After a short absence following some recent surgery (and with renewed apologies for letting down a few authors – catch-up now underway, with reviews to follow after the weekend!), I’m delighted today to be joining the blog tour for The Best Days of Our Lives by Helen Rolfe, and sharing my review: published on 18th April by Boldwood Books, it’s now available as an ebook (free via Kindle Unlimited), in paperback, and as an audiobook. My thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for the invitation and support, and to the publishers for my reading e-copy (provided via netgalley).
I was just looking back at my earlier reviews of Helen’s lovely books (you can do the same, if you’d like to – just pop her name into my search bar), and they’ve almost all been for parts of series or read as instalments ahead of final publication as a standalone. In fact, the only other “one off” I could find was The Little Village Library, published by Orion back in 2020, and I can still remember how much I liked that one – the Library of Shared Things, the lovely and very real community, and a number of intriguing storylines with a depth I very much enjoyed. And now we have another – I found the synopsis irresistible (although I could also see I’d need to keep a box of tissues close at hand…), and it was a book I was very much looking forward to.
When Mallory receives life-shattering news, she decides to use this summer to make sure her family and friends are prepared for whatever might come.
But Mallory has a challenge when it comes to her mother, Gigi. Following the loss of her husband, Gigi is lonely. So when Mallory makes a shocking discovery that shows a new side to Gigi’s relationship with her estranged sister Rose, she decides to intervene and make a last attempt to reunite them.
Returning to her mother’s quiet hometown, Mallory and her cousin Penny try to get to the bottom of a dispute that has lasted more than sixty years, involving a lost wedding dress and a heartbreaking secret. But with Rose and Gigi determined to ignore their daughters’ efforts, will Mallory be able to put her affairs in order before it’s too late?
Gorgeous and emotional new novel from Helen Rolfe, perfect for fans of Shari Low, Cathy Bramley and Lucy Diamond.
Given Mallory’s “life-shattering news”, I’d rather expected this book to give me a bit of an emotional workout – but while that aspect of the story is sensitively and perfectly handled, the book’s focus is far more on friendship and family, fresh starts and putting right the wrongs of the past, making the most of special moments, and even a touch of unexpected but welcome romance. The balance of its content is beautifully done – every emotional touch judged to perfection – and I think I can honestly say that this has to be my favourite (so far!) of the author’s lovely books.
Mallory decides to spend the summer in the village of Saxby Green – it’s an opportunity to spend precious time with her thirteen-year-old daughter Jilly, but also to be closer to her cousin and best friend Penny who’s at a crossroads in her own life and helping her mother Rose run her bridal shop. She’s had to let down her own mother Gigi, departed on a cruise on her own – and she’s getting increasingly concerned about how she’ll cope in the particularly uncertain future. Mallory will know when the time is right to share her news with everyone – but she also needs do something about the estrangement of sisters Rose and Gigi after a major fall-out over a wedding dress they made together in their youth. They’re now in their 80s, and haven’t spoken in sixty years – Gigi is lonely in widowhood, Rose is thinking about retirement – and Mallory, with Penny’s help, is willing to take pretty desperate measures in an attempt to heal their relationship.
The story dips into Rose and Gigi’s past, when they were even closer than Mallory and Penny, making trips to London to buy material to make the wedding dress that might win a newspaper competition. Gigi has another reason for enjoying their outings, meeting a man from a very different background who she knows to be “the one” – but faced with insurmountable obstacles to her hoped-for happy ending, and following a betrayal she finds it impossible to forgive, flees from home, taking the wedding dress with her. And that same wedding dress, still in Gigi’s attic, might just be the key to bringing the sisters together after a lifetime apart.
There was so much I enjoyed about this book. I found the closeness between the cousins particularly special – and a pattern for the support and friendship their mothers might be able to share if they can get past the feud that tore them apart. It’s an emotional story at times, but there’s humour and lightness too, even a few laugh-out-loud moments. And the romance fits really well into the story – nicely accompanied by memories of teenage years with all their awkwardness and embarrassment. It’s almost possible to forget about Mallory’s situation, the news she must share, and the heartbreak to follow – but it’s always there, waiting in the shadows, realistically handled, sometimes making life difficult, but never weighing down the story as reuniting the sisters takes centre stage.
The whole book is the very definition of heartwarming – actually, let me add “uplifting” too – although it did move me to tears at times. The story is so beautifully told, with individuals at its heart who were entirely real and who I really cared about, the bonds of family so perfectly captured. It really moved me – and the ending really couldn’t have been any more perfect. One of my books of the year – and one so many other readers will enjoy it every bit as much as I did.
About the author
Helen Rolfe writes contemporary women’s fiction and romantic fiction. She enjoys weaving stories about family, friendship, secrets, and relationships. Characters often face challenges and must fight to overcome them, but above all, Helen’s stories always have a happy ending.
Helen loves creating village settings or places with a small-town feel and a big sense of community. Location has always been a big part of the adventure in Helen’s books and she enjoys setting stories in different cities and countries around the world. So far, locations have included Melbourne, Sydney, New York, Connecticut, Bath, Paris and the Cotswolds.
Born and raised in the UK, Helen graduated from University with a business degree and began working in I.T. This job took her over to Australia where she eventually turned her attentions back to the career she’d dreamt of since she was fourteen. She studied writing and journalism and wrote articles for women’s health and fitness magazines. Helen began writing fiction in 2011 and hasn’t missed the I.T. world one little bit… in fact she may just have found her dream job!
Facebook | Instagram | Newsletter Sign Up | Bookbub
