I read my own copy of this before I was approved for this book so I didn't do an official review. But this was one of my favourite animal books ever and I have told multiple people to read it now because I couldn't fault it in anyway. The story was incredible and sad and heart warming all at the same time. The characters will brilliant and really well done and the plot really had me hooked. I was thoroughly involved in this story and I absolutely loved it.

Bertie finds himself cold, alone and scared, and a stray on London's streets, after being a pampered pet before his owner died. With war on, London is bombed nightly and rationing means people as well as dogs are starving.
It is a dangerous time to have four legs and no owner.

So when Bertie meets one special little boy, George, he thinks he has a chance to find a new home and happiness and companionship again.

The story is told through the eye of Bertie and reminded me of A Streetcat named Bob, so perfect for petlovers young and old and anyone with a heart and a love of animals and history.

This is a historical fiction novel set during the second world war, the story is told from a little dogs point of view who turns out to be a bit of a hero, there were lots of touching moments in this book and moments that made me want to cry, I had no idea about what happened to animals during the war and felt that I learned a lot, I loved the domestic setting to this book and it really had a great sense of place, I could really imagine I was in Blitz London. I felt that we really got to know all the characters and they were well fleshed out.

Although I did enjoy this book I did feel that it was a bit unrealistic at times when it came to Bertie's voice, he thought things or acted in a way that I don't think was really realistic at all.

Overall it's a sweet little book with the back drop of the chaos and tragedy of the war and I would highly recommend it.

I was really looking forward to this one - I truly enjoy books about domestic life during WWII and also love dogs.
However, a novel narrated by a canine was just a step too far for me and try as I might (and I did, several times) I just couldn't get into this one at all.
I'm sure others will enjoy reading about Bertie, however I'm just not one of them.

I received an arc via Net Galley in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Nice story of the Blitz told through the eyes of a very bright appealing wee dog. Bertie's beloved mistress dies just as war is breaking out. Lost and confused he finds himself new people and lots of new adventures.

I really liked seeing the Blitz from a new perspective. The characters were interesting and the story moved at a good pace. It was an enjoyable read. Thanks to Netgalley & the publishers for giving me the chance to read & review it.

This was a really sweet book written from the dogs point of view as he lived through the Blitz in London. He sees things that he can't explain but we are able to understand what is going on.

Bertie loses his adored owner at a time when rationing was due to come in, and the official advice was to get rid of all pets. He manages to get another family to fall in love with him and we follow his new life.

He spends time with every member of the family and in shelters although officially pets weren't allowed in them. He sees blackmarket transactions and a hint of a sinister dark world.

We see a lot of the war on the homefront through his eyes and experience rationing, evacuees, war work. I love books set around the war years and this was a refreshing book told from a completely different angle. I think this could be read by someone of any age and by all animal lovers. Those who lived through the war will enjoy a gentle ramble through memory lane and youngsters could learn a lot about how difficult life could be during rationing and the dangers that ordinary people faced.

Excellent book with great characters. Very well written. I would recommend this book.

This was a cute story with a good plot. Written from the POV of Bertie who was really sweet. It was a good story but didn't grip me the way that I like a book to. It was well written though so I think I would read something by Libby Parker again! Thank you for the chance to read and review this.

I was recommended this book for its lovely story. Well worth a read and very enjoyable.

This is a historical fiction with a wonderful twist, as you get to see The Blitz from the perspective of an adorable dog named Bertie. His story is a complicated one at first, as his first owner passes away and he spends time on the streets moving from family to family until he ends up living with his newly self picked forever family. Bertie then fits right in and makes his mark on the family during the tough times that London is going through.

I loved this book, it combined two things I absolutely love, history and dogs. I found Bertie's perspective on wartime London both fascinating and eye opening. This also served as a somewhat educational text for me, in the sense of that I had no idea the troubles that animals went through in this time. It had become frowned upon to keep pets during the war due to rations, as the pets became an unnecessary mouth to feed. Many people abandoned their pets, other people struggled along in keeping their pets, and you see both these situations in this novel. It's also really easy to not think about the effects of the bombing on animals, how confusing the noise must have been and the fires, the shaking of buildings. We worry about our pets with fireworks these days, and this traumatises many animals, so imagine the effects of bombs on animals back then. This book truly opened my eyes to these issues.

I found Bertie such an easy character to love, he is such a typical loyal dog, who just wants to make his family happy. His character felt a little unrealistic at times though, in fact it could become easy to forget he was a dog at all, and I found this a little jarring at times, and this is honestly the only reason why I couldn't give this book a full five stars.

The story is fast paced, it doesn't even drag or lose flow and I was hooked from the very first page to the last. I would highly recommend this book to dog lovers, and in fact to anyone as I feel there is something in here for everyone, and I love the lessons it teaches us about caring for pets.

This is such a sweet story with an old fashioned feel that gave it real charm. I read a lot of animal stories but this one is unique in that it is set during the Second World War, told by a little dog named Bertie. Bertie finds he is alone on the streets of London, at its most dangerous time. He is found by George, a little boy who secretly keeps him in his garden shed. His parents Rose and Phillip think having a dog is a bad idea now that the war has started and people are advised against keeping pets as they are said to be useless mouths. People are barely able to feed themselves never mind their pets, many of whom go hungry or find themselves abandoned. However, when they discover Bertie he quickly becomes part of the family and when Phillip goes away to war he is a big comfort to Rose and George, and eventually he proves himself to be a hero who is loyal and protective and goes on to have quite an adventure.
This is about how the family and their friends adapt and cope with life during wartime, seen through the innocent eyes of Bertie. Although he is bewildered at first by air raids, rationing of food, evacuation and the scary looking gas masks, he is brave and devotes himself to his humans, especially George. The writing about this time rings true and reminds me of my own parents stories of a wartime childhood, when children collected shrapnel from bombsites, gathered around the radio to listen to the prime minister and spent nights in shelters singing to drown out the sound of bombs . Although the horror of the bombing and loss of loved ones is evident, so is the camaraderie and kindness of strangers united by hardship and the simple pleasures they are grateful for.
I loved every minute of this book. Bertie is a loveable character who brings a bit of lightness even in the worst circumstances. I would highly recommend it!

I fell in love with Bertie and was totally hooked on this book. Even got annoyed when I had to go out and so had to stop reading. Very informative about London in the Blitz which my Mother lived through while my Father was away and she would never talk about. A great read!