After reading and loving ‘that green eyed girl’ I was thrilled to receive an early copy of 73 Dove Street, it’s fantastic and out 20 July ❤️📚

73 Dove Street is a boarding house that brings three women together in 1958, a time when the men were in charge and women were expected to do as they were told.

We follow these three womens stories throughout the book, three different stories but all equally heartbreaking.

This book was brilliantly told, i instantly rooted for these three women and felt like I went through all the emotions with them. I was holding my breath at the end, getting anxious - the sign of a good book indeed!

I adored this and would definitely recommend ❤️📚

This book is brilliant - I couldn’t put it down and loved it from the very start. Beautifully written, I fell for Phyllis, Tommie and Edie completely. Every emotion is covered in their stories and we follow them through a sense of shame, pride, hope and love as we journey through their London of the 1950’s. Three very different women, brought together purely by an address in a poverty stricken area of London, our three main characters are trying to survive in a world full of trouble.
Julie Owen Moylan is a master of characterisation- every emotion felt, every decision taken is described so vividly - I felt like I’ve known the three women personally and have lived through their anxieties and troubles. Amazing

That Green Eyed Girl by Julie Owen Moylan was one of my favourite books of last year and her new release doesn’t disappoint.

This time we’re in 1950’s post-war London, following three women all living in a boarding house. Phyllis has left her husband and is trying to find her way in the world, Tommie has fallen in love with somebody she shouldn’t have and Edie is running from something.

Edie’s secret is an overarching mystery that flows through the books and it’s eventually revealed through flashbacks what she is hiding from - the book flits effortlessly between past and present and I devoured it so quickly.

73 Dove Street is a sad and sometimes bleak look at how women suffer and how they lived before they had the rights that we had today. It made me so angry for these women but I adored each character and was rooting for them all to find their own way.

I loved this book and I love Julie’s writing, she has the ability to completely transport you back in time with her words and I cannot wait to read whatever she does next.

A gorgeous, sensitively written tale of love, betrayal, secrets, trust, abuse, heartbreak, friendship and freedom.

Full of strong, memorable women, 73 Dove Street perfectly captures the resilience of women when placed in difficult situations.

The women are complex, individual and relatable and we find ourselves wanting the best for each of them.

Fabulously atmospheric and despite the peril and difficult themes, there is something hopeful and optimistic that runs through the book and it's overall an uplifting testament to women and friendship.

This writer's first book was a wonderful read so I looked forward to reading 73 Dove Street and thank NetGalley and Michael Joseph for the opportunity to review it.

The story is set in the 1950's London where three very different working class women live in the same West London boarding house. The grimness of post-war London is well described as are the characters of Phyllis, who runs the boarding house and her tenants, Tommie and Edie. The one thing all the women have in common is how they are beholden to the men in their lives: Phyllis has just thrown her husband out after finding him in bed with another, younger, woman; Tommie has been having an affair with an unnamed man for two years; Edie, whose story is the strongest, has run away from home after suffering an abusive marriage.

A few things disappointed me: there was very little light in the darkness of these women's lives, which may have been an accurate portrayal, but having grown up in London during the 1950s myself, I feel that this was a missed opportunity. I also found it confusing that Phyllis's husband was called Terry and one of the women was called Tommie. Tommie's character did not gel with me - there was obviously a backstory which wasn't revealed at all, unlike both Phyllis and Edie.

What a great read. Set in 1950’s London the author introduces us to three very different ladies all of whom have been treated badly by the man in their lives. Edie, Phyllis and Tommie. Told in the present and the past - starting 5 years ago when Edie met Frank Budd. This is so wonderfully written, descriptive and emotional with the women taking centre stage, albeit the men, and I use that word loosely, in their lives are an important part of the story.

Briefly, Phyllis is the landlady of 73 Dove Street who after finding her husband in bed with a tenant threw him out. Tommie is a bit of a good time girl who looks after a faded actress during the day and haunts Soho at night looking for a man she is besotted with. And Edie who has run from an abusive husband taking an envelope of his money with her, she is broken, scared of her own shadow and hides away from the world.

I loved Phyllis, felt very emotional about Edie and her journey but didn’t like Tommie as a character, I just didn’t gel with her. But I can say without any doubt I hated Frank with a vengeance, I felt really scared for Edie when he was around. At a time when social norms were changing for women as they moved towards the 1960’s revolution these were three women showing their true mettle under pressure. It’s all about the women. An enjoyable read but with some uncomfortable scenes of domestic abuse and backstreet abortion, I couldn’t put it down.

My first read by Julie Owen Moylan was The Green Eyed Girl which I thoroughly enjoyed, I would go so far as to say 73 Dove Street is even better. Julie writes about female characters so well and her description of the time and setting is so so real, you are taken back in time. This story you become so invested in the 3 main female characters, for me Edie more so, I loved this book and could not put it down. Highly recommend and a huge thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this early copy.

73 Dove Street is a powerful, poignant read.
It is the story of three women living in post-war London, one main protagonist and two supporting characters. One of the most enjoyable parts of this book is the unexpected character development of not only Edie, but the two smaller storylines, making it even more gripping as you get further into the narrative.
I was invested in the plot, gripped and suitably surprised at home much I enjoyed this book.
The prose is incredibly well written, and the author creates this post-war era in full colour for the reader.
I look forward reading her next novel.

I can’t describe how delighted I was to receive this novel from the publisher and started reading with great anticipation. WOW this book certainly didn’t disappoint. I was transported back to London in 1958 - not just by the wonderful characters of Edie , Tommie and Phyllis but by the sounds ,smells ,fashions and music of the era. There were times when I just felt engulfed in the pea soup fogs of London .Told in the present and in flashbacks you learn how these three women ,all remarkable in their own way ,come together in the rather shabby boarding house at 73 Dove Street. I can’t recommend this book highly enough and it is fully deserving of its five stars ( I would give it more if I could ) I’m looking forward to more fabulous books from this author. Thank you NetGalley, and the publisher for the ARC of this novel in return for an honest review.

73 Dove Street by Julie Owen Moylan

Edie arrives at 73 Dove Street, a boarding house in London, with only a suitcase and an envelope of cash, clearly having escaped from a terrible situation. As the story unfolds we discover the events leading up to this and also find out about Tommie, another resident of the boarding house, and Phyllis the owner, both with their own troubles.

Wow, I was gripped from the very start of this book - what a page-turner! The setting of London in 1958, the seediness of Soho, the trama of the aftermath of the war, working class women's lives... and so much more, all vividly brought to life in this book, along with compelling characters and a fabulous story. Very VERY highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

Recommended

Great characters and a depiction of 1950s London.

I loved the story and gettinginside the characters heads.

Compelling

73 Dove Street
I first came across Julie Owen Moylan when I read the Green Eyed Girl and was so enthralled I found her on twitter and had to let her know how much I loved that book.
So I couldn't wait to read and review her new book 73 Dove Street.
You get into the lives of three women in a shabby boarding house in London 1958.
You then head back 5 years earlier and it progresses right up to when their lives become interlinked and why.

Julie has a knack of being able to transport you to the fifties as she did with her previous book That Green Eyed Girl.
And it's as if you are in the room breathing in the same air and you have definitely gone back in time and can see and smell everything as it was. It's described so perfectly that you don't even realise you are reading.
If you want a bit of this magic I suggest you head on over and read 73 Dove Street. I loved it. More please.

I really loved That Green Eyed Girl - mostly because of the brilliant characters and Julie has done it again here. Strong, resilient, real women so authentic they almost walk off the page.

73 Dove Street is home to three women. Phyllis the landlady whose husband's affair has just been revealed, Tommie a woman who is no stranger to the clubs of Soho pursuing a love affair with a man unwilling to commit and Edie the new arrival who is fleeing her abusive husband.

There is more to all these women than originally meets the eye and the story is perfectly paced laying out their worries, insecurities and braveries as well as the mystery at the heart of the book.

The 1950s setting is just so well done. Richly described right down to the contents of a Milk Tray box (!) it paints a vivid picture of post war London still carrying the physical and emotional scars of the war.

Another excellent read from Julie Owen Moylan and I’m already excited for her next book.

Huge thanks to Penguin Michael Joseph & Netgalley for the chance to read an early copy

Julie Owen Moylan has done it again, conjured up a 1950s London so real that you almost taste and feel it. The story of three women fighting back against the cards that life has dealt them, I was utterly gripped by Edie, Phyllis and Tommie. The 1950s wasn’t an easy time for women, it was very much a man’s world with women expected to stand by without complaint. But if the man you’re tied to isn’t the man that you married, what happens next?

Opening with Edie moving into the boarding house at 73 Dove St with just a cardboard suitcase to her name, not sure where to turn or who to trust, the story of these three formidable women will stay with me for a very long time. I raged with them against the injustices that they experienced, got angry on their behalf about how their husband's word was paramount, cheered them on when they were making choices for themselves. All three women are battling different pressures and backgrounds, but they are so strong in the face of it, even when they think they are at their lowest point.

A book that deserves to be raved about when it's published next month- thank you to the publisher and the author for the ARC.

The main thing I can say about Julie Owen Moylan is that she excels at writing women. That was true with That Green Eyed Girl, and it's true with 73 Dove Street. I don't know how or why, but that is clearly her niche and her passion and where her talent lies, and I am here for it.

We have three protagonists: Edit, Tommie and Phyllis. Edie I went hot and cold with. She was fabulously written but it took me a while to settle in with her. At times I felt sorry for her, but then at others I was a bit suspicious. But overall, she managed to worm her way into my heart. Tommie I didn't overly like. I can't put my finger on why. Again, expertly written, but I felt she was playing the victim too much, but again, she did worm her way around by the end. And Phyllis. Oh she was probably my favourite. Maybe I expected to feel closer to the younger characters rather than the landlord, but my heart went out to her majorly from the start to the end.

This is definitely a woman's story. There are male characters of course, but for me they fade into the background. In a time period where women were meant to be subservient and quiet, these are powerful women who deserve to be in charge of their lives and their loves.

It covers the present time, but also looks at Edie's past over the last five years. Flashback narratives can often be a bit confusing and clunky, but this is seamless and it really helps you understand her now, and gives her this characterisation that I'm not sure you'd have got it it had just been a linear narrative.

At 400 ish pages, I wasn't expecting to read it in one sitting, but that's what happened. I tried to do other things, but it kept calling to me, and in the end I just gave in an devoured it. And boy is it leaving a serious hangover.

For a book reviewer, it's probably unhelpful to say I can't explain something. But it's impossible to clearly explain how Julie writes. She is a voice like I've never read. Completely unique. Passionate and tender and raw and beautiful. I don't do star ratings generally for books, but I cannot imagine her work every being anything other than 5 stars, 10 stars, whatever the maximum is.

The problem is now - and it's a good problem to have - is that when I read That Green Eyed Girl, there were no preconceived ideas, as it was her debut. And then I had big hopes for this one. And it means I'm expecting great things from her future work. No pressure. I'm sure anything and everything she will write will be perfect and I cannot wait.

Really good book, more serious than I usually read but got really into it, Green Eyed Girl is also great xx

Blurb

When Edie Budd arrives at a shabby West London boarding house in October 1958, carrying nothing except a broken suitcase and an envelope full of cash, it's clear she's hiding a terrible secret. And she's not the only one; the other women of 73 Dove Street have secrets of their own . . .

Tommie, who lives on the second floor, waits on the eccentric Mrs Vee by day. After dark, she harbours an addiction to seedy Soho nightlife - and a man she can't quit.

Phyllis, 73 Dove Street's formidable landlady, has set fire to her husband's belongings after discovering a heart-breaking betrayal - yet her fierce bravado hides a past she doesn't want to talk about.

At first, the three women keep to themselves. But as Edie's past catches up with her, Tommie becomes caught in her web of lies - forcing her to make a decision that will change everything . .

My thoughts .

What a beautifully written novel three resilient women Edie , Tommie and Phyllis .
An emotional journey each woman has their own pain and hardship to conquer. Edie’s story is told in the present and the past 5 years of her life and the emotional turmoil of meeting and living with Frank Budd.
Frank a dislike-able I am the boss do as I say kind of guy ! I loved getting to know the inhabitants of 73 dove street .
This novel is about determination, friendship and the imagery is evocative and your heart is with these three women.

Preorder this novel it comes out 20 July it is a must read I loved it.

Trigger moments - domestic violence and abortion .

This probably isn't the sort of book that I'd normally choose to read but I was captured by the description and front cover. The characters were believable and I so wanted things to work out for Edie, Tommie and Phyllis. Good descriptions led me into their lives. All in all, a very satisfying read. Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Books.

A wonderful sense of time and place in this tale of working class women in 50s Britain. Edie is in an abusive relationship and has made a run for it, Tommie is trying to work out the life she wants and they both take lodgings in the same house. The story reveals past events and new beginnings and is a really well told and satisfying read.

As a big fan of Julie Owen Moylan's debut, 'That Green Eyed Girl', I had high hopes for '73 Dove Street'. I can honestly say that Moylan's follow-up surpassed my expectations, providing me with a compelling novel featuring well-drawn, perfectly realised female characters.

It is, at times, hard hitting but that made it all the more realistic to me. The prose is beautiful, the descriptions evocative and the atmosphere is so well-described that I could feel the London smog envelop me at times. The beauty of Moylan's characters are that they are so nuanced that they could be someone you pass on the street. These characters will stay with me for a very long time.