Josie Banks tries to be a good wife to Stan, he makes her feel like a failure and she’s relieved when he’s called up. Josie needs to get a job, she starts working in a tearooms and she really enjoys it. The Blitz starts, unfortunately Josie loses her job, home and all of her possessions. After a short stay in hospital, Josie is sent to a convent to convalesce and the Red Cross try to find a permanent place for her to live. When they mention going to the countryside, Josie is keen and she desperately wants to get out of London and the constant bombing has turned her into a nervous wreck.

Josie arrives in a tiny town called Sutton St Giles, she’s billeted with snobby Miss. Harcourt, who lives in a large house, with only her housekeeper Kathleen and both are not happy being stuck with Josie. Nearby is a RAF base, young men are isolated, homesick, they long for some friendly company, a chat and a cup of tea. Josie convinces Miss. Harcourt to use one of her empty rooms, put her lovely china to good use and open a tea shop.

Josie meets Canadian pilot Mike Johnson, he’s kind, handsome and she wishes she wasn’t married. Stan tracks Josie down while on leave, she did write to him about being bombed out and he wants her to return to London. Josie isn’t keen, she can’t handle the noise, the destruction and she likes living in the village.

Josie soon realizes the sad truth about the bombing crews stationed next door, many won’t survive a couple of months, and Mike included. They might have a traitor living in the community, trying to discover if it's true keeps Josie busy, and she decides to be very careful about her own reputation, and she’s a married women after all!

I received a copy of Where the Sky Begins from NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Rhys Bowen has written a wonderful and heartfelt wartime story, Josie is the most delightful, resilient and unforgettable character and there’s no stopping her once she gains some confidence. You read about the terrible damage done during the Blitz, the impact it had on women and children, how frightened they were, many moved to the safety of the country, experienced a new way of life and didn’t want to return to London. I highly recommend this book, it makes you appreciate what you have, and how hard the war years were in England and five stars from me.

The prolific Rhys Bowen writes very entertaining stories and this is another good read. Like many of her novels, it is set in war time, this one primarily in rural Britain, and giving us the very likeable Josie, who becomes the woman she deserves to be as she does her part to serve; in her case starting a cafe for locals and airmen, and of course falling in love after a less-than-empowering relationship she endured before the war took her husband away. Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union for the advance digital galley of the novel.

oh my goodness - I absolutely loved this book! Rhys Bowen has long been a favorite author of mine, I adore her Molly Murphy series. This stand alone novel takes place in England during the second World War and the main character Josie is a woman who learns exactly how strong and resilient she is. I highly recommend this book! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

I loved and devoured this standalone novel by Rhys Bowen. Josie Banks life is changed by war and circumstances many times in this novel and she emerges stronger knowing more about herself each time. Starting in the slums of England, Josie is a stay at home unhappily married woman so when Stan gets called up she starts works in a tearoom befriending her boss and loving her job until the building and her boss are bombed out. When Josie’s building is then bombed and she miraculously survives she evacuates with children to the countryside where she’s reluctantly taken in by a cranky woman in her huge house. Josie quickly makes friends with all around her, starts a new business, and changes the life of the owner, others she meets, as well as herself.
She faces each new challenge head on and is a woman to admire.
I loved this book, the plot and the characters. Highly recommend.

I have loved Rhys Bowen's stand alone books, and this one was no exception. It was beautifully written, with excellent character development and a really interesting story. I look forward to recommending this to our patrons who enjoy historical fiction.

When Josie loses her home and job in the bombing she relocates to the English countryside. She starts a new tea room and meets a Canadian pilot and things start to look better. But will her terrible husband show up again?

Never having read any other books by this author I was eager to start reading this one.
This book had me hooked from the 1st page! Written very well and easily understood, the characters were easily seen in my mind's eye and Josie was such a likeable person.
The background to the book is WW2 with all the devastation and the struggles to regain some normality. Josie managed to bring the working class and monied, top class together. I also found myself liking Mrs Harcourt!
Rhys Bowen has written this book well, didn't dwell too much on background detail, neither did he "puff up" the story.
I enjoyed this book very much and it had me rooting for Josie throughout!

Joise living in London during ww2, working in a tea shop her husband is set off to war and she deals with the Blitz alone. Her employer and her house are bombed ans she is send to the country to recover. There she meets a community of people and recovered from the war. She gets the lady of the house to open her home to the RAF men and a tea room. She meets a man who she develops feelings for who is not her husband, a husband she does not enjoy being with when he returns and see them. What will she do ans will the war have a plan for her.

I enjoyed this book is was mellow and kind of slow but I liked it.

Thanks netgallery for my ARC for my honest review

Josie Banks what a survivor and lovely character! Living in London during WWII. When she is bombed out of her house! Her journey is so engrossing that you won't want to put the book down! I absolutely loved this book!
Thank you, Rhys Bowen and NetGalley for allowing me to read it for in return, my honest opinion!
My honest opinion is.....Don't miss this book! Read it.... you wont regret it!!
5 FULL stars

I always enjoy reading Rhys Bowen books. I like the quirky collection of characters, especially Josie in this story. Set in the English countryside during WWII where Josie is sent after her house was bombed in London, she meets new friends and has adventures, while all these people are just trying to survive the war.

Where the Sky Begins tells the story of cockney Josie who had been living in London with her husband, Stan, during the WWII time period. After Stan is drafted, both Josie's job and her home are bombed and destroyed so she is evacuated to the country and is moves in with an older woman in a huge beautiful home. Josie has very little confidence but throughout the story, she finds both her confidence and herself. I had a hard time getting into the story at the beginning but by mid-novel, I was hooked. Rhys Bowen has a wonderful easy-to-read style of writing.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This book was definitely a miss for me. I expected something much different.

The plot - well, if you've read the description, that's exactly what it is. No less, no more. But the writing wasn't the best.

Not that it was terrible, but there was something amateurish about it. So many boring details and so repetitive – all the same unnecessary things over and over and over again...

No matter how small and unimportant things happened to the MC, she then had to retell everything in detail to at least a couple of other people. Plus, some things that happened were just ridiculous.

Honestly, I didn't connect with this book at all. For a war story that could have been deep and meaningful, this often felt like just listing one cliché after the other.

Still, for people who like cozy historical reads (I know - war time, but it did feel kind of cozy), then maybe...

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of Where the Sky Begins by Rhys Bowen in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher- Lake Union Publishing- for the opportunity to read this as an ARC. I have read and enjoyed a number of books by Rhys Bowen in the past and was anxious to read this one as well. I like Historical Fiction, and always look for it. This is the story of Josie Banks. She is an Englishwoman living in London in the early years of WW2. She is married to Stan, who she admits she may have loved once, but may not love now. She has no children, no job and a husband, who is less than loving. When Stan is called up, her life changes in an instant. Rather than move in with Stan's sister and brother in law, Josie stays in her house, and gets a job. She works at a a tearoom , run by Madame Olga. She is happy and taking care of herself. Tragedy strikes when first the tearoom is bombed and Madame Olga is killed. Then Josie's house is bombed and she is injured and homeless. She does not want to stay in London, and so is evacuated to the country. She is placed at a country home with an elderly woman and her maid. Neither want to share their quarters with Josie, but she is placed there, so she stays. The house is near a RAF training field and Josie meets some of the men stationed there. Josie decides to start a Tea Room at the house , for the pilots and airmen, to make some money and make them men less homesick and more welcome. Josie begins to feel better, physically and emotionally. She embarks on a friendship with RAF Pilot Mike Johnson. Then Stan comes home on leave and is not sure he likes the new Josie.
I do not want to give away any spoilers, but the book continues through the war . There is a lot of plot in it. I gave it 4 stars, rounded from 3.5 because I really liked the characters. Josie goes from an unhappy woman with low self esteem to a confident, proud, happy one. All of the characters ( and there are a lot) are well written and engaging. I have been complaining a lot about books being too long, but this is one that would have been better with a few more chapters. The last 1/3 of the book is really rushed with plot and twists coming at the reader at the speed of light! I had a hard time adjusting to all the information being thrown my way. There is love, death, betrayal, espionage and secrets revealed. It is a roller coaster for the last 1/3 of the book, and maybe a bit too fast paced for me. Overall, I enjoyed this book.

I like this author’s style of storytelling - simple and charming. I liked the main female character and how she, rather unexpectedly, stood up to the people who must provide shelter for her. I got a good sense of the conditions of war time England and what the children had to endure. However, I felt rather uneasy over a couple of serious moral issues in this book - maybe even horrified at one of them.

For that reason, this gets a 3 stars from me.

Another great book by Rhys Bowen. I couldn't put this book down. Very inspiring tale a woman in wartime England. Characters were complex and yet easy to connect with emotionally.

Plot: 5 stars
Characters: 5 stars
Language: 5 stars
Writing: 5 stars
Cover: 5 stars

In this Standalone Historical Fiction by Rhys Bowen, the protagonist is Josie Banks, who is living in London when her house is bombed during the Second World War. Her husband, Stanley Banks, is off fighting while she is working at a tea shop. After several losses, Josie is evacuated to the country with young children evacuees including a German Jewish child sent to England just before the War started.

In the country, Josie meets Nan and Alf, farmers who take in the evacuee children. Josie is placed with a Lady of the Manor. There is only one servant, who may or may not be bipolar. Josie helps with the cooking because the servant cannot cook nor bake. Even if Josie helps with the cooking and shares her ration books, Kathleen the servant runs hot and cold. She is always angry at Josie. Meanwhile Josie meets people working at the airfield nearby. Mrs. Harcourt, the Lady of the Manor, did not want to allow Josie to live at her Manor even though there were many empty rooms. To Josie's surprise, Mrs. Harcourt allows Josie to borrow books from the library.

Though this is a historical fiction, there are elements of mystery in the story. I loved he character development. The plotting was clever.

Highly recommended for fans of Historical Fiction set during the Second World War.

Josie has spent her life keeping other people happy and believing herself to be worthless. The start of the war brings new freedoms for her, and although there are losses of different kinds along the way, she finally discovers herself. A journey of new places and self discovery, new friends and finally belonging. Will she ever have to return to before, or is her happiness really hers to keep?
I love Rhys Bowen books and her human characters with good and bad. This is a historical novel, with a mystery entwined through it.
Highly recommend

Bowen is a wonderful writer. This stand alone novel tells the story of a British woman, Josie, whose life is completely upended by the London bombings In WWII. Her husband is in the service and her life is literally a shambles.

She ends up in a place filled with other like minded - and emotionally stranded - folks.
A teashop is just the thing to give meaning to Josie's life and she settles down into it. She even meets a man with whom she has a romance.

Until her husband comes back from the war and secrets become revealed. Josie's strength is put to the test once again and she must fight to survive.

I enjoyed this WWII historical fiction novel about Josie Banks, a mistreated and lonely wife in London who gets bombed out of her flat and evacuates into the countryside. We meet the difficult lady of the manor where she’s billeted plus a warm cast of characters. I appreciated Josie’s determination to carry on with her life amid such struggles. I felt the plot kind of fizzled out a bit at the end, but until that, I found it a compelling, absorbing read. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC

I love anything written by Rhys Bowen. I love the history behind the stories and her characters are people you just fall in love with. This book is no different. It's about a women named Josie during WW2 who loses her home and has to move out of London to recuperate. Loved this book and couldn't put it down!