Книга: The Picture House Girls (Archer Rosie); Quercus, 2021

A warm and heartfelt WW2 saga of hope, love, and female friendship and how women pull together through good times and bad. Perfect for fans of Dilly Court and Nadine Dorries.

In 1940s Hampshire the war is settling into its stride bringing dark days for many.

Connie Baxter has just moved in with her Aunt Gertie after the death of her mother. Gertie works as a cleaner at the Criterion Picture House in Gosport and she helps Connie to get a job there as an usherette. For Connie, it's the perfect place to work because she adores the movies with their glamorous, romantic stars.

The only fly in the ointment is the Criterion's creepy manager with his wandering hands. But soon Connie is firm friends with Queenie, who sells ice creams and soon tells her how to warn him off.

Charming Tommo Smith is a 'taxi-dancer'. For a fee he steers ladies of a certain age around the dance floor - and sometimes more besides which pays for his smart clothes. Connie's friend Queenie says he's a chancer, but his gorgeous blue eyes tell Connie something different. When suddenly he disappears, Connie accepts that Queenie may be right - he was too good to be true.

As the war rages on and Connie struggles with the harsh realities of life and the turbulence of romance, she comes to realize that life isn't always like it is in the pictures.