REVIEW: The Hobby Shop on Barnaby Street by Jillianne Hamilton
A forbidden wartime romance begins just as German planes fill the skies over London in 1940. A playful and heartfelt read perfect for fans of Dear Mrs. Bird, The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir, and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.
When Maisie Beckett steps into her brother’s struggling London hobby shop during wartime, she’s confronted with two harsh realities: the looming threat of a Nazi invasion and the shop’s dire financial situation. Determined to prove herself to her parents and keep the shop afloat, Maisie moonlights as a pinup photographer, covertly boosting the shop’s earnings. In the midst of London’s nightly bombings, Maisie finds herself irresistibly drawn to the shop’s co-owner, Cal Woodbury, captivated by his quick wit and bashful smile—and his mysterious secret.
But Cal made a promise to his best friend and business partner, Roy—a promise that he would never pursue a romantic relationship with Maisie, Roy’s sweet and beautiful sister. As the German bombs rain down upon London, and as Cal’s bond with Maisie deepens, he discovers that some promises are impossible to keep. When Roy deserts the Navy and unexpectedly appears at Cal’s doorstep, Cal is forced to choose between his loyal friend and the woman he’s falling for.
While London goes to war around them, Maisie and Cal face their own battle—finding their courage and recognizing their worth.
Dear Ms. Hamilton,
Thank you for contacting us about this series. I’ve been (yes, I will admit it) whining a bit about how most books set in WWII these days seem to be all about libraries. But a hobby shop? Wow, that’s a different setting. I wasn’t quite sure that a hobby shop would be able to stay in business during the Blitz but as I kept reading, I found I definitely wanted to discover if it could and what would happen to the two friends trying to keep it going.
Maisie and Cal are such wonderful people. It’s not that they don’t make mistakes – they do. Yet those are honest and understandable mistakes. But they keep trying to be better, to be helpful, to look after those they care about in spite of how some of these people sometimes treat them. Maisie is aware that her brother Roy is the sun in her parents’ lives. When Roy’s London shop appears to be struggling – actually it’s poor co-owner Cal struggling to get and keep good help in the face of the higher wages paid by munitions factories – Maisie is dispatched (whether or not she really wants to go) to assist. Maisie is the sibling who always wanted to run a shop or perhaps she just wants to get out of her small village but to not have a say about it still rankles.
Cal Woodbury is trying to keep the business going but can see that getting certain stock will become even more trying as this war goes on. Items made of metal can be crossed off the inventory list and obtaining anything from the buying lists submitted to his suppliers is getting worse by the week. When Roy’s younger sister shows up and announces she’s there to help, Cal is frustrated for a number of reasons. He knows he needs the help but he worries that the shop is barely bringing in enough income to cover bills and his salary much less pay Maisie. Oh, and he quickly discovers that he’s very much interested in Maisie as a lovely young woman despite promising Roy he’d never try dating her.
Maisie soon lands a flat rental with a starchy older woman and strikes up a friendship with Nora who, after learning of Maisie’s interest in photography, comes up with a money making plan. Meanwhile Cal is faced with a terrible choice which will bite him in the bum no matter what he does plus he learns of a second family his father – who deserted him and his mother – has. When the bombs get closer to them and secrets are unearthed, what will Maisie and Cal discover about themselves and decide to do?
I loved the way the story unfolds. Little bits of information about the characters are shown along the way rather than info-dumped. There is a reason why young, healthy looking Cal is not in military service but rather than spill his life history to every nosy stranger who accosts him, he has devised a series of answers (delivered with a straight face) that had me laughing with the best (IMO) being that he’s actually a dog in a man suit. When a woman keeps entering the shop and behaving strangely, it takes a while before her true identity is dropped on Cal like a bombshell. He doesn’t take things well but as the situation unfolds, I can understand why it pains him so much.
Maisie is clearly the secondary child in her parents’ eyes. When she gets to London, she feels freer and begins to make some of her own choices. She also tries to help Cal keep the store afloat and pitches in to rescue and save an injured kitten. Nora’s suggestion forces Maisie to confront something painful from her past and start to move past it. The women who seek out her services want something to send to their men which they can’t get anywhere else and taking photos again brings back to Maisie the joy she once got from it.
I was surprised by a secondary subplot as I don’t recall ever reading anything like it before. Of course it will end up wreaking havoc on several people at the worst possible time but it, along with Maisie’s activities, will also open her parents’ eyes a bit as well.
There is pain but also laughter in the story. The MCs are sweethearts (and I don’t only mean their ultimate relationship which, no, I don’t see as a spoiler). Their actions and reactions are believable plus I got a great feel for the time period. And Tiger recovers from his injuries and is going to be along for Maisie’s and Cal’s future adventures. A-
~Jayne
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Need a extra incentive to try this book? Currently it’s free at Amazon, Kobo, BN, and Google. ☺
And astonishingly enough (a delightful coincidence? author’s promo timing?) this book is currently free on Kindle. Yes, of course I clicked.
It turns out that I already owned this. Your very appealing review has made me move it up my list, Jayne.
@Kareni: Great! You’re ready to go then.
@Neile: Yes, I was delighted to see that people will be able to read the first in the series for free.
I picked this up a little while back (also for free). Good to know I made a good decision!
I picked it up too since it’s free.
Once again you have steered me to a very good read. I ordered the other two books in this series. Thanks Jayne!
@MEB: I’m glad you enjoyed it. I should have a review of the second book up early next week.
A charming read. Looking forward to the next books!
<3 <3 <3 Thank youuuuuu!