Book Description:
Tess and Orla have been best friends throughout most of their adult lives. So when life gave them lemons and their loved ones let them down, they pooled their resources and bought a dressmakers shop on the corner of Penny Lane. And they’ve been doing just fine ever since.
But one day, while studying her tired eyes and shapeless figure in the mirror, sixty-two-year-old Tess realised that she doesn’t want her life to be just fine anymore. She wants it to be extraordinary. For as long as she can remember she’s put everyone else first. Now she wants to rediscover herself – and experience the kind of whirlwind adventure that will have the power make her smile when she’s confined to the armchair of a retirement home.
With the encouragement of fun-loving and quirky Orla, Tess joins an over-the-hill dating agency and the two friends book a singles cruise around the Mediterranean. And that’s when their adventure of a lifetime really begins…
A totally uplifting, heart-warming, hilarious page turner about embracing the moment, learning to love again and the joy of second chances. Perfect for fans of The Kicking the Bucket List and The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.
My Thoughts:
What an entertaining and riveting read!
Tess was a character I took to straight away. I have to admit I was a little bit more wary about Orla as she seemed quite self obsessed but the more I got to know her, the more I grew to like her, even if at times she did make me roll my eyes with some of her remarks.
The dating agency that Tess and Orla join, well that was the real high light of this story for me. I couldn’t help but chuckle at Tess’s luck with her dates or should I say misfortune. They really do make for a fun read that I was totally hooked on as struggled to put the book down. The cruise itself, whilst still a wonderful read, was a little more sombre in places which really tugged on my emotions. If anything it makes you remember that no matter what life throws at you, get out there and enjoy yourself.
Tess is a real inspiration in many ways through out the novel. She gives hope that even in more mature years, there is still the chance to go out there and find love. Even with out a man, Tess is very much doing it for herself. Her determination to lose weight and feel great for her daughters upcoming wedding had me loving her even more and I wish I had an ounce of that for myself!
The Silver Ladies of Penny Lane is a feel good, fun and fabulous read. I absolutely adored it and was so sad to get to the end as I had enjoyed the story so much. I really hope we get to see more of Tess and Orla as they are larger than life characters who readers will definitely want to see more of. Brilliant!
My thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway.
The Silver Ladies of Penny Lane is available to purchase from Amazon. (Please note that link used is an affiliate link).
About the author
Dee MacDonald wrote her very first book – at around seven years of age! This was a love story which she duly illustrated before sewing all the pages together up one side. Writing was what she ‘was good at’ in school and she won several essay competitions, but then life got in the way and she didn’t pick up a pen again until after retirement.
Dee left Scotland and headed for London at the beginning of the swinging sixties. After typing her way round the West End she became an air stewardess on long haul routes with BA (then BOAC) for eight years. After that she did market research at Heathrow for both the government statistics and for BA, she became a sales rep., and was the receptionist at the Thames Television Studios in Teddington when they had the franchise.
She then ran a small B&B for ten years in Cornwall, where she lives with her husband. Dee has one son and two grandsons who live locally.
You can find Dee on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/dee.macdonald.18659
and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DMacDonaldAuth
bytheletterbookreviews 
Wonderful review Sarah. I think I would really enjoy this book as I am of the same generation and age. It sounds like a lot of fun and who hasn’t thought about online dating at least once?
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