The Chilbury Ladies Choir by Jennifer Ryan

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 400

Publisher: The Borough Press 

Released: 23rd of February 2017 

Summer, 1940. In the Kentish village of Chilbury some are unimpressed at the vicar's decision to close the church choir, since all the men have gone off to fight. But a new arrival prompts the creation of an all-female singing group and, as the women come together in song, they find the strength and initiative to confront their own dramatic affairs. 

Filled with intrigue, humour and touching warmth, and set against the devastating backdrop of WWII, this is a wonderfully spirited and big-hearted novel told through the voices of four marvellous and marvellously different females, who will win you over as much with their mischief as with their charm.

What I Have to Say 

This is a beautiful story of bravery, sisterhood and working hard to support the war effort. I wasn't sure how good it would be. I love stories about women stepping up and showing what they're capable of, but I wasn't sure how much more to it there would be. Church choirs in a small village? But it really showed a lot more depth to it than it first seemed. 

The book covered a lot of angles, from suspicious people who could be German spies, to homosexuality, to women supporting each other in a time of grief and turmoil. It really seemed to capture the essence of what it must have been like to be a women during the Second World War. 

The book is told through various different perspectives, each showing the life of a different woman in the choir and what it's like for them, setting up the new choir, coping with the bombs falling on their village and training to fight in case England gets invaded. 

This truly is a story about the power of women and what can be achieved. 

My thanks go to Netgalley and the Borough Press for providing me with this copy for review.