I'm going to say 4.5 stars but I'm to going to round up. This is a brilliant read, it just took me a while to get into it. I felt that it was a bit slow to begin with but once the story started to get going I couldn't put it down. To my knowledge, this is the first book I've read set around d the First World War and I'll be definitely reading more in the future. For someone so young, Beth was an amazingly strong, capable young woman. I can't wait to see.what the future holds for her Nora, Millie,James, Sally and Ned. I eagerly await the second instalment.

Poppy Cooper’s debut, The Post Office Girls, bears all the hallmarks of a quality saga. The classic cover featuring the three protagonists, a war going on to throw them out of their comfort zones, and some very assured writing.

The writing is, in fact, a delight. The main character, Beth, is just eighteen years old and the author has slipped easily into the head of one so young, making her an utterly believable and compelling character. It was done with such skill that I even forgave the exclamation marks. Because they were right!

The Post Office Girls, once it gets going, is a good pacey story too. In classic saga style three girls from vastly different backgrounds decide to do their bit in World War One by working at the sorting office erected in Regents Park for the duration. Beth is a shopkeeper’s daughter from the Home Counties whose parents are horrified she would dare do such a thing. Milly is from the East End and is a bit of a loose cannon, and gangly Nora comes from a very wealthy background indeed. They all have different views on life – and on how they should each support the suffrage movement, which plays an increasing role in the book.

It was a brave move to pick a man with moral objections to the war as Beth’s potential love interest and I am really looking forward to seeing how this plays out in subsequent books. The Post Office Girls is set in 1915, pre conscription, so it was less of an issue then, although as a reader you shudder to know what James will face.

This book strikes just the right balance between the internal conflicts of the characters and the action that surrounds them. There is peril and drama, without ever going over the top. There is plenty of laughter and quite a few tears, and I would certainly recommend it to anyone.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

An Excellent WW1 Book

Beth lives in Hertfordshire, but she goes to work in London at the Royal Engineers postal service - broken parcel department.

Working there, she meets Nora and Mills, and James. As she’s now seeing things outside of her suburban life she has to grow up a bit, especially as she encounters suffragettes, make tough decisions and overcome heartbreak.

Reading about the postal service during WW1 was very interesting, to read about censorship, packages to be rewrapped and the honour system. I found the story well thought and researched.

I really enjoyed reading this and look forward to reading the next book.

Wow, what a pleasant surprise. I requested this as a new author to me and was not disappointed.
The main characters Milly, Nora and Beth become friends when starting work for the post office. They are allocated to the broken parcel department, repackaging parcels for the troops from loved ones. We mainly follow Beth’s life from trying to find her identity, will it be Liza orBeth to finding her sweetheart Sam or James. Recommended read. Look forward to the next one.
I found all the facts about the sorting office and mail system fascinating.

I was really looking forward to reading this book, it received a lot of publicity on Twitter and I was intrigued. I’m delighted to say that the book totally lived up to its virtual hype and I was engrossed.
Beth is an ideal lead character, she is loving and loyal with a strong drive to do the right thing. Her relationship with her brother and friendship with local postman, Sam, are key elements to her decision to seek out the role in London.
Poppy excelled with her descriptions of London during the Great War; I could almost hear the Zeppelins, floating above the chimney pots. Imagining the wooden structure of the Home Depot and the mess from all the sack dust was an easy leap with descriptions that made me feel the itchiness.
A real eye opener was learning which items were considered contraband, for a parcel to the front, and which were acceptable; a bottle of whiskey was a no-go, but Cocaine and Heroin were fine. Apparently, if you bought these items in Harrod’s, they came with included syringes. How times change!
The more interesting part was learning more about the Votes for Women movements. There were several parties with widely differing views on the war effort.
Beth’s friends also fell on opposing sides of the support for the war effort, and it was interesting to see how their views differed. Mostly though, it was a pleasure to follow Beth’s growing friendship with James, a handsome young man who was opposed to war but happy to support the boys at the front.
I would urge you to read this book and I hope you enjoy it, as much as I did.

I did like this book but the first half was very slow, not much going on. That said I would read another book by this author,

Loved this book and looking forward to the next one in the series.

It’s 1915. And Beth Healey's eighteenth birthday, all she wants to do is forget war and celebrate her birthday..But no her twin brother Ned announces that he has signed up to fight.

Beth has been working in her parents' village shop while others are doing their bit, Beth applies to join the Army Post Office's new Home Depot on the Regent's Park, and is astounded to be accepted. She will be responsible for making sure that letters and parcels get through to the troops on the front line.

Beth loves her new job and makes friends with fellow post girls Milly and Nora, and meets a handsome man called James. But just as she begins to feel that her life has finally begun, everything starts falling apart, with devastating consequences for Beth and perhaps even the outcome of the war itself. Can Beth and her new friends keep it all together and find happiness at last?

Read this book in a day and couldn’t put it down. Big thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for an early read 👍

This is a wonderful story of friendship and how a war can change people.

It gives a great feel of World War I and how it affected people at home and away.

The start of change to the world we know now.

What a lovely book, dealing with a little-known job for the women during World War II. It makes a refreshing change to read about something different, though of course there are the usual relationship hiccups! I really enjoyed this and look forward to more from the same author.

The Post Office Girls is superb debut novel by Poppy Cooper.
The story begins with Beth Healey, a country girl from Woodhampstead Hertfordshire who wants to do her bit for the war instead of working in her family run shop. When she hears of an opportunity to work for the Royal Engineers Postal service, she secretly goes for the interview behind her parents back and she gets the job. But her parents are heartbroken and worried as the job is in London twenty miles away.
One her first day of the job she meets London born Milly from Bow in the East end and Nora who is a debutante and James. They all become firm friends working in the Broken Parcel department. All from different backgrounds they all experience new things but also heartache and loss. The story is also about the Suffragette movement where they meet Mrs Parkhurst.
This is a heart-warming coming of age and self-discovery story. Dealing with relationships heartache, and loss that I really enjoyed. I enjoyed learning about the Post Office and what they did to the parcels and letters that came in for the soldiers at the front. I was not aware this went on. I also loved the photos at the send of this books to show you what taken place. 5 star

Interesting historical drama set during the war in an area I had not realised existed. The characters were very mixed but worked well together and the story was engrossing.

This book was an excellent read. It was entertaining, enlightening and thoroughly enjoyable. I loved all of the characters with their very different upbringings, homes and status - all brought together due to their work at the Post Office during World War I. I learned a lot about the work involved in sorting, forwarding, censoring and re-packing letters and parcels to the young soldiers on the front line. This isn't something I've ever come across before and I found it really interesting and sometimes very sad but ultimately this was a story of female friendship, of being taken out of one's usual situation and placed into a totally different environment in order to help in the war effort. I loved how the three girls came together despite their very different backgrounds and even though they had their differences at times their shared experiences brought them very close. There were sad parts - how could there not be when a book is written about a world war - but the story was also uplifting as it focussed on the strengths and camaraderie of the ladies 'doing their bit' in difficult times. A lot of research must have gone into the writing of this debut novel and I look forward to the next book in the series. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a pre-release copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Loved this wonderful English saga.The women the time in history Ww2 women showing their strength and resilience.Men off to war women replacing them in the work place.These three women their special friendship drew me out of my world into their lives.A new author to follow.# netgalley #hodderstoughton

The Post Office Girls is a delightful read. It’s about Beth, a good, sensible girl who wants to do her bit for the war effort. She takes a job in the Royal Engineers Postal Service in London, a far cry, even if only twenty miles, from her comfortable village home. But this move is very much against her parents’ wishes which takes a little of the thrill away, but does nothing to dampen Beth’s determination to make a success of her exciting and important new job. It doesn’t take long before she meets new friends and a variety of people with a range of beliefs. And so it’s not long before Beth realises how safe and comfortable living in rural Hertfordshire has been.
This is essentially a coming of age story. Beth tries to reinvent herself and be the person she wants to be, but we all know that’s rarely easy. She meets some strong, confident characters who have solid but varying beliefs with regards to the war. They all make an impression on Beth, which only confuses her further and has her questioning her true self and what she thinks about anything.
What I liked about this book was the easy read. It’s perfect for sitting in front of the fire with a hot drink and maybe a biscuit or two. There’s nothing jarring or overly complex, it’s a joyous, if gentle, given the time, adventure of a young woman finding her way into an adult, urban world. Add in a little romantic love triangle dilemma, a dose of dark truth, a few testy friendship moments, a smidgeon of family drama, an opportunity for heroism and you’ve got a good solid, well-paced story. We all need a book like this one on our shelves and I will definitely be looking out for the next in the saga.
Thanks to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the advanced review copy.

Beth, Milly and Nora are all from different backgrounds but join The Royal Engineers Postal Service to do their duty during the war and soon become firm friends. The characters are adorable and I enjoyed getting to know them and watch them develop into strong women no matter what is going on around them. I loved the romance that blossoms between Beth and James.

I absolutely loved this book and I am already eagerly awaiting book two in the series. I love historical fiction set around the wars. I find the way everyone just pulls together so uplifting. I found the history around the postal service very fascinating and it was well researched. Highly recommended.

I have read many historical fictions but never one about the postal service, the book gave a wonderful in sight into the postal.service life during the war
The characters Beth, Nora and Molly came together beautifully with James added into the mix, a good story line that I hope will continue
I can't wait for the next book, to follow the lives of the three gir!s and james, hoping that Ned and Sam come home.in one piece and looking forward to reading more about the postal.service
Well.done Poppy a book I thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish

I loved this book about 3 girls working in a post depot in ww1, I found the subject interesting as it’s not something I’ve thought about before. The characters were believable, I really liked Beth and Nora in particular. I can really see this being a series and look forward to reading the next one.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read this book in exchange for a review. I will be putting this review on Amazon.

This is an excellent WW1 book about Beth who leaves suburban life in Hertfordshire to work at the broken parcel department at the Royal Engineers postal service in London.
There she meets Nora and Mills, as well as James. Along the way she has to grow up a little as she encounters suffragettes, tough decisions and heartbreak.
I didn't know anything about the postal service in WW1, so it was fascinating to learn about censorship, packages being rewrapped and the honour system. The book is well researched with a linkable heroine.
I love books about women and the roles they played in wartime and thos doesn't disappoint. Really hope there is more soon.
Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for gifting me a copy in return for an honest review.

Absolutely love this book by Poppy Cooper It the first one of hopefully a series.. Based on 18 year old Beth who leaves her sleepy village to work in the post office sorting office in London getting important letters from the soldiers at the front to their loved ones at home.
Follow her as she makes friends and finds love and find out how it all turns out for her.
Thanks to#NetGalley for the advance copy in return for an honest review
#ThePostOfficeGirls

A lovely story of friendship and war time spirit.

What I found equally as interesting was learning that these post office workers existed and what they did for our soldiers in the war to keep them in touch with family.