The Woolworths Girls Promise by Elaine Everest Blog Tour

Elaine Everest is a new author to me but I do like a a good saga and that is what this lovely author has to offer in her series of books.

The Woolworths Girl's Promise is part of you've guessed it, The Woolworths Girls series however I'm pleased to say that it can be read as a stand alone book.

After losing her beloved fiancé at Ypres in 1917, seventeen-year-old Elizabeth Billington faces a lonely future estranged from her upper-class parents due to her association with Charlie Sayers and his working-class family. No longer able to live under her parent’s roof she is taken in by Charlie’s father, escaping the suffocating demands of her parents.

Betty soon learns all too well about the realities of life after an accident at the Woolwich Arsenal munitions works. Spotting an advertisement for a nearby job at Woolworths, Betty starts on a new and thrilling journey starting at the bottom of the employment ladder in the well-known store.

Her work journey leads her to Ramsgate in Kent to work in a newly built store and with it the chance of marriage, but can she ever forget Charlie and the promise she made to him…?

In this book we are introduced to Elizabeth (Betty) Billington. 

The prologue starts in the present - for Elizabeth  -but the subsequent chapters begin at the year 1916 and continue until we reach her current year of 1938.

We follow this delightful young woman as she navigates growing up in these much tougher times. I do believe she is depicted in previous books as her older self so I'm now looking forward to going back to the beginning of this set of books to see just how Betty appears in later years.

Back to this book.

In earlier chapters this poor young girl loses the love of her life at Ypres, a then seventeen year old Betty unfortunately becomes estranged from her parents and is forced to grow up sooner than she would have expected.

I admired her determination and independence. 

She suffered no fools and proved herself to be very capable no matter what situation she found herself in.

Hobby quickly became my favourite character. A wonderful motherly figure to help guide Betty on her journey of life.  

Inspirational.

Despite all of the heartache that she had to face, she managed to remain positive and unwavering throughout each and every obstacle. From earning her own money, finding places to live, she managed to make a new life for herself whilst still keeping that promise that she made to her beloved all those years ago.

Well researched, it was interesting to see the situations that arose from being in a certain class of family and how even the upper class were judged. The saying don't judge a book by its cover certainly came to mind.

Everest is quite the storyteller and I'm looking forward to reading more of their novels.