I really enjoy WW2 historical fiction and this did not disappoint. Based on a true story of a ship taking evacuee children to Canada to escape the bombings. So heart breaking as the parents make the hardest of decisions to send away their children not knowing when they would see them again. To then find out that instead of to safety they were sent into a dangerous zone and torpedoed. The characters in the book are wonderful. A story of bravery, endurance, heartache and joy.

Liverpool 1940. Alice King stands on the deck of SS Carlisle, waiting to escort a group of children to Canada as overseas evacuees. She is finally doing her bit for the war. In London, as the Blitz bombs rain down and the threat of German invasion looms, Lily Nicholls, widow, has sent her son and daughter on the SS Carlisle, a hard decision, but one that she hopes will keep her children safe.
And then the SS Carlisle is torpedoed ... chaos reigns, the children are separated from their original chaperones ... and the only option is for everyone to seek a lifeboat and hope ultimately for rescue.
Alice finds herself in the last lifeboat - the one that is left behind, that no-one is searching for - and which becomes an increasingly inhospitable place for her and for the children she has taken responsibility for as the food and water run out. An excellent read, and that was even before I discovered at the end of the book that this was based on a real story ... which somehow made it so much poignant.

Thanks to netgalley and publishers for arc
I adored this book was hooked from first few pages
It follows the story of Alice a quiet girl who works in a local library during the war, her brother is a CO so they get abuse for that in the small village they live in. Her sister Kitty works in London for some government big wig and tell’s Alice she should do something more with her life. So Alice does she signs up to escort children across the ocean to safety in Canada for the duration of the war. It will be perfectly safe the ships go in convoys and are protected by navy vessels
Lily has signed both her children up to go to Canada they will go on first ship she is so happy they will be away from air raids and bombs. So when Alice turns up to collect them she is happy and sends them off smiling.
The ships set off and after a number of days the navy vessels leave which is a shock for Alice who is to.d oh we are out of reach of the nazi unboats now don’t worry
In the middle of that night there is a huge bang and Alice realises something is very wrong she gets her lifejacket on and goes out to see people screaming and lifeboats being sent into the sea. Get to your muster station she is told but no the children she says looking down to where they’re supposed to be it’s a mass of wood steel and water no one can get up or down it
She eventually gets in what looks like the last lifeboat and sees a group of children huddle in the corner she goes over to them to see who is there and as she does their wonderful ship they all thought fantastic goes under the sea
What will happen to them now? Someone will realise they need rescuing ? How long can they live in this boat 35 lost souls? Only 7 children so cold in this storm of Atlantic Ocean it will only be a day or two won’t it …….

This was more interesting as it was a true story. Although it started off slow it did gain momentum. I enjoyed this very much. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

I am so impressed and in awe at the amount of research author Hazel Gaynor does for every book she writes.
I love how she takes a snipet of history and brings it to life before our very eyes often shining a light on moments that need to be remembered and perhaps haven't for some reason.
I love reading fiction and non fiction set in the world war two years and I try to read as much as I can from every aspect of those years.
Hazel shines a light of the evacuation of children on ships during the war to a better life until it is over.
Doesn't it break your heart to think that families had to send their children away to virtual strangers in order to keep them safe. I shudder just thinking about it.
The Last Lifeboat tells the story of a young woman Alice King who feels her life is maybe at a crossroads or at a standstill and she needs to do more with it. Being a school teacher, Alice applies to be an escort for evacuees delivering young children to safer ground. Suddenly she has a purpose to her life. She is doing her part while the men are fighting for their lives.
We meet Lily Nicholls in this story also. Having lost her husband Peter, Lily makes the heartbreaking decision to send her children Georgina & Arthur away to Canada until the war is over and their home is safer.
I loved how the author told her story through the eyes of these two brave women. I simply adored them.
For a period of time, both women survived only for the thought of each other.
When the ship Alice, the escorts and the children in their care are travelling on is torpedoed by a German U boat, they must try to survive the most terrifying eight days in the midst of a storm.
An emotional read, heartbreaking to think what families went through to try keep their loved ones safe.
The sheer bravery, resilience and hope felt throughout this story I think I will carry with me for such a long time.
An utterly compelling read I feel I will come back to again...
Hazel has brought us the most wonderful characters and a story that will capture your heart.
Don't let this one pass you....

This is the first book I have read by this author.

This is set in 1940 in the middle of World War 2 Alice escorts some children to try and keep them safe from the German invasions.
Based on a true story this is an interesting read

Set in the midst of the Second World War. Alice King is an escort for a group of Kids fleeing London for pastures new.

Lily Nicholls a London resident makes the heart wrenching decision to send her two kids to Canada in an evacuee programme run by the government.

Aboard the SS Carlisle, Alice and over 90 evacuee children, when tragedy strikes. There is nothing Lily can do at home upon receiving the awful news but only wait and hope for some good news to come her way.

The Last Lifeboat is not a sweeping romance story. More a tale of grit and determination. I was hooked after the first few chapters but in a very different way to a whodunnit or a whydunnit. It was more a sense of relying on these characters as if they were personally related to me. It seems hard to explain. I was completely and utterly absorbed in to the story.

I strongly rooted for Alice, the kids and even fellow boat mate Owen Shaw throughout their whole ordeal.

An absolutely beautiful telling of story that is somewhat based on true events. A must read for everyone, including anyone that thinks historical fiction isn’t for them.

1940 Kent, Alice King feels she need to do more to help with the war effort. Alice is working temporarily in her local library as the school she teaches in is temporarily closed, because the children have been evacuated due to the war. Alice applies to be bring evacuated children overseas to Canada so they can live safely until the war is over. London 1940, Lily Nichols deliberates over whether or not to send her two young children on the same ship. She realises that it’s for the best and just prays they will arrive safely. When disaster strikes Alice does all she can to keep the children and adults on the ship safe. Whilst back in London Lily frantically awaits news of her children.

From the start of this book I was completely and utterly absorbed in this wonderful story. This book is full of courage and hope and makes you realise how far one person will go to help others. I will admit to shedding a few tears as I read this outstanding story. Finding out at the end it was based on real events made it all the more poignant for me.

It is 1940. The school where Alice taught has been closed due to the war. She now works in the library and helps out where she can. She is quite shy and enjoys books. As the bombs rain down parents worry about their children. Many have been evacuated to the countryside but now the War Office announce Operation Pied Piper where children are evacuated to Canada and Australia. Alice volunteers to be one of the Aunties that accompany them on the ship. Widow Lily worries about her children and makes the difficult decision to send them to Canada. After a few days at sea their escort convoy turns back and shortly after their ship is torpedoed. In the chaos Alice and a group of men and evacuees manage to finally get in a lifeboat.

This book is based on true events but as with all good stories, it is the characters that make this such a good read. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read and review this book.

Based on a true story, The Last Lifeboat looks at the WWII programme that saw children moved overseas to escape German advances. The book follows volunteer Alice, who is escorting children on SS Carlisle when it is torpedoed. Can Alice and the children in her care survive and make it back to their families safely?

Such an emotive book, I loved following Alice's story. Another strong female character is Lily, a mum who signs her children up to the programme - she is tenacious and works with a passion to find out what has happened to her children. Interesting and definitely worth a read.

This is not the first book I have read written by Hazel Gaynor and I have enjoyed the others. But this one was even more thrilling and emotional and harrowing. I couldn’t put it down until I had finished reading it. War brings out the best in people and this is certainly true in this tale of bravery and survival as two women – a Mother and a teacher, try to do the best they can for the children. The Mother on the home front making unimaginable choices to give her children the best chance to survive and return home again. The teacher, working as an escort fighting to keep herself and the children in her care alive.

Read this compelling book which proves that human spirit is stronger than you think. The story will live with me for some time to come.
Thank you to Harper Collins Uk, Harper Collins Fiction and NetGalley for the ARC, this review is my own options freely given.

It’s been three years since the publication of Hazel Gaynor’s last book, The Bird in the Bamboo Cage, which was a phenomenal book that has stayed with me for a long time. So to say I was eager to read something new from Hazel would be an understatement. Finally The Last Lifeboat is due to be published and my god when I think she can’t top her previous book she goes and does just that. I read this story in one sitting as quite frankly, I was completed consumed by it right from the brief prologue which took us straight to the heart of the action. I barely glanced up from the words as my finger kept tapping through the pages on my Kindle and before I knew it, I was over halfway through this enthralling story which will stir up many emotions within you. This is a story inspired by true events based around the sinking of a British ship transporting young evacuees to Canada which was torpedoed by a German u-boat whilst crossing the Atlantic. The fact that children are at the centre of it really make the themes and events hit home even more and alongside these brave young children are two women Alice and Lily.

The story moves between the two very different experiences of the women. Alice is the woman escorting the children who they come to call Auntie and Lily is the mother of a boy and a girl who makes a courageous decision to send her children away for their own safety. The story is told from Alice’s perspective as she drifts in a lifeboat in the Atlantic with several fellow passengers and six children following the incident. We learn of Lily’s viewpoint from her home in London when she hears the news that the ship has been struck. The plot effortlessly and seamlessly moves back and forth between the two women interspersed with short snippets from a mass observation diary. At first, I was trying to think were these excerpts from Alice or Lily’s point of view but then I quickly came to the conclusion that they were general observations of the war from the perspective of ordinary citizens. I was intrigued to learn in the end notes that this was a project carried out at the time where anyone could keep a diary of the time and it was then published. I had never heard of this before but I felt it worked very well in the context of this book as it provided an alternative viewpoint that of Alice and Lily and it was as if those people were on the outside looking in giving their feelings and opinions.

Split into four distinct parts, each section has their own distinct voice which in turn come together exceedingly well to create an intense, heart-breaking and astonishing read. Alice lives with her mother in Kent and is seen as the sensible one of the family. Someone reluctant to step outside of the familiar. She used to be full of wild plans for great journeys but with the outbreak of war she has become a shadow of her former self and has been consumed by fear of the threat of invasion from the Germans. The school she worked in as a teacher has been closed with the students evacuated and now she volunteers in a local library which she loves as her love for books knows no bounds. I loved the way Alice’s love of books was used in such a clever way throughout the story. Her retelling of Moby Dick at a time when people needed an escape more than ever and to take their mind off things even if only for a brief period well that was marvellous. I thought this quote summed up exactly how Alice is feeling when we first meet her. ’She wished she could put herself in safekeeping in the library until the war was over, burrow between shelves of books whose endings were long imprinted on her. Yes, books were safe and certain’.

Alice longs for the war to be over but little does she know that they are only on the cusp of things. Her sister Kitty is away working in an office in London and she seems to have it all and is enjoying a vibrant life in the city. Walter, her brother, has been sent to work on a farm as he is a conscientious objector but Alice feels as if she is just drifting along waiting for the end that seems like it will never appear whilst also wishing that her beloved father was still with them. Alice’s mother seemed very standoffish and as if she had no solid and connective relationship with her children. Rather she puts constant pressure on Alice to do something worthwhile rather than volunteering in a library. Alice herself is contented in her narrow life as it is safe, familiar and comfortable but Kitty urges her to do something different, to break free, to be reckless, unexpected and brave.

When Alice sees an advert from CORP -the Children’s Overseas Reception Board - seeking volunteer escorts to accompany children to different countries she feels as if this is what she has been waiting for. ’No matter how afraid we are, or how impossible it may seem if there’s a chance to save someone, or help them, even in some small way we should always try’. This sums up Alice’s determination, courage, bravery and strength throughout the story. She carries these words with her through the darkest of times and clings to them as she battles to see her duties through to the bitter end. No matter the obstacles she has to go through to see their conclusion. Alice is interviewed and accepted and from this point on I became even more consumed by the story as I knew what was coming yet at the same time I wondered was I really ready for what was to come?

Lily has two young children, Georgina and Arthur, She is still steeped in grief following the death of her husband Peter but is determined to do her best for her children. The way Lily’s story was written I had my suspicions about Peter and I was right with regard to some aspects. Lily works in the home of an upper class member of society and she detests it but needs must as she has to have some source of income. With the war intensifying and nightly air raids and bombings occurring Lily is scared that the worst will befall her young family. When she sees the CORB advertisement she wrestles back and forth with her conscience. On the one hand she would love to keep her children close by her side to physically feel them in her arms as they seek refuge in an underground shelter. But on the other she questions whether they would be safer overseas with another family far away from the threat of bombs and the German invasion. She wonders what would Peter have done if he was still here. It’s not as easy decision for Lily to make and she doesn’t make it rashly. It was fascinating to read of her thought process. She was faced with an unimaginable decision and so many what if’s and there really was no clear cut, right or wrong answer. Women who sent their children away were generally considered cowardly and unpatriotic by those who’d kept their children at home. So for Lily to choose to send her two precious children away in my mind deserves nothing but admiration and respect.

Hazel Gaynor writes with such vivid, realistic detail that you feel as if you are there with both Alice and Lily as they navigate their different journeys once the ship has been hit. Lily is told her children have been lost at sea alongside Alice who was their escort. What follows are at times harrowing chapters but yet there are moments of hope and deep reflection too. Alice feels ‘Before the torpedo strike, she’d taken life for granted. Now she knows it is a gift to be cherished’. As the lifeboat with Alice and the others drifts on the sea with the hopes that they will be rescued or land will be sighted you feel every ounce of the characters frustrations, fear, torment and desperation. There were so many powerful scenes set during this part of the story. ’Like the delicate parts of a clock, each needs the others to function, every one of them necessary to the survival of the group. Alice is terrified that if one of them cracks, they will all fail.’ There is a sense that they are all in this together but as conditions deteriorate and the days pass by they wonder should they just give up with no rescue in sight? Alice’s journey is a powerful read and you have your fingers crossed that a rescue will occur. Meanwhile, we see how Lily is coping with the loss of her two children. She can’t believe that they are gone. The contrast shown between Lily and Alice was marked but perfectly drawn by the author and you feel every bit of pain and aguish that they are both experiencing and also the regrets and guilt that Lily feels.

The Last Lifeboat is a fantastic, memorable read from Hazel Gaynor and it was certainly worth the long wait. It provides an insight into an aspect of the war that I knew scant details about but I feel my eyes have been opened to the tragedy that unfolded and how the incident had such an effect on the families involved. The two main characters are expertly written and the story as a whole was gripping from beginning to end. This is another triumph of a read from Hazel and I hope she is already hard at work on her next book because as with this one I always enjoy everything that she writes.

Inspired by a true-life event this story depicts the tragedies and unpredictability’s of war. During WW2 in the 1940’s many families were faced with the unimaginable decision to send their children overseas in order to keep them safe from the threat of bombs or to risk their lives by keeping them at home.
Alice King, a young woman, makes a bold consideration to become an ‘Auntie’ for CORB, Children’s Overseas Reception Board Her huge responsibility is to escort children on a ship to safety. After checks, Alice is assigned a group of children, and instructed to collect from their home two Georgie and her brother Arthur.
Their mother Lily has agonised over the decision to send her precious offspring away especially as she is a widow and they are her life.
I cannot imagine the heartache and courage it took for Lily and others to wave their children off into the unknown with strangers not knowing when they will be reunited again. In addition, the desperation Lily felt when receiving the news that a torpedo hit the SS Carlisle on its passage to Canada with many lost at sea presumed dead.
Well done Hazel for this outstanding emotional story. My thanks to Net Galley and HarperCollins for the ARC.

The ethos of Britain at war is captured well in this story. It begins with a tragic event and explores the events preceding it and how the lives of two women changed because of it. Based on a historical event, the story focuses on women in war and how they survived and moved forward with the threat of occupation apparent. The characters are believable, and you quickly invest in them and their lives. I like the historical details and the lyrical writing that bring the story to life. It's an emotional story with an unimaginable cost but one that resonates. An epic read that is hard to put down.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

As a historical fiction lover I have previously read and enjoyed several of Gaynor's books but this has leapt to the top as my new favourite of hers. Gaynor is the master of combining well researched historical fact with fabulous characterisation that brings the story to life and with a level of emotion that brought tears to my eyes, this is a story that had me totally absorbed.

Based on events in WW2 I was unaware of - the 1940 torpedoing of a ship that was taking “seavacuees” from the UK to Canada to escape the war - it is a story told from the points of view of two women whose lives would never have overlapped in normal circumstances. Lily is a young widow living in London who takes the heart wrenching decision to send her children to Canada in order to try and ensure their safety; Alice is a quiet young woman, a teacher and library assistant, who decides to do her bit for the war effort and volunteers as a chaperone for the journey the children are undertaking.

When disaster strikes we get to see two strong women, one fighting to keep herself and the children in her care alive, the other fighting to ensure she gets her children home.

It’s an emotional read and one that had me up reading late into the night as I struggled to put it down. It’s a story of bravery and survival that is a testament to the human spirit even in the worst of circumstances - and I guarantee the children will steal your heart.

This is historical fiction at its most compelling and one I thoroughly recommend.

Such a beautiful book!

I definitely recommend it. Not a story I will forgot and it’s also based on. True story ♥️!!

https://www.instagram.com/Bookstagramshaz

I knew Hazel Gaynor from her book The Memory of Violets, which I had found really good. I was looking forward to reading her beautiful writing again. And I was not disappointed.
This book is set in the early years of the Second World War, when London was bombed repeatedly. People were terrified. Whole neighbourhoods were flattened and burned. Parents were afraid for their children and sent them away if they could, particularly to the countryside. The plot is based on the true story of children being evacuated from England to Canada and Australia. They left on ships that were convoyed because of the risks posed by the U Boats.
Alice is a school teacher who wants to do something useful in this war. She embarks as an escort to a group of children being evacuated to Canada. Alice does not have the profile of a hero at first, but the events show otherwise when the ship is torpedoed. I will not say more … The characters in this story are all interesting. Their way to endure the war and the pain and grief in their lives is explored in a way that is both sensitive and deep. The emotions on the lifeboat are raw, and so is the daily life. But in the middle of this storm, we can hear the internal dialogue the characters are going through. The book also explores the difficult choices many people had to make during the war to keep their children and their loved ones safe.
The book has a strong historical background based on the story of the SS City of Benares, the story of Mary Cornish, and makes interesting references to the Mass Observations Diaries. It takes us right into this event and this time so we feel close to the characters and can empathise with them. Once again, the beautiful, precise, deep and sensitive writing of Hazel Gaynor has done its magic. A really excellent read.

WOW, what a great read.
1940 and the war is doing so much damage that children are going off to Canada to be safe from all that is happening here. Most of the readers will know what happened that fateful night when so many were lost at see. This is a heart-rendering novel but a great read. Very well researched , and one to be read. 5 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for this ARC

An amazing read, sad in places but also very unlifting. Their courage and strength to survive was unbelievable. I will probably read this book again because I raced through it to find out how it ended

An unbelievably brilliant emotional and educational read.
Based on true facts the book tells the story of the tornado attack on a ship carrying evacuee children from England to Canada in the Second World War.
Excellently described and written you’re immediately transported to blitzed London and to the last lifeboat.
I’m not ashamed to say the tears ran from my eyes as I read this.
A book that will stay with me for a long time now I’ve finished it.