THE GOLDEN OLDIES GUESTHOUSE by Dee MacDonald @bookouture @DMacDonaldAuth

Book Description:

Tess and Simon Sparrow may have a few more grey hairs and wrinkles than they used to, but that doesn’t stop them being swept up in a whirlwind romance and starting over again. Swapping their city lives for an escape to the countryside, they fall in love with a crumbling hotel and impulsively buy it as their forever home to grow old in together…

Renovating the glorious, wisteria-clad property on the gorgeous cliff-tops of Cornwall was meant to be a delightful retirement project. But the dream soon turns into reality and practical Tess and optimist Simon are faced with leaky bathrooms, creaky stairs and a roof that’s just about holding up.

Running out of money fast, the couple decide to rent out a few rooms to save their new home.

Along come mysterious Celia, hapless romantic Benedict and tarnished, lovelorn actress Titania – all looking for a fresh start. Everyone in this eclectic group has their own reasons for being in Cornwall and across the summer they each go on a journey of self-discovery at The Golden Oldies Guesthouse as they realise there is still plenty of time for love, life, friendship… and a few unexpected surprises.

From the bestselling author of The Runaway Wife and The Silver Ladies of Penny Lane, this is a completely uplifting page-turner about embracing new friendships, finding love and making each day count. Perfect for fans of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and The Single Ladies of Jacaranda Retirement Village.

My Thoughts:

Even though this is a follow on from one of the authors previous novels, the story reads easily as a standalone as we get to see Tess and Simon on a new adventure with lots of new characters.

I think I fell in love with the house that both Simon and Tess set their hearts on as soon as they see it. It did remind me slightly of the film, The Money Pit, as the house is in need of some restoration but again like the characters, I could see past the sorry state that it was currently in and the transformation that it was about to take.

There are plenty of humorous moments as Simon and Tess move down to Cornwall and start work on their project. Obviously being in a new area, there are lots of new characters that come in the form of workmen, business owners and last but not least, guests, when the house is nearly finished and been turned into a gorgeous guesthouse.

The guests are an intriguing bunch and a varied one at that. I so enjoyed getting to know them better and there are a few unexpected surprises in store. I’ve no idea if the author is going to carry on with another follow on from this one but I’m really hoping she does as, as well as catching up with the main characters, I can’t wait to see what the future guests are like!

The Golden Oldies Guesthouse has a little bit of everything in it. From romance, humour, unlikely friendships and a bit of mystery thrown in for good measure. Where as I used to worry about getting old, this author has me looking forward to it and that life is far from over when you reach a certain age. An engaging, fun and heart warming read.

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 Golden Oldies Guesthouse is available to purchase from Amazon. Please note that link used is an affiliate link).

Dee 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/AuthorDeeMacDonald/
and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DMacDonaldAuth