The Liverpool Girls is the final instalment of Pam’s three part family saga. It’s now 1966 and Joe and Dora’s teenage daughters currently live apart. Carol with Joe and his second wife Ivy and Jackie with Dora. Joe and Ivy have a new centrally heated home. Joe now works for the Ford Motor Company but Ivy has turned into a lazy stay at home wife with a long string of excuses as to why she can’t get a job.
Carol currently works in Lewis’s Department store and lives with her father as it’s easier to get to work from where he lives. Her boyfriend, Alex who she pursued relentlessly before they got together, is beginning to lose interest. Desperate to keep him Carol does the unthinkable, not realising how far the consequences of her action will reach.
Jackie, about to turn sixteen, is in love with young artist Sandy and has hopes of studying at drama school. When Carol turns up to the family gathering for Jackie’s birthday she is shocked to discover Alex is in fact Sandy and they have been dating the same man. Not only that, Carol is now pregnant. Sandy is horrified to discover he has been dating two sisters. He thought he and Carol were finished. He’s in love with Jackie but with the news of a baby, what happens next?
The scene is set for an emotional roller coaster of a ride. I’m not giving any more of the plot away, as it wouldn’t be fair. Pam’s writing delivers a great finale with unforgettable characters. It was great to see Joe finally finding the courage to stand up to Ivy - it was a long time coming although I have to say I think she got off lightly! A word of warning - you’ll need those tissues again!

Sisters are supposed to be close and tell each other their secrets and dreams but this is not the case for Jackie and Carol. They have never been particularly close, as part of their growing up years were spent apart but nothing can prepare them for the events that unfold. The book is set in the swinging sixties of Liverpool and I'm sure anyone growing up in that era will absolutely love this book as I did and be able to relate to lots of the events that take place. The author is a superb story teller and the book is worthy of 5*

I really enjoyed this book. Excellent storyline and great main characters. I would recommend this book.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the Publishers for this review copy, given in exchange for an honest review. Also thank you to Kim from Bookouture for organising the Blog Tour!

This is the third book in the Mersey Trilogy. What happens in the previous books is recapped well throughout the book, so it can be read as a standalone. I do recommend that the books are read in order though, not just because the story is easier to understand, but because they are such good books!!

In the third and final instalment, we are taken forward to 1966 in Liverpool. Carol is now 19 and Jackie is nearly 16. The story has moved on, time wise, from the last book, but the only things that have really changed is their ages! Jackie lives with her mum, Dora and Carol has decided to live with her dad, Joe and his wife Ivy. Things are still a struggle for Dora, doing two jobs to make ends meet. She still has her standards though and holds her head up high in church every week. Carol is enjoying life as a young woman. She works at Lewis’s Department store and has a boyfriend, Alex. Jackie dreams of being on the stage but she’s also met a boy as well – the new Vicar’s son, Sandy. When Jackie turns 16, she wants to introduce her new boyfriend to her family, but it soon becomes clear at Jackie’s 16th birthday party that Jackie and Carol have both been seeing the same boy. This and an unexpected pregnancy threatens to tear their family apart.

I was so excited to get this book. I LOVED the first two books and didn’t think anything could beat them. I have to admit, at the beginning of the book, I felt a bit disappointed that Dora didn’t feature in it as much as I thought she would, but once I settled into the story it didn’t really matter. Obviously this instalment is more about the two girls, Carol and Jackie. In the previous books, they had only been young girls, but now they were turning into young women. Carol always seemed to have been dealt the worst hand through life, being taken away from Dora when she was little. This probably explained the rebellious side to her now – partying, drinking and sex! Jackie, for me, seemed to have the better life, being able to stay with her mum. The two girls never really got on when they were younger, and whilst they tolerate each other now, the events that happen threaten to tear them apart forever.

The book flows so well. I got caught up in the story from page one, and it felt like I was meeting old friends again. The characters are all so likeable – except Ivy who just manages to be an old cow in all the books!! The setting was just absolutely brilliant. I’ve been to Liverpool City Centre many times and can picture some of the places that were in the book. It’s described so perfectly, and with the 1960’s vibrant lifestyle and fashion thrown into the mix makes it just delightful reading! The fashions were particularly enjoyable and I could picture in my mind how Jackie and Carol looked with their short hairstyles and miniskirts! I read the book in more or less one sitting, reading well into the early hours! It’s such a shame that real life had to interrupt it at times!

It’s a story of love, family and friends. It has its sad parts though, so be warned to keep those tissues to hand. The emotions you feel reading this makes you feel like you are on a rollercoaster!! This is not just a wonderful, warming, heart-breaking story but a fantastic trilogy of books. This series goes up on my top reads for this year - I’m so glad I read them!! The only downside was it had to end – but what a perfect ending to a perfect story!

Five Stars!

This if the third book in the trilogy and I highly recommend you read them in order.

Having been a fan of the first two books in the trilogy I really couldn't wait to read this one. Time has passed since we were last with Dora and her girls are both young adults now. Where as the first two books concentrate on Dora, Carol and Jackie take centre stage this time round and boy does it make for some gripping reading.

I have read each of these books in one sitting. They are just too good to put down. The author really draws you in and I felt like I was there in the 1960's slap bang in Liverpool itself.

Carol has always been a bit of a feisty one, even when she was a child. I had a kind of love, hate relationship with her. Hate is a bit strong actually as I didn't hate her but I did find myself disliking her quite often. 

Jackie I loved. She is very much her mothers daughter and I took to her straight away as she had grown up to be a mature and lovely lady. Her relationship with Sandy was such an emotional roller coaster of a ride and my heart felt like it was literally going to burst at times. 

The Liverpool Girls is a powerful and moving story that I didn't want to end. A gripping saga of love, loss and relationships. A 5 star trilogy that is a must read for fans of this genre.

This is the third book of the trilogy. It is about sisters Carol & Jackie and their troubled lives. I have enjoyed all the books in this series, but this one is my favourite.

I’ve read all three books of the series and they all tell an amazing story. Highly recommended

I read this in less than a day, what better recommendation can I give! I didn't realise until a few chapters in that it was the third in a trilogy but it didn't matter as details of the other books are given within the storyline. The attention to detail is great and really transports the reader to the sixties. I was born in the early seventies and can identify with the ice on the inside of bedroom windows and Avon perfume for example. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys family sagas and as a cosy escapism from life!

An unusual scenario of love and deception brought together by family, love a book with a happy ending.

I loved this book by Pam Howes regarding the sisters Jackie and Carol loads 0f twists and turns , it was n't until the end that i discovered this book was last one in a Trilogy.