Every now and then, it’s rather nice to have the opportunity to review a book that hasn’t come my way because I’m part of a blog tour – and I really wanted to be able to share my review of The Unretirement, the debut novel from Penny Mirren. Published by Avon Books on 23rd May – “an uplifting story about the joy of pursuing dreams at any age, full of warmth, heart and community spirit”, and how could I possibly resist? – it’s now available as an e-book on all major platforms, in paperback, and as an audiobook. My thanks to the publishers for my advance reading e-copy, provided via netgalley – but I did pre-order my own copy too. Let’s take a closer look… and I think you might see why it caught my eye!
Meet foodie Maggie Lawford.
After spending her retirement travelling the world, she’s home again – and ready for a new adventure.
When Maggie’s daughter, Hannah, takes her to visit their favourite local restaurant, Maggie is heartbroken to find the place empty. But the last straw comes when Maggie realises the chef is at his wit’s end – she can’t resist charging into the kitchen and taking matters into her own hands.
Never one to give up without a fight, Maggie resolves to save their beloved restaurant from failure, and it’s not long before she has a military-grade plan to turn the place around again. Finding herself back at work, all she’ll need is support from Hannah and her cheeky granddaughter, Alice, as well as a little help from her neighbours.
After all, Maggie’s golden days aren’t behind her just yet…
Retirement hasn’t worked out to be quite what Maggie expected it to be. She’d planned to have so many adventures travelling with her much loved husband, and everything started so well – but she’s now home again, unexpectedly alone. Well, maybe not entirely alone – her daughter Hannah, a single mother and high-powered London lawyer has moved in nearby, and she’s only too happy to help her out by looking after her young granddaughter. But Maggie wants more – she’d love to work in a restaurant kitchen, but when all her efforts draw a blank, she finds herself licking her wounds with Hannah at the Indian restaurant she’d always loved so much when she used to eat there with her husband.
But something there has gone badly wrong – the owners are abroad, their son is struggling to keep it going, and it’s plain that its days are numbered. So she rolls up her sleeves and decides to do all she can to help save it – bringing fresh hope to the diverse group of quirky individuals who work in the kitchen, enlisting the support of the community, fighting off the threat from a predatory celebrity chef looking to expand his empire. But might it all prove to be too little and too late?
Beautifully written, this book was a total delight – and Maggie a very real and feisty grandmother who I absolutely loved. But all the characters are fantastic – Hannah remembering her first kiss and opening up to new romance, Joe rediscovering his joy of cooking, teen Ben slowly coming out of his shell, Jade making full use of her talents for everything social media related. The villain of the piece is quite wonderfully drawn too, and entirely self-centred and obnoxious – but he’s certainly no match for Maggie when she has the bit between her teeth. The whole fight for the restaurant’s survival is a fantastic read, with so many individuals involved that I really grew to care about, and that I felt part of as I cheered them on throughout – with plenty of humour, loads of poignancy, and bucketfuls of warmth and feelgood.
Fresh starts, second chances, strong friendships, a touch of romance, oodles of love, a determination to succeed – and with food that makes your mouth water, with a few recipes at the end to help you recreate the experience. I entirely adored everything about this book from its beginning to its perfect end – just glorious, and very highly recommended.
‘What a lively and fresh voice Penny has. So funny too and really resonates with someone who never wants to retire or slow down! A breath of fresh air… funny, uplifting and warm.’ –Sunday Times bestselling author PHILLIPA ASHLEY
‘An uplifting gem of a novel! Funny, heartwarming and hopeful, I devoured it in one weekend!’ – KATE STOREY, author of The Memory Library
‘I devoured this heart-warming story. An uplifting celebration of the diversity and richness of the undiscovered relationships you didn’t even know you had in your own local community…a great big hug of a book.’ – Richard and Judy Book Club author JULIE MA
‘Funny, fresh and gloriously inspiring, Maggie shows us that it is never too late to embrace family, community and your own untapped talents. I feel joyous after finishing this book and hungry from all the delicious sounding food.’ KATE GALLEY, author of The Second Chance Holiday Club
‘A likeable cast of characters, an engaging story and delicious food, all combining to make a fun, involving read.’ JANE LOVERING, author of A Cottage Full of Secrets
‘Maggie is a wonderful character! I loved her from the first page and cheered her on through every chapter.’ RUTH O’LEARY, author of The Weekend Break
About the author
Penny Mirren is the pen name of Samantha Pennington. Sam writes light-hearted, uplifting fiction and romantic comedy. She was selected for the inaugural Kate Nash Literary Agency Mentorship program in 2020 and is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association. Sam lives in North Essex and when she’s not writing, enjoys being first mate on her husband’s tiny fishing boat and reading books for her wine club.
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Time to bump this up my tbr!