The members of staff at The Buckingham Hotel, London are carrying on as normal for all the guests staying there.

It’s September 1940 and with bombs raining down every night, the staff do a magnificent job of keeping the guests happy, even if it’s down in the bunkers.

Billy Brogan is working the post room and hopes he has finally found love.
Raymond De Guise is home on leave from Dunkirk and is so busy helping out elsewhere, he’s not striking the right balance with his wife, Nancy.

It was lovely to be back at The Buckingham Hotel with all the glitz and glamour. I enjoyed seeing new as well as old characters.

I love the author’s style of writing, I felt as though I was there in the ballroom, watching the dancing and at the other end of the scale, I could feel the fear of the unstable place that England was and the trepidation of the characters with the regular bombings.

I do hope the author doesn’t stop at this book and writes more in this series as they are such good stories.

My thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Plot: Its September 1940 and bombs are threatening London. The staff at the Buckingham Hotel are trying to carry on as normal and give their honored guests a magical stay. Raymond De Guise is on leave from the army after Dunkirk and the distance between himself and his wife, Nancy seems to be growing. He cant seem to find the right balance between family and his duty to his country. As members of the staff at the Buckingham Hotel become involved in underhand schemes and plots to bring the hotel down the war around them rages.

Review: This is the fourth book in this series and none of them have disappointed so for. It was a great page turning and it was such a lovely feeling catching up with all our favourite characters again. It was well written and covered quite a few poignant subjects. I have everything crossed that Anton will write a further book in the series.

I've thoroughly enjoyed this series and thank you for the opportunity to have a speak preview of the latest book.

This did feel darker than the previous books but I enjoyed finding out what happened next to the staff of the Buckingham hotel. Lots more secrets and drama, dancing and romance.

This is the fifth book in Anton du Beke's much loved series about life at The Buckingham Hotel. What began as a fairly light and frothy tribute to the golden age of Ballroom Dancing, has developed into a series that deserves to be taken far more seriously. Once again, the plot of this instalment tackles the grittier side of war - the parts Vera Lynn didn't sing about - the effects on the mental and physical health of those involved and those who saw only an opportunity to profit from the misery of others.

Late 1940 was a bleak time for Britain and for London in particular. Whilst the glitz and glamour of the ballroom is still there, much of the action now takes place far beyond its confines. Yes, the ballroom still provides the beating heart that binds everyone together, but its principal characters are spread far and wide.

What I've realised as the series has progressed, is that whilst it's ostensibly about ballroom dancers and their friends, what actually underpins absolutely everything in the story as a whole, is love. There is romance, but not only is it never of the frivolous variety, it's actually by far the least important kind of love. Love of family, friends, home and life all outweigh romantic attachments and this can be seen in every sub-plot. When one character is forced to choose between romance and 'family' there's never any doubt which will triumph. What I also love about this series is that where the romance elements do come in, there is usually something which gives it an extra level of interest or depth - there are characters with disabilities, multi-racial relationships, relationships which span deep class divides and love found later in life.

At the centre of it all, are Raymond and Nancy. They have their own personal battles to fight, but they draw their strength from each other in a way that steps beyond the pages of a book. Theirs is a model marriage - not perfect by any means - but based on mutual respect and understanding. Even when their lives are in turmoil, it doesn't take much for them to remember what truly matters to them.

This series gets better and better with each book; characters move in and out of focus as times change and people move on, but there's always a sense that these relationships are there in the background just waiting for their turn in the spotlight.

I'm not usually a fan of the 'celebrity' author, but I adore this series and look forward to each new addition to it.

Bring on 1941!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review an Advanced Copy.

There were some real sparkles of excellent story telling here but in many places the detail I craved was skipped over- I would have liked more on the glitz of the balllroom, the steps, dances and frocks and perhaps more in depth background on the characters to really bring them and their various circumstances to life.
I did love the band leader/housekeeper characters and their relationship- beautifully told.

As usual I will not be including a resume of the story in my feed back as I feel that the blurb writers do a better job without giving away the plot.
This is another glamorous and romantic story from Anton. The third in his series but very much a standalone tale too. The style of writing is unique! Very flamboyant with a wide vocabulary, sometime to excess, but in part this is the charm of these books. I think you will either love it or become frustrated! One gripe I do have with the writing, is the length of some of the sentences! within the first chapter I found a couple of sentences which filled up to a third of the page on my kindle. And I don't have the font that big! Despite the enthusiastic use of a wide variety of punctuation, it must be a challenge for those narrating for an audio copy.
Overall a lovely story set in a difficult but glamorous historical period.

What an enchanting story! I was immediately swept up into the glamour of the ballroom and the dramas of London wartime during the blitz. Where uncertainty, terror and strength were constant fellows but the good people of the Buckingham Hotel maintain their camaraderie and spirit in the face of it all. It was a beaut of a read.

I’ve never read any of the series so far (a mistake I intend to rectify stat! I loved this one so much, I immediately went out and bought the one set before this and am making my mission to get all the others in this series too!). Anton is sure an absolute natural writer and one where you effortlessly slip into the times and story he has created. It was a fantastically written historical fiction and I loved it from start to finish.

I loved getting to know the characters and despite not having read the others, it didn’t hinder me too much. He did a fab job of bringing me up to speed with anything that may have happened in the previous books and my enjoyment wasn’t hampered. Although I can’t wait to read the others now! I can’t get enough of this setting.

With the fearless Raymond de Guise and his (poor suffering) wife Nancy, Vivienne who is left holding the baby and reeling from the events of Dunkirk. Billy Brogan who finds himself in somewhat of a pickle, and his sister Annie begins her employment at the Grand. The lovable Mrs Moffatt tackles her own affairs of the heart and hints of scandal sweep into the ballroom. Whats more to want? It had sparkle, intrigue and entertainment from start to finish.

It was a beautiful book and one no doubt, I will certainly reread again in the future.

The Buckingham Hotel, London in September 1940. Raymond de Guise is on leave after being rescued from Dunkirk. He’s struggling and doesn’t know what he can do, when he can’t go back to his unit or to his old life as a ballroom dancer. This, the next book in this series, has all the old troupe as well as a few new characters. The writing gives you get the feel of London in the Blitz, the good, the bad and the downright ugly side that shows people at their worst, making money from the misery of war. There are several different threads to this story, which are all pulled seamlessly together, making it a really enjoyable read. I liked the fact that you could hear Antons voice in the writing.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I loved this story. Just what I needed, I devoured this book really quickly. I loved the way Anton made the characters and dancing come alive in the book, ah it was incredible

Welcome back to the Buckingham Hotel and it's staff escapes.
The third installment but can be read as a stand-alone book. The second war is still raging and the guests and staff lives are affected by world events.
Enjoy meeting up with old friends and new characters in the book, I did

Anton you can now add Author to your resume. What a delightful book this is. I felt like I was there amongst the staff of a grand hotel during the Blitz of 1940.
Of course there is a Ballroom as well as the dancers but there was so much more. I didn't want this book to end.
A great start to a new career.

Thank you to the publishers for approving me to read this title. Unfortunately, I cannot read it as there are random words out of sequence in sentences every few paragraphs. This does not make for an enjoyable reading experience. I am such a big fan of this series, that I would rather wait to read a corrected copy so I will buy it on release day instead. I’m looking forward to immersing myself in this next instalment of Anton’s fabulous series.