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.

Review: A super read. In this historical novel we follow two sisters and all the ups and downs. A well written novel with depth and great characters. Pam Howes is a wonderful story-teller.

I'm really getting into historical sagas at the moment and this one was fantastic! I enjoyed every minute and stayed up far later than I should have as I just wanted to keep reading.

This is the final story in the trilogy about Joe and Dora Roberts and their two girls Carol and Jackie. The setting is still Liverpool and it is now the 1960's. The drama now centre's round Carol and Jackie as they are now grown up. There is a satisfying ending to the trilogy and I enjoyed reading the three books.

The 3rd book in the trilogy and fans of Pam Howes books will not be disappointed.

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for the eARC.
It was such a pleasant experience to be back in the lives of Dora, Joe, Frank, Carol and Jackie in Liverpool.
This is the third and last book in the trilogy and the one I enjoyed the most.
Jackie and Carol date the same boy without realizing it and it creates absolute havoc in their lives, practically breaking up the family. Their are some very tense scenes as well as parts when I had tears in my eyes. I don't want to go into details because I don't want to give anything away, but trust me, it will sweep the readers away.
Liverpool in the sixties creates a wonderful feeling of nostalgia, especially with the popular music mentioned throughout. I never went to Liverpool but spent quite a lot of time in London during those years, so it was a heartwarming trip full of memories reading the story.
The only negative was the rather abrupt ending, but otherwise it's a great read. It can easily be read as a standalone, but I would recommend reading the 3 in order.

I'm really puzzled that I didn't post this review on NetGalley. It's been on my blog for a while now. My apologies. senior moment. I could have sworn I did it. This third book of the trilogy was a bit of a surprise to me as it slid out of the 50’s into the 60’s. This is the story of Dora’s daughters and how they fared. It’s about unrequited love, young first love with dire consequences and heartbreak. There were so many difficult problems to sort out like getting pregnant out of wedlock, drinking, drugs, Mods and Rockers. I thought Carol and Jackie would have turned out better despite their precarious childhood. Both girls were talented in their own way and at times I cringed as they made mistakes. I was a teenager in that decade and certainly there were girls who made the same mistakes. Sadly, you risked being thrown out or being sent to a Mother & Baby Home which I gather were not as nice as the one recorded. For me the 60’s was a fantastic era in fashion and music – never better. I would have given a lot to visit the Cavern. I could never afford the Mary Quant styles but loved the fashion. I was much reminded of Cilla Black as the novel progressed especially in earlier books in the trilogy as I seem to recall she lived in the Scottie Road vicinity. The furnished flat was expensive. I had one in the same year and it cost £12 a month for two big rooms, tiny kitchen and shared bathroom facilities. A great read and the continuity of reading both books of the trilogy one after the other. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture. I shall post this on Amazon and my blog.

This is the third book in the trilogy set in Liverpool during the 1960s. I read and reviewed the second book in the series and as I enjoyed the second book so much, I made sure to read the first book in the series. I did read the series out of sequence but I enjoyed it all the same. I was so looking forward to reading the conclusion of the trilogy but I was also sad at the same time because I knew the series was coming to an end. I was not to be disappointed as I really enjoyed ‘The Liverpool Girls’ and in fact I think that it is the best book of the series.

As the title suggests, the main focus of the book is on female characters, who are very strong. Some women are strong because their circumstances have made them so or they have been born that way. I particularly liked Jackie’s mother, Dora. Dora has been through some tough times. She was married to Jackie’s father and they also had another child called Carol. Sadly, Dora and her then husband suffered the loss of Carol’s twin and I don’t think that she has fully come to terms with the death. Indeed it took her a long time to bond with Carol. Conditions were different back then whereas nowadays parents of a dead child would be offered support and counselling. Dora then suffered betrayal by her husband as he had an extra marital affair. Dora chucked him out and he set up home with his lady friend Ivy, who he is now married to. Carol lives with them and Jackie still lives with Dora. Dora struggles to get by on what little money she can. I can see where Jackie gets her personality from. Dora is not one to back down from a fight and neither is Jackie. Jackie is a slightly naïve 15 year old girl, whose main passions appear to be music, drama and boys. Jackie has aspirations of going to drama school but frustratingly she can’t afford to go because her mother just hasn’t got the money to fund the course. Jackie falls for the son (Sandy) of the local vicar, who is an aspiring artist. Sandy’s behaviour is less than savoury as it turns out that he is keeping a little secret from Jackie and when she finds out what it is, things may well explode and fall apart. I’m not going to tell you what it is because that would be giving away far too much. Jackie’s sister, Carol lives with her father and Ivy. She is also in a ‘friends with benefits’ situation with a young man but I think that she is far more into him than he is to her.

I have to say that ‘The Liverpool Girls’ is extremely well written. The author is able to write such vivid descriptions of 1960s Liverpool, that I really could imagine that I was there in ‘The Cavern Club’ or another of the local hotspots and waiting for music from the 60s to start playing. I really got a sense of what conditions were like socially and privately and what attitudes were like. Once I started reading the book, I found that I became addicted to it and I just couldn’t put it down. It was almost as if my Kindle became glued to my hand as it came everywhere with me. The page numbers were flying past so quickly that it was almost as if the pages were turning themselves and before I knew it I had finished the book, which I had conflicting feelings about. I was pleased to finish the book because I knew how the trilogy ended but I was disappointed to finish because I was enjoying the writing style and story so much that I just wanted the book to continue. By the time I finished the book I felt as though I had been on an emotional rollercoaster with all the highs, lows, twists, turns and so on and so forth. The author clearly cares about her characters and this does shine through in her writing. I took to some of the characters so well that I began to think of them as friends and if I could have jumped into the pages of the book to defend them then I would have done. I know, I know it’s a book and it’s fiction but if I love a book, I immerse myself in the story and I start to ‘live’ it. I just have far too vivid an imagination.

In short, I really loved reading ‘The Liverpool Girls’ and I am so sad that this is the end of the series. I would recommend the series to anybody but I would recommend that you read the series in order and not do as I did and start reading the series part way through. I can’t wait to read more from this fantastic author. The score on the Ginger Book Geek scoreboard is a well deserved 5* out of 5*.

Loved finding out what became of these characters.
A great book to end the trilogy........maybe ?

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this book......The Liverpool Girls is the third book in the trilogy and I have to say that I am well and truly gutted this is the last book in the series. Like I have said before I have never read a family saga before and Pam Howes has opened up a whole new world to me reading this genre. This book and series is fantastic.

Set in 1966 we catch up with sisters Carol and Jackie who haven't had the easiest childhood. The Liverpool Girls tells the story of a love triangle who are heartbroken when they realise they have been dating the same man. With an unexpected pregnancy causes shock waves and a rift between them.

The big question is can the family pull together or will the sister’s be destroyed forever?!

OMG what a heart wrenching moving story. Pam Howes certainly knows how to pull on your heartstrings. I still have a lump in my throat just thinking about this story. It is full of twists and turns that I wasn't expecting. In fact I couldn't turn the pages fast enough wanting to know what was going to happen next.

I love the author's style of writing which is an easy read with descriptions that make you feel right there in the story. Sensitivity is shown with some rather sensitive story lines. I can actually see a grit lit author in the making.

I loved the characters who are very realistic and easy to relate to. I especially loved Jackie and found myself rooting for her.

Not only will this book will make you smile, laugh and cry it will keep you hooked from start to finish.

This is without a doubt a spectacular ending to a brilliant trilogy. There is nothing not to like about this book ,which I cannot recommend enough giving it 5 well deserved stars.

Thank you to Kim Nash at Bookouture for inviting me to take part in this fabulous Blitz

The Liverpool Girls is the third and final part of the Mersey trilogy by Pam Howes. Of course it is easily read as a stand alone book and it shouldn't put readers off if they have not read either of the first two books. But in my own opinion to get a sense of how brilliant the series has been and to really understand what motivates the characters to act the way they do I would start from the beginning with the The Lost Daughter of Liverpool. It was easily one of my favourite books in the family saga genre that I have read this year. So much so I feel so deeply invested in the lives of Dora and her family. Things haven't always been easy for them and the author certainly up until this point has never spared the harsh realities of life and all the troubles it can bring. I know when I began reading this book there were certain outcomes which I wanted to see come to fruition based on several story-lines in the first two books. So I was surprised when I began The Liverpool Girls that in fact we had moved forward quite some time into the later part of the 1960's and the attention shifts to the children of Joe and Dora- Carol and Jackie. They are both now well in their teenage years and it soon became obvious that the book would focus more or less on these two girls. I had expected a continuation of where we had previously left off, yes initially I was slightly disappointed that the focus would turn from Dora and Joe. Yet the more I read through the book it was actually a clever move to bring the story forward some years in the fact we still knew what was ongoing with Dora but the girls had their own gritty and at times unbelievable stories to share with the reader.

It is 1966 in the Fazakerley area of Liverpool. Jackie is the somewhat naive 15 year old daughter of Dora and Joe. Both characters whom I had come to love in this series. I say Jackie is naive because at numerous points throughout the story that followed I felt she rushed headlong into situations without scant thought for the consequences. The situation that develops over the course of the book if it occurred in today's society would be very shocking despite all the weird and unbelievable stories we read of on a daily basis. So I can only imagine how people in the 1960's would have viewed the entire thing. Jackie lives at home with Dora while older sister Carol has moved out to live with her father Joe and stepmother Ivy. It still pained me that after all this time thanks to the evil, spiteful, manipulative character that was Ivy that Joe and Dora still weren't back together. I know lies, deceit and cunning are very hard things to get over and Ivy had spun such a web that Joe was deeply entrenched in it but still it was clear these two needed to be together.
The scene when confrontation finally explodes between Joe and Ivy was brilliant and one I had waited for, for so long. I literally wanted to stand up and applaud Joe for finally getting some backbone. Ivy needed her come comeuppance and to see it delivered was brilliant. Carol is now 18 and working in a department store. The history of Carol and Dora and their relationship is briefly explained for those who are new to the series and if this had been my first time meeting the characters I felt it would have been ample enough information. There is a distinct distance between Jackie and Carol and I could understand why given elements of their childhood and I think jealousy, bitterness and a lack of deep considerate love between them played a role in what unfolded. I know they didn't know what was going on individually but once discovered a halt really should have been called.

Pam Howes does a brilliant job of describing life in the 60's,how it was a time of changing fashions, of mods, of new music and where a whole new generation could enjoy life without war or the threat of rationing hanging over them. I don't think I've ever read anything set in this time period so it was a refreshing change to read of a new era apart from war. Really the crux of this book and the falling out between the sisters and the devastation that rips through the family is all over a boy. The local vicars son Sandy, Alexander or Alex. The only thing I will say about this book is that the various names he had annoyed me, I understood why there was a need for it as it was a crucial plot element but it made me confused and I kept having to remind myself who I was actually reading about. Sandy seemed very much a young man about town, interested in lots of girls and the joys and excitement they could bring, all without forming any clear bonds or attachments. His portrayal as the starving artist, painting away but never really earning enough for a living was fairly accurate. Sandy had a charm about him that made girls fall at his feet and without saying more this charm is what leads to major problems in Dora's family. Can they survive the hurt, lies and ensuing problems or will it all be too much and their family will never be reunited again.

I'll admit for the remainder of the novel once the major plot had been revealed I really went back and forth on my opinions on characters certainly Jackie and Carol. I couldn't make up my mind as to which one I was meant to feel the most empathy for. On one page it was Jackie and then she would do or say something that would turn me off her and then a few pages later it was Carol doing the same. Carol and Jackie were far from perfect, in fact they had so many flaws but at times there were genuine nice sides to them. Although out of the two I think it was Carol who acted the most rashly. She did things to trap people and the more seedier part of her storyline upset me at times. I didn't like the road she was venturing down but then some times I thought-did you not bring all this on yourself with your actions? Who could blame your family if they abandoned you. Jackie too frustrated me at times and then at other stages I felt nothing but empathy with her. Her heart ruled her head most of the time and the situation that she was in I would say was not over her own making but unless she acted herself she would not find a way out to reach a satisfactory ending.
Jackie despite being younger than Carol perhaps had more sense. I felt she certainly matured when she made the biggest decision of her life. It was so unjust and unfair that she had to do this but she dealt with it with great responsibility and I felt she was really looking at the bigger picture even though her heart was breaking in two. I sincerely hoped the bonds of love and family would out win the darker side of the story attempting to break through. I think it's testament to Pam Howes writing and the way she skilful wove all the story lines together that made me feel this way. There were times when I wanted to shake certain people and then more subtle clues were dropped before being explored in more detail, this gave me an insight as to what was to come and to be honest I didn't like it one bit. Simply for the fact I was thinking how one earth can any family cope with this? Dora throughout was a stalwart mother to both her children but I wouldn't have blamed her if she had taken a step back and supported one over the other. I felt we didn't get as much of an insight into Dora as we had before but most of her story had been told and it was time for Carol and Jackie to step into the spotlight even if for most of the time what they were going through was beyond difficult.

The Liverpool Girls was a deeply satisfying conclusion to the Mersey trilogy. I feel it has ended just at the right time as to have any more books would be dragging things out and the story would be in danger of becoming stale and boring. Keeping the series to three books was ideal. It gives the reader plenty of time to really get to know the characters and get inside their minds. The story-lines were all given ample time to develop and for resolutions to be found as to whether the reader likes them or not that is up to one's own individual opinion. Long after reading the characters and plot twists will live on in your mind as the story was told so effortlessly combining gritty drama, family relationships, love, tragedy and heartache and in all done in the most brilliant of ways. At times The Liverpool Girls is very emotional and I would say difficult to read because you feel so much for the characters but I am so glad I took the time to read of such incredible girls. Pam Howes has done such a fantastic job with this trilogy and fans will love this one and new readers to. If you haven't read either The Lost Daughter of Liverpool or The Forgotten Family Of Liverpool make sure do as it will really complement your reading of the fantastic The Liverpool Girls.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. The third book in the trilogy. While the first two books were brilliant The Liverpool Girls is by far the best! It centres around the two daughters Carol and Jackie. They've unwittingly been dating the same man! Of course there are fireworks when it all comes out! Plenty of laughs but equally plenty of tears! What a page turner! You won't be able to put it down! A must read! FANTASTIC!!

Sisters Carol and Jackie have not had easy childhoods. Carol now works in Lewis's department store, while Jackie dreams of drama school, and a career on the stage. But the sisters are heartbroken when they discovered they both had been dating the same man. Parents Dora and Joe must overcome past hurts to help their daughters overcome past hurts to help their daughters, despite the meddling of Joe's new wife Ivy.

Set in 1966. This is the third book in this triology and unfortunately I did not realise this when I requested this book. I think it can be read as a standalone but I would have prefered to read the other two books in this triology first. This is a good family saga with the kind of troubles they had back in the day. The story has good characters, a bit of romance and it may make some readers shed a tear.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Bookouture and the author Pam Howes for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

We are back in Liverpool for the third and final time, as we catch up with Dora and her family in the last instalment of the Liverpool Trilogy. I cannot believe how quick this series has zoomed by, nor can I believe how much all of the characters have grown. Having read the series from book one, it's been fun watching certain characters grow throughout the years, as if us readers were going through their highs and lows with them at the time. Quite surreal to be honest as some of the characters in this series have lived out their lives before our very eyes.

Dora is our main character once again as we find out what has happened since book two.  Put it this way - A LOT has happened since we left the family and, whilst I'm not surprised that certain situations have come to a head, I really was hoping that I was going to meet Ivy again. But I did. Even though I thought that Ivy's character was going to rub me up the wrong way yet again, I actually found that another character took that particular crown away from her. Don't worry though, Ivy was her usual, delightful (ahem) self and still bugged me, yet someone else bugged me even more.

Because I don't want to give anything away, all I'm going to say is that ONE of Dora's daughters got my back up on more than one occasion. Once you read the book for yourself, you may think the same, or you may think differently. Who knows! I'm intrigued to see how people fair with this particular character though, I have to say.

In regards to the overall storyline, I really did enjoy catching up with the characters again, but I did find some parts of the storyline to be a little slow burning and lacking in oomph. However, there were parts of the storyline, namely where Carol was concerned, where the pace was on point and the grit made it such an intense read. For me, the story seemed to to and fro between gritty and slow burning, as opposed to Pam Howes' previous books of being pure intensity. Again, that is just a personal preference.

I am quite sad to see this series come to an end as I would loved to find out what happened to a couple of the characters later down the line. I did thoroughly enjoy the majority of 'The Liverpool Girls', especially as the author has made Dora go from strength to strength as a character. Dora really was the star of the show and I really do think that Pam Howes has done a phenomenal job in building her character, whilst also maintaining Dora's personality across all three books.

Poignant, thought-provoking and definitely memorable, 'The Liverpool Girls' is bound to take you on a rollercoaster ride of emotions as you follow Dora and Joe's life during the late sixties. Full of brilliant history from the sixties, Pam Howes has written yet another touching novel.

Thanks Bookouture.

It’s 1966 and Dora’s and joes girls have grown up.

It’s book 3 in the series. Joe and Dora’s lives moved on.

Carol has grown into a stylish modern young woman who works for the big department store Lewis’s.
She still lives with her father, who is now married to Ivy while Jackie lives with her mom.

Carol wants a life on the stage and is focusing on getting into drama school.


Things in this book turn ugly for the sisters when Carol is dating Alex and Jackie is dating Sandy.

One day on a sisters meet up where Jackie wants to introduce her fella, Carol is shocked and astounded (to say the least) when “Alex” her man turns out to Sandy!

Yes both were unbeknown dating the same man.
No wonder Carol found him distant and stand offish lately.

But Carol is pregnant and Joe soon finds out he needs to marry Carol to “make an honest woman” of her.

Remember this is in 1950s and 1960s so very ostracising for women back then. People frowned and looked down on unwed moms and their families.

Joe doesn’t love Carol.
They never live together.

The emotional upheaval, the heart wrenching decisions would tear anyone’s eyes up. So reach for your tissues.

It’s a heartbreakingly fab read.


My thanks to Bookoutour via Net Galley for my copy

The Liverpool Girls is the third book in the Trilogy and the story just gets better and better. The story continues, but more centred around Joe and Dora daughters Carol and Jackie. Carol lives with her dad Joe and stepmom Ivy and works in Lewis department store and Jackie lives with her mother Dora and hopes to go to drama school.
Carol has been going out with a guy called Alex for quite a while and when Alex tells her that he has something he needs to talk to her about, Carol thinks that he wants to get engaged, even though he has been standoffish of late. He doesn’t know that Carol is pregnant with his child. But he wants to end it with her. Feeling down she agrees to go on a family outing to see her sister Jackie and her mother and Jackie’s new and first boyfriend Sandy. But when they meet, she finds out that Alex(Sandy) has been cheating on her with her sister Jackie. There is heartache for all the family when the pregnancy is found out and the family agrees that Jackie should end it with Sandy and make an honest woman of Carol, as they are having a baby together, Alex does not love Carol but agrees. Although they marry they do not live together, even after the baby is born.
This is such an emotional, heart wrenching story of lives and loves in the 60’s and the sacrifices that young women made in those days to keep their reputations intact. I loved this book from start to finish I didn’t want to put it down or finish it. I will wait in anticipation for the next book to come out, can’t wait.

I didn't think this series could get better but it did. If you haven't read the first two books feel free to start with this one but gosh you'll wish you'd read the earlier ones because it's such a terrific old fashioned family saga with all sorts of troubles but always filled with love. Whew. Poor Dora- and even more poor her daughters Jackie and Carol. These women can't seem to get a romantic break. This time Jackie and Carol are facing a crisis when both fall for the same man and well, one of them gets pregnant. Their dad, Joe, has overcome himself now (he was quite the villain to Dora in the earlier books) but the evil Ivy (the rotten stepmother) is still out there being a pain. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Wonderful portrayal of the UK in 1966. Try this one!

Certainly not something I would normally read, but I decided a while back to give the first book a try. I absolutely loved it, I enjoyed every bit, also book two. So when I knew book 3 was available to read as an ARC I jumped at the chance.
​I couldn't wait to carry on this journey that I feel I've been on with Dora. I loved the character of Dora and all through book 1 and 2 I was rooting for her, wanting her life to turn out well.
​In this book we follow the lives of two sisters Carol and Jackie. It's not been an easy childhood for them, and things are about to get a little tougher. We have trying times ahead.
​For me this book needed to be read while snuggled up cosy on the couch. I felt like characters were part of my extended family, I really feel like I have been on a life journey with them.
​As said before this isn't my normal type of read, and I'm so glad that @Kimthebookworm gave me a nudge in the right direction. I'll miss these characters. I could quite happily of continued to read more and more about them. Brilliant characters created by a brilliant author. Pam certainly knows how to draw you into a story, this is brilliantly and beautifully written. I certainly hope to read more from Pam.
I have no hesitation in highly recommending all 3 of these books.

Book 3 in the Liverpool based trilogy by Pam Howes and another absolutely fabulous story . I just adore these books and everything else is forgotten while I devour these books . This time the book is based mainly around Jackie and Carol the daughters of Dora and Joe. They have both fallen in love with the same man which caused devastating consequences for everyone . I can’t recommend this trilogy highly enough . Massive five stars from me

I have absolutely loved all three books in the Mersey Trilogy and will miss The Girls.
In book three Dora and Joe’s two daughters, Carol and Jackie are growing up and fall in love with the same young man that causes a rift between them and the despicable Ivy is still doing what she does best ..... being despicable.
I have read many family sagas over the years, but the Mersey Trilogy tops them all, heartache, romance, loss and I have to confess to the odd tear.
Plenty of fantastic and believable characters that will stay with me for a long time.
Although this is supposed to be last book of three, I can see another one happening (or just hoping)
I highly recommend this fantastic trilogy.