Dark Days for the Tobacco Girls by Lizzie Lane – Review

• Title: Dark Days for the Tobacco Girls (Tobacco Girls Book 2)
• Author: Lizzie Lane
• Publisher: Boldwood Books on June 8, 2021
• Genre: Saga/Historical Fiction
• Pages: 316
• Formats Available: Paperback, Audiobook, & Digital
• Rating: 4/5

Trigger Warnings: Miscarriage, Death of Children, War Setting with Bombings, Alcohol Abuse

Many thanks to Lizzie Lane, Boldwood Books, and Rachel’s Random Resources for providing me with a digital copy of Dark Days for the Tobacco Girls with a request for an honest review.

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Dark Days for the Tobacco Girls Blurb

Nothing will stop the Tobacco Girls, not even war…

BRISTOL 1940.

The Tobacco Girls cling together as they realise that the clouds of war are turning dark, the world is becoming more dangerous and their lives more unpredictable. 

Bridget Milligan’s big, happy family fragments when her siblings are evacuated to North Devon, then a letter from America further fills her with dismay.

Maisie Miles’s safe haven from both Eddie Bridgeman and her father is jeopardised and she is forced to move on, but where to this time? 

Phyllis Mason is struck down by tragedy and her life spirals downwards into despair until a new horizon beckons, but also perhaps great danger…

Regardless of the rationing, shortages, and an ever-worsening situation, The Tobacco Girls all pull together and hope for better days to come.

Provided by Rachel’s Random Resources for Tour Use

My Review

Lizzie Lane offers readers a glance of Bristol during WWII in her new novel, Dark Days for the Tobacco Girls. This book is the second volume in the Tobacco Girls series. It also works well as a standalone. I never felt lost because the author incorporates enough events from the first book.

The tobacco girls are three friends who bond while working in a tobacco factory in the leadup to World War II. Phyllis, Bridgette, and Maisie are the Three M’s. They are the best of friends yet struggle with their personal lives. Phyllis is pregnant and living with her in-laws. Her mother-in-law is domineering and separates Phyllis from her friends and family. Thus, forcing Phyllis to devote her life to Robert. Bridgette is in love with an American that she hasn’t seen in over a year. One day in the country, Bridgette meets a man who could be Lyndon’s twin. This likeness confuses Bridgette. Maisie has trouble with her stepfather and his lawlessness, which puts her in danger. Even though these women each struggle on their own, they are still together in the end.

I had a hard time liking Bridgette and Phyllis. Maisie is a wonderful character, but I didn’t care for the other two. Bridgette seems condescending. Though I think the author means her to be contemplative and intelligent. I find Phyllis to be a selfish woman with no regard for anyone else. I wanted to feel sorry for Phyllis, but she makes terrible choices that hurt the people around her. I did enjoy Maisie. Maisie doesn’t spend her time obsessing over men. She is a free spirit who speaks her mind. Her plight made me feel for her. Due to no fault of her own, she finds herself in a bad position. Maisie’s cleverness allows her to find a solution that works for many people. 

Bristol is a setting that I haven’t encountered much in my reading. I enjoyed getting to know the landscape as well as a bit of the history. The countryside where Bridgette’s siblings evacuate to sounds like an idyllic place. I would love to visit there one day. The house on the country estate teems with history. It would be exciting to see and get to know the nooks and crannies of the old place.

Even though most of the characters disappointed me, the story is great. I am curious about whether my feelings would change if I had read the first book. I can’t help but think the first novel might not be so dark. Of course, this volume tells us the story is dark by the title, but I wish there had been a little happiness.

I award Dark Days for the Tobacco Girls 4 out of 5 stars. I must say that you may enjoy this novel more if you read the series from the beginning. A better introduction to some of the secondary characters would have been helpful.

About the Author – Lizzie Lane

Lizzie Lane is the author of over 50 books, a number of which have been bestsellers.  She was born and bred in Bristol where many of her family worked in the cigarette and cigar factories.  This has inspired her new saga series for Boldwood, The Tobacco Girls, the first part of which will be published in January 2021.

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