Chris
I found it slow to get into but once I got to know the main characters I quite enjoyed it. The fact that it was based on true events made it more interesting. I will give it an 8 out of 10

Mabe
I very much enjoyed this read as it was based on a true story about the London Blitz causing it's inhabitants to rush for safety in the underground tunnels .
I am happy to give it a 10

Helen
I enjoyed the historical elements, and wanted to know more about the real story behind the underground community. I thought the book was easy to read, and accessibly written, but that the characters were too stereotypical and the story was very predictable. Because of that I felt that I had read the plot before, just set in different contexts. However, saying that, I did want to finish it, and then enjoyed the additional information that was provided at the end.
I'd give it a 6

Arleen
I had never heard of the library in the under ground, and thought it was wonderful to think people could still be able to get the books they wanted to read. Not only books but a theater as well. I loved the humour of the Londoners and how everyone pulled together in times of hardship.
I was also so pleased to think all the children wanted to read books and they were well and truly catered for. I was an avid reader as a child but there wasn't a library until Boots the chemist opened up their upper room to be used as such.
I loved all the characters, well most of them!
The reality of war, the people who were bombed out of their homes and still kept going. Using the library as a place to keep warm and of course loose themselves in the books.
I was pleased the book mentioned the Channel Islands, so often they were overlooked
I enjoyed this book so much I will give it 10/10

Cat
I really enjoyed this book. Although sometimes it did feel a little formulaic and corny, it was also vividly written and very engaging. Clara and Ruby are both great characters and I loved the underground library. The fact that it was based on a true story felt quite inspirational too. It's nearly a 7 but not quite so 6/10.

Carolyn
The Little Wartime library was easy to read and I liked that it was based on a true story and the notes at the end were really interesting too. I hadn't heard about the underground library before but what a great idea it was. I liked most of the characters, especially Sparrow and Tubby. I was a bit surprised that quite a lot of men and even some women in the forties still thought reading wasn't good for women and girls. I enjoyed it and give it 7.

Eve
I really enjoyed this book. It was easy to escape into the world of clara Button. I enjoyed the chapters ar the end where we were told which parts of the story were based on real events..it is odd to realise the value of books then - when you think that now books are relegated to charity shops or even recycling. I felt sorry for the women of that time who were totally under the thumb of their menfolk , many of whom were self opinionated bullies .
The chapters about the channel islands were interesting as many books are not so realistic.
I would certainly read more books by this author and would recommend this book and give it a score of 10.

Kirsty
This book is very powerful and extremely well written. It is devastatingly heart-breaking and beautiful at the same time. The storyline of this book is fiction but the actual historical events are all based on facts and history which is another thing that drew me to read it. It is absolutely rammed with emotions that will make you smile, cry and laugh on the roller-coaster ride to hell that is World War 2 and the Blitz along with persecution and murder of the Jews and many others. Nothing is left out and Kate has done an immense amount of research and brings Clara and Ruby's stories to life along with the Little Wartime Library. Clara and Ruby's library story is based on that of the borough librarian George F. Vale and his deputy Stanley Smith who actually did set up and run the little wartime library on Bethnal Green Underground. Kate used her creativity to bring George and Stanley back to life through Clara and Ruby. I must admit that this book really has got to be one of, if not the, best historical book I have ever read!! As a bibliophile myself to find a book that is based on and in libraries and books really is a readers dream!! I was absolutely fascinated with not just the storyline itself which I found to be unique but also all the historical facts and information included both in the storyline and in the back of the book where Kate gives the reader further information, photos and details on where she found her information. The fact that she made the main protagonists female living during the war and in a time where, although women were doing the same roles that men would have done they were still not seen as being able to do a males role to the same standard and the discrimination and prejudice that Clara and Ruby receive, especially from a certain horrid Mr Pinkerton-Smythe is absolutely disgraceful but true to those times. I loved going back in time from 2023 , shortly to 2020 (thankfully) and then to 1944 and back again. The prologue and epilogue are both set during 2020 when the COVID pandemic kept us in lockdown and destroyed many lives and the parallels between how people would lose themselves in the fictional world of books during lockdown and also during the war are fascinating.

I absolutely loved the amazing idea that Kate had to start each chapter of her book with a quote from a real librarian which I found all to be very true but the ones that stood out the most to me just have to be 'If you have a book you have a friend. As an only child, reading gave me a friend ALL the time' quoted from Andrea Homer, former Saturday Girl At Cradley Library in Halesowen, ' That moment, where something clicks, and you know you've made a reader of a child. Pure magic' quoted from Donna Byrne, Reader Developmental Librarian for Havering Libraries (as a mum of three boys myself I can definitely relate to this one and absolutely love in when I see my eldest son lost in the magic of a book), I adored the story from Anne Cunningham who was told it was pointless her being given the job as library assistant as she would only leave to go off and have babies to then end up with her interviewers job years later, 'There's no such thing as a child who doesn't like reading, just a child who hasn't found the right book' quoted from Nicola 'Ninja Librarian' Pollard who is a school librarian in Harrogate (my partner who rarely reads actually agreed with this one and, again, as parents we both found this to be very true' and the final ones, which I am tempted to have tattooed to me next to my other book tattoos are 'Want to see the world? Don't join the army, become a librarian' from Denise Bangs, Idea Store Libraries in London and my final favourite and one I definitely agree with was spoken by the Mayor of St Pancras, London and is ' People Without books are like houses without windows'!!

I also received a book group kit with my book which I also found fascinating as it included information and photos of the areas mentioned in Kate's book as well as many other fascinating facts and things to do. My heart broke but at the same time soared at the end of this beautiful story filled with romance, passion, war, love, horror, suspense, tension, books, determination and just absolutely everything you could ask for in an emotional rollercoaster page turning historical novel. I cannot wait to read Kate's next guaranteed success and at the back of her book she mentions that after talking to Jackie Stanfield who is a librarian at HMP Hyde bank Women's Prison in Belfast she found talking to her so fascinating it made her want to set a book in a women's prison library and I really, really hope that she goes ahead with this as I for one would love to read that!!
I wont go into too much detail about the characters as I will leave them for you to discover, plus I have already written way more than I was planning to but there is just so much I could say about how absolutely amazing this book is that I really could carry on for hours! Each of the characters in the book came completely to life thanks to Kate's amazing evocative writing skills and several of them were based on people who lived during this time, their experiences and lives and a mix of their personalities and although I could not stand several of them such as Mr Pinkerton Smyth, Victor, Clara's joke of a mother and mother in law, there were characters that were absolutely amazing and unforgettable that apart from our main hero's Clara and Ruby, the Bethnal Green Bookworms such as Pat, Queenie, Irene and Dot, charming and aging Mr Pepper, ruthless but with a heart of gold Mrs Chumbley, handsome, brave and sweet Billy and GI Eddie, Ruby's poor mother Netty, the absolutely lovable and naughty Tube Rats including Sparrow, Tubby, Beatty and Marie along with the fantastic Minister Rupert Montague (especially after putting Pinkerton in his place!) and last but definitely not least the Library Cat!!!! These amazing characters made me angry, joyful, sad, blissful, hopeful and so, so much more in between!!! They most definitely wont be forgotten by me anytime soon!! Kate does an amazing job building her each of these truly amazing characters and her fantastic evocative writing skills brings each and every one of them to life.

Overall an unforgettable, unputdownable, absolutely beautifully devastating story from an amazingly talented author. This book is an absolute must read for anyone and everyone!! Most definitely a 10 from me!!

Sonia
I was looking forward to reading this book but in truth it was a little disappointing. The back story of the underground library was fantastic and is what kept me reading to the end but the characters were so stereotypical and the events and storyline so cliched and formulaic that it spoilt the overall enjoyment. It was easy to read and reasonably well written but could have been so much better if the personal stories had been more true to life and not required to have a sentimental happy ending. What a shame.
I had no idea that this library had existed and the author's story was really interesting as was the war story which was well written and believable. Although I was aware that Jersey had been invaded by the Nazis I had not known any detail so that was interesting too.
Overall I can only give it a 6 out of 10.

Average score : 8 out of 10

Had no clue that subways were used as live in bomb shelters much less a library there too!