I liked this book! A light but enjoyable read
A Ration Book Daughter is about Cathy Brogan a young woman living in London, with her young son Peter, during the Blitz. Her violent husband has been declared missing in action and she is counting down the days until she is declared a widow and can officially be free of him. She begins to hope that she may once again have a chance at the happy family life she once dreamed of when she meets Sergeant Archie McIntosh. This book tells the story of their friendship and then how Archie becomes Cathy’s lodger and where life takes them from there. This is a romance story overall but does deal with some darker tones, such a war, racism, abuse, and trying to live an ordinary life during the extraordinary time of the Blitz,
The characters of this book felt very real and tangible. Cathy is a loveable, strong-headed woman and throughout the book we see her grown into herself as she is strengthened by those around her. Archie is an ambitious driven individual and though he has a clear understanding that his race does affect how others view him, in this much less progressive and accepting world than the one we live in now, he doesn’t let this stop him from going after what he wants when he can see that this is what he deserves. From the beginning of this book both of these characters clearly have desires for a family of their own and a chance at a happily married life. This book details the hurdles and struggles they have both had a go through and how finally they might get a shot at what they dream of. Another strong character in the book is Cathy’s mother-in-law, Violet. Violet is presented to the reader as an unlikeable woman, who has very prejudiced views and is disillusioned about who her son is and what he has done with his life. Throughout the book, I hoped that she would eventually get what she deserved as she is very cruel to Cathy, Archie, and her grandson Peter whom she always calls Stanley the name of her son instead of his actual name. There are lots of other supporting characters in this story, such as Cathy’s family and people that Archie works with, and though their stories aren’t elaborated on very much I do feel that we are given a good clear picture of who they are and how they relate to the main story at different times.
Something else that I enjoyed about this book is that it is written from the perspective of both Cathy and Archie as this gives us a true insight into both of the characters and their lives. If the book only included one perspective I feel that I wouldn’t have enjoyed the book as much as I did. This technique also allowed for some mini cliffhangers throughout the book as the story would switch from one character to another. This kept me turning the pages and wanting to read more.
I enjoyed the plot of this book and found that I wanted to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next, though it was perhaps a little predictable this is actually what I would have expected from a book of this nature as it is clearly a romance and light read. The predictability, therefore, didn’t take away from my experience or enjoyment at all.
A negative that I found about the book was that it was quite a slow start and then several big events happened in the last third of the book. For example, the event detailed in the blurb, Archie moving in as Cathy’s lodger, didn’t happen until well over a third of the way through. Though I did find myself waiting for this event to happen as I wanted to know what would happen after this slow start to the book did do an excellent job of establishing the characters and the story.
Overall I enjoyed and would recommend this book to someone looking for a quick read about an unconventional romance set in wartime.
The characters of this book felt very real and tangible. Cathy is a loveable, strong-headed woman and throughout the book we see her grown into herself as she is strengthened by those around her. Archie is an ambitious driven individual and though he has a clear understanding that his race does affect how others view him, in this much less progressive and accepting world than the one we live in now, he doesn’t let this stop him from going after what he wants when he can see that this is what he deserves. From the beginning of this book both of these characters clearly have desires for a family of their own and a chance at a happily married life. This book details the hurdles and struggles they have both had a go through and how finally they might get a shot at what they dream of. Another strong character in the book is Cathy’s mother-in-law, Violet. Violet is presented to the reader as an unlikeable woman, who has very prejudiced views and is disillusioned about who her son is and what he has done with his life. Throughout the book, I hoped that she would eventually get what she deserved as she is very cruel to Cathy, Archie, and her grandson Peter whom she always calls Stanley the name of her son instead of his actual name. There are lots of other supporting characters in this story, such as Cathy’s family and people that Archie works with, and though their stories aren’t elaborated on very much I do feel that we are given a good clear picture of who they are and how they relate to the main story at different times.
Something else that I enjoyed about this book is that it is written from the perspective of both Cathy and Archie as this gives us a true insight into both of the characters and their lives. If the book only included one perspective I feel that I wouldn’t have enjoyed the book as much as I did. This technique also allowed for some mini cliffhangers throughout the book as the story would switch from one character to another. This kept me turning the pages and wanting to read more.
I enjoyed the plot of this book and found that I wanted to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next, though it was perhaps a little predictable this is actually what I would have expected from a book of this nature as it is clearly a romance and light read. The predictability, therefore, didn’t take away from my experience or enjoyment at all.
A negative that I found about the book was that it was quite a slow start and then several big events happened in the last third of the book. For example, the event detailed in the blurb, Archie moving in as Cathy’s lodger, didn’t happen until well over a third of the way through. Though I did find myself waiting for this event to happen as I wanted to know what would happen after this slow start to the book did do an excellent job of establishing the characters and the story.
Overall I enjoyed and would recommend this book to someone looking for a quick read about an unconventional romance set in wartime.