Tuesday, 10 December 2019

Book Review - Five French Hens by Judy Leigh - Blog Tour

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Title: Five French Hens
Author: Judy Leigh
Format reviewed: Ebook
Source: Netgalley
Publisher: Boldwood Books
Publication Date: 5th December 2019
Rating: 5 Stars

The best days of your life might be still to come…

When 73 year old Jen announces that she is going to marry Eddie, a man she met just a few months previously on a beach on Boxing Day, her four best friends from aqua aerobics are flabbergasted.

The wedding is booked and, when the groom decides to have a stag trip to Las Vegas, the ladies arrange a hen party to beat all others -a week in the city of love, Paris.

From misadventures at the Louvre, outrageous Parisian cabarets, to drinking champagne with a dashing millionaire at the casino, Paris lives up to all their hopes and dreams. But a week can change everything, and the women that come home have very different dreams from the ones who got on the plane just days ago.

Funny, fearless and with a joie de vivre that reminds you to live every day like it’s your last, Judy Leigh has once again written the perfect feel-good novel for all fans of Cathy Hopkins, Dawn French and Fiona Gibson.

What a delightful book this is! 

I absolutely adored this group of women, as they celebrate Jen's recent and rather rapid engagement to Eddie.  They have all only known each other for a few months, but its still a couple of months longer than Jen has known Eddie. 

I also think this may be one of the more tasteful hen party trips I've read about, mostt likely as all five of the hens are in their 70s. 

So we have Jen, the bride to be, Rose who was widowed years ago and is only starting to find herself,  Della who is married to Sylvester and still utterly devoted to him, Tessa who's husband Alan seems to spend more time at the golf course and pretty much neglects her, and Pam who's love of her life is her dog Eddie! 

From the opening chapter, the view point would swap around within the chapter, so after a few pages of say Jen, we would then see what Rose is up to at the same time. After  a chapter or two, once you have picked up the basics of each woman, it is not confusing and you just go with the flow. 

I loved seeing how the friendship between the ladies developed over the story, and also each of their own personal growths and realisations.  And from the moment they decide to go to Paris, the book steps up another gear. 

What week in Paris would be complete without meeting an exotic man, spending time in a drag club, rediscovering your joie de vivre, some meals in a fabulous Moroccan restaurant,  a friendly taxi driver, a trip to the casino, a couple of hours in a cemetery - oh and some far more regular sight seeing too!!   A fair amount of the more typical Parisian tourist activities were also enjoyed too. 

From quite early on I had a feeling about the upcoming marriage, I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but by the story's conclusion I was a lot happier with everything.  

Rose and Tessa's stories are fabulous and I loved seeing how they changed over the week, and the others are just as great to read. 

It was a joy to spend time with these wonderful women, and I can't help but hope for a sequel as I'd love to see how they are all getting on with life now.    A fantastic book that proves that life definitely isn't over at 70, no matter what you may think when you are younger!! 

Thank you to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily, 

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