Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Love blooms in the darkest days…”

Well my emotions have been everywhere reading this! A really heart-wrenching story of tragedy, loss, hope and love, based on the real events of WWII and the Bethnal Green tube disaster. Honestly, read with tissues handy because it will break your heart! An unforgettable story. So happy to be sharing my review of Nineteen Steps!

About the book

It’s 1942, and air raid sirens continue to wail around London. Eighteen-year-old Nellie Morris counts every day lucky that she emerges from the underground shelters unharmed, her loving family still surrounding her.

After a chance encounter with Ray, an American airman stationed nearby, Nellie becomes enchanted with the idea of a broader world. Just when Nellie begins to embrace an exciting new life with Ray, a terrible incident occurs during an air raid one evening, tearing Nellie’s world is torn apart. But just when it seems all hope is lost, Nellie finds that, against all odds, love and happiness can triumph.

Nineteen Steps is a deeply affecting, mesmerizing page-turner inspired by the author’s family history. An epic story of longing, loss, and secrets, Millie Bobby Brown’s propulsive debut introduces an unforgettable, brave young woman and boldly portrays the strength in the power of love.

The beginning

I always find anything about war really difficult to stomach, and I don’t think there will ever be a time where this isn’t the case. But there was something about this book straight away that felt somewhat hopeful. We’re introduced to lovely Nellie, who I instantly warmed to and felt like I needed to protect, herself and her family living at the time of the Blitz in the Second World War. She’s close to her family, as well as her friend, Billy, who has strong feelings for her. Nellie doesn’t feel the same; he feels more like a brother to her, and besides, after the war, she had plans to see the world, not settle down with the ‘boy next door’. The sound of air raid sirens always sets panic in me, and I think this is why I shared so many feelings with Nellie and her family right from the start. However, aside from the odd air raid siren, there didn’t seem to be much else happening. It felt quite slow and difficult to get into for some reason. But then it happened. The sickening, saddening news that no one wanted to hear. A direct bomb hit. Just reading this sent my stomach in knots. So much would change now.

“She felt an ache in the pit of her stomach, like someone had torn out her insides. Her heart was heavy with both loss and guilt.”

The decision is made to evacuate Nellie’s little sister, Flo, after the increase in raids. This part of the book was utterly heartbreaking. The pain of sending your child away to keep them safe must have been unbearable back then. I can’t even imagine! But their plan takes a U-turn when their mother decides the family should stay together at the last minute. Despite the emotions running high, this scene is also a crucially important one to the story; it’s where Nellie and American airman, Ray, meet for the first time. It’s clear straight away how Nellie feels about him as they bump into each other again and it doesn’t take long for them to be really smitten with one another. Nellie and Ray’s relationship certainly gave the book that lightness it needed after we’d read so much darkness about the war and the loss Nellie’s family has endured. I loved the excitement he brought to her life and how she felt around him – it was so lovely and written well, and I felt really good about their relationship and where it would go from here.

The middle

This is the first book in a long time that has made me want to do further research. I looked up all sorts of information about the Blitz and, after reading about the possible danger of the tube station steps, the Bethnal Green tube disaster. The balance of darkness and uncertainty with love and hope was portrayed well, but I soon found Billy to be irritating and borderline obsessed with Nellie. When he realises how happy she is with Ray, he’s like a sad little puppy dog. The description from the author with each raid, how the community always comes together in times of need was just perfect for he storyline. I mostly felt drawn into each chapter, but the simple language used felt slow and boring at times, taking me out of the story when I was desperate to stay focused. As I reached part two, I felt a shift, like there was more heartache and loss to come. I’d grown quite attached to Nellie’s family and loved how close they all were. I just hoped they wouldn’t be brutally torn apart.

“They’ll be found, they’ll be alright, she whispered again, but whether she believed it herself she couldn’t possibly tell.”

We’re soon hit with tragedy and heartbreak after a catastrophic incident on the tube steps. Although quite graphic in places, this has been so delicately written. It made me hold my breath and my eyes filled with tears, especially after recently doing so much research on the Bethnal Green disaster, reading about how it all unfolded. It had such a huge impact on me, the sadness really settling into my heart. I couldn’t begin to imagine the fear and the panic these people faced. Completely and utterly traumatic. How the characters dealt with this on top of the extreme feelings of loss and hopelessness was written in an unforgettable way. The author captures the emotions perfectly, how Nellie and her family take their anger out on people who don’t deserve it, blaming people who are not to be blamed. It was so powerful, so raw. The scenes surrounding the inquiry into what happened was so sad, but so interesting. Unfortunately, Nellie’s job required her to be there, to listen and to relive all the details again. She needed her loved ones around her.

The end

After what Nellie had accused Ray of the last time she’d spoken to him, I wasn’t sure if anything could be the same again. But she had to try, right? Being both a historical fiction and a romance, I knew Ray would soon be back in her life after he moved base to the midlands and after that awful row. They both needed each other so much, for so many reasons. But then there’s another unexpected blow for Nellie and this one made me wonder how on earth she’d find the strength to go on. The ending chapters seemed to fly by so quickly; we skipped months, years into the future with each chapter and it felt a little strange after the pacing of the book previously. However, where characters and their relationships were concerned, I felt they’d grown so much stronger over time, and Billy actually grew on me a little more. He seemed to have matured, his feelings for Nellie still as strong but more in control (if that makes sense!) The progress of the inquiry and what the public knew Vs what those involved internally knew was fascinating. How could they keep the truth a secret for all those years?

“In that moment there was only her and her grief, and it filled the world.”

I thought the ending was excellent – there were some big surprises, both happy and sad ones, and some difficult decisions for Nellie to make, which all worked together to keep things interesting, to keep us guessing how things would work out. There are still references to to the hardships Nellie and those close to her had endured, but there was also a message of hope, of taking chances when they arise as you never know what’s around the corner. It was so thought-provoking and so memorable. And Billy! I was so proud of the man Billy had become and the sacrifice he made. Good lord, that alone nearly had me in tears! I was so glad that we experienced these characters in celebrating the end of a long war, and the epilogue following on from the prologue really rounded things off perfectly in my eyes. Knowing this book was based on a true story told by Millie Bobby Brown’s Nana Ruth made everything so much more emotional. A must read for anyone who loves war time fiction and romance!

Overall thoughts

Nineteen Steps is an eye-opening and heartbreaking account of life during World War II, focusing on the tragedy that was the Bethnal Green tube disaster. However, it is also a book of hope, love and grabbing second chances. The story is so emotional and raw; you really feel the loss and the grief that main character, Nellie Morris experiences and at times, it was hard to stop my eyes from tearing up. But aside from all this, we also get the most unique love story I think I’ve ever read. There were a few elements of the book that weren’t for me; the language was strangely simple for the most part, and the pacing felt really fast towards the end, but all in all, a truly memorable, heart-wrenching read. Based on the life of Millie Bobby Brown’s Nana Ruth and whipped into shape by the brilliant Kathleen McGurl. Just wish her name was on the front cover!

Thanks so much to the team at HQ Stories for my beautiful copy of the book! You can grab your copy of Nineteen Steps right now over on Amazon or wherever you buy your books.

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