Mrs Porter Calling by A J Pearce | Book Review

“Running a magazine is all A Bit Mis, but we’re the dullards who enjoy it, so just leave it to us.”

Emmy Lake is the much-loved agony aunt at Woman’s Friend magazine, relied upon by readers across the country as they face the challenges of life on the Home Front. With the problem page thriving and a team of fantastic women behind her, Emmy finally feels she is Doing Her Bit.

But when a glamorous new owner arrives, everything changes. As the Honourable Mrs Porter tries to charm her way around the rest of the team, Emmy realises that she plans to destroy everything readers love about the magazine.

With happiness quickly turning to heartbreak, and war still raging in Europe, will Emmy and her friends find the inner strength they need to keep keeping on – and save the magazine they love?

12. Mrs. Porter Calling

I am an ardent fan of the Emmy Lake Chronicles and can’t recall another historical fiction series I have followed with the same enthusiasm.

It’s April 1943 and Emmy has been married to Captain Charles Mayhew for a little over a year. While he is away at war, Emmy is now completely in charge of “Yours Cheerfully,” the hugely popular advice column in Woman’s Friend magazine.

In a sudden turn of events, Woman’s Friend is bequeathed to a new owner and the Honourable Mrs. Cressida Porter, a glamorous socialite, becomes the new publisher of the magazine. Oblivious to the impact of war, she believes the magazine should reflect the expensive tastes of the wealthy and include frivolous articles about her entitled friends. Determined to change everything the readers love, she finds support in Mrs. Pye, a Paris-obsessed fashion editor with delusions of grandeur.

In this third part of the series, AJ Pearce brings another impossible challenge for Emmy and the team at Woman’s Friend. We learn a little more about Bunty, Emmy’s dearest friend, and are introduced to some lovely new characters. Emmy and Bunty make further progress in doing their bit for the war effort. And, as always, Guy remains my absolute favourite in the way he encourages the team and nudges them forward, being a pillar of support behind them.

I love how the author infuses humour to puncture the air of melancholy and spread sunshine in an otherwise grey world. The will and determination of these women supporting women and the power of friendships is awe-inspiring. It makes the toughest challenge seem possible to overcome.

Powerful, heart-warming and compelling, this feel-good adventure overwhelmed me with emotion. There is no doubt the series only gets better with every book and I don’t want it to ever end. It would be like losing a best friend.

Mrs Porter Calling (The Emmy Lake Chronicles #3) by A J Pearce. Due to be published on 25th May 2023 by Picador, an imprint of Pan Macmillan. This ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Pan Macmillan.

Book 12 of 2023.

Aquamarine Flavours Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟.

Available on Amazon*.

About Photo: Woman’s Friend Magazine receives bags of letters from its readers that are meticulously sorted through and every single letter read by the team. With that in mind, I chose this mini post box to pair with this book.

The post box and letters are cut from ivory paper using a template by UponAfold to which I’ve made a few design modifications.

About the Author: AJ Pearce grew up in Hampshire, England. Her debut novel, Dear Mrs. Bird, was a Sunday Times and international bestseller and was shortlisted for the British Book Awards Debut of the Year and the Historical Writers’ Association Debut Crown for best historical debut. Yours Cheerfully and Mrs Porter Calling are the second and third novels in The Emmy Lake Chronicles.

Connect with her on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

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