Blog Tour: The Golden Oldies' Book Club by Judy Leigh

 

In the village of Combe Pomeroy in rural Somerset, there is a monthly bookclub that brings a group of locals together. There's Ruth (the local librarian),  Aurora who still pines for her lost love from her youth, Verity and her argumentative husband Mark and Danielle, who has just split up from her husband. And then there is Jeannie, an apple grower and cider brewer who has been running the family business for years, as well as looking after her grandchildren and her aging mother, who has a corny joke for every occasion.

Jeannie is getting to the point of realising that she is going to need to make some changes soon as she is bone tired. But what will she do if she retires, and does it mean selling the family business? Or can she take on board some of the suggestions from her granddaughter, Ella, who seems very interested in taking over the business one day. but will that mean that she will feel redundant.

For the other members of the group, there are also major life changes to contemplate. And thankfully they have each other to lean on. A trip to the village's twin town in France brings them all closer together and gives them the friends they need as time brings changes for each of them. I loved that the changes weren't the obvious ones for all of them!

The structure of the book also follows the cider seasons: Summer, and new apples, harvest time and winter wassailing and along the way we were introduced to some of the traditions of both English and French cider making. I was particularly interested in the information in relation to the French cider making traditions given that we are going to be in the Brittany area of France in a few weeks. I always forget that it is much easier for people in Europe to pop over to another country, whereas our couple of days in Brittany is very much planned.

I mentioned that Jeannie's mother has a joke for every occasion, one of my favourites of the jokes that Jeannie's mother tells is "Oh, now, what did the farmer say when he spilled apple juice all over his laptop?" He said, "Oh, no - there's been a cider attack.""



In the author bio below, Judy Leigh is described as "the doyenne of the ‘it’s never too late’ genre of women’s fiction". That's not a term I have heard before. I do, however, enjoy reading romances where the main characters are older which I have seen referred to as late in life romances. As I have mentioned before, I didn't meet my husband until I was 46 so I totally believe that you don't have to be young to find love.

Having said that, the majority of characters in this book are quite a bit older with several of them being in their early 70s.

I did find it interesting that all of the bookclub books that were discussed were quite serious books, which I thought was an interesting contrast to her own books which her readers are reading! For example, one of the selections was Lady Chatterley's Lover. 

I hadn't read Judy Leigh before, but I am definitely looking forward to reading more.

About the book

The Golden Oldies Book Club

Deep in the Somerset countryside, the Combe Pomeroy village library hosts a monthly book club.

Ruth the librarian fears she’s too old to find love, but a discussion about Lady Chatterley’s Lover makes her think again.

Aurora doesn’t feel seventy-two and longs to relive the excitement of her youth, while Verity is getting increasingly tired of her husband Mark’s grumpiness and wonders if their son’s imminent flight from the nest might be just the moment for her to fly too. And Danielle is fed up with her cheating husband. Surely life has more in store for her than to settle for second best?

The glue that holds Combe Pomeroy together is Jeannie. Doyenne of the local cider farm and heartbeat of her family and community, no one has noticed that Jeannie needs some looking after too. Has the moment for her to retire finally arrived, and if so, what does her future hold?

From a book club French exchange trip, to many celebrations at the farm, this is the year that everything changes, that lifelong friendships are tested, and for some of the women, they finally get the love they deserve.

 

Purchase Link – https://amzn.to/3SEaggJ

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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