Sunday, March 4, 2018

The Forgotten Family of Liverpool and The Liverpool Girls by Pam Howes

4 Star

Dora Rodgers is adjusting to a new life in Liverpool with her young daughters Carol and Jackie. After the fear of the war years and a difficult break up with her husband Joe, Dora is finally building a future with her children. 

But then an unexpected knock at the door rips her family in two. 

To Dora’s horror, Carol is taken away by a welfare officer to live with Joe. She is determined to fight for her child, but when a tragic accident leaves her mother in hospital, and shocking news from Joe breaks her heart again, she struggles to cope. 

With her family in pieces and her marriage over for good, will Dora ever manage to get her daughter Carol home where she belongs? 





Kathryn - 4 Star

I read the first part of this trilogy last year and was completely hooked. There was something about how the author tackled post-partem depression from an era past that opened my eyes a little more to just how far we have come in a short time. I waited somewhat impatiently for the next book and ended up getting them both at the same time so read them back to back.  

The second novel (The Forgotten Family of Liverpool) shows Dora raising her two daughters alone, having come through to the other side of her heartbreak.  Things finally seem to be settling down and she's finding her way but it soon thrown off again by child protective services removing Carol from her care and her mother being attacked. She also struggles with housing as her ex-husband Joe has custody of Carol and moves back into the house they once shared.  All this while dealing with her lingering feelings for Joe and the lingering other woman.  It makes for a tumultuous read and kept me engaged!  

The third novel (The Liverpool Girls) has Carol and Jackie in their late teens/early twenties and the sisters have a tenuous relationship at best.  The hardest part for me was that they both seem to have wanted a sisterly bond but their lives just didn't turn out that way.  This story really focussed on the girls rather than Dora and Joe and takes a rough ride through their trials.

Both novels will satisfy the cravings of curiosity left over from the first but while content I would still like to know more!


Thank you to Bookouture for our review copy.  All opinions are our own.

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