It's the middle of WW2 and creating tasty, filling homecooked meals in the kitchens of Britain is becoming harder as food rationing increases. In a small town outside of London, four very different women enter a BBC cooking contest called The Kitchen Front - aimed at showing those in the kitchen a creative and resourceful way to use their rations, and also find a new co-presenter for a food-focused radio show.

This was a sweet and sentimental book that really hammers home its message of Britain's 'we shall never surrender' during the turbulent years of fighting, and the scare food years that came after it. I enjoyed this for exactly what it was which was a slightly simple book with a message of hope and friendship shining bright within it. I think this is the perfect book to recommend to many relatives or friends who aren't big readers but like certain types of historical fiction or women-focused stories (granny, auntie, mam etc) and I do think it's interesting seeing the creative way people had to think about food and how to make the most of what they had, as well as what the land around the would provide.

The characters themselves were a varied bunch from widowed, overworked Audrey, her awful snooty sister Gwendoline, conniving, pregnant Zelda and sweet and shy Nell. I wasn't sure what to think about Gwen or Zelda as they were both pretty awful to begin with, and there were times Audrey showed flashes of selfishness as well whereas Nell was just slightly on the wet blanket side of things. While I always like and appreciate a story that shows female friendships, and I liked that in this one we also get a huge improvement on a sisterly relationship too, there was no real character progression and all the characters (particularly Gwen and Zelda) seemed to flip a switch and become completely different overnight. So yeah, a story definitely on the simpler side of things but I do think this a perfect book for a certain type of reader!