Dublin Girls by Cathy Mansell is a great historical fiction novel that also included elements of romance, coming-of-age, and overcoming adversity.

This story places the reader into post-WWII Dublin and the stories, and adversities, that were faced by those that have survived the war, yet realized that struggles of living, family, and day-to-day happenings still occurred. The concept of picking up the pieces and trying to find a sense of normalcy at a time that was anything but normal, was not such an easy task. This situation is where we find our female protagonist, 19 y/o Nell Flynn. Torn between her desire to become a nurse, move away, and be with her beloved Liam Connor and her sense of duty in helping with taking care of her younger sisters after her mother dies is the ultimate struggle.

Here we see the fundamental struggles of: love, loss, courage, fear, loyalty, family, romance, coming of age, perseverance, and following your dreams.

I enjoyed the plot, character cast, location, and ending. I thought Nell was likeable, realistic, smart, loyal, and strong. I rooted for her from the very beginning.

5/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Headline for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting my review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to be Amazon and B&N accounts upon publication.