A book written in letters, reminiscent of '84 Charing Cross Road'. An easy, delightful read with a predictable romance thrown into the story of the German occupation of this Channel Island (Guernsey) during WWII. I enjoyed this book!

Usually I don't like novels that are written entirely in a format such as this one, all of which is told through letters and occasionally telegrams back and forth between the various characters. But in this case it works very well, and honestly doesn't get in the way of the story, and doesn't seem at all gimmicky as it so often does.

This is a charming and heartwarming story, absolutely delightful! Highly recommended.

I went back and forth between 4 and 5 Stars but in the end decided to round up!

I choose to read this book because Netflix is releasing it as a movie in a few days and it had been sitting in my TBR pile for awhile. I’m so glad I picked it up and now I can’t wait for the movie!

The whole book is written in letters and telegrams and can be a little hard to figure out who is who at first but it’s worth it in the end! The characters are all so fun and unique and reading the book truly makes you want to take a trip to Guernsey and visit them all!

There is a lot of sad topics in the book as it is set during the years after WWII and so there are many stories from the war and quite a few people are trimming to rebuild their lives in the aftermath. But even with that, the focus is on life itself and how art (books in particular) can bring hope and joy even in the darkest times. Also, the smallest kindnesses are what truly keep us human and can help us survive the toughest moments.

Highly recommend!

Love this book. I devoured it over the course of one rainy day and my heart is full. If you couldn’t get enough of the movie, go ahead and pick up the book. It follows the same major plot line, but with a few extra characters and scenes to keep things interesting. Couldn’t recommend it enough!

This book was both sweet and sad. It’s a love story between a woman and a place and its people. Even though it had a love theme, I wouldn’t call it a love story - there was a lot of love between Juliet and her childhood friends and also between Juliet and her new loves in Guernsey. The book had a lot of difficult stories about WWII and how people and families were affected which was pretty hard for me to read (admittedly I skimmed over the harder parts) but they all were very well written. A lot of reviews I had read said they found it hard with the letter format but I really enjoyed it (after the 3rd letter when I was still like ok who are these people??). I enjoyed that there weren’t tooooo many main characters and it was fairly easy to understand and love each one. Using the letters, the author was able to round out the characters and make them more real. The underlying love story was fairly typical so that didn’t reel me in, but it was the characters - especially Elizabeth that I loved and made me want to keep reading. It’s definitely a good book and well worth the read - can’t wait to finish work tonight and watch the Netflix version! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 from me!

This was such an extremely lovely and enjoyable fast read. I needed this!

A rare treat of a book, utterly readable despite it being told only in letters (which is never my favorite type of reading). A double delight for me, because in this time when I can only feel despair at the dark directions my country is taking, this book highlights the very best parts of humankind illuminating another dark time in the world. It has been a long time since I have been so sad to see a story end.

Lots of fun. The story of a London author and a group of residents on the island of Guernsey and their mutual discovery of each other. The tale takes place in the year following the end of WWII and focuses on the German occupation of the island. Telling the story by way of letter-writing works beautifully - lively pace, great characters, good plot. I couldn't put it down.

This book has been recommended to me several times by many people. Having recently finished, I can officially pass on the recommendation. What a gem!

This is the story of Juliet Ashton, columnist and writer, in the months after the end of WWII, as she finds herself immersed in the stories of the residents of Guernsey, a town occupied by Germany during the war. Juliet’s interest begins as purely professional as she seeks material for her writing, but quickly becomes personal as she becomes attached to the charming, quirky, and lovable residents of the town.

There are a number of things I loved about this book. Here are a few:

* The format. The book is written entirely with letters (and telegraphs). In some ways, this format makes getting attached to the characters and understanding the plot a more lengthy process. But by the end, you’ll wish for the romance of letter writing to reappear in real life.
* The setting. I’ve always loved books set during WWII. The stories are so often heart-wrenchingly tender and inspirational. Yet somehow, I’ve never thought about Europe immediately after the war, with cities in shambles and people struggling to get home and find lost family members. The background of this story gives a peek into the world at this time, and makes you want to learn more.
* The characters. All the characters are a delight, but my favorites were Susan, Juliet’s book tour guide, who saves the day with her familiarity with the gossip column; and Isola, whose penchant for the odd (potions, phrenology, and detective work a la Miss Marple) is sure to amuse.

A quick read, this is recommended for anyone, especially fans of Nancy Mitford.

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Even the cheesy parts made me smile. This has been on my shelf for so long. But books truly find you when you need them. Obviously I flew through it (per the dates) and it made me remember why I wrote letters, and chastise myself for having slacked in that practice.