From the very popular author Betty Firth, this is the third book set in the Yorkshire Dale's in Northern England during WW2.
Life in a small village where everyone knows everyone else still goes on, although there is a war on, children attend the village school and get to ring the morning bell, also the villagers are out in the fields and hedgerows picking berries and rose hips, all an essential part of the war effort as they provide essential vitamin C to the children of Britain.
Bobby lives with her father, he has a drink problem after suffering nightmares resulting from his time fighting in WW1 and sometimes he has difficulty remembering who she is. Bobby is worried that her boyfriend Charlie will also return from the war and be broken and lost. She has a twin sister Lilian, whom she has just found out that she is going to be engaged, as soon as their father gives his blessing. Will her happiness continue? Her father always takes comfort in having a drink to mellow his moods, often he was back in the trenches of WW1, trying to block everything out. There are evacuees living at the farm and attending the village school, always bringing a smile to everyone's face in the village and of course everyone is helping with the village pantomime, but Bobby has some secret investigations of her own, will she be able to help a young serviceman from being bullied?
Everyone in the village and the local area is pulling together to make this Christmas as special as possible for the evacuee children billeted nearby.

A lovely story set in the Yorkshire Dale's, it's full of wartime spirit and in this Christmas of 1941, everyone is wondering what the future will be. But whatever it is, the people of the Dale's are always there for each other, as you step back in time to Christmas in the wartime years in the lovely setting of the Yorkshire Dale's for this heartwarming story.
I did appreciate the dialect glossary at the front of the book so if you are unsure what the words mean you can quickly look it up.
A well deserved five star read from me.

#netgalley
#BettyFirth

I like the era and the country story running on from previous book. Felt it a bit slow in places and didn’t keep me inspired as the previous book did. But a good fireside read though

A Wartime Christmas in the Dales is the third installment of a beautiful series set where I was born. It always brings me joy to hear the dialect, customs and lives of local people brought about in books and represented in print.

The characters are very lovingly written and while each have their fair share of trials and tribulations, they all get chances of happiness too. There is another book on the cards as is evident by the very last chapter and cliffhanger. I can't wait until it comes out and I can get my hands on a copy.

I love the community present in these books, friends old and new, the rogue, the villain, the best friends, the parental couple, the family in need and the jokers too. I also won't forget the very lucky hen! I guessed every plot twist and about turn that happened and still they were written so well that it didn't matter at all.

Betty Firth's books bring so much warmth and joy, they are the perfect books to cuddle up with, and this one especially in time for a Christmas read. I loved it!

Thank you to Netgalley, Hera Books and Betty Firth, for the beautiful book to read. All opinions written by me are my own.

Such a fun read! Highly recommend.

Many thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Loved this one. These books are always a pleasure to read and this being a festive one made it all the more special. My thanks to Netgalley and the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Being a Yorkshire lass I truly love this series. The language, the description of the Dales, the place names, everything is all so familiar. Once again the storyline gave lots of twists and turns that I didn't see coming! I was pleased Henrietta lived to see another day as I too had a pet hen called Henrietta when I was a child rescued off the side of a dual carriageway! The ending of the book has got me desperate now for the next series in the title having such a cliff hanger!

This is a brilliant series that I highly recommend to others. It's well written and easy to ready and an enjoyable way to end the day before going to sleep!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers and of course Betty Firth for writing such a brilliant series!

A Wartime Christmas in the Dales by Betty Firth


A perfect story to warn your heart and for the autumn /winter season. Loved the characters Bobby and Charlie and the story around them .
Perfect.

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

We’re back in Silverdale, where Bobby’s job at the Tyke is keeping her busy, as her fiancé is training with the RAF, soon to be sent to war. They meet when he is near to her, but she feels that there’s something he’s not telling her.
Will her skills as a reporter find out what that is?

To keep spirits up, her friends are putting on a pantomime and want her to take part too.

The setting is lovely and so beautifully described. The story had you feeling different emotions.

I highly recommend this book.

This the 3rd book in the series. We are in 1941 now and Bobby Bancroft is still working on The Tyke magazine with Reg and living in the cottae with her father belonging to her future husband Charlie who is a vet.Charlie has been called up to war.Bobby father is suffering from mental health problems from being in WW1.Topsy ,Bobbys friend is putting on a pantomime ,everyone is helping her in some way as it will be performed to the soldiers that are casualties in Topsys home ,which has been taken over for the duration of the war and local children .Charlie should be home for Christmas but he has to stay at camp but Bobby thinks things are not going well for him.Will they sort things out? Can't wait for the next book in the series.Thank you to Netgalley and Hers books.

A wonderful tale set during wartime and my favourite Christmas! While the war is serious the characters antics and the festive season keep the story lighthearted. I enjoyed the snow and getting into Bobby's life further as details emerge.

The third book I. This series and it did not disappoint. An easy 5 🌟. Bobby Bancroft continues to work for the local paper although has greater aspirations but also still in a relationship with Charlie so knows her job is at risk if she marries. Christmas 1941 approaches so we watch as the scene unravels. Thanks to Betty and her publisher. Thanks also to NetGalley

This was such a heartfelt story of a beautiful story in the wartime of Christmas. All the feel good, but all the honest feels also. It was wonderful!

Historical drama set during World War Two,part of a series. Lots of interesting characters and an engrossing story.

This is a delightful read set during WW2. I held back reading it, hoping to find time to read the earlier books in the series, but it didn’t happen. It was fine as a standalone. What could possibly be better than snow, Christmas with diverse characters and an amusing extraordinary engagement party for Norman? Handsome RAF chaps from Canada have made a splash in the village with the ladies and a jolly, festive Pantomime – all set in my idyllic part of the country. By the way, I couldn’t bear to gorge on the adorable Henrietta.

Bobby Bancroft, an inspired reporter of ‘The Tyke’ with innovative ideas, is inwardly beleaguered by anxious worries about her father, who is currently unemployed, suffers shellshock from the Great War in the trenches and has hit the bottle. Her fiancé, Charlie, is inexplicably unhappy. Is he cooling towards her? Lastly, her brother Jake is about to train in bomb disposal. Will the festivities help eradicate her fears, and will they be unfounded?

Thank you to NetGalley and Hera.

October 1941

In spite of the war Bobby Bancroft is happy. She is engaged to Charlie, an airman, lives in the Dales village of Silverdale and is a reporter on The Tyke magazine.
She is involved in the production of the village pantomime and has made new friends through this.
Then Charlie has his Christmas leave cancelled as Pearl Harbour happens and his training becomes reality.
Will Bobby have a Happy Christmas?

this is a book in a series, but can be read as standalones. I love the setting and likeable characters. sweet book.

Picking up a Silverdale story feels like coming home. The setting is so well described that it feels completely real, and the cast of characters are brilliantly drawn and utterly believable, flaws and all. There was less romance for Bobby in this book but that gave us the opportunity to see her struggles as a modern young woman trying to find her place in a changing world. I particularly enjoyed meeting some new characters in this book and I hope we see more of Archie and Ernie in the future. There were some heartbreaking moments in this book concerning Topsy and Lil but I won’t give any spoilers! The ending was totally unexpected and I can’t wait to see where the next book takes Bobby now! This series is a must-read for me.

Such a heartwarming read. Written with feeling, especially Teddy’s story.
Bobby is keeping occupied with her job at the Tyke while fiancée Charlie is away training with the RAF. Bobby is excited to meet up with Charlie when he is stationed nearby, this excitement is dampened when she realises that there is something bothering him. Can she use her prowess as a reporter to do something for all involved! Topsy Summer Walsh decides that she needs to do something for the evacuees in the village, she ropes her friends to each take a part in a pantomime. This is described so beautifully, causing laughter as you read.
I felt there was a fine mix of sad, happy and excitement. My favourite characters were Topsy, Jessie and Teddy. Least favourite has to be squadron leader Hunt.
I have so enjoyed this series and look forward to the authors next book.

Amazing storyline, loved the setting and the characters and as always Betty has come up trumps, once you start you can’t put it down

Bobby is back and couldn’t be happier with Charlie her dashing RAF pilot still in the Dales and working at the magazine her life is going brilliantly just as she’d hoped.
Christmas is coming and she’s helping to put on a pantomime for the evacuees. She meets some new friends through putting on the pantomime which she needs when Charlie is confined to barracks and is going to be joining the fighting.
Bobby and Charlie are hoping that they can weather the strain of being apart and the loneliness.
Great to catch up with the Silverdale crowd and meeting new friends .
Great series