Book Review - The Unretirement by Penny Mirren

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Title: The Unretirement

Author: Penny Mirren

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Avon

Publication Date: 23rd May 2024

Rating: 5 Stars

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 their favourite restaurant, Maggie is heartbroken to find the place empty. But the last straw comes when Maggie hears 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…

I thoroughly enjoyed this story, and was thinking about Maggie long after the book ended. 

This is a fabulous character who really got under my skin and that I found I was rooting for from the very first few pages and that loved more and more, as the story progressed. 

She might be retired but she is up for a new challenge and finds it in her local Indian Restaurant, which along with her daughter Hannah, grand daughter Alice, and some of Hannah's old school friends they band together to try to save this local institution. 

I took a bit longer to gel with Hannah, but she was developed, I found her growing on me, and really loved well before the end. She is protective of her mother, but at the same time, I think she admires her greatly. 

This is a book that shows that you can still have a fulfilled life after retiring, that you can take on new challenges and actually thrive, even when widowed. It's inspiring, heartwarming, incredibly well written and was a sheer pleasure to read. 

I'm already looking forward to seeing what this author will write next. 

Thank you to Avon and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.