleas to join the WRENS so far but when a tragedy hits too close to home she finds herself wondering if she's cut out for this life after all.Former housemaid Bella was forced to leave the place she loved when she lost it all and it's taken her a while to find somewhere else to call home. She's finally starting to build a new life but when the air raids begin, it seems she may have to start over once again.East-Ender Frankie's sense of loyalty keeps her tied to home so it's not easy for her to stay focused at work. With her head and heart pulling in different directions, will she find the strength to come through for her friends when they need her the most?Brought together at LAAS Station Seventy-Five in London's East End during 1940, these three very different women soon realise that they'll need each other if they're to get through the days ahead. But can the ties of friendship, love and family all remain unbroken?

     Ada Houston is alone. Her grandfather has recently passed away and her brother is missing, last seen working on the Liverpool docks. Everyone assumes him to be dead. But she will not give up hope. Ada's determined search takes her to the Crimea where she joins the team of Florence Nightingale's nurses. She may have set off looking for her brother, but along the way Ada finds friends, romance and a new purpose in her own life in the most troubling and difficult of places.

    Her elder brother Alastair wastes no time in joining the RAF as a flying officer, and Carolyn decides that when she is eighteen she will follow him into the service by joining the Women's Auxiliary Air Force.While reporting to the Air Ministry in London she meets a good-looking, charismatic pilot, Charlie Wade, currently employed in propaganda work. He believes that with her calm demeanor and resilience, Carolyn should work as an Intelligence officer, and suggests she serve on an active bombing station. At her side throughout the courses and postings that follow is Lucy Gaston, naturally quick-witted and sparky, a perfect foil for her friend.The young WAAFs both obtain prestigious postings in 5 Group Bomber Command, where they perform the vital tasks of briefing and debriefing aircrew returning from operations over Germany. Lucy, an incorrigible optimist, falls head over heels for a member of a Lancaster bomber crew while Carolyn resists her feelings for its dashing pilot. She decides it's not worth the risk of loving a man in wartime. . . only to wonder if she has done the right thing when a new WAAF on the station sets her cap at him.For Lucy and Carolyn, life on a WWII bombing station brings drama, heartbreak and suspense in this touching love story.

    When Isobel Morton takes over the café in Lichfield’s market square, she has big plans. Soon renamed The Victory Café, with a  menu that delights despite rations, the girls who work at the Vic are swept away by Belle’s lust for life.   Among the regular customers  is a trio of soldiers from the nearby American base and waitress Dorrie Goodman soon befriends them, learning about jazz and romance in the process. But the stifling morality of a Midlands town in the 40s cannot accommodate such a friendship; jealously, hatred and the weight of public disapproval combine to precipitate a tragedy.  It is not until many years after the war that friendship and reconciliation can begin to heal the wounds of the past …Praise for Leah Fleming 'I enjoyed it enormously.It's a moving and compelling story about a lifetime's journey in search of the truth' RACHEL HORE 'A born storyteller' KATE ATKINSON

    17-year-old Muriel Dearlove has weathered the Blitz unscathed, earning her keep in Miss Chapman's grocery shop. But with her sweetheart Bill away fighting and and her friends conscripted into the WRENs and WAAF, life has become tedious for Muriel. Then one day an old friend returns from a stint in the Land Army. She is rosy cheeked and looks healthier than ever, thanks to the outdoor work she has been doing on Northumberland's farms, and she comes with tales of dances with the troops stationed nearby and high jinks with her fellow Land Girls. Desperate for the chance to broaden her horizons, Muriel signs up to become a Land Girl. But getting back to the land is not all about making hay in the sunshine. Back-breaking work and rising before dawn are the least of their troubles when disagreements between town girls and locals arise, and their warden, Mrs Hubbard, is a hard-nosed slave-driver. Then Muriel meets Ernst, a German prisoner of war. And now Muriel has a choice to make. In fraternizing with the enemy, she breaks the law, but to never see Ernst again would break her heart.

    She thought marrying would liven him up, but after twenty-five years he's just as boring as the day she married him , and now she wants to lead her own life. Her newly-married daughter, Olive, is shocked, but Hilda is adamant. Meanwhile, a heavy East End gang has moved into the area from Shoreditch, and has established a lucrative protection racket, bringing drama and anxiety to this closely-knit neighbourhood.

    The stresses of combat flying in England's summer skies during the Battle of Britain, and night-fighting in the icy darkness of The Blitz, together with the loss of friends and a shattered heart, have left him broken and grounded. Fortress Malta, and the unrelenting Nazi siege that aims to grind it away, will be the furnace that forges him anew...

    Their task is simple, regain control of the air. But when not sheltering from incessant bombing by Luftwaffe forces based only minutes to the north on Sicily, Jack and his fellow pilots are hunted from take off to landing by tens of Messerschmitt 109Fs. Can they, and the Island, survive? The novel is dedicated to the people of Malta and the pilots from all over the world who fought to protect them. The cover design by Martin Butler is based on the image, Spitfire Flypast, by Paolo Camera. Reviewers found the flying scenes in Ron’s Battle of Britain novel, Wings Over Summer, especially vivid and those in Wings Over Malta are no less dynamic. This is because Ron spent much of his 32 years in the RAF as a flying instructor, teaching young men and women to turn upside down, jink and spin in light aircraft. He also picked the brains of several Battle of Britain veterans and current Spitfire pilots.

    He joins the RAF Volunteer Reserve as a sergeant pilot, and sees action for the first time in his Hawker Hurricane fighter over the beaches of Dunkirk. The Luftwaffe proves to be a well-equipped and professional force, and the RAF pilots must learn quickly or die.Harry Steed's part in the air fighting continues throughout the Battle of Britain and beyond. Technical detail and the descriptions of aerial combat are interwoven with a strong storyline.A well-researched novel that captures the spirit of the period and the courage of the men that fought in the skies above Britain and France.Example Extract :The aging paddle steamer pulled into Ramsgate harbour at dusk. The small pleasure boat had spent her mediocre working life ferrying day-trippers from London to Southend on Sea, plying her trade across the Thames estuary to Margate, or working her way around the Essex coast to Clacton with her compliment of holidaymakers. Now, in the twilight of her years, she had found true glory. Machine-gun bullets scarred her decks, her hull was peppered with bomb splinters and blood everywhere testified to her suffering and that of her cargo of exhausted soldiers. Here in Ramsgate was sanctuary at last from German bombs and mines. But Steed knew that after disembarking her soldiers she would be going back to the beaches of Dunkirk. He wished her Godspeed.

    1942, Manchester World War Two is in full swing and Lily Mullins is determined to do her bit for the war effort. Her friends and sweetheart have all joined up and Lily's sure there must be a role for her that goes further than knitting socks for the troops! When she decides to volunteer for the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, Lily soon discovers that she has a talent as a wireless operator. Helped along the way by a special gang of girls, she finds strengths she didn't know she had and realises that the safety of the country might just be in her hands . . . Meanwhile, Danny is determined to marry Lily, but his letters home become more and more distant. Will a long separation mean the end of their love story?An uplifting and inspiring novel of women on the home front. '[The story] read so true to me and I really didn't want to put it down . . . It may be fiction but those things could, and did, happen.' Vera Morgan, wartime WAAF 'An impeccably researched and uplifting story of love, loss and courage: a heartwarming read that will captivate all those who love a good war story.' Clare Harvey, author of The Gunner Girl'A wonderful, inspiring story. I can't wait to read more from Shirley Mann.' Sheila Newberry

    . . The war is over and the soldiers are coming back to the bomb-ravaged East End. Tom Smith is one of the thousands who are returning home. It's been an eventful war, what with a spell of desertion, and Tom can't wait to see his wife Jessie, their son Billy and the new baby daughter he hasn't even laid eyes on.But life back home wasn't easy either, especially when Jessie's army pension was stopped. So when she was told to put Emma-Rose into a home for her own good, she thought it was best. But how will Tom take the news? There is worse to come, when Tom learns that Jessie's old boyfriend has been helping her during the war.A compelling family saga set in the aftermath of the Second World War, from the author of Time Will Tell and Where Sparrows Nest.

    Jim's only complaint is that Sally is too soft hearted for her own good, always at the beck and call of any neighbour, friend or even stranger. Sally, on the other hand, accuses Jim of being a soft touch for anyone after a drink or two at the Rising Sun. Both accept that neither will ever change and they love each other and their daughter Daisy deeply. Theirs is a close-knit family in a close-knit community where gossip - both good and bad - abounds and neighbour looks out for neighbour and friend for friend. And when Sally's generosity leads to an inheritance it should mean a change of life for the better, instead it brings danger and difficult choices for them all...

    Despite many difficulties, Molly is determined to make a better life for herself, hoping that one day she'll find love. But abused by a man she trusted and estranged from the boy who was once her best friend, Molly wonders if this dream will ever come true. When her father is killed in a fight and her mother turns to drink in her sorrow, Molly finds herself the only wage owner. She tries to take care of her mother and younger sister, Jodie. But when a fire destroys their home, not only do Molly and Jodie lose their mother, but they find themselves homeless and with a very bleak future ahead of them...

    Until the feisty young prostitute, Tibs Tyler, takes her under her wing, and the two girls, one dark, one fair, set themselves up as a music hall act. As they desperately try to break free from Tibs's violent pimp, and to avoid the educated and wealthy yet sinister Dr Tressing, they are also hoping to make a new life for themselves as the new century breaks.

    But when Jim is tragically killed in an air raid, Helen is heartbroken, her life in ruins.Battling grief and despair, Helen resolves to escape her domineering mother and rebuild her shattered world. Wartime Manchester is a dangerous place, besieged by crime and poverty. So when Helen joins the Women's Auxiliary Police Corps, working with evacuees, the destitute and the vulnerable, she finds a renewed sense of purpose. She's come a long way from her place behind the counter in the corner shop.But there's still something missing in her heart. Is Helen able to accept love and happiness and find the courage to change her life?