It’s a real pleasure today to be joining the blog tour for the latest book from Judy Leigh, The Golden Gals’ French Adventure, and sharing my review: published by Boldwood Books on 4th June, it’s now available as an e-book (free via Kindle Unlimited), in paperback, and as an audiobook. As always, my thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for the invitation and support, and to the publishers for my advance reading e-copy (provided via netgalley).
Writing about women who – like me – aren’t exactly spring chickens any more but whose zest for life fills your heart with joy has made Judy one of my firm favourites. Her cosy mysteries are wonderful too (I thoroughly enjoyed meeting Morwenna Mutton in Foul Play at Seal Bay – you’ll find my review here – but my own energy failed me a little when the second book came out, and I’ll need to catch up later!), as are her historical novels written as Elena Collins (pop the name into my search bar, you’ll find all my reviews). But her second chance/never too late stories were my first love (back to my search bar – you’ll find all the many reviews…), and I still eagerly await every new one – and I was rather looking forward to meeting Fliss and Shirl, and joining them on their adventure together…
Sixty-nine-year-old Fliss has lived a life!
A career running her own successful business, a beautiful home, a wardrobe full of designer clothes – Fliss has everything she ever wanted. So why does she feel so lonely?
Sixty-six-year-old Shirl didn’t expect to be looking after a baby again, let alone a grown woman who should know better. But with her daughter Gemma struggling to adapt to motherhood, and her boss Fliss increasingly reliant on Shirl to run her life, Shirl never gets a moment to herself.
Fliss might not be great at life’s chores, but she is great at seizing opportunities, so when the chance for a jaunt to France’s beautiful Brittany comes her way, she decides it’s just what she and Shirl need. And as the sun-soaked town of Plouvannec-Sur-Mer begins to work its magic on the women, they realise there’s another way to live.
From cake-laden patisseries, to joyous local fetes, from food, views and beaches to die for, to a community quick to embrace them, not to mention some rather fine French men for company, perhaps it’s not too late for Fliss and Shirl to embrace a new adventure and look forwards to a totally different future.
As a more mature reader, one of the (many) things I love about the author’s books is how very easy she makes it to identify with her wonderfully drawn older characters. But Fliss at first, I’ll admit, was rather more of a challenge – jetting off on a whim, predatory with every man who crosses her radar, living in her posh house, driving her e-type Jag (when she hasn’t drunk herself under the table), splashing her cash around. But it didn’t take me long to view her very differently – she’s also desperately lonely, has no idea what she should be doing with her life of leisure, and relies really heavily on the friendship and emotional support of her cleaner Shirl.
Shirl herself doesn’t have the easiest life – as well as being at Fliss’s beck and call, her daughter Gemma is constantly taking advantage, dumping her with baby daughter Macey Roux while she heads off to live her life. But she’s such a lovely woman, never without her smile – and Fliss really does appreciate her more than she knows. So much, in fact, that when she has the opportunity to stay at a friend’s home in Brittany, there’s no-one else she’d rather take with her – and hey, why not, the baby too. And their stay in Plouvannec is an absolute joy from beginning to end, as they become very much part of the small and tight community while strengthening their friendship, opening themselves up to new experiences, and discovering what makes them both happy.
And they’re surrounded by the most fantastic cast of characters. Manu has already embraced the slower pace of life, sharing his home with his 94-year-old father, while helping him fend off the over-enthusiastic attentions of widow Clothilde (who really could teach Fliss a thing or two) – while brother Theo can’t see, at first, just how good it can feel to take your foot off the accelerator. Although language can sometimes be a barrier (but more so for Fliss, although she tries so very hard), Shirl immerses herself in village life – helping out Joel, owner of the Le Shack restaurant, as he prepares for a crucial cookery challenge, making a friend of shy boulangerie owner Gisele, resisting the attentions of ex-mayor Bernard who rather mistakenly (and entertainingly) thinks he has a particularly good grasp of English. At first, Fliss just enjoys salivating over hunky young Bastien doing his yoga moves on the beach, counting the minutes to her next drink, and wondering whether there’s any chance of rekindling her former affair with Manu – but as Brittany begins to work its particular kind of magic, her whole focus changes, and the warm and loveable person she really is begins to emerge.
There was so much I loved about this book – the humour as sparkling as ever, those moments of poignancy that sometimes brought a tear, the community that was such a delight to be part of, the way the characters evolved, the focus on family and friendship, the light touches of romance. And, most certainly, the Brittany setting. The descriptions are so vivid and detailed that they really bring it to life, make you feel you’re there sharing the characters’ journeys – and all those festival events really took me back to my memories of my time there, dancing at the Fest Noz as an exchange student in the dim and distant past.
There’s a realness about every single individual in this story – and while I grew to entirely love both Fliss and Shirl, feeling so deeply invested in their respective happy endings, reaching the end honestly felt like leaving my own friends behind. And yes, I know, every book the author writes becomes my new personal favourite, but this one was such a special treat – one that any reader would thoroughly enjoy, but an absolutely essential addition to every older reader’s summer reading list.
About the author
Judy Leigh is the USA Today bestselling author of The Old Girls’ Network and Five French Hens, and the doyenne of the ‘it’s never too late’ genre of women’s fiction. She has lived all over the UK from Liverpool to Cornwall, but currently resides in Somerset.
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Thank you so much, Anne. I loved every word of this.
And I loved every moment of my reading experience Judy – thank you! x
Fabulous review! I love her books too.