Reviews with content warning for Death - The Kitchen Front

I loved this book! As the book progresses you find yourself loving all the characters! The story line was super interesting, and accurate account of women’s lives during the war. The book also includes all the recipes they cook throughout the book as well, which I thought was an amazing touch!

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readingvoyage's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

How refreshing to read a WW2 historical novel that focuses on women at the home front. During WW2, when England was rationing food, The Kitchen Front radio program ran a cooking competition to find a co-host.

This novel focuses on the four female contestants from a village in Kent. Each woman represents a different economic strata and circumstances. As the story progresses, their lives become interconnected.

This was such an enjoyable “up-lit” read. The main characters were well developed, and I empathized with their circumstances (some earlier than others). This novel was obviously well researched; I’m not going to recreate the recipes any time soon!

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kaylasonlyheart's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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em8ly's review

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Superb, wonderful read.

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linesiunderline's review

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emotional hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I couldn’t NOT have read this book. Historical fiction, set in England, a baking contest? It was destined to happen.

Unfortunately it was not destined to be very memorable.

Here’s what worked:
• the baking contest and the writing around food was entertaining and evocative
• the female friendships were warm and pretty complex overall (while some aspects of how the women came together felt forced and coincidental, in the end, I liked the dynamic)
• the level of historical detail was satisfying - I feel like the author did a lot of research to bring readers a true sense of cooking during this period of rationing and scarcity

Howevers:
• It was overwrought and saccharine in places - like melodramatic in a cheesy way that punctured the believability
• There were a bunch of male characters who felt like caricatures, who seemed to be put into the story mostly to create tension and instant drama
• It was too tidily resolved

I wanted to love this, because I so enjoyed the author’s earlier book (Chilbury Ladies Choir). Sadly, it was a disappointment for me. It might work for someone in the mood for a straightforward, gentle, everything-works-out reading experience.

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celebrationofbooks's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

In September I went hard into my new favorite subgenre – mid-century historical feminist fiction that is a touch cozy and overall makes me smile. I know, I’m working on shortening it. But the books of this subgenre, including The Jane Austen Society, Yours Cheerfully, and the forthcoming Bloomsbury Girls and Lessons in Chemistry are a group of books that have made me smile more than just about any other genre or subgenre that I’ve read in for quite some time, and that’s saying something given the number of different genres I read in.

Like many works of fiction that have come out in the last few years, I should have read The Kitchen Front sooner, but it came out when I was still reading primarily nonfiction. I did, at least, have the foresight to hang on to the ARC, knowing that a book billed as Downton Abbey meets The Great British Bake Off would be a book that I would definitely want to read. At some point. When I finally wanted to read fiction again.

All four main characters of The Kitchen Front are women I would absolutely love to be friends with at the end of the book. Our young widow, with young children, it’s her determination and perseverance through the worst heartbreak that inspires me. For her sister, it’s the (eventual) ability to admit when she has been wrong that I try to emulate. For our spunky kitchen maid, it’s her willingness to trust and open her heart that I admire. And for our trained chef, it’s her determination to make the most of her life as a woman in her field that brought me to tears of frustration and joy.

Every woman can find herself in one of our four protagonists. If you grew up with stories your grandmother told of her Victory garden as I did, you’ll find reminders throughout about her experiences. There are recipes included that can be done on a ration book, but that also inspire awe with what families were able to create with so little. And if you just want an inspiring historical fiction book set during WWII, you won’t be disappointed.

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