I absolutely adored this book. Great easy read.
Once i'd started it i couldn't put it down!
Now to go back and read books 1-4.

Book Review 💃🏻
The Ballroom Blitz by Anton Du Beke
⭐⭐⭐⭐

My first Anton Du Beke book, which are always being recommended to me by my cousin. Book 5 of the Buckingham series, but you do not need to have read any of the others to delve in & enjoy this book.

It took me a chapter or three to settle into this novel, there are a lot of characters to familiarise yourself with. But if you've read the previous books you won't have that settling in feeling.

I was totally absorbed by the 1940's setting, the novels main focus is the Buckingham Hotel, London.
With it's fabulous ballroom, its professional dancers & musicians. You really felt the glamour. But, I equally enjoyed the goings on of life in the post room or housekeeping. That mix of society along with life outside of the hotel during word war II, it gave depth to the historical setting of this book.

It really did make me want to find out more detail of the characters back stories, so I can see myself reading the previous books in the series. I can not wait for the next one.

It's a fair read at 480 pages, but when a story is this enjoyable who wants it to stop. Very happy to recommend this historical fiction book.

Thanks @orionbooks @netgalley for my review copy

This was a very sweet story. I love the era this was set it and having it all based in a hotel seemed to add to the whole magic of the story

Another great read from Anton. Really enjoyed this series of books centered around a ballroom in a hotel ,there are some great characters with some great back stories which make this a very interesting book, I'm hoping that another one will follow

I’ve read all Antons books and adored them all! He has such a way with words I can almost hear his voice while reading! Beautiful story and I will definitely be recommending this novel.

Thanks to NetGalley and Orion for ARC.

The Buckingham Hotel is struggling during the war, to keep spirits light amid shortages of staff, food and drink, fabrics for the costumes worn by the elite ballroom dancers, you get the idea. One of their former star dancers is invalided from his front-line position, and returns to a special event. Another of the staff inadvertently gets involved in a profiteering scam. All sorts of things happen in between tea dances to entertain the wealthy patrons of the hotel, but I found the whole thing a little dull and I could not finish. I was hoping for a sparkly cosy type crime romp. This was something other than that, and not my cup of tea.

The idea is good, but everything is quite disjointed. At the end it all kind of cones together, but the journey is full of such broken people. They all have issues and most of the story involved everything from profiteering to mental health problems, poor family relationships and greed. Not as pretty as the dance floor

Love the novels in the Buckingham Hotel series and loved this one. It's poignant, vivid, and kept me turning pages and rooting for the characters.
Another excellent novel in this series.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

I have read all of the books in this series and have been entertained by all of them. The story unfortunately doesn't centre around the main character of Raymond so much in this book but it was an enjoyable read once more.

Unfortunately I was only able to give this book 3 stars because it was edited so badly that I almost couldn't read it. Apart from 'there' instead of 'their' and 'it' instead of 'it's ' every age had word or words removed from the correct place and put in several lines above where they should be. This completely ruined the flow of the words and made it difficult to read and enjoy.

The story is of Raymond Du Guise, who in 1940 is home from the war for a spell having injured himself. He was the toast of the Buckingham Hotel's Grand Ballroom, and is going to host One Grant Night to raise much needed money for the war effort. However, Raymond is driven, after the death of his brother, to go out every night to help on the streets with the ARP going to bombed out areas and tackling fires. His wife Nancy is not happy as she is carrying his baby and is concerned she will end up a widow.

Add to the mix some war profiteering, some love found in old age, someone brought to madness by war's losses, and it would have been quite a good story if it wasn't for the editing.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61088068-the-ballroom-blitz

I really enjoyed this. I have read the other books about the Buckingham Hotel in London, and this was a follow on, set during the second world war.

A nice read, lovely characters, glamour and romance.

I had not realised that this was a book in a series, but thoroughly enjoyed it as a standalone story.
It conveyed the glamour of the ballroom against the harsh reality of the war so well. The unsung heroes, the profiteering, high society and the ordinary folk caught up in the chaos.
A good read, bringing together different strands of life, centered around a glamorous ballroom in a grand hotel.

A behind the scenes look at the Buckingham hotel. Set in the war post Dunkirk and mid London blitz we are introduced to a catalogue of characters from behind the scenes. A refreshing change from having the well to do centre stage.
We meet a variety of people from chamber maids and housekeeper to profiteers and ball room dancers all with a back story to tell.
I found it all a bit superficial and didn’t find any of the characters particularly endearing. Perhaps it would have worked better if there weren’t so many of them and the ones there were were further developed

I selected this book out of curiosity as I know Anton du Beke from the TV program Strictly Come Dancing. Based during the Blitz (as the title suggests) it was no different from other novels I have read based around this time in history. I was disappointed with this book. The style of writing seemed to waffle on and the characters had back stories that I was not aware of. It was not until I had read about 50% of the book that I discovered that it is the 5th book in a series. Not for me I am afraid.
Thank you to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for the advance copy of this book.

I read this out of curiosity, as I do like him as a person and love what he does with his dancing. But I found this far too light a read and don't think his writing is anywhere near as good as his dancing.

What a wonderful story to read.
The novel is based in The Buckingham Hotel ,London . It's September 1940 and war around London is heavy and fierce with continued bombings and air raids.
But the staff at the hotel try to keep everyone going.
Raymond De Guise is trying to keep up moral but in doing so is neglecting his wife Nancy.
Billy Brogen who works in the hotels post room has finally found love amongst the chaos.
A wonderfully written story of love, heartache during the second world war.

I blooming LOVE this series, now on the fifth book. Do yourself a favour, if you haven't already and go back and start from book one and read in order. There is a LOT going on and you will enjoy the series best if you do that!
So... we are now right slap bang in the middle of the war. 1940. The Buckingham Hotel is a haven for waifs and strays - posh ones, wealthy ones, exiled ones, and the staff, thinned down as you would expect, are still expected to maintain the luxury they guests demand, including the Grand Ballroom.
Outside the hotel, London is also suffering. Not only from the real evil enemy and their bombings, but also closer to home from looters and profiteers. Raymond de Guise, home on leave and still affected by the death of his brother, is desperate to help so he joins a night watch. Helping him find his feet there is Cathy who has her own troubles which we soon discover.
And then there's Nancy, holding the fort at the Buckingham, promoted now and trying to juggle work and what is going on with Raymond. We also catch up with Billy Brogan who gets himself in a bit of a pickle, and Mrs Moffat who makes a decision. The gang is definitely all here, even Helene pops back. But I won't spoil things for you, I will just say that the author definitely puts both his readers and his characters through quite a lot in this book. I was proper exhausted when I finished. Heart in my mouth a few times along the way, I can tell you. But, as I was approaching the end, I had my own dilemma. I really, really NEEDED to know what happened. But, at the same time, knew that the end of the book also marked me having to say goodbye to the characters again for a while. Characters who I have grown to know and love during our 5 books together. Ones I am going to miss until next time...
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

We're back to glitzy Mayfair and the Blitz is in full swing. Raymond de Guise is temporarily back in London after surviving Dunkirk. Hi brother, Artie, was not so lucky.
To feel that he is still doing something for the war effort, he decides to join the ARP and spends his evenings going towards the bombed areas rather than running away from them. Nancy is left at home, so they don't see much of each other.
Life goes on at the hotel, Nancy's brother Frank is with the dance troupe. Billy is also back from the war after being injured at Dunkirk and is running the post room.. His budding romance with Marie Lou causes him all sorts of problems,, not just the romantic kind.
The Hotel faces the threat, not only from the war, but from the other hotels trying to poach their customers and discredit the hotel. As usual they approach a member of the team who they feel might be a weak link and easily exploited......
I've loved reading this series.

A great book for anyone who loves dancing and is interested in the Second World War era as this is set in the Blitz. Recommended.

"The Ballroom Blitz" is the latest in the ongoing saga of the Buckingham Hotel and it's Grand Ballroom. This novel covers the first half of the first London Blitz from September through to December 1940. Those who survived Dunkirk, including Raymond de Guise and Billy Brogan, are struggling to come to terms with their injuries and the loss of comrades. These days they would be recognised as suffering from PTSD. However, there has also been an effect on those left behind on the Home Front.

A number of different strands are interwoven to good effect. My only criticism would be that it might be difficult to read this as a stand-alone novel, you really have to read the whole series to get the best understanding of the characters and their relationships. Recommended.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this book.