In heartbreaking fashion, in 1929, sisters Etty and Dorothy were taken to Blakely Hall orphanage by their mother. Etty was only four at the time, and Dorothy was eight. As things turn out, Dorothy sort of knew what was about to happen, but little Etty had no idea. Life in the orphanage was anything but easy for the girls. The girls remained at the orphanage until 1940, but it is only going to get harder as the country is in the throes of World War II.

When the war hit their country, by now Dorothy was 19 years old and now she must face the terrible loss of her husband leaving for war. Meanwhile, as Etty grows older, she too finds love, but it just was not to be. As the years progress, the girls try and discover what happened that made their mother take them to the orphanage in the first place.

While this story broke my heart more than once, I was floored by the unbreakable bond between Etty and Dorothy. Abandonment was horrible, life in the orphanage was beyond difficult, and when you add war and heartbreak and loss the the mix, it is no wonder that they survived relatively in tact. This story by Shirley Dickson was incredibly effective and touching and, despite my tears, I am very glad to have read it.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

Terrific book. Absolutely loved it. Compelling characters and story line. Kept me interested the entire time.

An engaging story, a bit choppy at parts, but I am grateful for the opportunity to review this book.

This one didn’t work for me even though I wanted it to! The description sounded great but it never came together for me. There were a lot of characters and it was slow going. Sadly this was a miss for me.

This was an amazing debut novel!!
Grab the Kleenex cause this story is absolutely heartbreaking.
Strength , love , death, and war.
Will definitely read this author again!

Etty and Dorothy were left in an orphanage in 1929 – confused, hurt and betrayed. By the time they were old enough to leave the security of the home, the war was on and both girls seemed singularly unprepared for the challenges to come. Of course, all of the difficulties in their situation were amplified by air raids, lives lost and the general privation of the home front, but the story seemed to focus more on bad decisions, bad circumstances and ‘Sophie-like’ choices for the two – with Etty and her more forceful personality and approach to trouble being in the forefront.

Unlike the other title I’ve read from this author, the mistakes that both Etty and Dorothy made, along with choices that were often questionable – and the never-ending series of awful events that seemed to take precedence to move the story of the two forward (or at least provide interest) ;left me needing more about Etty and Dorothy. Their characters, for me, were underdeveloped, Dorothy in particular as Etty’s strong will and nature and being the brasher of the two seemed to put her in the spotlight as well. While this wasn’t my favorite of the Dickson books that I’ve read, I’m looking forward to more from her and her unique perspective.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=” https://wp.me/p3OmRo-aAQ/” > <a> I am, Indeed </a>

I wanted to love it, but it was just ok to me. A good story, but long-winded maybe. It just never grabbed me, and I found the introduction of so many people confusing at times.

The setting and time period are well done, fully bringing the reader into the scenes. But after a while I just got bored, wanting something big to happen.

At one point, I was excited, thinking "ahhh...finally" but that part of the story just fizzled out.

I really enjoyed this tale of Etty and Dorothy, two sisters who were left by their mother at an orphanage. The story focuses more on Etty and I really grew to love her strong-willed character. While this book takes place during World War II, the war is not the central focus of this novel as it focuses more the the life Etty carved for herself. She has a tough exterior that never really faltered in the book. She continually held on to her mother's abandonment of her and that really affected the other relationships she had. While I did like Etty I found that sometimes she really needed a character growth but never got one. I understand why her personality was so important but it would have been nice to see a bit of growth and for it to take place before the climax of the story. I also felt that the climax was too rushed. The story about the mother came full force at the end instead of closer to the middle so that Etty could try and deal with it. I also would have loved to see a bit more of Dorothy's story line. I know she did not harbour the same type of resentment which makes Etty's character more interesting but she must have felt something and those feelings must have determined the events in her life, like marrying young. Happy release date!

One word to describe this book: melodramatic. I wish there was more character development. I couldn’t connect with the sisters.

I requested the Orphan Sisters after reading the description on Netgalley. A tale of two sisters surviving life in an orphanage and then England during WWII sounded interesting. And while I found the concept intriguing the execution, unfortunately, didn’t work for me. I like a little drama in my stories but it bothers me when they feel over the top and that is what Etty’s and May’s tale became. Everything that could go wrong did, every decision made turns out to be a seemingly bad, and two women pregnant but the same man during that time period seemed melodramatic. It felt like to much drama and not enough character development and growth. Although a bright spot I found in the book was Etty and Dorothy’s relationship.

Now having shared that – we all have different reactions to books. So this may have not been a fit for me, but may be for you.

Thank you Netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for my honest review of the book.

Title: The Orphan Sisters
Author: Shirley Dickson
Genre: Historical fiction
Pages: 367
Forever ( Grand Central Publishing)
Jan 7,2020
Rating: 4.5

A heartbreaking, unputdownable and utterly unforgettable story of two young sisters cruelly abandoned by their mother at an orphanage. Fans of Wives of War, Lisa Wingate and Diney Costeloe will lose their hearts to this stunning World War Two novel.

1929: Four-year-old Etty and eight-year-old Dorothy are abandoned at Blakely Hall orphanage by their mother, never to see her again. With no other family to speak of, the sisters worship their beloved mam – confused and heartbroken to be deserted by her when they need her the most.

1940: Etty and Dorothy are finally released from the confines of Blakely Hall – but their freedom comes when the country is in the grip of World War Two and its terrors. Amidst a devastating backdrop of screaming air-raid sirens and cold nights huddled in shelters, the sisters are desperate to put their broken childhoods behind them.

But trouble lies ahead. Dorothy must bid goodbye to her beloved husband when he’s sent to war and Etty must nurse a broken heart as she falls in love with the one man she can never be with.

Etty and Dorothy survived the orphanage with the help of one another and neither sister can forget the awful betrayal of their mother, which has haunted them their whole lives. But when a shocking secret about their painful childhood comes to light, will the sisters ever be the same again?

My thoughts
Would I recommend it? Yes
Would I read more by this author? Yes
While I can understand why this might not before everyone, I actually enjoyed this story, and one of the reasons was it showed the story of family and how close the two sisters Etty and Dorothy was. As the story goes forth it shows what their lives was like from the time they was kids to the time they leave the orphanage and their lives doing the War. We see the highs and the lows as well as the struggles they went though, and how the war effected everything and everyone around them not just them. We also get to meet other characters that are in their lives and see how they inter act with them. While its an emotional type read ,its a story that needs to be told and this author did it in a way that bright it to life. With that said I would love to say thank you to NetGalley as well as to Forever for letting me read it and review it as well as sending me a copy of it.