Thank you for the chance to read this ARC in return for my honest opinion

This book was heartbreaking - based on the Kindertransport of WW2 - it is a story of sadness, and hope for those affected by the treatment of the Jews by the Nazis.

It was well written and well researched - I am a child of the late 50s so have no real knowledge of the times but the inhumanity is overwhelming at times and makes the subject matter a difficult read.

I wonder how the next book in the series will take the story forward.

Thank you again

I’d like to thank Storm Publishing and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘When’s Mummy Coming?’, the first book in the Hearts at War series written by Rachel Wesson, in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

It’s German in 1939 and Trudi Beck makes the heartbreaking decision to send fifteen-year-old Heinz, Tomas five and baby Liesel by Kindertransport to a safe country for their protection. In a quiet village in Surrey, Sally and Derek Matthews are newly married when Derek enlists to fight in the war and Sally is asked to give a home to a Jewish child. She’s immediately attracted to Tomas who refuses to be separated from his baby sister Liesel, and when she sees their older brother Heinz being ill-treated by a local farmer he moves in with them as well. Although she misses Derek, Sally loves children and it’s not long before she can’t imagine life without her new family.

‘When’s Mummy Coming?’ is a beautifully written story that spans from 1939 to 1945. It tells of the children who are put onto the Kindertransport to escape from persecution in Berlin, to when they’re taken into the homes of Sally Matthews and her friend Maggie Ardle in the Surrey village of Abbeydale, concluding with the end of the war. The characters were so brilliantly described they were brought to life for me and I was so gripped by the story that I couldn’t put it down and had to keep reading just one more chapter. This is a wonderful novel that’s been an absolute joy to read and has brought a tear to my eye on more than one occasion. I’m delighted there’s going to be another book in the series as I can’t wait to find out what happens to these wonderful characters when the war is over.

I don’t even know where to start with the review of this book. I was personally lucky to receive and ARC copy of this book. When’s Mummy Coming is based off of World War 2 and the kindertransport system. It’s begins in Berlin in 1938, with Heinz Beck starting to tell his story of his childhood and how he ends up in German camps for the Jewish. Heinz has a bit of a temper and struggles to control it throughout this book, always getting himself into trouble, speaking or reacting first then thinking about his action later. This book is based around the lives of children names Heinz (Harry), his little brother Tom, and little sister Liesel (Lisa), Rachel, Ruth. They are transported for Their own safety and forced to leave their homes and everything they know behind to survivor the Nazi’s attacks.
Sally Matthews is a young woman living in Abbeydale in the quiet countryside. Her husband Derek has decided to enlist in the military and do his part to help the country be safe and prosper against the Nazis. Sally becomes the temporary guardian of Heinz, Tom and Liesel throughout this book she learns to love them as her own and protect them growing close bonds with each of the children. One day Sally received word from the military that Derek is missing in the war. Will Derek come back to her and will they live happily ever after with the children she saved or will their marriage fall apart and will they go their separate ways?
Throughout this book you will come to love each and every character you will cry when they cry, laugh when they laugh, you will feel every experience, loss, triumph, happy moment with them as if you were there in the book yourself.

Another unputdownable novel by Rachel Wesson - I can't get enough of her books!
When's Mummy Coming is a powerful, heartbreaking, thought-provoking and insightful story about life for Jewish children who were sent to England on the Kindertransport during WWII.
This book is based on fact, and at times was hard reading. There is a glimpse of life in Germany as life got harder for the Jewish citizens and they began being rounded up by the Nazis and sent to concentration camps. Parents had to make a choice - to keep their children with them, not knowing what fate awaited them, or send them to a foreign land on the Kindertransport and place them with strangers, hoping they would be well cared for, and hopefully, they would be reunited again one day.
I finished this book and spent the next few days thinking about all that I had learned - I feel that I now have a much better understanding of how hard life was for the Jewish children of the Kindertransport, still facing discrimination in what should have been a place of safety. Many children found loving homes, while others were mistreated, some used as labour. This novel also highlights the struggles of the women holding the fort while the men fought in the war, the division of communities over having Jewish children in their midst, and the reality of soldiers returning home and finding things were no longer what they used to be - in some cases, having German children living in their homes. It also touches on the mixed emotions of returning the children to their families at the end of the war, should the family members have been lucky enough to survive. The horror, heartbreak, confusion, and all other emotions are clearly portrayed through the characters in this story - it broke my heart. I will definitely be reading part two when it is available!
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

This is the third book I’ve read by Rachel Wesson and it was as well-researched and well-written as I’ve come to expect.
Part one of this story had me enthralled, and I would have loved to follow more of Trudi’s story through this book instead of it being dealt with in book 2, especially now that part 2 of this book explained the outcome for her without any of the drama.
Heinz was a bit of an under-exploited character too, as I was really invested in him and his development only for him to drop out of the picture. I realise now that his story will continue in a separate book, but I would have preferred it if this one had continued to deal with him and then the second part of everyone’s story was dealt with in book 2. That’s my reason for not giving this one 5 stars.
I loved Sally and the children, and I felt that the depiction of life on the Home Front was sensitive and insightful, considering the difficulties from a range of viewpoints.
In part 2, I wasn’t sure about the scene with Mikey, which didn’t seem necessary for me as the character transformation could have convincingly happened without it. Still, I’m glad Sally got her happy ending, poignant though it was, and I was close to reaching for a box of tissues in the final chapter.

I really liked this story. Set in World War II, around the time of the horrific events of Kristallnacht, the subject is handled very sensitively by the author. It’s a story of extreme brutality, love, loss and sacrifice, and left me very emotional after reading. Watching the story unfold, reading about the horrors that were inflicted, and the bravery of both the victims and those involved behind the scenes moved me immensely. The story moves from Germany to England, whilst the War gains momentum, with devastating results. A story that really made me think, I recommend

5 stars, After a Kindertransport

WHEN'S MUMMY COMING? (HEARTS AT WAR #1)
By Rachel Wesson

The heartbreaking story of a mother's love to save her three children. She manages to get them on a Kindertransport train and sends them from Germany to England.

Trudi Beck struggles daily with her two step-sons and her worry over both of them and her daughter Liesel since she is desperate to get them out of Germany before Hitler's goons take over because Germany isn't safe for Jewish people.

Sally Matthews, a newly married woman in a small town in England, is lost and lonely since her husband has gone off to fight in WWII. She agrees to take the Beck children into her home.

Five-year-old Tomas has a frequent question for Sally, "When's Mummy coming?" He misses Trudi and wants to see her. Sally doesn't have an answer for him. Sally has her own struggles with what she is going to do when Trudi comes to claim her children, and what will happen to Sally's broken heart.

Highly recommend. I will read it over and over again.

"You've heard of the Kindertransport?" "I'm not young, I'm almost five."

I thankfully received #WhensMummyComing from #StormPublishing #NetGalley I was not under any obligation to post a review.

#WWII #Holocaust #Germany #England #USA #Israel #Inspirational #TriggerWarnings #CoverLove #Heartwrenching #Kindertransport #HeartsAtWarSeries #Dachau #NewRelease #RachelWesson @RachelWesson

This is a powerful story written by an amazing author and I can’t find the words to do justice to the book. How can I review the grief, hardship and death experiences before, during and after WWII in our history when it is actually “the evil that men do!” Heinz, Tomas and Liesel had to change their names to Harry, Tom and Lisa, in order to fit into an English community and not suffer additional hardship of abuse. I found it extraordinary. People starved, sent their Jewish children to total strangers in another country to save their lives. I was a total wreck just reading about it, but it is written with so much heart and sensitivity that I couldn’t put the book aside. This is a must read in your library if only to be reminded about what powerful government can destroy without a conscience of mind or thought. Thanks to this author for the storyline that I’ll never forget and written to perfection.

A very interesting and engrossing story set before and during the Second world war. Lovely characters but harrowing descriptions of the treatment of the Jewish people.

When’s Mummy Coming? By Rachel Wesson is a book that will bring you to tears. It is the story of children who are using the Kindertransport to escape the Nazis. Two families decide to send their children to England to hopefully be safe from the fighting.

This story is about these children and how they are accepted (or not) into English families to ride out the war. Whether or not they will ever see their parents again is unsure. It is hard to imagine little children going to a new country without their families, and who do not speak English. Some of those accepting children often want older boys to do work on the farms, which is unconscionable. Some children are accepted by the elite because it is the “right” thing to do, although the children are really not wanted. And then there are those who take children for the very right reasons, to keep them safe, to provide a home and hopefully love so that they can grow safely and freely until the war is over.

I loved the author’s characterizations of the different people and how they react to the notion of taking in children not their own. It was so touching to see that as the children stayed longer, the more they became part of the family and loved. It was also heartbreaking to know that some of these children would never see their loved ones again as they perished during the war. I would heartily recommend this book.

I received this copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I have read many WWII books, and this one is right up there with the best of them. The sacrifice of sending your children away to be safe from the war must have been excruciating. The storyline was excellent and was so well written. It was unfortunate that even though they were just children, they had to experience the criticism and bad treatment from so many. I truly enjoyed this read and would highly recommend.

Sally was a hero, a beautiful soul. I loved how the story played out and the love grew between them all.

I received an ARC from Storm Publishing and NetGalley for my unbiased review – This one comes in with high 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Storm Publishing and author Rachel Wesson for providing me with this eARC

I loved this!!
Such an amazing, heartbreaking and touching story about the Kindertransports.
It is definitely a character driven story and I loved it so much. Wesson does such a good job at touching on so many aspects of wartime, loss and endurance and showing the different ways how people react to traumatic events.
She is also able to convey the horrors the Nazis inflicted on the jewish population and their prisoners without going into too graphic detail.
Highly recommend and can't wait for book two!
4.75 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel by Rachel Wesson. if follows the lives of some children who were sent to England on the kinder transportation and they found a new life with Sally and some other ladies in a little village. I liked the the reading style of play and the character and can't wait to hear what happens to them in later years.

Another fantastic and emotional book from Rachel Weston. Imagine having to hand your children over to.complete strangers and then they are transported to another country all to try and keep them safe during a war, where just because of your religion you are deemed scum and not worth living.
Awful and heartbreaking and brave.

I have read many WW2 books and never tire of the topic of kindertransport. This book is well written and appears to be historically correct. Unfortunately, it is not one of my favorite depictions of this topic.

This story of struggle, survival and hope is definitely worth the read if you enjoy this topic.

Thank you to the author and publisher as well as Netgalley for the ARC

Beautifully written. The characterisation is sublime leaving you able to identify and relate to their personalities. An emotional story that showed how the good in people can and should be seen. I read this in a day. Once I started I was hooked.