The writing in this book is both witty and clever.
It is a follow up to another book.
It can be read as a stand alone.
I’m

I should really have read "Crooked Heart" which comes in between but it is what it is; it probably helps if you do. We are now in 1944 and characters have changed, although Noel I think was in the previous novel. It's a well-done wartime setting, alternating between Noel and his "aunt" Vee living in Mattie's house in Hampstead and taking in lodgers (the Heath still almost another character) and Winnie, an air raid warden with a difficult twin. We follow them through the last year of the war with all the details and deprivations and the book is beautifully well-plotted and essentially kind.

Wonderful historical fiction. I've adored all three of these books by Lissa Evans and I'm looking forward to more.

Having read Old Baggage and Crooked Heart, I was delighted to continue the series with V For Victory.

After meeting Noel Bostock in Crooked Heart, Old Baggage focused on his beloved Aunt, Mattie, and revealed how the two old souls came to be in each other’s lives, but now we’re back with Noel and his guardian, Vee, as they go about their lives in a London in the midst of war.

The focus of this book is not all the flash-bang-drama of a war book – although there certainly IS drama – but it’s more about the people of London and Noel and Vee especially. There is a real sense of the war being in the closing stages, and that the people of London and the main characters in the book are counting down the clock until the shouting is over. You get a strong sense of ennui throughout, and it’s a definite skill to make you feel like that, while still grabbing your attention.

I was really struck by the similarities between Vee in this book and Mattie in Old Baggage. Although their backgrounds couldn’t be more different, they are connected as women trying to find their place in the world and also as women whose lives have been touched by Noel. Noel has matured since the first book and is a kind and thoughful young man and while Vee would claim that his intelligence and curiousity about the world comes from his early life with Mattie, you can see the effect that she herself has had on him. She could have easily discarded Noel at any time and yet she stuck with him and works hard to ensure he has a good education and this is not lost on Noel who clearly cares deeply for Vee.

Despite Noel’s overall satisfaction with his life, you can tell that there is still an underlying need to find out who he is – something that comes into play heavily in this book. This is one of the instances where it might benefit you to have read the earlier books, but it is by no means essential (although highly recommended!).

I have often recommended all three books in this series as they are beautifully written, with superb period detail and main characters that really live long in the memory. There is spectacularly dry humour here, but where the plot needs to pack a punch, it very much does so, whether that is with a huge event which rocks a number of lives, or a small, everyday detail that could easily be missed in the grand scheme of things.

I could go on and on, but put quite simply, this trilogy is just superb!

I hate to admit this but I couldn't finish this book. I didn't connect with any of the characters. Such a shame, but sometimes it's better to give up than get irritated.

When I read Lissa Evans’ previous book, I noted that I really needed to read an earlier historical novel set later, but featuring some of the same characters. That is yet to happen, but now there’s a new book about them, set slightly later again, and so I had to read it. Sadly, the redoubtable, exasperating, but ultimately lovable Mattie Simpkin is no more; however, much of the story’s action takes place around her former home and the adjoining Hampstead Heath. The main protagonists this time are Mattie’s orphaned ward, Noel, and his adult friend, Vee, who is masquerading as Noel’s aunt. Now living in Mattie’s old house, the pair scrape an existence by taking in lodgers – to the despair of their more respectable neighbours – carefully picked to ensure Noel receives a balanced education and avoids being sent to school, where awkward questions might be asked.

When Noel travels across London in search of a textbook, he encounters one of the girls from the youth group Mattie once ran, now an Air Raid Patrol Warden. The encounter adds to Noel’s curiosity about his parentage, as well as giving him a new academic interest after his new friend shows him a rare carving discovered after the bomb damage sustained by a nearby church. Meanwhile, Vee is witness to – and nearly a victim of – an accident involving a US Army truck, and is forced to face her fears of the police and the court system in order to ensure justice is done.

Following her court appearance, Vee is befriended by one of the Americans involved, leading to some unexpected, mostly food-related, treats for the entire household, while Noel takes advantage of Vee’s distraction by a handsome man to meet up with his newly discovered father, and try to learn something about his mother. Both are ultimately somewhat disappointed to learn that real people don’t always live up to imagined expectations, but their experiences bring them closer to each other, and show them new options for their way ahead.

I enjoyed this book at least as much as the author’s previous novel, and am more determined than ever to track down her previous books once I clear a little of my reading backlog. The characters were engaging, even the less likeable ones, and the accounts of air raids and their after-effects were particularly harrowing.

I found this utterly charming. I really liked between back in Mattie’s house and being back in the second world war again. I enjoyed every page

Lissa Evans is fast becoming one my favourite authors and V for Victory only served to confirm this opinion. I've found her writing to be a true tonic for the pandemic. Evans has a rare gift for providing messages of hope and perseverance parcelled up in novels that are deft in both their description and how they dodge sentimentality. It was a delight to return to the house next to Hampstead Heath and check in on how its occupants are getting on. Four years after Crooked Heart and a good decade or so after Old Baggage, the year is 1944 and Noel and Vee are trying to avoid the V2s and scrape a living from keeping lodgers. Vee is still posing as Noel's Aunt Margery but after witnessing a road accident and being summoned to court, the game just might be up. The end of the war may be in sight but victory feels a long way away.

If Old Baggage was more companion to Crooked Heart than sequel, V for Victory unites the two stories. The characters of Heart are now living in the house which was so much the focus of Baggage. Mattie may be no longer physically present but even the reader can feel she is still very much there in spirit. Indeed, there are traces of sadness throughout the book for those absent friends from previous books. When a certain someone does make a reappearance, I got genuinely teary. But again, this is not a sad book. It is full of love. It's about finding people who will love you fiercely and never give up. And reading this final chapter to the tale conjures up the same feeling of satisfaction as when one slots the final piece of the jigsaw puzzle into place.

One of the many things that I have loved about this series (trilogy? neither seem quite the right term) is the focus it gives to the female experience. Vee is not a typical heroine - she is prickly, sneaky and difficult. But she is also lonely in her role as guardian, still hoping for romance and lost trying to find it. A more heavy-handed writer would have sent Vee into the arms of a dashing hero but the love story here is between Vee and Noel, this makeshift mother and son. Noel's muted - almost stoic - longing for parents has been a theme across the books. Four year-old Noel peered at Mattie in suspicion as he was dropped off on her doorstep. The eleven year-old we met in Heart was shellshocked without her. One of the most subtle moments within Victory comes when the reader realises at last that Noel has found what he was looking for. But the tears came again as Evans makes clear that whether they be living, dead or far away, all three of Noel's mothers have loved him very much.

As a writer, Evans tends to be light on the plot. She gets away with it because her characterisation is so strong. Every member of her cast feels memorable from the various lodgers to the ghastly guests at the literary party. A particularly welcome returning character was Winnie, erstwhile member of Mattie's doomed Amazons. All these years later, Winnie is working as an Air Raid Warden and trying to hold on to the memory of the man she married after a whirlwind romance but who has spent the last four years as a prisoner of war. She meets Noel on a bomb site and old memories are revived.

But more than that, Evans captures the particular type of heroism required to slog it through the daily grind of total war. The coronavirus pandemic is not the same as the war, no matter what certain factions would have us believe. But there are echoes which are similar. Every single one of the characters have their burdens to bear but they all persevere, with one notable exception. Discussing this disappointing specimen, a female character explains to Noel that the man had expected that life would be easy and that he had not known what to do when it was not. Talking about everyday heroism has become so meaningless after almost a year of lockdown but V for Victory made me remember again the grace required to keep on swimming when the storm is at its wildest.

It is easy to dismiss Victory as a mere domestic comedy but there is much more going on here. Over all three books, Evans' characters have wrestled quietly with morality. When Noel first met Vee in Crooked Heart, she was a petty criminal. Mattie spends most of Old Baggage trying to square her morals with her ability to exist in the world. Now in Victory, the central pair are perpetuating a fraud as Vee impersonates Margery Overs. But they are both still two people trying to do the right thing. And schisms occur when Noel and Vee's moral codes diverge. In a book filled with fantastic moments, I loved the scene when the guilt-stricken Vee is consoled that she has made her choices to protect Noel and her conscience can rest easy. Again, Evans grants her characters grace.

After three books, the house in Hampstead feels wonderfully familiar. Since the long ago days when it provided sanctuary for suffragettes, it has been a place of safety and refuge. I loved how Victory made it feel as if those who had passed through its doors were still present. Florrie's photograph is still in the house. Noel imagines Ida scrubbing the floors and realises that they have probably used the same potato peeler. Someone looks at Noel and remarks that he is very like Mattie. These characters feel like old friends. I would love to think that one day we will see them again. Noel has the makings of a fine young man, gifted in all subjects and a whizz in the kitchen to boot. Seeing him sweetly befuzzled by his letter from the lovely Genevieve Lumb from next door though reminds us that he still has lots of growing up to be done and many adventures ahead. But I think that he may have just walked off into the sunset and that is fine too.

V for Victory is a quiet novel but so full of wit and wisdom that it feels like a true literary hug. Best enjoyed by fans of the earlier books, it is comfort reading of the highest quality.

I greatly enjoyed Old Baggage, and this sequel was no disappointment. Most enjoyable read which gets the historical setting perfectly. Sympathetic characters and nice touches of humour throughout. Highly recommended.

A lovely little read. I hadn’t realised that it was part of a series and this didn’t affect my reading experience in any way. A different look at the end of the war.

"Winnie got the impression that the provinces thought London was clinging to the limelight, exaggerating its suffering, but perhaps the truth was that after five years, everyone was simply bored of bomb stories. Everyone was bored of everything, really; it had all been going on for far too long."

Set in late 1944, V for Victory is a novel exploring a weary bombed-out London in the Second World War told through a variety of characters. There's Vee, who runs a boarding house - many of her lodgers are teaching her nephew Noel, instead of him going to school. There's also Winnie, an ARP warden, whose husband is in a POW camp. They were married for a month before he was sent to war - she struggles to remember what he was like and is anxious for his return. When Vee witnesses an accident, it sets into motion a series of events that may uncover the truth - about those who are not who they seem to be.

V for Victory captures the 'Blitz spirit' of Londoners getting on with everyday life amongst the falling bombs. I really enjoyed this, I'm a sucker for historical fiction anyway but it almost feels like I'm reading a book from 1944 and not historical fiction. I think this reflects the authors in-depth knowledge of the time period. I know that Lissa Evans has written many other works of historical fiction in eras I'm interested in, so I'll definitely be checking out more of her novels.

I have read the first book in the series and somehow missed the second one before reading this one. It didn't matter too much as this was a great read. I love the characters of Vee and Noel and their relationship. I was pleased that Noel had some resolution in his family situation. I recommend you read the first book beforehand but fans of the series will love this final book.

In the final months of World War Two, the residents of London are weary of it all - especially the V2 rockets. Ms Evans describes the fear, and the stoicism of the Londoners perfectly. She puts in detail about places that are familiar to the modern day reader, bringing it even more to life.
A great book, written in a very true to the period style, unsentimental and straightforward.

‘V for Victory’ is the much-anticipated sequel to ‘Crooked Heart’ by Lissa Evans. We follow Vee and Noel from the first book and their experience of living in London towards the end of WW2. In this novel we also follow Winnie, an air raid warden, whose twin sister Avril has started writing war fiction which seems to be a crude caricature of Winnie’s own life.
I found this just as readable as ‘Crooked Heart’. Lissa Evans has a lovely gift for talking about the most mundane aspects of a persons life but making it seem so interesting. It was a joy to see how Vee and Noel were getting on and how their lives had changed. These are not action-packed books but rather character explorations and studies of relationships. With another excellent novel she’s really cementing herself as a go-to author for historical British fiction. There’s no doubt I’ll be picking up her next text, she always delivers a heartwarming story.
✨Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the eARC ✨

I have enjoyed every single Lissa Evans book I've read, including this one. I read about its release just after finishing Crooked Heart, and it was perfect because I really wanted to read more of Noel and Val. I just love how Evans tells the untold stories, the hardships that happened during the War that made people find other ways to get by, even illegal ones. Fantastic novel, thanks for the advance copy!

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.

Intriguing story set in WW2 London. Full of mystery and suspense. I loved Noel's character, a really brave boy full of life and adventure despite the dangers involved travelling freely through London during the bombings.

V for Victory by Lissa Evans

It is late 1944 and the end of the war is approaching but it brings with it a terrible sting in the tail – V2 rockets. They arrive silently but with deadly violence. It all compounds the misery of families missing their loved ones, who are killed, missing, fighting for victory or imprisoned in camps. Green Shutters was suffragette Mattie’s home. It now belongs to Noel, an unusual boy of about 15, and with him lives his guardian of sorts, Vee, and a houseful of lodgers who teach Noel in return for a discount in their rent. Science, literature, languages, the arts are all taught to Noel by an array of colourful men and women. Vee is just about scraping by but, when she witnesses a car accident, the very real risk emerges that her true identity might become known and her world, and that of Noel, could come crashing down around then.

V for Victory is the third novel in a tremendous trilogy that brings to life the characters of Mattie, Noel and Vee with such warmth and wit. I really recommend that you read the previous two first because only then can you understand the ongoing influence of Mattie – who is absent from this novel – on the lives of so many people. Crooked Heart is the first, set in the early months of the Second World War, when Noel meets Vee while mourning for the wonderful, kind Mattie. The second novel, Old Baggage, takes us further back to Mattie’s suffragette days when she created an army of Amazons on Hampstead Heath, young girls who were inspired and emboldened by Mattie’s leadership. These two novels can be read in either order, although I rather liked reading them in the order in which they were written.

In V for Victory we also spend time with one of Mattie’s Amazons. Air raid warden Winnie Crowther has been separated from her husband, who is in a prisoner of war camp, for almost the entirety of her marriage. Now she is making her own life, part of the war effort as the V2 rockets rain down on London. Mattie might be gone now but she continues to influence Winnie as she fights for her independence. I really enjoyed Winnie’s chapters, set in a London that is being terrorised by rockets but where life goes on, people continue to meet, fight, fall in love, go hungry, go dancing, put out fires. Just like the preceding books, this is such an evocative novel. The lodgers are a joy – all so beautifully described and loved by Lissa Evans.

The relationship between Vee and Noel is central to the novel. But it isn’t a sentimental relationship. It’s tough scraping by in this world but both Vee and Noel are survivors. There are surprises in store for both of them in V for Victory. I’m not going to give anything away but, as on so many previous occasions, my heart wept for Noel.

Lissa Evans writes so beautifully. Her novels are so gorgeous but they’re also insightful, especially highlighting the challenges facing women during the early 20th century and during the war. This is a time of extreme stress and here we see people coping with it, or not, in their own ways. The characters are delightful – full of warmth, humour and sadness. But there is also a frightening menace hanging over the novel as the V2 rockets fall silently on London. I realise that this might be the end of a trilogy but I really, really hope we are able to spend more time with Noel, who has become one of my favourite characters in recent fiction.

Other reviews
Crooked Heart
Old Baggage

V For Victory by Lissa Evans is the third book in the series. I must say, I haven't read the others, but if this one is anything to go by I really need to! It read fine as a standalone for me.
The story is set in 1944,in wartorn Hampstead Heath we are with Vee and her 'nephew' Noel. Vee runs a boarding house which does end up providing plenty of tutors for young Noel. Vee is not actually Noel's Aunt but she is only acting as his aunt due to the death previously of Mattie, and the situation of guardianship. We also learn that Vee is not really Vee, she has changed her name and goes about life as Vee a normal landlady. We also meet Winnie Crowther, a senior ARP Warden. I really warmed to Vee, and Winnie,strong women that got through the war and proved they could do anything. Women with mutiple layers to them, even when vulnerable they could cope and try to keep a smile on there face. The second world war proved to people that women could do anything, and these did.
This book has given us a snapshot of life just after the war when nothing was back to normal but the light was glimpsed at the end of a very dark tunnel for people.I thoroughly enjoyed the skillful way in which the author has so easily transported me back to the time of my grandparents.
A beautifully written story of times gone by that we should never forget and this author has perfectly depicted them. Thank you to Random Things Tours and the publishers for the copy of the book for today

World War 2 seems to be dragging on forever. In 1944 people have begun to just get on with things. Teenager Noel is quite accepting of his lot. Living with Vee, who runs a boarding house near Hamstead Heath, he cheerfully does the cooking looking for ingenious ways to make the rations into something interesting. He is a mine of information about many subjects as instead of school, he is tutored by the boarders who cover a wide variety of subjects. He befriends, Winnie, an ARP warden. When she finds out where he lives it brings back memories of her girlhood as an Amazon in a girls group run by Mattie- the indomitable once suffragette.

The story covers the last days of the war. It highlights the amazing way people 'Kept Calm & Carried On'. I really enjoyed reading all about the work of the ARP- so much more than just yellers of 'Put out that light!' but Noel captured my heart. I hadn't realised that this was in the same series as Old Baggage- which I loved. This was another wonderful warm read- I need to go & read the one in the middle I seem to have missed! Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.