"George Baxter has settled for a comfortable life, content as the years unfold predictably - until Win, his wife of twenty-six years, dies.

With his loyal dog Monty by his side, George throws himself into his work as an antiques dealer. His business is at the heart of the village and all sorts pass through the doors, each person in search of their own little piece of history"

.A beautifully crafted story about someone growing old without the love of their life and having to forge a new one for themselves. Great characters introduced throughout the book, with the star of the show being Monty the dog.

Keep in mind that this "it takes a village" novel is set in the 1960s and 1970s, George, who owns an antiques business, is mourning the death of his wife Win but he's lucky to have good employees, a loyal dog, and people in the village who look out for him. Will he find love again? This is about moving through grief and it's a gentle one.

A very gentle read, took me a couple of attempts to get in to the story. I found it quite hard at times to relate to the characters.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley for my honest review.

I could not get into this book for some reason. I know there are several that loved it but I just had a hard time and could not finish it. I didn’t like the characters or the story. It was just not for me. It took me several times of starting to read it before I finally finished. Just did not like it.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I really enjoyed this easy read and the lovely George and made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside as things like this can happen to us all.

Interesting story with very believable characters and emotions. The story is funny and at the same time poignant and uplifting. It was an engaging read. Would recommend it,

I found this a book of contradictions.
The two main themes appear to be romance and love after the death of a loved one after an illness. Comparing two recent family deaths i can understand the mixed emotions of someone looking for love and romance after an expected death - it is different after a sudden death, in my experience.
The other theme is the antique shop and repair shop he is responsible for. I was brought up in the antiques trade and to me this part seems strange. He must have already made his money to be able to employ five people.. I find it difficult to believe in this part of the story especially if the shop had been struggling.
Overall though this was an enjoyable read that I could empathise with. All the characters seemed well defined.
I was given this book by NetGalley and the publisher. This is my voluntary review.

This was a lovey and interesting read. Greatly enjoyed getting to learn more about antiques through George's narrative.

Not without faults but completely enjoyable. Abi Oliver's writing really brings the character of George to life. The story is fleshed out with a whole cast of interesting characters.

It’s February, 1964 George Baxter, proprietor of Chalk Hill Antiques, has recently lost his wife Winifred. George is a mild mannered, likable sort of man, with a lifetime of loneliness facing him every time he looks in the mirror. It isn’t that he is without friends as the cronies off his wife are determined that he not be left behind. Poor George just can’t face any of it.

He has his antique business and his basset hound, Monty. He isn’t a saint and he isn’t strong. He has been known to find solace in the arms of his neighbors. He needs more than he gets most of the time. He wants “someone he can love to the depth of his soul” and to be loved equally. What could be easier? What could be more difficult? George is about to find out.

Told with wit and charm this is the best of this genre of writing. “Gain-loss, up-down, beginning-end.”

Thank you NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for an ARC

A nice gentle book, centred on George. His wife has died and he is just trying to carry on with life.

When I started this book I felt it was a bit twee and dated and not really for me. Found it strange that a woman was 53 yet portrayed like an old woman. As the cover was quite contemporary it took me a while to realise book was set in the 60’s/ early 70’s. I found some of the detail too much and a tad boring.

Different era I know but the amount of drink driving George does is amazing.
Whilst it wasn’t a bad book, I felt it was aimed at someone older than me (late 40’s). George was an idiot and I just couldn’t relate to any character.

In February George runs away from the funeral of his wife of over twenty years, by November he finds himself. A New Map of Love is a character driven story about self-discovery in your fifties, loss, new beginnings, making mistakes and learning from them. I can't say that I was smitten with any of the characters, except perhaps George's dog, Monty, but I could certainly relate to them. We all have so much to learn, let's hope we use the time we have to accept who we are and become who we always hoped to be.

I was provided an e-arc of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. A New Map of Love is a charming story about a small-town widower connecting with his past and re-discovering love after the death of his wife. Set in 1970's rural England, George is an antiques dealer grieving the loss of his wife, and a marriage that was perhaps more practical than passionate. Now middle-aged, he works to process his conflicted feelings of grief and freedom, manage his business, re-discover his sense of self, and deal once again with the challenges and rituals of courtship.

A bumbling, good-hearted sort to whom women are a bit of a mystery, you can't help but like George, even when he makes terrible decisions. The book is populated with a delightful cast of characters, full of their own quirks and small problems. A stroll through a community on the cusp of significant change, we follow George, his employees, neighbors, and love interests through a year of life with all of its ups and downs. There are some funny moments and some poignant ones as well, all leading to a quite satisfying ending.

However, I will say that even for a slow-paced book, this one dragged at times, getting bogged down in unnecessary detail beyond what was needed to paint a portrait of events. I also took issue with the fact that George's foibles extended to infidelity with a partner who was also married. This was used as an important plot point, portrayed as positive but unsustainable, and I just wasn't on-board with that.

On a better note, I liked how the author discussed the possibility of men being sexually assaulted by women, and not just the other way around. The author also takes a more feminist stance on women's abilities to have successful careers and George is generally supportive of this, although he sometimes struggles with society moving away from more traditional gender roles Overall, this was a sweet story with entertaining characters, despite problems of pacing and a light take on infidelity.

An antiques dealer in a small village in England, George becomes a widower and feels a sense of starting over. Never experiencing deep passion with his wife, George is anxious to experience more. The minor characters in the book are all appealing and well described. As George meets new people, his horizons expand and his view of what a companion should be evolves. I enjoyed the story, and the quirkiness of the characters. A nice read.