Christmas With the Teashop Girls picks up right where the first book, The Teashop Girls, left off. The girls are Rose, Katie and Lily and all of them work for the legendary Lyons teashops. I love all the little details about the teashops, the Nippies, and the way the shops work. Elaine Everest has obviously done lots of research to make it feel completely authentic.

There's plenty going on in this book. It's 1940 and bombing raids are stepping up a gear, especially in London and along the Kent coast where the book is set. Rose is planning her wedding to Ben and getting used to the idea of her new role as his wife and stepmother to his two girls. Rose is the main character but there are lots of other characters who play a major part in the story and most of them seem to live at Sea View, the guesthouse run by Rose's mother, Flora. Being under her roof must be like having a giant warm hug around you all the time.

Despite the troubling times and quite a few ups and downs for the girls, this is a gentle read for the most part and it was just a delight to read. Everest writes with warmth and really makes the reader care about the characters. There's also a great deal of empathy in her writing as we once again witness catastrophic wartime losses, and yet there's also such camaraderie as they all troop down into the tunnels where they shelter during air raids. Nobody would choose to live through such events but there's a real sense of pulling together as a community, friendship, and looking out for those around you.

I'm hoping this isn't the last we see of the Teashop Girls. I have a feeling that they have a lot more to tell us and I'd love to see how they all fare throughout the remainder of the war years. I raced through Christmas With the Teashop Girls and didn't want to put it down. I was well and truly drawn back into the lives of the characters and I thought this was a gorgeous addition to the saga genre. ( )