Reading the first few pages of this I wasn't sure if it was for me but then I really got into it and enjoyed it very much. Park runs are in many places now and seeing the different groups of people walking or running around a park makes you feel good even if you, for health reasons can't join them. This made the reading of this book all the more real with the different age groups taking part and where their lives take them. This is a 5 star novel and to Jules Wake, very well written and I look forward to read your new books.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for this ARC copy in return for an honest review.

The Saturday Morning Park Run by Jules Wake.

The Story of Claire a burnt out highflying executive and Ash a highflying Company Director when they have a chance meeting and have instant connection after a euphoric first date there is sudden silence from Ash. Claire’s world starts to fall apart. Signed off work for a month from stress (her ultimate shame) her sister abandoned her children on her doorstep and disappeared to India. She is falling apart and suddenly meets Hilda an elderly, lonely whirlwind who discreetly but slowly licks Claire into shape. The sudden appearance of a very different Ash unkept lacklustre man suddenly made redundant feeling his life has ended !

What an absolutely gorgeous book- a page turner if ever was one . The characters are out of this world and how a chance meeting in a park can change everyone’s life . I laughed cried every emotion under the sun. Best book in a while . Very well done Jules! Bought a few if her back catalogue fabulous well written book.

I was really excited to read this book. I have not read this author's work before. What attracted me to this book was the cover and the description that told me this story that included an elderly lady as a main character. I adore the older population and I love the wisdom that they bring to life and good books.

I did enjoy this book very much, but after a few chapters, I seriously considered not reading any more of it. I believe there are so many words in language and using curse words really is not necessary. In the first few chapters several curse words are used and I was at a point that I was not going to continue to read. I stopped and read a few reviews, which all praised this book and many mentioned the fabulous elderly woman character. I was reading the ebook, so I scanned for the words I felt were offensive. The search came back with 32 uses in the entire book. I came to the conclusion that the choice of words were probably to emphasize the character's personality and I decided to go forward and read. I am so happy that I made that decision.

The plot is fantastic. The characters are wonderful and I definitely have strong feelings for them, some good and one definitely not good. I adore the elderly character, Hilda. She made the story, in my opinion.

I want to thank NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for allowing me to read the advance reader copy. My review is my own opinion not influenced by receiving the ARC.

There’s something for everyone in this heartwarming story of ordinary people looking for friendship, love and purpose without even realising its missing from their lives. Clare and Ash meet or more accurately collide by chance. There’s chemistry amidst the anger and the pride, but where will it lead?

Clare is career-focused. A possible partnership keeps her single-minded. She fails to notice her failing health and the problems in her sister’s life until they unexpectedly make a change in her life inevitable.

Hilda is lonely but wants to bring the community together. When the three unlikely friends meet everything starts to come together in the form of a Saturday morning park run.

This original story has a motivational ethos with believably flawed and relatable characters. The group dynamics are authentic and insightful. This is an emotional story that takes the reader on a journey. Fun, friendship, poignant moments and self-realisation are all explored through the characters with a satisfying life-affirming conclusion.

I received a copy of this book from One More Chapter and the Author in return for an honest review.

This is an enjoyable story about a group of people setting up a park-run in the invented Northern town of Churchstone. It is also about a whole lot more, including family, friends and achieving a good work-life balance. Any book that features a feisty old lady, in this case Hilda, seems to be a winner. Plenty of wisdom and cooking skills are passed down the generations. This story is also about community, and how you can find like-minded people in unusual places and end up developing friendships. A real feel-good book.

The story started off with Claire bumping into Ash, spilling both their coffees, and seemed to be destined be to high flying execs starting a fling. This changed very quickly after Claire is signed off with stress and then ends up babysitting her sister's two children. Whilst running in her local park she comes across a lady of a certain age, Hills, who pushed her into trying to get out of her rut. She also meets up with a bedraggled Ash, who suddenly had his own problems.
After the initial start, which I wasn't really enjoying, this became a story of how to deal with stress, relationships and start organising a Park run. I loved the zany character of Hilda, could understand the struggle that Claire was having, especially with the added strain of looking after the two girls. I'll l just say that I don't have much in common with Ash, but am interesting Compassion with Claire. I also mustn't forget Bill, a rescue dog that is an integral part of this story.
Overall despite the inauspicious start, which was just setting the scene, I really enjoyed this story with that combination of characters in a small community setting that I love.
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, however this did not influence my review of the book.

This is my first Jules Wake read, and I LOVED IT! The story is a wonderful wake-up call about achieving a good work-life balance, making good friends and taking time for the things that matter. The characters are mostly warm and friendly – people you are happy to share time with. Claire’s sister, Alice, is the exception, but her actions help provide the catalyst for change in Claire’s work filled, but otherwise empty, life. Hilda, an older character, was a blast – I loved her no-nonsense say it as it is ways. Claire and Ash shared a lovely connection that held me from the beginning of the story and kept me interested all the way to the end. It was refreshing for the hero to be vulnerable and to make mistakes, even after it seemed things might be sorted. Overall this is a fab book that will leave you with a big smile. And there’s a dog, what’s not to like?

A good story overall. Claire meets Ash, when they collide and spill coffee on each other. Hilda is a 70 year old who runs in the park and becomes friends with them. When Claire ends up taking over for her sister, who abandoned her two young daughters, it gets more complex. A good story, and one I did enjoy, although I must admit the attitude of Ash grated on me a bit, and I did skim some in the middle. Would still recommend though, as the ending was worth the wait.

I loved this book!! It was a lovely, warm-hearted read which really pulled on my heart-strings! Initially, I did wonder where this book was going though! We were introduced to two of the main characters, Claire and Ash. They both came across as work-obsessed, money driven and not very nice, if truth be told! This didn’t feel like the warm, light-hearted and emotional read that I first thought it was! Fear not though, the doubt didn’t last long and within a couple of chapters I was beginning to love Claire and Ash’s characters and as other characters were bought in, I loved them too!

The book’s premise is obviously about the Park Runs that are taking the nation by storm every Saturday morning! But before I got to that I was treated to getting to know the main characters. Claire and Ash literally bump into each other on the morning commute, and whilst they argue as to whose fault it was, they also spend the whole journey exchanging interested looks to each other. Ash’s character really doesn’t come into his own a little bit further into the book, but that’s fine as I loved starting with Claire’s character first. She’s a hardworking woman who works late, starts early and always to tight deadlines – that is until one day when she realises, she’s struggling and is forced to admit this. When her sister runs off to an Indian retreat, leaving her two girls with Claire, Claire begins to re-evaluate her life and work out what is really important. Meeting Hilda, a mysterious old lady in the park one day, Claire, Ash and Hilda begin to make plans to start up a Saturday Park run in their local park.

I’ve heard of park runs and whilst I work every Saturday so am unable to take part in one myself (phew!!), this author certainly got me thinking that they actually sound like a fun thing to do! I loved Claire’s character and thought she came alive when she didn’t have the stresses and strains of work life and focussed her energy into herself and her two nieces. The storyline of her sister made me incandescent with rage! I couldn’t believe how she could do what she did and my heart broke for the two girls. Whilst there were plenty of laughs, usually involving the parts of the story with Hilda in, there were also lots of important issues dealt with in between all the light heartedness! I liked how, whilst there was a romantic element, it wasn’t the main focus of the storyline (although I continually kept my fingers crossed that Claire and Ash would get a happy ending). Amongst all the fun, there were the subjects of mental health, male mental health, loneliness, abandonment and work issues to fill in all the gaps and these were all dealt with wonderfully and sensitively throughout.

This book took me on a fabulous journey that had me not only hooked from very early on in the book, but wiping away sad and happy tears throughout. Showing not just how easy it is to feel like life is spiralling out of control, but also how friendships can form in the most unusual of circumstances tugged at my heartstrings and made me love the characters just that little bit more! This book wasn’t what I was expecting, but that made it so much more enjoyable! A lovely read, highly recommended!!

I am an avid runner and (pre lockdown) Parkrun was a fixed date in my diary each Saturday morning, so I was intrigued about this book as soon as I saw the title and read the blurb.....so it is safe to say I absolutely loved this story. The story starts with Claire and Ash meeting for the very first time, and I was really pleased to see how much the two main characters changed as the story went on as I did not immediately warm to them due to certain reasons! I loved the journey they went on together, and the introduction of Hilda was the perfect tonic for the whole story - despite being the oldest character I loved how she was responsible for breathing new life into Claire and Ash. Poppy and Ava were brilliant characters too and it was clever how their characters sometimes mirrored Claire's relationship with her own sister.The introduction of the parkrun idea really moved the story along, and I could tell that Jules Wake was be an avid parkrunner too with her knowledge of it - she perfectly encapsulated the spirit of it, and as I have met some of my best friends through parkrun I could completely relate to the new friendships that were made along the way. This was such a lovely read - it left me with a lovely warm sense of positivity - I want there to be a second book! I would highly recommend this - you never know, it could inspire you to attend a parkrun when they start up again!

This is an amazing book full of love, laughter and tears. The main character, Claire, is a hardworking woman whose career is her one and only focus in life. She works late everyday and on Saturdays and Sundays, not giving herself a chance to relax, take care of herself or have any kind of a social life. When Claire, literally, runs into a hot and handsome man on the way to work she realizes she may need to spice up her life. While she has an exceptional hot date he then disappears. Her sister suddenly decides she needs to get away for a retreat to India and Claire finds herself taking care of her two nieces. What ensues is plenty of mess ups while she tries to get a grip on taking care of children and straightening out her priorities. One day she meets a feisty little old lady in the park that plows her way in to Claire’s life bringing along that hot and handsome man.

The story from here becomes a wonderful mixture of laughs, heart ache, tears and joy. The author created characters that are far from perfect which makes them easy to like and to cheer on through their many hardships. The town it takes place in was described in a way I could see the characters walking down the street or running through the park. To me this is a sign of a well written book when I can easily picture the characters and places. I found myself laughing out loud at many of Hilda’s antics (the little old lady). She is just an amazing character and I wished I knew her in real life, She is what every woman wants to be when they are a senior citizen, feisty, out going, loving and fearless. The storyline went from what appeared to be a steamy romance into a serious and emotional story of family, friendship and love. I couldn’t put the book down and read it into the wee hours of the night. At times I was angry and more than Once I was in tears but this was quickly balanced by the joy and happiness I felt as the story ended.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book as it wasn’t what I expected at all. If you like a book that brings out many different emotions and has great characters then you really need to read this book. It left me smiling and with a feeling if contentment, a thoroughly enjoyable book. I would like to thank NetGalley and Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter for the opportunity to read this ARC. I would also like to thank the author Jukes Wake for writing this lovely book. I look forward to reading more books by this author.

I really loved this book! I had a feeling I would like it because I love books about old people. I adore inter-generational connections. But this book exceeded all expectations. It was such a feel good story about community, being lonely, finding friends, finding work life balance. There were so many parts of it that I connected with and I'm really excited to post my full review for the blog tour soon!

The backdrop to this book is the organisation of the first parkrun in an area, and although I've never seen the point of running when a perfectly good fast walk will do, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about it. 

The message embedded in the story is one of community, family and work life balance, and how we sometimes think we know what we want, but when we achieve it we discover it's not as important as we think it is; not if it's detrimental to our mental wellbeing.

The novel is a multi-generational one, and out of all the diverse characters within its pages, I loved the elderly Hilda the best. I really wished the author had divulged her true age though, and whether any of her tall stories were actually true - so now I'm forced to use my imagination!

A lovely, heartwarming story with a more serious message.

I loved this book, it was great. Ash and Claire meet under one set of circumstances, and then they both have setbacks, and end up meeting again. I love the character development for all the characters: Claire, Ash, Hilda and Poppy especially. I loved the community feel of the story - it starts off with a few isolated people, but by the end, they’re a family, surrounded by a supportive community. There’s also plenty of humour sprinkled throughout the book. I love the way that Claire and Ash’s initial sexual chemistry turned into so much more, and the way they adapted their lives to changing priorities. The story was definitely a page turner, I really got sucked in, and couldn’t wait to see what happened next. I think that’s down to all the characters being so believable and lovable.

Overall, this was a real feel good, heartwarming story, with family and community at its heart. Perfect for getting lost in for a few hours.

I was given a free copy of this book, my opinions are my own.

This is a very enjoyable character led book about two high achievers who both find themselves struggling to adapt when they find themselves adrift due to being forced to take time off work until a chance encounter with a larger than life but also purposeless elderly lady sparks a campaign to set up a park run in their local park.

I really liked the characters, I wasn’t keen on Claire initially however she definitely grew on me as she faced the challenges thrown at her however the indomitable Hilda was my favourite character by far especially with her tales from the past and her don't take no for an answer attitude. I think the story evolved really well with the characters as both lost their hard edges along the way and it made for a very heartwarming read which felt like it took no time to read as I became so engrossed.

I reviewed a copy via Netgalley. Thank you for the opportunity.
This book is lovely and sweet it has a great cast of relatable characters with realistic relationships and stories. It is extremely readable, I read it in one sitting! I personally identified a lot with Claire, being a fellow workaholic and I think most people would find someone and something within the book to relate to, which is the great thing about this book.
In addition to this, the writing is good with the speech being funny and realistic. The descriptions of characters are particularly nice and the book is well paced.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a good book to sit back and relax with.

I'm pleased to share my review for the latest book by Jules Wake. Thank you to One More Chapter for a digital review copy to prepare for the blog tour with Rachel's Random Resources - my thoughts are my own and not influenced by the free digital copy.

I enjoyed the story, which seems even more relevant now after lockdown, looking at how there are lonely people are all around us. Great characters, lots of detail about park run, and lots of mentions of cake, plus a will they/won't they romance story. Love the fact a dog got a major role in the story too.

I will share my full review on the blog tour on 5th August.

A lovely read that took me on a wonderful journey. Claire reminded me of how I felt 5 years ago when work began to overrun my life and I think this made the journey more heartfelt as I kept reading, as I could really connect with the character.

Jules Wake created characters that resonated, the experiences were relatable and I loved the way they were described so you could visualise as you kept reading. I personally have a soft spot for our older generation so instantly fell in love with the formidable Hilda.

There is nothing not to love about this book it breathes love and how it's never too late to make changes to your priorities. I loved it from start to finish, a total breath of fresh air with a touch of romance sprinkled throughout.

Another wonderful book from an always must read author for me, Jule Wake.

I think I need to start by saying what a powerhouse of a character Hilda is, she is force to be reckoned with and completely pivotal for everything in the book. You may not think so when you first meet her, with her love of wacky tracksuits, but she is one wily older woman, and has a habit of persuading people do things in, in their best interests, whether they want to or not.

If I was like Hilda when I was older, then I would be incredibly happy, it sounds as though she has loved a colourful life, how much of it was true I think we may never know, and I think many people could do well to adopt her viewpoints on how to live life!

In contrast there are Claire and Ash, who have a chemistry filled meet cute, fabulous night together and then well life changes for them both.

And it's through their changes and development that they turn from workaholics into caring wonderful people. I especially was hooked on how Claire was getting on with looking after her nieces who she previously barely knew, in light of their mother heading off to India with vague promises of when she might be back

Ah then there is the park and the running and well I loved that thread too, although nothing would ever convince me that waking up on a Saturday morning to run 5k is a good idea, I enjoyed seeing how Claire and Ash's relationship with running changed, and how urged by Hilda they hope to set up a local Park Run.

So many various threads running through this story, I loved Poppy and Ava, the nieces, and also Bill, the shaggy carpet dog, and just about everything to do with the book.

It is Jules Wake at her finest and it was a purely enjoyable book to read. I loved it!

Thank you to Netgalley and One More Chapter for this copy which I have reviewed voluntarily, and honestly.