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brandypainter's review against another edition
4.0
4.5
Oh, this was a lovely read. I so enjoy a good epistolary novel, and this is definitely a good one. I loved all of the women the book focused on so much (well, except Edwina but only a sociopath would be rooting for Edwina). I wanted to see them all happy and well, and yet there is a war and they are just at the beginning of it. However, I loved how the author used the choir and music to give these women purpose and to shore up their lives when they needed it the most. It was truly wonderful. The only reason it's not getting a full 5 stars is that I had to suspend my disbelief a bit with how much Venetia was telling Angela in her letters. That seemed a bit too much, but she is young so I guess it makes sense. I am definitely going to read more from this author now.
Oh, this was a lovely read. I so enjoy a good epistolary novel, and this is definitely a good one. I loved all of the women the book focused on so much (well, except Edwina but only a sociopath would be rooting for Edwina). I wanted to see them all happy and well, and yet there is a war and they are just at the beginning of it. However, I loved how the author used the choir and music to give these women purpose and to shore up their lives when they needed it the most. It was truly wonderful. The only reason it's not getting a full 5 stars is that I had to suspend my disbelief a bit with how much Venetia was telling Angela in her letters. That seemed a bit too much, but she is young so I guess it makes sense. I am definitely going to read more from this author now.
k_bridgeman's review against another edition
5.0
Highly recommend the audio version. If you like The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, you will like this one.
annalisenak97's review against another edition
4.0
Delightfully warm, inspiring, and clever. The epistolary nature of the book was interesting and engaging, but also at times a little confusing. The character development was great, and Amadeus is a great name for a horse.
lfinkenkeller's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book. The women of the Chilbury Ladies Choir are learning how to live in the war torn world of WWII. The characters are easy to love. Each woman we meet grows to become the woman she is meant to be in this slice of life tale. These women have no choice now that the men of the village are fighting the war. It is wonderful to see how these women become stronger than they think they are ever capable of being as the story progresses.
lispeartree's review against another edition
4.0
Es una novela claramente inspirada en La sociedad literaria y el pastel de piel de patata de Guernsey. Aunque, a mi juicio, no llega a su nivel, me ha parecido muy entretenida. Me he encariñado con las protagonistas (con la mayorÃa) desde el principio y he disfrutado mucho con la historia.
bethanjane21's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
4.5
jodisings's review against another edition
5.0
If you enjoy "Call the Midwife" and "Home Fires" on PBS, and if you're a choral singer or director, this is a delight.
constantreader471's review against another edition
5.0
This was a lovely story about so much more than the ladies' Choir in Chilbury, England. It is set in 1940, from spring to fall. The lives of the women of this choir are told through letters and diaries.
It is a village in the southeast of England dealing with war--bombs, rationing, men gone off to war, etc.
There are stories of unrequited love, schoolgirl crushes, unwanted pregnancies and more. The characters are believable--
a scheming midwife willing to arrange abortions
a precocious 12 year old girl with fantasies of true love
a widow still grieving over her husband, dead for several years
a flirtatious teen about to become a woman
the local lord of the manor, a nasty bully
and the new music teacher, choirmaster
All interact so well that I read this book in 3 days, reading the last 200 pages in one day.
Some quotes:
Funeral service "At the front, the Winthrops and their aristocrat friends were sitting all plumed and groomed like a row of black swans."
Kitty, precocious 12 years old girl's diary "I like to see people as colors, a kind of aura or halo surrounding them, shading their outsides with the various flavors of their insides."
On starting a ladies only choir because all the men are gone "What will God think? one of the Sewing ladies piped up. He couldn't have intended women to sing on their own."
I rate it 4.5 out of 5 stars(rounded up to 5).
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending this book.
It is a village in the southeast of England dealing with war--bombs, rationing, men gone off to war, etc.
There are stories of unrequited love, schoolgirl crushes, unwanted pregnancies and more. The characters are believable--
a scheming midwife willing to arrange abortions
a precocious 12 year old girl with fantasies of true love
a widow still grieving over her husband, dead for several years
a flirtatious teen about to become a woman
the local lord of the manor, a nasty bully
and the new music teacher, choirmaster
All interact so well that I read this book in 3 days, reading the last 200 pages in one day.
Some quotes:
Funeral service "At the front, the Winthrops and their aristocrat friends were sitting all plumed and groomed like a row of black swans."
Kitty, precocious 12 years old girl's diary "I like to see people as colors, a kind of aura or halo surrounding them, shading their outsides with the various flavors of their insides."
On starting a ladies only choir because all the men are gone "What will God think? one of the Sewing ladies piped up. He couldn't have intended women to sing on their own."
I rate it 4.5 out of 5 stars(rounded up to 5).
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending this book.
jennie_cole's review against another edition
3.0
This book was sent to me as an advanced reader's copy through Penguin's First to Read. I tend to like stories of the average civilian during war and this book was a pretty good one. It is set in a town in the south of England during 1940 and while the title mentions the Chilbury Ladies' Choir it is not the only aspect of these character's lives. In fact it is a small part of the story.
The book is told entirely through letters and diary entries. This narrative path really works for the story because each character has different things happen to them so the various narrators is great. This book wasn't amazing but I would definitely recommend it.
The book is told entirely through letters and diary entries. This narrative path really works for the story because each character has different things happen to them so the various narrators is great. This book wasn't amazing but I would definitely recommend it.