Book Review - He's A 10 by Jessica Yale - #HolidayReading Gambia

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Title: He's A 10

Author: Jessica Yale

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Penguin

Publication Date: 30th May 2024

Rating: 5 Stars

Will Genie, Head of Player Care at Covenly FC, put her job on the line when she falls for their controversial new number 10 Tony Garratt?

Genie Edwards, Head of Player Care at Covenly FC, loves her job. Even if the club doctor is her ex-husband.

When Covenly qualify for the Champions League, they're determined to stay there and smash their record transfer fee to bring in renowned 'Number 10' Tony Garratt, who urgently needs a career boost after recently being snapped falling out of nightclubs during a very public break up. When Tony is late to his first ever press conference, it looks like some things never change . . .

But soon Genie begins to suspect there may be more to this rough diamond than meets the eye - will she put her career on the line and take a second chance at love?

Or was everyone right about Tony all along?

I absolutely loved this book, and it's definitely one for Football fans...  well actually most of it is behind the scenes stuff, so you don't need to know the offside rule to be able to enjoy this. 

In fact at times it felt reminiscent of Dream Team (still wish Sky would schedules repeats!) - with us getting to know one part of the cog that goes into running a football club. 

Plus new signing Tony, who the more I saw of him the more I really loved him. He is a bit old school regarding banter which is something I quite enjoy. 

And player care manager Genie catches his eye almost instantly. 

Genie is lovely, and I love any and all insights into club setups. 

I was loving every word of this and could picture everything so clearly. 

Just incredibly enjoyable. 

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

Book Review - The Silver-Haired Sisterhood by Judy Leigh

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Title: The Silver-Haired Sisterhood

Author: Judy Leigh

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley 

Publisher: Boldwood Books

Publication Date: 2nd December 2024

Rating: 5 Stars

Five years after seventy-something Tess jetted off to Paris with her best friends, Jen, Rose, Della and Pam - the Five French Hens - for Jen’s hen do, a lot has changed. Prospective groom Eddie has been given the heave-ho, Tess’s husband has been sent packing and the Hens are making the most of their golden years.

But Tess is stuck in a rut. Rather than embrace her independence, she watches on as Rose wows Paris, Jen explores Iceland and Pam heads to Greece. But when tragedy strikes Della, Tess is shaken into action. They both need a change of scenery and longing to see the Northern Lights, they head to the Highlands of Scotland and the magical Isle of Skye.

There Tess and Della get more than they bargained for. Along with stunning scenery and breathtaking history, they find new friends, grand adventures and even romance. And when they’re joined by the other Hens, together they start plotting a fabulous new future for them all.

Travel with Judy Leigh to the magical Highlands in this uplifting, joyous and funny tale of friendships and new beginnings. This is the perfect feel-good story for all fans of Maddie Please, Dawn French and Caroline James.

Years ago when I read and reviewed Five French Hens, I said I would love to see a sequel.  Well the sequel now exists in the form of The Silver-Haired Sisterhood and I am as delighted with this book as I was with the first one. 

Although admittedly I can't really remember most of the details many years on from the first book, so it can definitely be read as a standalone.  I did though remember Della, and it really was good to catch up with all of these hens. 

Now in their late 70s, and getting in at least one case rather close to the big 8-0, it's fabulous to catch up with these ladies and see how their lives have developed further.  And they are still up for adventures

Which is what led Tess and Della to head up to the Isle of Skye for a pre-Christmas holiday, only for the hotel that looked amazing on the website to not quite match the reality.  By which I mean, the owner wasn't expecting them, is suffering his own heartbreak and has more or less given up. 

Della and Tess although they were hoping for a relaxing break, jump into action and their holiday becomes a whole lot busier. But they do get to go one some trips, with the rather memorable Murdo. 

i really don't want to give too much away so won't say much more of the plot but would like to stay just how enjoyable this was. I was loving every second of this book, and the characters have found their way into my heart to stay. 

And once again with a Judy Leigh novel I am inspired to know that my life won't be over too soon and that you can still have a rich and fulfilling time, even well past retirement age!   Absolutely adored this book. 

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

Book Review - The Golden Gal's French Adventure by Judy Leigh - #HolidayReading Gambia

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Title: The Golden Gal's French Adventure

Author: Judy Leigh

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Boldwood Books

Publication Date: 4th June 2024

Rating: 5 Stars

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.

The perfect feel-good story from besteller Judy Leigh. A must read for all fans of Maddie Please, Dawn French and Caroline James.

I totally felt whisked away to the south of France, and at times I was utterly convinced I was reading a Jennifer Bohnet novel, purely as the descriptions of the local area, felt reminiscent of her ability to conjure up the feel of the place. 

But this is definitely a Judy Leigh book and another fine one at that. 

I loved Shirl's no nonsense type of character, and her love of her family is great to see.  Her granddaughter, baby Macey Roux is adorable too. 

And Fliss is let's say rather unique, but once she is in France , making new friends, she becomes a whole different person, one that I wanted to see more and more of. 

Between the mellowing of Fliss, the local people that Fliss and Shirl get to know, this is no ordinary holiday and they get swept up in the French lifestyle. 

I adored every moment of the book, and once again love how Judy Leigh proves that age is just a number and that you can still live life to its fullest at a more advanced age! 

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

Book Review - The Woman With All The Answers by Linda Green

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Title: The Woman With All The Answers

Author: Linda Green

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Boldwood Books

Publication Date: 26th February 2025

Rating: 5 Stars

**Alexa knows your family better than you do. Now you're about to get to know her... **

Fifty-two-year-old Michelle Banks is struggling to keep all the plates spinning. She’s a perimenopausal district nurse, caring for elderly parents. Her husband is wasting their money on children’s TV memorabilia, her teenage daughter is riddled with anxiety and her sixteen-year-old son is behaving secretively.

Alexa is the only one who knows how much Michelle is juggling. Listening in via four smart speakers, she also knows that it’s about to get even worse.

So, when Michelle pleads for help from the woman with all the answers, Alexa decides to go rogue and reveal her true identity as Pauline – a sixty-five-year-old former voiceover artist from Halifax – to teach Michelle everything she knows…

Wise, funny, relatable and inspiring, The Woman With All The Answers is perfect for fans of Clare Pooley, Mike Gayle and David Nicholls.

This is utterly brilliant.  It is so much funnier than I was expecting but also emotional at times, and left me feeling uplifted. 

It is also surprisingly believable, given it explains that Alexa (the google virtual assistant) is voiced by a team of women, each one having their own family, who is a real person and not an algorithm, or AI or anything.  And it turns out the person behind Michelle's Alexa is due to retire and is about to go rogue! 

Michelle is stressed, tired, at her wits end, attempting to deal with all of her various family members, the ones she lives with, plus her father, her mother in law and then her mother comes back into her life too. 

We have a Marc who works from home and may have a slight Ebay habit, Liv her A-Level age daughter who is suffering from anxiety and doesn't want to leave the house, let alone go back to school and sit her exams, or contemplate anything after that, and Callum who is 16 and who is having to deal with peer pressure. 

There are some truly hilarious moments, some rather mortifying ones, there is a brush with the police, a rather memorable doctor's appointment, and a whole lot more. 

And in between that we have chapters from "Alexa"'s point of view, where we get to see behind the scenes of life as a virtual personal assistant, can discover just how much all of our technology is interconnected and spying on us, and of this particular Alexa's compassion for the family she has been aiding for six years. 

It's hard to fully explain this book, but it deals with real issues that anyone could encounter.  The characters are relatable and I think I'm going to miss them now I have finished reading. 

It's really quick and easy to read and I loved every single second of it.  It's just brilliant and one of my favourite Linda Green books easily.  So happy to see this talented author back writing in this genre, I've missed it and look forward already to her next book. 

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