The Silver Ladies of Penny Lane was such an enjoyable story about the pitfalls of dating and rediscovering yourself in your golden years. I could identify with the storyline of trying to lose weight for an upcoming family wedding and also trying to find a suitable date for the wedding. The dating site these two women join sent them on some hilarious dates!
They also embark on a Greek Island Cruise together that was equally entertaining. I’ve always wanted to take a cruise and now I want to even more!
This book is for anyone who has survived a dating site, lived through an embarrassing divorce, or just enjoys the long-lasting friendship of a best friend.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this advanced copy, my opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
I thought that this was a funny and well written book that had me laughing the entire time.
I would definitely read another book by this author.

Tess and Orla are good friends, blunt to each other but honest - there is a no holds barred conversations going on between the two all the time. I thought it was a bit too blunt but it worked very well for them both.

Now in their sixties, both are looking for love in almost any place possible. Their pursuit of happiness was a bit forced but both were determined to get it by any means. Companionship, a physical relationship were both goals for both of them and the story of how they achieved it is this story.


I was not very enamoured by the whole process but then I think I am prejudiced! The story was light, funny in parts, a farcical in parts.

Tess and Orla try out on line dating to perk up there lives. Keeps you laughing all the way. A fun read!!

What a fun romp with Tess and Orla, owners of a dress shop on Penny Lane. This story takes an honest look at self image - especially when your looks don’t flow along the mainstream - and the importance of good friends. There were some hilarious scenes thanks to a dating service that didn’t properly vet their applicants, some atta girl scenes where you just couldn’t help but root for the underdog coming out on top, and the full heart moments when the stars aligned and life fell into place for dear Tess. As the cover says, it’s a feel good book... after a roller coaster ride of raised eyebrows and full on laughs. NetGalley provided an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Silver Ladies are Tess and Orla, best friends who both want to lose some weight and find love.
This book was a real breath of fresh air and really made me question why there are not more books with mature characters: are we uncomfortable withh the idea of sex for the over 60s?
Tess and Orla join a slimming club and an online dating site with very mixed results! I have experience of the latter so could identify with their search for love and the unsuitable matches.
The relationship between Tess and Orla is fun and honest and their experiences are realistic which engages the reader. The two friends contrast with each other delightfully: Tess is serious and quite naive, eternally hopeful while Orla is more worldly wise, extroverted and confident.
There is also great sadness and emotion in the book. The women are both widows, plus Tess has an ex husband with a glamorous second wife. Tess has survived breast cancer and another character has a terminal stage diagnosis.
Tess is such a sympathetic character that the reader can’t help but root for her to find love and lose the weight so that she finds happiness. The ending is happy and hopeful!
I really really loved this book!

I'm not silver yet or a lady, but enjoyed this nonetheless. If you're looking for a fun, light read, this should fit the bill nicely. This is a talented author. Recommended.

I really appreciate the ARC for review!!

Absolutely loved this book, best one by Dee MacDonald so far. Funny, warm and identifies how women put too much importance on how they look. Well written and easy to read. Full review coming on Tea and Cake for the Soul.

Loved this book! How refreshing to read a book about a couple of middle-aged, overweight ladies determined to find true love! Navigating online dating for these two long-time friends provides plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, but sometimes love comes from an unexpected direction.

The last thing I want to do is call this book a romance since there is so much more going on, yet the reader is left with a burgeoning question of “is happily ever after imaginable if you open yourself up to all possibilities”.

Tess and Orla, best friends and business partners, decide that they have had enough with their boring lives and after looking into a mirror at their less than svelte figures, decide on two things. Joining a weight-loss club and an online dating service for those over 50.

At 62, Tess realizes that both ideas will be an uphill battle but with her daughter’s wedding quickly approaching, she needs to both lose weight and find a man to escort her. Thus, begins the wacky escapades that bring these two women both excitement and adventure.

There are hard lessons learned and new friendships made, but what resonates on these pages is resilience. There are many times that Tess could have given up, but she was determined. She was going to win her battles with her weight, with a less than honest dating service, and she would make the entrance into the wedding remarkable even if there was no man at her side.

A delightful book revealing the perils of the single life and dating for two women in their sixties. The women, best friends and partners in a business, join an on-line matchmaking service for those over 50.

We follow the adventures of the heroine, Tess, as she encounters one man after another, hoping to find one who can be an escort for her to her daughter's wedding. As she is dating she's also dieting and hoping to get into shape for the big event.

Will any of these guys be keepers? Will she be beautiful on the big day?

You'll just have to read it to find out.

If you're looking for a humorous and honest read about the dating perils and pitfalls for older women, you will enjoy this book. The characters are older, divorced or widowed women who own their own seamstress shop for "larger women." They gives us hope that even in our older years, love can still be found, and if it isn't, that is ok, too. While there are a couple of serious moments, overall the story is light and entertaining and will have you laughing and cheering them on.

That was one tremendous read. I loved all the characters especially Tess, Alan and Barry. I enjoyed the description of the cruise to Greece very funny and touching at the same time I almost felt I was there with them. I particularly liked the touch of history as well. Working in the Curvaceous Dress Shop sounded like a lot of fun but hard work. The description of the "dates" was funny as well as touching. A heartwarming and very enjoyable read which had me laughing out loud at times. I felt it ended quite abruptly but apart from that it was a tremendous read. This is my first book by Dee MacDonald but I will certainly read other she has written.

Not for me at all, attitudes to women weight, age and situations that are almost date rape are in no way humorous. Completely unlikeable even horrible characters, situations unacceptable and I don’t care if it seems I don’t have a sense of humour, I have morals and none of this is funny. It’s unacc, a big no from me


Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Funny, cute and touching describes The Silver Ladies of Penny Lane. It is such an enjoyable novel to read as you learn of the ups and, mostly, downs, of online dating for two ladies both in their early ‘60s. Both are trying to lose weight and find a perfect man. The characters will charm you and make you chuckle often. You will find yourself hoping against hope for terrific outcomes for both ladies.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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. Or have they?

I have read and adored Dee MacDonald's books in the past, specifically The Runaway Wife. I was very excited to read The Silver Ladies of Penny Lane especially since the ladies, Tess and Orla, sounded just a bit like me. They are a tad older than I am, but not by much, single, own their own dress shop for plus sized women and are in need of a change of pace in their lives. Tess, particularly, is trying to lose weight before her daughter's wedding and doesn't wish to appear to be washed up and left behind in life. I completely understand how she feels. I think there are many women who reach this age who feel that way after our kids are grown and starting their own lives. So I settled down for a nice read with the silver ladies.

Sadly, I found myself dismayed on multiple levels almost to the point that I barely finished reading the book at all. The women own a shop for plus sized women and are overweight themselves. Yet the remarks that they make about their customers are horrible and extremely unkind, mean in fact. For my health I have lost over 70 pounds, so I'm keenly aware of body image. The statements made by the women in this bookdxes are the very things that keep most women from ever stepping foot in a shop like this in the first place. I was utterly appalled! Secondly, I can assure you that if I had a friend who sabotaged my dieting efforts and belittled my thoughts and efforts as often and as fiercely as Orla did to Tess, we would not have been friends for more than a few days, much less for years. She is a horrible friend. I didn't find her funny. I found her terrible, a bully. And thirdly, some of the dates that these women found themselves on were nothing short of rape! To put these into a context of "humor" is shameful! To suggest that it is okay because everyone is older or senile or overweight or frumpy or whatever we were supposed to think is simply egregious. There was nothing funny about any of this. From negative body images, stereotypes about overweight women, age discrimination to condoning date rape, this is not a book I recommend at all and I am disappointed that it is out there for others to read at all. This is not a matter of being a "snowflake" or too PC, this is a matter of women standing up for what is right and what should not be allowed. Rarely do I give a one star review but this time I think it is very deserved. I am 58 years old and very proud of not being frumpy, silver haired, desperate or willing to put up with a man sexually assaulting me or any other woman - ever! In fact, I don't need a man at all - and neither do you!

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for the advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

The silver Ladies of Penny Lane by Dee MacDonald is a brilliantly written novel with engaging characters. Orla and Tess's adventures in the online dating world and the variety of characters we meet along the way make this an easy read. Both characters struggle with real issues we all face, complicated relationships with other in our family, expectation, and weight. As well as being happy with who we are everyday rather than what others expect us to be. If you are looking for a delightful, uplifting, and funny novel to pass the time I recommend this novel.

Wonderful, funny, uplifting tale. Thoroughly enjoyed following these two lovely characters on their voyage of the online dating world & the characters they met along the way. When all seemed almost lost in the dating world for one of them, love turned up when she was least expecting it

Oh my, these ladies Orla and Tess! You can tell they are very good friends just by the way they talk to each other. I could so relate to some of their experiences. The things we ladies do to get a date! Thank goodness Tess understood the real reason to do all she endured was for herself. Would it pay off in the long run. Well, guess you have to wait and see. I truly enjoyed this story and following along with them on their adventures. I would love to have the talent that Tess has to be able to make beautiful clothing. What joy to make your daughter’s wedding dress. Another reason I could relate so well with these delightful ladies is that they are in their 60’s, which I have found to be a fun age group to be in. I hope you enjoy reading about and hanging with Orla and Tess and company as much as I did. I received this book from NetGalley, but my opinion is my own.

The Silver Ladies of Penny Lane by Dee MacDonald is a light novel that is out of step with today's world. Set in present time, in a small English town, the story line is flawed by a series of perspecives, starting with the title. The main characters, Tess and Orla, are in their early sixties,whic is not the demographic associated with the “silver set” of the title. The two ladies decide they need a man in order to have complete lives (such an antiquated premise) so join a diet club and a dating website. Really! They are in their sixties and are so immature that they belief that not only do they need male partners to be complete but, in order to meet an appropriate partner they must be slim and online! This makes me sad, and mad! Why aren't these two successful business professionals self actualized? Why can't they accept and love the bodies they have? Why do they need to change to find a man? Why do they even need a man?

I was attracted to this novel because the description included the fact that Tess and Orla owned and operated a clothing boutique that specialized in bespoke ladies clothing. Since I love to sew I assumed there would be some mention of the fashion design process, fabric selections, sewing techniques, etc in the story but I was sadly disappointed by the brief reference to just one dress fitting.

Putting aside my previous comments, the story is light and comedic with a satisfying ending.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a free ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.