Forgive and Forget by Margaret Dickinson [Review]

Forgive and Forget
by Margaret Dickinson



2.5 stars, out of 5.

 At the start of the 20th Century a typhoid epidemic ravages Polly Longden’s home town leaving her motherless and with a father lost to depression. Recovering from shock and in mourning, Polly must abandon her dreams of independence to run the family home.  Working from dawn until dusk and with only pennies to live on, Polly’s life has never been so tough. So when she catches her brother stealing and her sister brings shame on the family Polly is at her whit’s end. Help comes from local policeman and neighbor Leo Halliday whose gentle patience and kind words soon win Polly’s heart.
But Polly’s dreams of marrying Leo and starting a family of her own are soon shattered. During the railway riots of 1911 her father’s hot temper leads him onto the wrong side of the law and Leo is forced to take drastic action. Torn between her family and the man of her dreams, Polly must choose between love and loyalty.  Letting Leo go could be the hardest thing she’s ever done unless she can forgive and forget, but at what price…?


 Forgive and Forget wasn't really swoon worthy. No pulse racing, OMAGAWD HES SO HOT AND THEY'RE SO CUTE TOGETHER moments.
Nor was it the ughhh-I-HATE-THIS-STUPID-NOVEL *throws-it-across-the-floor* type.

It was simply an above average book, which had the potential to be waaayyy better.

The story is pivoted around Polly Longden, a wonderfully brave and strong heroine, who through all the numerous twists and turns of her life struggles for her happily ever after.
Polly is thirteen, when we first see her. A young little thing who has been pulled out of school to care for the family while her mother is at her death bed, suffering from typhoid.
After her mother's death, we are shown how Polly struggles with managing the household chores, deals with her uncooperative siblings, has to go through loved ones dying several times and has a really really horrible life- to put it bluntly.
The sadness of her life is brightened up by the presence of her one true love, Leo Halliday but, just when it seems Polly and Leo will get their happily ever after, Polly's father messes it all up and Polly, once again is forced to sacrifice for family.

It was good book I suppose, what with all the twists and turns and the whole true-love thing and the [SPOILER] happy ending [OVER, SPOILER].

But I hated the fact that the romance and ''love'' elements in it just did not make me feel at all!
First of all, the the love story needs to be way more developed than it is now.
I mean, WHO is Leo Halliday? What is he all about? Why does Polly love him so much? What makes them click? Yeah hes kind, polite and very, very fair in his dealings, but really Polly? That's it? What do you guys have in common? Wheres the RELATIONSHIP DEVELOPMENT? And you can't even blame the book for being short.
It was 400 pages long, and starts from when Polly is thirteen, and ends in her mid twenties.
I thought it would be a Judith McNaught type romance, with tons of breathless moments and sexy scenes, plus fun hero-heroine interactions, but what I got was a sweet, but very 'proper' romance which is really like an after thought.
So that just pulled the rating down a whole lot.

Forgive and Forget is supposed to be a historical novel, and over here it does not disappoint. The best part about the whole 20th century setting is that the history is woven in the story with such grace that you don't mind reading about it at all, it doesn't feel like a history lesson, and you get to experience it just the way Polly does. The railway riots and World War One both affect Polly's life and you can feel the frustration if the people in that day an age very clearly.


Over all, the history and Polly's sacrifice and strength through all the muck shes pulled through are what actually make this novel. The plot is good, so give it a read! [If you aren't too fussy with the gaping-holes-in-romance thing!]

Thanks to the publisher for providing the review copy!

xx

CLG