Lime Street Blues by Maureen Lee is a British Saga involving three Liverpool families – the Flowers, the Baileys and the McDowds. The story begins in post-war Liverpool and follows the lives, loves and careers of the children of these families.

Connected by music and in particular the emerging British sound of the 1960’s, these characters form various bands and groups, fall in love with each other, fall apart and come together again in various ways. The main couple, Jeannie Flowers and the love of her life, Lachlan Bailey become famous, and live a life that most people would love to have except they both have to work through their own personal demons and betrayals in order to sustain their relationship.

This was a fun story about a new generation breaking away from their parents rules and learning to take on the modern world. With a backdrop of the famous Cavern Club and various groups such as the Beatles, Gerry and the Pacemakers and the Rolling Stones helping to set the scene, Lime Street Blues captures the feeling of the 1960’s. I enjoyed the setting and although the story seemed a little long it’s many twists and turns made this an interesting and captivating read. ( )

Who reads these novels, really? I'm thinking either those 'voracious' readers who claim 'I'll read anything, even the back of the cornflakes packet!', or terminally bored housewives. Perhaps Maureen Lee's other 'Liverpool lass' stories are better constructed, but I won't be bothering to find out. Only the 1960s setting and 'creative' blurb tempted me to try this one, but the characters, plot, pacing and writing quickly reminded me why I generally avoid 'family sagas'. There are too many good books out there that are worth reading!

If E.L. James' Fifty Shades of Grey mummy porn was originally Twilight fan fiction, then Lee's Lime Street Blues is the Beatles equivalent. Edited by a fifteen year old. Liverpool lads Lachlan, Sean and Max form a band in the early 1960s, while Sean's sister Rita and Lachlan's girlfriend Jeannie become 'The Flower Girls' (yeah, I know), a groundbreaking girl group. The rest of the novel, hopping from 1960 to 1967 to 1975 to 1983, covers little more than the domestic woes and ever-increasing offspring of the two bands and their families. Everything is resolved neatly, people change partners like underwear, and the ending is beyond ridiculous. I didn't feel for any of the characters, because Lee favours the 'tell not show' method of storytelling, and Jeannie, Lachlan and Sean are all cliches anyway.

Maureen Lee obviously knows what her readers like, but gagging on the nostalgic fiction equivalent of Werther's Originals is not for me. ( )