I chose this book based on the title as my village has a telephone library although I have to say the telephone library wasn’t really mentioned until the latter stages of the book!
Despite that, this was a good read following the story of Lucy who is a stressed out teacher who moves out to the country. Here she meets Bunty who has a secretive history during WWII which she eventually discloses to Lucy. For me this was the best part of the book

Firstly, how gorgeous is this cover! I got a copy of the book from Netgalley but I'm also going to be buying my own because that cover is too pretty not to own. Also so I then have my own copy I can re-read whenever I choose because this is definitely a book I will be reading again.

There's a few aspects to this story, first we have Lucy trying to recover from being burnt out, Bunty with her secrets, Mel who misses her friend who moved across the world, Sam and Freya's relationship as Freya gets older and the village phone box which is no longer used and therefore has fallen into disrepair. Each aspect is handled brilliantly, all of the characters are clear and distinct and although their stories weave together it doesn't get confusing at any point.  The location is also brilliantly written and comes across so clearly I felt I was there with Lucy through the whole book.

Aside from the above there are a few other things I love about this book, firstly Lucy's age, she's around the same age as me which is great. We see her having had a career that she loves but has made her ill and she has to decide what to do next. This, for me, is more relevant that 20 somethings deciding what to do with their lives and, for that, I loved it. Her concerns were relatable and she had Hamish to consider which, while not everyone has a dog, was excellent in showing that some people have to think about more than just themselves when considering a future path. Much as we might like to, few of us can drop everything and travel the world or start over in a new country and the fact that Lucy was one of those who cannot do that was perfect.

The historical aspect to the story fitted really well as it was told mostly from Bunty's perspective so we got her view on how things had been now that she had had a few years to reflect on everything and gain some more life experience. It was really interesting to learn more about the work at Bletchley and its offshoots which I didn't know existed. We need to continue to learn as much as we can, while we still can, about the work done during the war and stories like this are a good way of introducing the subject to those who, like me, are unaware of some of what happened.

I felt this book calling to me when I was unwell and had to give in and read it. Having enjoyed the previous books I've read by this author I was fairly sure I would also enjoy this one but I hadn't expected to love it as much as I did, I can't fault it. I honestly feel it is her best book to date. I didn't read it so much as get immersed in it. It's the perfect read for any time of year because even if you're reading it in the winter you'll get a feeling of warmth and sunshine. It's a definite feel good book with an ending which fits the story perfectly and which made me want to start it all over again.

A Gentle Tale Of New Beginnings.....
A gentle tale of new beginnings. Anxiety ridden Lucy needs a new start - a move to a picturesque cottage in a small but perfectly formed Cotswolds village along with her faithful Westie seems just the ticket. In between keeping an eye on her new neighbour, the fiercely independent Bunty, village dilemmas and dramas begin to take over - and what exactly is the secret that Bunty is harbouring connected to the dilapidated telephone box about to be turned into a library? A delightful, escapist read.

I adored this book! I had been struggling to get into a book and keep my interest but this one did it broke the pattern and now I just wanna read! Loved the story line and the characters. Brilliant

3.5*

A sweet story but I found it dragged out and slow. Expected something more from Buntys story so was a bit disappointed by that.

Lucy Evans has taken a 6 month sabbatical from her job as a history teacher, and finds herself a temporary home, in return for helping out 95yr old, Bunty. The location is ideal for Lucy, as its close to Bletchley Park, which is somewhere that fascinates her, and she intends to do more research in the area to find out what life was like there during WWII. Bunty is not keen on the idea of someone ‘taking care of her’ and is resistant at first. As the story goes on, we get the idea that there is more to Buntys reticence about the past than just having signed the Official Secrets Act.
This book has lovely characters, all of whom I’d love to be friends with. It paints an idyllic picture of a small village, that has heart, community and a lovely local shop. I love Bletchley Park, and am interested in what went on there so this is the ideal book for me. A really nice read, with well written characters and a really interesting story. This is the sort of book I could read more than once.

I loved this engrossing and entertaining story: it's well written, heartwarming and poignant at times.
The story is well crafted and I was hooked since the first pages, the setting is lovely and it made me crave to the be there.
The cast of characters is likeable and well thought.
it's the first book I read by this author and won't surely be the last.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

It's been quite a while since I read a book by Rachael Lucas but this new story The Telephone Box Library reminded me just how much I enjoy her writing. This is simply a gorgeous, warm read that you will easily lose yourself in for a few hours and when you reach the end you will be so glad you picked it up. It was just the kind of book I needed after having finished a fairly intense read. The cover is beautiful, so colourful and inviting and let's be honest that title screamed read me now as any story that has even the merest allusion to books and I know I am going to love it. The telephone box that stands emptied, neglected and unloved near the village green in Little Maudley becomes the focal point for the story as the villagers save it from being demolished by the telephone company and they decide to turn it into a small library as their nearest library is being closed down. But really the telephone box that can be seen from one special resident's kitchen window holds so many memories that to see it go would be a crying shame.

By the end of the first chapter you feel instantly at home in Little Maudley and that truly is a sign of a good book. I felt at ease and comfortable and that I could just literally be swept up in all the comings and goings in the village. The author did a great job of setting the scene and describing the village that I just wanted it to be real, and similar to our main character Lucy Evans that I could escape there to get away from everything. I totally identified with Lucy on so many levels and for many reasons, I thought she was brilliantly written and that as a reader we could really get inside Lucy's head and get to the bottom of her problems.

Being a teacher myself I really appreciated the various viewpoints that Lucy was coming from and why she so desperately needed the break from everything as she was being pushed to the max and burnout would be reached before she knew it. I saw a lot of qualities that I possess when it comes to my career in Lucy and therefore I really admired the journey she went on, the experiences she engaged with and learned from and how she always stood true to her own principles but along the way she was hoping for more of a balance in her life. But would answering an advertisement looking for someone to keep an eye on an elderly lady be the answer to all her problems? Or will she be back to the grindstone before she knows it and again facing down a barrel of stress that she sees no way out of?

Lucy is taking a sabbatical from her work as a history teacher to do some research in the countryside specifically based on Bletchley Park and what went on there during the war years which has always long held a fascination for her. Reaching breaking point and ending up in hospital was the impetus for her to take this much needed time away from an extremely high pressured job that despite loving teaching all the paperwork and long hours that went with it were doing her health or state of mind no good whatsoever. Fair play to Lucy, it must have been scary stepping away from a secure job for a certain period not really knowing how you would pass away that time. If your job is all that you have ever known it's nerve racking to admit to yourself that you need the time out.

Arriving in Little Maudley, it seemed like the perfect chocolate box village with such cute names for the cottages and as previously mentioned the telephone box standing by the green. I don't think Lucy bargained for having to be an aid to a 96 year old women called Bunty who is determined to resist any offers of help. Bunty believes her daughter-in-law is meddling in her life when she can manage perfectly well on her own. Bunty is a woman who refuses to let her age get in the way she lives her life but will unlocking the secrets of the past be too much for her or will sharing a burden kept close to her chest for so many years be just the thing she has needed to happen?

Bunty was a fabulously written character, I mean who would ever think that a woman of her age would have a snake as a pet! She was well with it for her age and I think sometimes her family members didn't always believe that she was able to live independently and that she was well aware of everything that was going on. Bunty wasn't someone who gave everything away at once but as Lucy was such a keen historian she sensed that Bunty had a story to tell and that if she bided her time and got to know her well enough than maybe some secrets would be forthcoming. I loved how the author mixed the past with the present in order to help us learn more about Bunty and how her story connected to the telephone box. The relationship that developed between herself and Lucy was tentative at first but over time it blossomed into something special without being forced or just occurring for the sake of it. Lucy had a specific focus that she had agreed to help out the Women's Institute in the village gather together stories from the older residents and make them into a booklet for a major celebration. This allowed Lucy to really immerse herself in village life and feel that she was becoming part of something. I could see that she was starting to unwind and relax and the pressures of her job seemed to dissipate from her mind.

Lucy had full intentions to come to the village and do what was required in the job advertisement but apart from that she would shut herself away in her cottage for complete rest, peace and tranquillity. But just like as it did with me the village, its many residents and its community spirit really got under her skin. She soon came to realise that she would look like the oddest of people if she didn't engage with the community and with such a varied cast of characters there was sure to be someone who would want to bring Lucy out of her shell. I loved how this all occurred so organically and naturally that it never felt forced or over the top. What was meant to be would be and the fact the sole focus of the book wasn't all about Lucy rather it encompassed many other little stories meant everything worked so well together side by side and came together to make one fabulous, feel good read.

There were several women featured in the story who became very good friends with Lucy and I enjoyed the easy relationship she had with each of them but it was the romantic strand that intrigued me the most regarding Lucy. The will they/won't they between herself and Sam Travis kept me guessing all the way through. Sam wasn't your typical man in that he already had a teenage daughter who lived with him so he was in a different mindset to Lucy. But still the camaraderie that started to brew between the two was enjoyable to keep an eye on. Even his daughter Freya got her own story line which I thought was handled beautifully and it is very relevant to the times we live in to today given a lot of families or young girls may have found themselves in this position or one similar to it.

The Telephone Box Library if you were to just judge it upon its cover you'd be forgiven for thinking this is just another run of the mill romance story but instead Rachael Lucas has given us so much more. I love any books set in small villages but then add in the historical element and this just brings the book up another level not to mention the inclusion of the lovely transformation of the telephone box. Then having Bunty as a kind of mentor for Lucy but Lucy doing the same for Bunty in allowing her to slowly open up following such a long period of secrecy that must have been really weighing her down. Of course all the antics of the locals and how they work together to do good for the village were funny and thoughtful in equal measure.

Lucy and Bunty are marvellous characters at the centre of an engaging, captivating and fascinating story with some lovely messages to be learnt and there is lots to be taken from the many themes that arise. The Telephone Box Library is Rachael Lucas at her very best and now I really do need to go back and read Finding Hope at Hillside Farm, which was her previous book and which has languished for far too long on my Kindle and which I am sure is just as good as this wonderful book.

Another really enjoyable book by Rachael Lucas! This one particularly appealed to me as I’ve seen a village where their defunct telephone box has been converted into a little library.

Lucy has taken a six-month sabbatical from her job as a history teacher, as she’d reached breaking point with all the stress and was unwell. A great opportunity presents itself when she answers an advert for a tiny cottage with a reduced rent in return for keeping an eye on an elderly lady. The bonus is that it’s near Bletchley Park so Lucy will be able to carry out some interesting research. However, the elderly lady – Bunty – is really not happy that her meddling daughter-in-law has arranged ‘help’ for her; despite her advancing years she’d really prefer to keep her independence.

Bunty slowly warms to Lucy, though, and then Lucy finds herself caught up in the local campaign to save the village’s unused telephone box and turn it into a small library.

This book drew me in straight away. I loved it and was quite disappointed that it had to end!

Thank you to NetGalley and PanMacmillan for an advance reader copy in return for an honest review.

Rachel is a history teacher and decides to take a 6 month sabbatical and accepts an offer from Margaret to go and live in a small cottage in the cotswolds in return for looking after her elderly mother in law Bunty.

Bunty is in her mid 90's, has a pet snake and definitely does not want a caretaker. Rachel however approaches her tentively and slowly over time they develop an understanding and the relationship changes.

A very charming book, set in the wonderful cotswolds where i live, i really enjoyed it.

This is another fantastic read from Rachael Lucas, I admit I am 100% biased I adore all of her work. To me sh has never written anything bad and she isn’t going to start today ! This book is wonderful, an emotional read at times, yes it has a lovely slow burn romance between two of the main characters Lucy and Sam, but it was the relationship between Lucy and Bunty I loved the most, watching it grow over time and Bunty beginning to share. It’s a lovely story, well written and a lovely end. If you need a little slice of happy, pick up this pick and once you have you will want to read all Rachael’s previous books. Thoroughly recommended

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

I should begin by saying the title is a misnomer. The story is not about the Telephone Box Library. The final scenes include it, and the telephone box itself features prominently in reminiscences by the older population. It actually becomes a talked-about topic only halfway into the narrative. I spent a long time waiting for it to take centre stage, but it never did, and I lost a little bit of time resetting my thought process. If you go in not expecting to see it that way, you will definitely enjoy it more!

Lucy is an overworked teacher who still considers teaching her calling. She has always been the responsible one, the sensible one and that led to her eventual collapse due to exhaustion. I can clearly imagine such a situation for a History teacher who loves her job. She moves to a small cottage in a village close to Bletchley Park and thinks about starting a project to put something together. She meets some interesting characters in her village and bonds with them over a lot of things. It is a heartfelt tale, and I actually feel it had enough content to be split into two books. I would have liked it more if that had been the case. Time flies pretty quickly when Lucy gets busy, her next-door neighbour gives her her diary from when she worked for the Government, and an old story comes to light, even it is only for Lucy to know and not share.

The writing was pretty good, and there are a lot of sub-plots so you can choose different characters to root for. The writing was pretty great, and I would definitely read another of the author's works.

I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but this review was entirely based on my own reading experience.

I really enjoyed this book so much. It has a really great plot, superb main characters and I read it in one sitting. I would highly recommend this book.

Without exaggerating, I adored this book.
The character of Lucy was so believable, the stress of her job, her love of history her her belief in doing the right thing.
The diary of WWII was perfect - it seemed authentic and so real. I want to become Bunty as I grow older - she is a stalwart, a character and just a gorgeous human being. Her friendship with both Lucy and Freya were gorgeous.
This book is so much more than just a love story. It’s the perfect book for a balmy evening, enjoying the sunset and just feeling warmed by both the characters and the setting. The storyline, for me, was perfect and I would happily buy and recommend this book to my friends and family.

This is a lovely book telling the story of history teacher Lucy as she moves to the village Little Maudley to help her recovery from stress-related illness. Lucy rents the cottage next door to Bunty, the village’s oldest resident, and despite Bunty’s initial reluctance (Bunty’s daughter-in-law has asked Lucy to pop in daily to look after her) the pair become friends.
Lucy begins to research the WW2 personal histories of the village’s residents for a WI booklet, but despite being sent to Bletchley as an 18 year old Bunty is reluctant to share her story. Bunty has; however, kept her wartime diary and we get glimpses into her story and discover a love story, a broken heart and a secret that Bunty doesn’t want to share.
Alongside her growing friendship with Bunty, Lucy also makes friends with dog trainer Mel, her best friend & treehouse designer, Sam and his daughter Freya. Sam and Lucy are drawn together but as Lucy is only in Little Maudley for one term both are reluctant to start a relationship.
A book full of romance in two different generations and the ups & downs of family life. A lovely book, well written with believable, well formed characters. I haven’t read anything by Rachel Lucas before but will definitely look for more now as I enjoyed reading this.

Lucy is a dedicated teacher who has taken a sabbatical due to health problems caused by the stress of her job. She chances upon a village cottage at a peppercorn rent so long as she assists an elderly neighbour, it’s in an area of great historical interest to her so she jumps at the chance if six months R&R with some research thrown in, Lucy soon realises just why the rent is so affordable when she meets the stubbornly independent Bunty who despairs of her family’s attempts to look after her. Throw in an eclectic mix of characters and a great back story of life during World War Two, not to mention the matter of what to do with the tatty decommissioned phone box and you have a fun, lighthearted story which is a pleasure to read.

Lucy is a stressed out History teacher. When she has a health problem she decides to take a sabbatical and accepts a rent free cottage in exchange for keeping an eye on an elderly resident of Little Maudsley, Bunty.
Throughout the book Lucy gets to know the locals and starts fitting into the country village life. As an historian, she is fascinated by Bletchley Park and what went on their during the war and is asked to write a booklet for the Women's Institute. As her preparation gets going she is advised to speak to Bunty about her work during the war, however Bunty is not happy to speak about her past. Lucy eventually inspires enough trust in Bunty, with some help from Hamish, her West Highland White Terrier, that Bunty entrusts Lucy with her diary from that period of her life. Lucy is also involved in saving the village telephone box by turning it into a library. There is romance in this story too as well as some lovely friendships that are forged. I loved this book and will be looking into reading more by Rachel Lucas in the future. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

I was in seventh heaven reading this book! I just can't begin to tell you how much I enjoyed it. Probably aided by the fact that Lucy has a West Highland Terrier and I loved how very true to life all of its antics and mannerisms were. If I had one gripe it would be that the dog on the cover of the book is no Westie!

Lucy has taken a break from a stressful teaching post and finds herself in a Cotswold village in a lovely cottage at a low rent, in return for looking in on an elderly neighbour each day. When we first meet that neighbour called Bunty she is a force to be reckoned with. But oh how she mellows and she also used to work at Bletchley in the war. So, along with Lucy I was enthralled at what went on in the war and her memories.

I think I've met everyone in the book in real life at some point. All the characters are so well drawn and of a wide age range. Stanley the Snake was a great addition to the book and I laughed so much when we first met him, I leave you to find out why and where.

This was such a delight to read. I feel I did live a little vicariously through the book and was so sad to finish it. Definitely a feel good book if you want a little escapism.

I was lucky to pre-read this book. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it, reading about the life of Bunty during the war. Loved the characters,, reading about their lives and the twists and turns, especially Bunty and the setting . Would definitely recommend reading this lovely cover book.

I had never read any books by Rachael Lucas before, but I was drawn to it by the gorgeous cover. I also love libraries, so this book appealed to me.
This is a nice, gentle romantic book. It is set in a small village near to Bletchley Park, and the storyline is split between wartime and modern day.
Lucy is taking a sabbatical in the village, and has been given the task of looking after Bunty, her new neighbour who is in her Nineties. Lucy has an interest in Bletchley Park, and she suspects that Bunty worked there, but Bunty doesn't want to talk about the War.
This soon changes when the future of the Village phone box is threatened, and Bunty seems adamant that it must remain in the village. She has an attachment to it.
I found the historical side to this book very interesting and fascinating to read.
The characters in this book were varied, and well developed. They made the book easy to read.
Overall this is a heartwarming and thoughtful read. It is a lovely read, and I will definitely look out for more books by this author.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for my ARC.