So, maybe not a full 5* rating from me, but I needed to differentiate it from the other 4* recent reads, as I liked this more. A bit of a story within a story ... our MC Emmeline, has written her memoir and is sharing it with new friends in a writing class. We get the current timeline (well, 1968 is the "present") and then the past. While I went with audio for the most part, I also borrowed the Kindle copy from the library and liked the visual presentation of the "memoir" pages - not differentiated in the table of contents, or even by a separate chapter, but with a slightly colored background for those portions. Not absolutely necessary, but it creates a nice distinction. The story also shifts from 3rd person for the "current" portion, to 1st person in the memoir, another way to keep the two timelines straight. 

I hadn't really read the blurb, and I think I enjoyed coming in cold. Vera's "character" was so much fun and could be the source of an interesting bookclub discussion

I mean, do we really think she talks? It's never really addressed. My assumption is it's all just in Emmeline's head. Nothing else paranormal in the book

  I really liked the cover tie-in, and the title-tie in ... and this made me want to collect spoons!

Here, we get a bit of background on WW1, which doesn't get nearly as much press as WW2 (so many novels on that subject).  The "memoirs" cover many years and adventures.  The TOC was simple, just chronological chapters. I almost wished there were chapter headings, something I could glance at and jog my memory of the contents.  22 chapters, and two chapters of "Letters" (which are absolutely part of the story). The Author's note (which was included in audio) was very interesting, telling us/the reader how family stories inspired several of the book's storylines. That the author's grandfather had two brothers who died in the war/a sister who traveled to reach one but he he died just before she arrived. 

I've written my own "autobiography" from birth through my 20s (getting married) and have an outline for the rest. My family has been very into family history, and we have a pretty complete genealogical record and many memoirs written. That the "memoir class" was featured in the book, the memoir itself almost half the story, and then it being inspired by true family stories ... it really IS an advocate for keeping family history researched and passed down to the next generations. 

Overall, some of Emmeline's life seems to have worked out a little too well (her employment and adventures through the years, her easy connections to all the new friends and family) but it was entertaining and enjoyable.

Actually ... maybe this was a 5* for me. It would be one I'd recommend to many. There were some things I wanted to stop and highlight/note, would like to discuss in a bookclub setting. I feel like I learned some history. It was one I wanted to get back to when I was forced to stop.

While I went with the audio, it isn't as readily available ... not on Audible (it is on other  platforms) and only at one library. I REALLY enjoyed the narration, the voices, especially for Vera and Harriet. 

Content: proFanity x5, and a small homosexual shift (never sure if that's something that some might take issue with). 

Other words I note: route(pronounced root), rifling, brusque, snuck, careen