The Lady at the Lodging House

The Wartime Lodging House #3

by Natalie Meg Evans

London, 1940. In a Mayfair townhouse behind a wide front door, three women must bond together to make it through the war – no matter their differences.

A world away from the wealth and comfort of her family home, lord’s daughter Betony Styles has come to love her new life at a London lodging house with Grace and Jess. Selling her beautiful gowns to pay for her rent and rations for the other girls, Betony is determined to do her bit.

By day she works in the factory sewing much-needed uniforms for the Women’s Air Force. At night, air raid sirens blaze – but Betony and the other girls do all they can to help in the hardest hit neighbourhoods, rescuing a precious newborn from the rubble. And she’s head over heels with her beau, brave Canadian pilot Winter Macpherson.

But her father believes duty to her family should come before her duty for her country. He demands she give up playing games and come home once and for all.

To stand up to her father and follow her own path, Betony needs Grace and Jess more than ever. But when Winter disappears, her heart shatters. Together, can the lodging house girls give each other hope even in the darkest times?

A completely unputdownable historical novel, perfect for fans of Jean Grainger, Lisa Wingate and Diney Costeloe. Your heart will break at this beautiful story of love, friendship and courage.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction

391 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 6, 2026

About the author

Being a published writer has been Natalie Meg Evans’ goal from an early age. Having achieved her dream, she extracts maximum fun from it by writing the kind of books she has always loved reading. Mother to one son and currently guardian to a rescued Labrador and a Malinois (Belgian Shepherd), Natalie lives in rural Suffolk, England’s easternmost county.

In 2012, Natalie won the prestigious Harry Bowling Prize and was a Romance Writers of America Golden Heart finalist. She was longlisted in the Mslexia new women novelists
competition, and shortlisted for a Daphne du Maurier award for romantic suspense. The Dress Thief won the readers award for the best historical novel at the Festival of Romance and was nominated for a Romance Writers of America RITA.

Her latest novels are The Locket and The Paris Inheritance, both split timeline novels with a wartime theme.

She has achieved another life-goal, as a published author of country house crime. As Kay Blythe, her first novel in this genre comes out in February 2025. Look out for Murder at Merry Beggars Hall.

Reviews

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1940s London, where night time raids were consistent and bombs rained down, Betony Styles, Jess Gresham and Grace Whelan lived in a lodging house, with their kind and caring landlady. When Betony's cousin's magazine closed down, Betony knew she needed to find work immediately. Her wealthy father - obnoxious and cruel - had cut off her allowance when she'd left home and ridiculed her choices in everything she did. So when Betony found a job in the fashion warehouse she'd modelled for before, she was rather put out to be put into the sorting of rags for the war effort. And on her way home from work one evening, she was on the site of an incendiary bomb landing, and managed to rescue a baby, at great risk to herself.

Grace, a nurse, had a beau, Owen, a pilot who was always in danger when he flew out. Jess worked for the government, and her man was Rafe, equally, he was in danger of his life; not a pilot but out on boats. And Betony loved Winter, another pilot. The continual stresses on the young women regarding their men made life difficult, but they knew others were the same and worse. The three young women were there for each other in dark days and light...

The Lady at the Lodging House is the 3rd in The Wartime Lodging House series by Natalie Meg Evans and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This one is Betony's story, but the chapters vary, narrated by the three women, separately. I missed #1 but read #2 and now this one. I love this author's historical novels, her characters who are well written plus the descriptions of where the book is set. I'll be looking out for more :) Highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley & Bookouture for my digital ARC to read and review.

[Madeline Smitherman | Midnight Chapter Club · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ rounded up to 4 because I love a deep historical fiction.

The Lady in the Lodging House is less about plot and more about vibes… and those vibes are heavy, brooding, and just a little bit suffocating (in a good way…).

Natalie Meg Evans clearly knows how to build tension, but if you’re expecting big, jaw-dropping twists, you might be waiting longer than you’d like. This book simmers instead of explodes. It’s all about quiet secrets, restrained emotions, and the kind of unease that creeps in slowly. That said, the story kept my attention as I wanted to know what was going to happen to Betony. Overall, well done! Great as a standalone even though it is the third book of a series.

That said, if you love morally complex characters, slow-burn storytelling, and a setting that feels almost like a character itself, this will absolutely work for you. If not… you might find yourself skimming.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The highest praise for a series is when you're sad that it's over. I had hoped for this series to continue because it's still so early in World War II, but it ends with this one. Truthfully, in the first two books, Betony was my least favorite character. She seemed so shallow and self-centered, so it was with reluctance that I began The Lady at the Lodging House. I'm happy to report that Betony shows remarkable personal growth as the Blitz continues to terrorize London. This final book had many unexpected plot twists, with the girls facing tragedies that impact the rest of their lives. I recommend a big box of tissues because The Lady at the Lodging House pulls at your heartstrings.

[Emma Crowley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Lady at the Lodging House, is the concluding instalment in Natalie Meg Evans, The Wartime Lodging House series. Now is the time for Betony, the lady of the title, to share her story. Up until this point Betony is the one who I haven’t fully warmed to as I was so invested in Grace and Jess’ stories. Betony seemed so different to the other two socially and how she interacts with people. She comes from the upper classes where money is plentiful and she has had the best of everything growing up. Her father, Lord Styles, holds an important position in the Ministry of Supply and welds much power which he loves to exert over his daughter. But times are changing and with the Blitz raging on and war continuing to find ways of hurting good people the trio must band together now more than ever as their love, courage and the sustaining power of close female friendship are what will hopefully see them through the most testing of times.

Readers new to the series need not worry if this is the first book that they have picked up in the trilogy. Each book is easily read as a standalone story and plenty of information as to events that previously occurred is provided so you never feel as if you are continually trying to fill in the blanks which could have distracted you from the current story. The book picks up more or less from where book two left off. Betony has lost her job at Practical Modes magazine which was run by a cousin called Sybil. There had been no option but to shut the magazine down due to lack of funding and scarcity of paper for printing. Betony is at a loss as to what to do. She would readily admit that she had never been trained in anything practical and that money had always been readily available from her parents. But now Lord Styles is refusing to help Betony money wise as she won’t leave London and go be with her mother where its safe in the countryside. I thought fair play to her she has experienced what the war is bringing and knows much more could be in store. She wants to stay and try and make herself useful. She know that she can change and be adaptable and do her bit for her country and not to mention she has slowly built up a friendship with her housemates, Jess, who works at the Ministry of Information in censorship, and Grace who is a nurse. Theirs is a bond that is tested and deeply strengthened throughout the book and it was brilliant to see Betony shedding her old life and embracing a new and heartfelt realistic one.

Betony is determined to prove to her father that she can go it alone and this takes courage in standing up to someone who I viewed as being a tyrant who enjoyed nothing more than power trips and using his status to control Betony in whatever way he could. But as the story progressed Betony becomes more worldly wise, both in terms of her burgeoning romance with a Canadian pilot Winter who is in the air force and also work wise and socially. Her layers of self-indulgence were being stripped away to reveal her true self almost like a butterfly emerging from the chrysalis after its metamorphosis. I wasn’t overly enamoured with her before, and I’ll go as far as to say I didn’t particularly like her. I thought she was too la di da and didn’t always treat the girls in the best way possible. But people can always alter and Betony does many things throughout the book to prove that deep down she is capable and does care about people and the bigger picture and in doing so she awakens her own worth, self-belief and tenacity that she can do things that will help herself and many others.

An incident at the beginning of the book has a profound impact on Betony. She goes way beyond her comfort zone and to be honest I wouldn’t have necessarily thought her capable of it. There is guilt but also some pride surrounding what she does and this combined with the actions of her father is what I felt was the catalyst for Betony to stand up and prove to others that she wasn’t just a model paid for standing around in dresses whilst someone drew her. She has in fact character and strength. Yes, there is always and I feel always will be element of stubbornness about her. She lies to Winter, Grace, Jess and her landlady Mrs. Henderson about where her new job is and what exactly she is doing because for a good chunk of the book she feels what she is doing is useless and so far beneath her. It takes some time and for some lessons to be learnt that in fact every little thing for the war effort no matter how big or small does make a big and lasting impacting. She may be but one minute cog in the huge wheel but everyone and everything they do is essential. I enjoyed how Betony’s story developed, the threads of her old life continuing to break and can’t and don’t need to be mended. A new story and venture are being woven and when Sybil plants a subtle idea in her mind I loved how she ran with it and showed that she had ingenuity and that with everyone working together things could potentially have a more positive outlook than when we first meet her at the beginning of the book. I loved how she played her father at what he was at. He believed himself to cunning and people would bow to his commands. But Betony surpassed herself in regard to this aspect.

Regarding romance and how she interacted with Winter, I found this aspect of the storyline frustrating as she lied to him and he was acting quite strangely also. I desperately wanted happiness for her in all aspects of her life as she was maturing and realising the old Betony couldn’t exist any longer. I was intrigued as to how this would all play out. Although this is Betony’s story, Grace and Jess do also feature as they continue with their work and deal with the challenges and turbulence thrown at them on a daily basis in terms of their work and personal lives. Grace’s brother still tries to rear his ugly head and also a certain letter has a significant impact on how her storyline developed. I was desperately hoping the contents weren’t true. For it would have changed everything. Jess is the one out of the trio whose story I have enjoyed the most. It had such substance, emotion and mystery to it. I feel the mystery element and the connections that emerged between the lives of the girls wasn’t quite here in this story and I missed this. I wanted a bit more of this with regards to Betony’s storyline. I found myself at times wanting to read more of Grace and Jess even though there was quite a bit throughout. Jess goes through a rough and heartbreaking time and to be honest I couldn’t quite believe what I was reading and was hoping the author would do something different but that was my wishful thinking and life doesn’t always turn out in the manner in which we want it to.

This has been a brilliant series which I have thoroughly enjoyed, and I am sad to leave the cast of characters behind. They were a fantastic bunch who showed bravery and hope and always kept the wheels in motion. They proved standing up for your rights is vital always and that friendship, love and support will always win out against the bad times. If you love World War Two fiction then I would highly recommend this series.

[Robin Loves Reading · Rating 5 out of 5]

We met Grace and Jess in the first two books of the Wartime Lodging House trilogy, and in this final installment, it is Betony’s story that takes center stage. Set in London in 1940, the trilogy follows three women whose friendship sustains them through the hardships and heartbreak of World War II. Despite the danger and sorrow surrounding her, Betony finds herself deeply in love with serviceman Winter Macpherson, and it is those powerful feelings that continue to carry her forward.

I felt such a profound sense of warmth and connection throughout this series. Natalie Meg Evans has a remarkable ability to write with authenticity and emotional honesty, making her characters feel deeply relatable. Jess and Grace’s stories were moving, and Betony’s journey is equally affecting. Though the three women come from very different backgrounds, their lives become beautifully intertwined, creating a poignant and heartfelt narrative. It was especially difficult to witness the immense suffering Betony endured, particularly as her heart was repeatedly put at risk.

Leaving behind a life of comfort and defying the expectations of her controlling father, Betony takes a factory job in order to survive. The grief she carries during these turbulent times is immense, but it is not the only emotion that shapes her story. Hope, strengthened by enduring friendships and the love she holds for Winter, remains a constant presence throughout her journey.

The Lady at the Lodging House serves as a fitting and profoundly emotional conclusion to this trilogy. It’s a tale filled with heartbreak, resilience, friendship, and hope, beautifully capturing both the hardships and humanity of life during wartime. Natalie Meg Evans once again crafts characters that feel authentic and unforgettable, making this series a lasting impression that lingers long after the final page. As I bid farewell to these remarkable ladies, a deep sense of sadness washes over me.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

📆 single timeline.
👀 multi POV
🐢 -🐇 medium-paced
💬 "Do you not realise that the more you punish me, the stronger I become?"

And so The Wartime Lodging House series comes to a close, and I really feel like I'm losing some friends. Betony, Jess and Grace have become young women that I admire, adore and wish I could be friends with in real life. Preferably without the Blitz raging in the background!

Whilst this book largly centered on Betany, Jess and Grace’s stories were also bought to a neat, if not necessarily happy ending.

Betony's story really shows that being born into money and class doesn't necessarily mean an easy life of priviledge, especially during wartime.Young women were expected to do as they were told, and Betany was definitely not going to do that! I really loved her overall story of learning to fit in and to lose some of her airs and graces.

Grace's story showed how misunderstandings can spiral, and the
importance of communication.

I can't imagine how difficult life was then, and the constant fear that your loved ones could be gone by the morning. I've really loved spending time with the girls at the lodging house, and wish them every happiness for the future.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third book in the lodging house trilogy. The trilogy follows three young women who find themselves lodging together in London during world war 2. They are each very different but over time their lives intertwine and friendship blossoms.
This third book focuses on Lady Betony Styles, fashion model and It-girl, as she struggles with unemployment and having her allowance stopped.
The magazine she works for has closed down due to paper shortages, her beau, Winter Macpherson, seems distant, and her father is insisting that she leaves London. Betony stumbles into a traumatic situation and surprises herself with her own courage.
I loved seeing Betony developing as a character. As with the previous two books, I enjoyed the sisterhood forming between the women at the lodging house. I like the insights into wartime life, both good and bad points.
This book was slightly different to the previous two because it takes place a little later, after the women have moved out of the original lodging house. Even though this book is mostly focused on Betony, it was good to catch up with Grace and Jess too.
I am sad that the trilogy is finished, but thought this book tied up the ending in a satisfying way.

[Caroline’s Page~Turners · Rating 5 out of 5]

Betony Styles finds joy in her life at the London Lodging House. She earns her keep by selling her exquisite gowns, while also working in the factory, sewing uniforms for the Women’s Air Force. However, at night, the wailing air raid sirens ignite a sense of urgency within Betony and her friends, propelling them into action to save as many lives as possible.

Betony’s closest companions from the lodging house, Grace and Jess, stand as her unwavering pillars of support when her father compels her to return home. Despite her father’s demands, Betony remains resolute in her pursuit of her dreams.

“The Lady at the Lodging House,” a captivating tale penned by Natalie Meg Evans, weaves a profound narrative of hope and resilience. This heart-wrenching story compels readers to immerse themselves in its pages, leaving tears streaming down their faces.

The story is filled with remarkable heroic characters who risk everything for those they don’t know. These individuals serve their country with unwavering dedication, working tirelessly to ensure the well-being of service members. I highly recommend this exceptional book.

Grab your copy today!!

[Melissa * bookedwithmel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has been such a great series. I love the friendships the women of the lodging house formed. 4 women from such different backgrounds, but war bonded them in ways that likely never would have happened otherwise.

We get a lot of Betony in this one. She’s determined to find herself despite her father. She realizes that she’s more than just the socialite and that any work isn’t beneath her if she wants to stand on her own two feet.

Natalie does a great job wrapping up each of the girls’ stories. Betony and Winter, Jess and Rafe and Grace and Owen. I got teary a few times close to the end.

I can’t wait to see what Natalie has planned next.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for my copy of this book.

[R Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

An eminently readable novel focusing on three women thrown together in a lodging house in central London in ww2. Betony, coming from a pampered background yet disowned by her father because she chose to work suffers a traumatic experience watching a woman drown and blaming herself. Her confidence is shot through and has to take a poorly paid menial job. Yet through her personal initiative and hard work she achieves success when it seemed beyond her. Her flatmates suffer their own travails yet despite personal tragedy prevail. All in turn achieve a match which will give them security. It’s a great story and a testimony to the resilience people show in adversity.

[Leona · Rating 4 out of 5]

The third and final book in the Wartime Lodging House series. This time the story is mainly focused around Betony Styles. It didn’t take me long to settle into this great read and become engrossed in the lives of Betony and the two friends Jess and Grace. Betony came across as quite an inspiration, she grew up as a young lady from a comfortable and wealthy home but yet she was determined to pay her way and do her share for the war effort. The relationship between the 3 girls was a joy to read about. These girls are from different walks of life but they are there for each other through thick and thin. A wonderful finale to what is a lovely series.

[Dawn Lawrence Read_with_Lola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 3 in the Lodging House series was fantastic, I feel each book gets better than the last. We are really getting to know the characters and their back stories and I feel invested in their lives, almost like they are friends. There were loads of “oh no” moments and heartbreak but also plenty of positive and loving moments. I really enjoyed this book, it totally deserves five stars. I can’t wait for the next book in the series!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. Publication date 6 May 2026.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

This caught my eye on Netgalley (thanks) but because I must read a series in order I had to read the first two first (you should too). Could i have sped through all three in a weekend? Yes! But I forced myself to read other things in between. Safe to say I have a new WWII fiction author to read!

This is so much better than book two! A real roller coaster. Danger, heartbreak, hope, so much emotion! I can't say more without spoilers....

I'm not ready to leave these characters. 😢
Please can we have what's next for Mrs Kesgrave or Charlotte? I need more!

[Dee Groocock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review of advance copy from the publisher.

This is book three in the series, and we are back with Betony, Grace and Jess in London during World War Two.

When Betony loses her modelling job, she has to sell her beautiful gowns to help pay for her rent and food. Now having to work in a factory, she doesn’t want anyone to know, especially her father, as Betony comes from a life of wealth and comfort, and her father would not be happy with her choices.

When her father commands she must go home, Betony knows she must stand up to him and will stop at nothing to ensure that she can stay in London with her friends, and also her boyfriend, Canadian pilot, Winter Macpherson.

I do love the female characters in this series, they are all bright and fun girls, doing whatever is needed to get through the tough times of war. Always there for each other, as well as anyone else who needs help.

It is a story of friendship, love and bravery. Not just bravery due to the war going on around them, but bravery to stand up and fight for their rights, the rights of women.

A gripping page-turner that I could not put down, I was invested from the start.