Reviewed by Emma Crowley
1946, Liverpool. Bella Harrison cannot believe the devastating war that stole the lives of her father and sister is truly over at last. She wonders how they will ever rebuild Victory Street with the city in ruins, and half their neighbours gone. But for now, she and her childhood sweetheart Bobby are happy newlyweds, doting on Bella’s little son, her child with black American pilot, Earl Franklin Junior.
With the other members of Bella’s wartime singing trio, The Bryant Sisters, busy starting families of their own, Bella focuses on recording and writing songs with her husband. Everything seems to be falling into place until they get a surprising letter: Earl is moving to England and wants to see them.
Earl arrives and is delighted to see that his son is well and happy. He joins them as a singer and together, they start recording songs. But one night as Earl leaves the recording studio, a racist gang brutally attacks him and sets the place alight, leaving Bobby trapped inside. Meanwhile, Bella is at home, waiting to tell Bobby a devastating secret…
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of The Mothers of Victory Street to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
The Mothers of Victory Street is the third in the Byrant Sisters series by Pam Howes. A quick recap on the previous two books is given in several paragraphs close to the beginning of the story but to get a true sense of Bella, our main character and all the various ongoing storylines I would suggest reading from the beginning if you haven’t previously done so. It’s been an enjoyable series so far. These books are very much quick and easy reads that are ideal for when you want a read that is not too taxing but yet provides interesting plots to keep the reader guessing as to what could happen to characters you easily come to care for.
It’s December 1946 and Bella, her family and friends are slowly becoming used to life post war. There are still plenty of struggles and angst to endure particularly as the first few months of 1947 prove to be very cold with some of the worst weather ever recorded. I felt the book picked up perfectly from where the previous story had left off and it was like returning to old friends. Bella is now married to Bobby and they are raising her son Levi whom she had with American GI, Earl. He is now back home in America and life for Bella is starting to return to normal and she is beginning to move forward with her life although the fact the injuries Bobby sustained during the war has prevented them from having children together still eats away at her. But still Bella is a great character who has really grown since we were first introduced to her. She has been through so much and has emerged out the other side far stronger and better equipped to deal with what life may throw at her.
Although Bella is the main character in this series I was delighted to see that at last her fellow friends and singers Edie and Fran, who help Bella make up the Byrant Sisters, finally get to feature more heavily in the story. I have wanted this to happen for ages as I have always felt they were left on the side-lines and would have interesting stories to share. Now that Bella has been through the ringer and is finding some happiness in her life I was glad to see the other girls step into the spotlight as did some other members of Bella’s family. That’s not to say Bella was forgotten about completely, we see how she is coping with married life and how young Levi is starting to see how the world views a mixed race child. The issue of racial prejudice and bullying is explored here but even more detail would have been welcome. I found that happened several times overall. Something would happen and it would before it had been explored in any significant detail. The pace of things happening was almost frantic at times and a little more in-depth detail and a slower pace would have allowed the reader to digest things more before the next event occurred.
Bobby himself is grappling with the fact that he can’t provide what Bella would so wish for and that’s something he will have to learn to live with. Earl does make a reappearance in this book and it’s like he is sent to upset the apple cart and the bliss Bella is finding in her life. But I loved how this strand of the story eventually worked out even though the romance element regarding Earl, it felt a bit strange given the various connections. Still if love comes calling you don’t refuse to answer it especially if you have been through such difficult and challenging times. I really did enjoy seeing how the family unit worked as Bella and Bobby live with his mother Fenella and Bella’s mother Mary and sister Molly. It was so lovely to see given how during the war people had been separated and torn apart for so long.
But what held my attention the most was the storylines involving Fran and Edie. Both girls are now married to Frankie and Stevie respectively having had a triple wedding celebration with Bella. Edie is expecting a baby and has just moved into Victory Street where Rita and Charlie are their new neighbours. They themselves had an interesting story and one which I suspect was all too common during those times especially post war. Edie is the more sensible of the pair as I felt Fran had such bitterness eating away at her for quite some time in the book. There was a bit of drama surrounding Edie which resolved itself quickly. This being a prime example as I have mentioned up above of things needing a bit more fleshing out at certain points.
Fran had the more dominant storyline. She soon discovered that for her married life wasn’t a bed of roses and that a lot of men weren’t particularly happy that women were going to continue to work outside the home post war. Singing with the girls gave Fran such joy and she liked having some money of her own. But Frankie was a character who had done a complete 360 since she had first met him. Life working at the docks was not for him and endless jibes from his workmates regrarding Fran’s work situation didn’t help either. Descent into drink made him a brute and all the sweet talking and promises that had made Fran fall in love with him just disappeared down the drain. He was a nasty piece of work that at a pivotal point in the story I feared what the repercussions of his actions would be for all involved. Fran was treated more like a skivvy than a wife and I think it influenced other areas in her life and started to affect her relationship with her friends. She certainly jumped the gun at one stage which would have had the most disastrous of consequences if she had pursued it.
All in all The Mothers of Victory Street is another enjoyable read from Pam Howes and is perfect for family saga readers who like something a little on the lighter end of the spectrum. I felt the ending was a little abrupt with things wrapping up to quickly but that only made me think is there room for one more book to finish off the series and have things come full circle for all involved?
No comments:
Post a Comment