The Daughters of Victory Street (The Bryant Sisters #4) by Pam Howes
Genre: Sagas, Historical fiction, Post-war
Read: 13th January 2022
Published: 14th January 2022
★★★★ 4 stars
DESCRIPTION:
From Amazon charts bestseller Pam Howes comes a heart-breaking and uplifting historical novel about a community pulling together in the shadows of war, and one young woman’s fight to make her mark on the world.
1952, Liverpool. The Second World War has cast a long shadow over Victory Street, and who knows if the remaining families will ever fully recover?
In the face of hardship, Bella Harrison is determined to see the bright side. She is back recording songs with her singing trio, The Bryant Sisters, and against all odds, Bella and her husband Bobby are finding ways to muddle through life as newlyweds whilst raising little Levi, Bella’s child with Black American pilot Earl Franklin Junior.
Meanwhile Earl’s daughter Dianna is adjusting to her new life in Liverpool. Determined to forge her own path, she has her heart set on becoming a nurse. However Dianna soon discovers that the reality of nursing is long hours of gruelling work, performed under constant scrutiny from the dreaded matron – who seems to take pleasure in making Dianna’s life miserable. When a handsome art student catches her eye, Dianna finds herself at the crossroads between ambition and love.
But just as the young women settle into their new lives, the close-knit community of Victory Street is rocked once more. Can the daughters of Victory Street face their challenges together, and seize a chance at happiness now that it is finally within reach?
A totally unforgettable, heart-warming historical novel, packed with family secrets, perfect for fans of Dilly Court, Diney Costeloe and Nancy Revell.
MY REVIEW:
I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Pam Howes' continuation in this saga series THE DAUGHTERS OF VICTORY STREET.
I couldn't wait to catch up with the girls in this delightful saga series by Pam Howes to see how they were all faring in this new post-war Britain. Time has moved on and the Bryant Sisters have become mothers and their extended families just seem to keep growing. It is now the 1950s but some scars still remain as the country rebuilds after the battering it took during the six years of war. There is still some rationing but on the whole the people of Britain have come back stronger...and it's no different to those on the other side of the Mersey.
As we return to Wavertree, the three friends - Bella, Edie and Fran - once a great singing trio for ENSA during the war as the Bryant Sisters, have little time for singing these days as each of them raise families of their own. All have settled into motherhood as has Bella's sister Molly who married Earl, the father of Bella's son Levi, who now has a little son of their own, Harry. In the previous book, Earl with his sister Ruby and his daughter Dianna emigrated from America to settle in England so he could enjoy Levi's childhood, though Bella's husband Bobby has adopted Levi as his own. Edie gave birth to a boy whilst Fran escaped her abusive husband Frankie and moved away to escape the stigma and whispers.
Now it is February 1952 and the country is in shock at the death of King George VI. Many shed tears over the loss of the man who was never meant to be King and having lead them through the war. Now Princess Elizabeth, who was at their hunting lodge in Kenya with her husband Prince Philip, has become Queen at the age of 25 and a mother herself.
As the women of Victory Street and the home on Prince Alfred Road - where Bella, Bobby and their extended family live - mourn the loss of their King, each one of them are about to embark on new journeys of their own. Everyone is faced with new challenges that have the power to bring them together or tear them apart, as their families are about to be extended yet again.
In the previous book, Earl suffered a brutal racist attack but this time it is his daughter Dianna who discovers that racists don't always use their fists as she comes up against prejudice in her new workplace where she and her best friend Sally are training to become nurses. Her father, however, had set his hopes on Dianna following in his footsteps in a singing career with her beautiful voice but her heart is set on nursing...just like her aunt Ruby. As the years pass we see Dianna blossom as she starts taking charge of her own life making big decisions involving her future. All the while, life changes for everyone on Victory Street as people and attitudes change also. There are life-changing health issues for a couple of characters but they each face these challenges in their stride...after all, they'd been through a war and countless air raids and yet they still stand tall.
While the focus in the past three books has been on Bryant Sisters themselves, in this one Bella, Edie and Fran take a little more of a backseat to the blossoming Dianna and the changes happening within and around their families. There are marriages, births and deaths as well as a big move for several of our favourites.
THE DAUGHTERS OF VICTORY STREET is the fourth in the Bryant Sisters series and, while it cane be read as a standalone, readers will appreciate the story far better having read the rest of the series first, as so much has lead to where they all are now and you really don't want to miss out on the journey.
Although it is a quick read, THE DAUGHTERS OF VICTORY STREET packs a lot into its 240 pages covering the early years of the 50s and everything within as we watch the families grow and adapt to the changing years. There is joy and laughter, sadness and tears in this fabulous addition to this heartwarming saga and I can't wait to see where Book 5 takes the girls.
I can recommend this book in conjunction with the rest of the series for fans of historical fiction sagas such as Nancy Revell, Rosie Clarke, Nadine Dorries and Dilly Court.
I would like to thank #PamHowes, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheDaughtersOfVictoryStreet in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Pam Howes is an ex Interior Designer who loves creating stories, but only started writing seriously about twelve years ago. The idea for her first novel, set in the sixties, came from her time as a teenager, working in a local record store and hanging round with the musicians who frequented the business.
That first novel evolved into a series set in the fictional town of Pickford, based on her home town of Stockport. Three Steps to Heaven; 'Til I Kissed You; Always On My Mind; Not Fade Away, and That'll Be The Day, follow the lives and loves through the decades of fictional Rock'n'Roll band The Raiders.
Pam signed a second contract with the award winning publisher Bookouture with the first novel in her Lark Lane series, The Factory Girls of Lark Lane, published in July 2018. Her first series for Bookouture - The Mersey Trilogy featuring The Liverpool Girls, The Forgotten Family of Liverpool and The Lost Daughter of Liverpool - is also available in E book, paperback and as audio books.
Pam is a big fan of sixties music and it's this love and the support and encouragement of her musician partner that compelled her to write the series. Pam has three adult daughters and seven grandchildren. She lives in Cheshire and as well as writing novels, writes short stories, which have appeared in charity anthologies and online e-zines, and poems, many of which are published.
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