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A review by bookmadjo
V for Victory by Lissa Evans
5.0
This book is the third in the series following on from Crooked Heart and Old Baggage, but it can easily be read as a standalone. I’m ashamed to admit the other 2 books are actually in my tbr. However, although I may have got more from the characters, I did not feel it was detrimental to read this without reading the others. I will be reading the others as soon as I can, and if you do have the opportunity to do so, I’d recommend that you do.
I loved the way the book flows, ambling through the timeline towards the end of the war in London. It was a gently progressing story, at odds with the violent explosions of the V2 rockets that intermittently hit London and changed lives forever. As someone who is drawn to novels set in the Second World War, I really enjoyed reading about London, as the majority of the books I read are set in mainland Europe. I loved the way I learned about the role of the ARP Wardens, in the character of Winnie, who I must admit was my favourite character, she was so strong, and capable in such difficult circumstances, undaunted by every new situation and so completely unlike her twin Avril. I also think I felt an affinity with Winnie because my late grandfather was a fire warden, who spent his nights on the roof of the woodworking factory where he worked in Manchester.
Vee and Noel were such wonderfully complex characters, who felt very real to me. I also adored the lodgers at Green Shutters, particularly Mr Jepson, and together with the vivid descriptions of wartime London, I really felt transported into the book. Although the book felt like an ending, I was left wanting to know about what happens next to Vee and Noel and Winnie.
I loved the way the book flows, ambling through the timeline towards the end of the war in London. It was a gently progressing story, at odds with the violent explosions of the V2 rockets that intermittently hit London and changed lives forever. As someone who is drawn to novels set in the Second World War, I really enjoyed reading about London, as the majority of the books I read are set in mainland Europe. I loved the way I learned about the role of the ARP Wardens, in the character of Winnie, who I must admit was my favourite character, she was so strong, and capable in such difficult circumstances, undaunted by every new situation and so completely unlike her twin Avril. I also think I felt an affinity with Winnie because my late grandfather was a fire warden, who spent his nights on the roof of the woodworking factory where he worked in Manchester.
Vee and Noel were such wonderfully complex characters, who felt very real to me. I also adored the lodgers at Green Shutters, particularly Mr Jepson, and together with the vivid descriptions of wartime London, I really felt transported into the book. Although the book felt like an ending, I was left wanting to know about what happens next to Vee and Noel and Winnie.