I love this series. It ticks all my boxes! A Ration Book Daughter is book 5 in the Ration Book series about the every day lives of the Brogan family as they deal with everything that's thrown at them, against the backdrop of the blitz.

This story focuses on Cathy Brogan. She is married to Stanley Wheeler, a truly bad lot, and has a young son, Peter, to him. Stanley is overseas fighting for King and country, leaving Cathy and Peter living with his mother, the mean and spiteful Violet Wheeler. When news reaches Cathy that her husband is missing in action, she begins to count the days for when she will be completely free of him.

In a bid to undermine Cathy, Violet ensures that Cathy does not have enough money to pay the rent and feed them all. To make ends meet, Cathy decides to take in a lodger. The idea of a lodger is repellent to Violet, and she is further incensed when Cathy's lodger, Archie, moves in.

My blood boiled as I read about how Violet was treating Cathy, and the malicious lies she was spreading about her daughter-in-law. Cathy deals with the whole situation with a calm dignity with only her family and Archie to support her.

A Ration Book Daughter tells of the growing attraction between Cathy and Archie. Whilst Archie is already a widower, Cathy is still a married woman, counting the days until Stanley Wheeler is officially declared dead and she is free to remarry.

Although Queenie Brogan, Cathy's gran, only has a small part in this story, she is still my favourite character. We learn a bit more about her younger self, her husband, and Jeremiah's father. But I especially love her moments of clairvoyance; particularly when she tells Violet Wheeler something that should bring the vindictive woman great happiness, but delivers the information more like a curse. I do love a bit of retribution!

The Ration Book series is filled with historical facts which I find adds to my enjoyment of the stories. In this book, we find Cathy and Ida caught up in Bethnal Green Tube Disaster of 1943, and learn about the dangerous work of the Royal Engineers Bomb Disposal Unit.

A Ration Book Daughter is another well-researched story, which can be read as a standalone. However, I would definitely recommend reading all the earlier books in this series before reading this one, to really appreciate the Brogan family and the times in which they lived. ( )