A review by chelz286
The Hobby Shop on Barnaby Street by Jillianne Hamilton

adventurous emotional informative mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This was such a run, quick historical WWII read! I love my historical fiction novels and this one was not too heavy of a read. Maisie get's sent to help at one of her fathers shop in London. Her brother who helped run the store has been shipped off to war and his friend Cal that was left to run things has been struggling. So in the midst of the bombing of London, Maisie gets send into the middle of it, because her mother would rather her be gone than her father. Off she goes, and quickly gets settled into a life without her mother harping on her for every little thing but it is dangerous. The air raid sirens go off nightly, and the lady she's renting her room from seems to have a lot of things she does not like, and the shop is hardly staying afloat with all of the rationing and funds going towards the war. But the bombings are not the only thing that is dangerous in Maisie's life. She often is questioning Cal and then she finds out her brother is not quite who she thought he was, the perfect son is not so perfect anymore and her secret side photography has just been discovered. I am so excited that the author is writing more in this Homefront Hearts series. I'd love to read Roy's story, as well as Nora and Cal's. Thank you to the author for sending me a free copy of her novel. I look forward to the next ones.