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The Twenty Dates by Ko Porteous #Review #EmptyNesters

It is good to return to The Empty Nesters series by Ko Porteous. The Twenty Dates was published by All Ways Publishing Ltd on October 8th. You can read my review of Book 1, The Freshman Parents   here The kids have left, assuming love endures. But can yours? Book #2 in The Empty Nesters Series   Claire’s marriage is in (total!) crisis. Her husband, Mark, is distracted, presumptuous, and utterly clueless - smart scales for their 19th wedding anniversary? Really? Perhaps she'd be better off alone. At least there'd be less laundry.   When Claire suggests separating, Mark panics. He asks for one last chance: twenty dates, one for each year of their marriage, to prove they're better off together than apart. What follows is a series of adventures Claire never saw coming - some mortifying, some exhilarating, and some that make her question everything she thought she knew. About Mark. About marriage. And about the woman she's quietly become while she wasn't payin...

The Bordeaux Book Club by Gillian Harvey #Review #PublicationDay

 

Happy Publication Day to Gillian Harvey and Boldwood Books for her latest novel, The Bordeaux Book Club!

 

Love books? The Bordeaux Book Club is seeking new members!

When Leah and her husband moved to France, it was with the dream of becoming self-sufficient. But in truth, it’s not the ‘good life’ she’d imagined, as three hours of digging barely yields a single straggly carrot. Worse, her teenage daughter is acting up, and her husband seems to find every strange excuse under the hot French sun to disappear.

So when her friend entreats her to join the new bookclub she’s forming, Leah decides it’s something she will do for herself. The chance to make new friends, to drink a few glasses of wine, and to escape into stories that take her miles away from the life she’d thought would be her own happy-ever-after.

But the book club is a strange group of misfits. There’s prickly Grace, who lives alone and seems to know everybody and like no-one. Buttoned-up Monica, who says her husband is away and appears to be parenting her baby all alone. Handsome builder George, who has barely read a book before. And Alfie – who is a full two decades younger than everyone else, and is hiding a devastating secret…

As the stories they read begin to bring the new friends closer together, Leah is about to discover that happy-ever-afters don’t always look how you expect them to…

A gorgeously escapist read from the bestselling author of A Year at the French Farmhouse, perfect for fans of Veronica Henry, Jo Thomas and Fiona Valpy.

My Thoughts

If you enjoy books ( and I'm guessing you do) then you will love The Bordeaux Book Club. Its members are drawn together in search of companionship and belonging and you soon realise that they all have their own back stories and reasons for joining. Leah is looking for a connexion with her new life in France. You sense a streak of loneliness as her daughter  has disappeared into teenage behaviour and her husband seems to be keeping his distance, Their dream new life is looking decidely shaky. 

    I enjoyed finding out about each of the characters and seeing what the latest read they chose was going to be. Each book seemed to have echoes of their lives. This is one of those lovely summer reads. Set in Bordeaux, it has a holiday feel. Although most of the focus is on Leah, the club members are just as interesting and you are rooting for them all to find friendship and a sense of belonging.

In short: finding friendship

About the Author

Internationally best-selling author of contemporary, emotionally compelling and humorous commercial fiction.

 

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Book links

Thanks to Gilliam Harvey, Boldwood Books and Rachel of Rachel's Random Resources for a copy of the book and a place on the event.

 
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