No one does Southern contemporary fiction like Ashley Farley. This novel is no exception. In this story two women get a second chance to start a new life. After a chance encounter in an airport lounge college friends from 30 years past, Lena and Olivia, agree to exchange homes for a month and have the opportunity to start fresh. Ms. Farley takes them both through many adventures and presents them with new opportunities. While it takes a certain amount of courage to face not only your shortcomings and fears, but to step into a new life even for a month is not as simple or as easy as it sounds. For women going through mid-life crisis it is even more difficult to step away from your comfort zone. It is so much easier to remain where you are than take on something new, something different.

With her descriptions of the two different homes you feel as if you are right there with both women. Actually you long to meet them (up close and personal) yourself. You are drawn into this novel from the first page and right from the get go you are there with both Lena and Olivia. Another wonderful story...I loved this book (one I could really relate to...especially Lena). Highly recommended. I have long been a fan of Ms. Farley's, who has given me hours of pleasurable reading.

My thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First book I've read by this author, and it will not be my last. The book has two main characters: Lena has an abusive (verbally) husband and a daughter who doesn't want to find a job or move out of the house after her college degree. Angry and frustrate, she decides to just go on a trip to somewhere, and on a whim gets on a plane that is leaving now. Olivia is a blogger, who has been used by two selfish society women, and life has become super stressful, so decides to leave and visit her daughter. Both women meet at the airport lounge, and remember each other from college years ago. Talking about their issues they decide to switch properties (Olivia's condo and Lena's cottage) for a month to have a break from it all. Naturally there is no smooth rides, and both end up with issues and conflicts, but as they both grow and gain confidence life has a way of getting better. A touching and sweet story, and one I highly recommend.

I have read most of Ashley Farley's books over the last year or so and have loved all them! Life on Loan is an uplifting story about two women, Lena and Olivia, who reinvent themselves , after experiencing unhappy and unsatisfying marriages. The moral of the story is that we are able to recover from toxic, dysfunctional relationships and become stronger and change the fabric of our lives. Ms. Farley's writing draws the reader in from page one, Her characters are multidimensional. I especially liked the character of Alistair who touches both women's lives! I am hoping for a sequel because I became very attached to Lena and Olivia and would love to check in and see how they are doing.

Have you ever had a day that you just wanted to walk out of your life and start over? Be honest now, you know you have -- I sure have. In this fantastic new book by Ashley Farley, that's just what happens - two women walk out on their lives, away from their problems without plans of exactly what they need to do to make changes. Luckily, they recognized each other at the airport - they had been college friends who lost touch over the years. After telling each other what they were escaping from, they decided to exchange houses for a month so that they could re-discover themselves. Lena has walked out on her husband and daughter and goes to Charleston to stay in her friend's condo. Olivia wants to get away from memories of her divorce and from some toxic friends and she goes to Lena's river cottage in in the Northern Neck of Virginia. Will this change in locations help each woman or do your problems stay the same no matter where you live?

For me, it was an extra bonus that both of these characters were in their 50s. It's great to read books with older characters. If you want a book that will take you away from your life (without really leaving), this is the book for you!

Lena Browder and Olivia Westcoat met 30 years ago in college photography courses and haven’t seen each other since they graduated. . A chance meeting in the Atlanta airport redirects their lives in unexpected ways – careers, romance, self-image, residence. Both are running away from home. Lena is running from her confrontational relationship with her husband and adult daughter. Olivia is running from results of a devastating divorce. They decide to switch homes for a month – Olivia to live in Lena’s summer cottage in Virginia and Lena to live in Olivia’s condo in Charleston. They redefine themselves and their goals in ways they totally did not expect.

As usual, Ashley has created a stunning story. I have yet to read anything she has written that I didn’t love. I picked up this book from NetGalley in the morning and couldn’t put it down until I finished it late that night. In her Notes from the Author, she says “Hands up if you’ve ever felt like running away.” I think everyone has wanted to make a major change but maybe haven’t had the courage that Lena and Olivia had to create their own adventures. I loved this book and have already read it a second time.

NEW BEGINNINGS!

LIFE ON LOAN is rich in relationships, reinventions and romance. Author Ashley Farley’s latest novel will engage you right away with an enticing storyline, an invitation into her characters’ lives and leave you begging for a sequel! Two friends from college happen to see each other in the Atlanta airport. As they quickly catch up on each other’s lives over the last 30 years, they discover one major point of commonality - they are both running away! Sounds funny for two women in their mid-50’s doesn’t it? Or maybe not! Each has reached a crisis point in her life. They decide swap homes for 30 days to get a different perspective on their lives. What they discover is who they are - women with certain undeniable talents that have long been buried. Farley’s writing style shows why she is fast becoming a major voice in Women’s Contemporary Fiction.

Ashely Farley's Life on Loan is a book that will stay with me for a long time. I believe it will resonate with a lot of women and it will give them inspiration to step outside their comfort zone and take the chance to make a change in their lives if they feel stuck. The characters are all ones that you would want as your friends and I loved how they were able to become their better selves. What really blew me away was the note from the author at the end. A very good read that I highly recommend. My favorite Ashley Farley book yet!

Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read this book early - this is my honest review.

Another fun read from Ashley Farley. Two friends swap houses for a month and it changes their lives...Lena and Olivia are wonderful characters....

Have you ever just wanted to run away from your life and start over?
This is the story about two women, Lena and Olivia who decide to run away. Both women redo their lives by going out of their comfort zones to find themselves. I got totally lost in the lives of these two women and didn't want to put the book down once I started reading.
Reading this book made me realize how much women really do for their families. How we put everyone else's needs ahead of our own. I could definitely relate to Lena and Olivia.
I loved this book!

Thank you NetGalley, Ashley Farley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read this book.

This delightful light read is a classic love story, one that features mature adults, either widowed or divorced, who find each other and probably live happily ever after.

But it’s also a reminder that despite what we might believe, we are not necessarily stuck in ruts of unhappiness or things just seeming kind of flat and old. It’s a story of what can happen when one takes first one, and then another, and another, step, until we truly find ourselves renewed.

I received this book as an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley.

I received an ARC from NetGalley to write an honest review. The story is about Lena and Olivia and the day their lives got turned upside down and they decided to reclaim their lives. They had met in college and met again in an airport the day they decided to run away from home. This book just screams, read me! because most women at some time wish they could just run away and take a break and realize that at some point of getting to where they are today, they lost who they were along the way. Yeap, I have felt that way a few times so it was really nice to read about the women who actually had the courage to run away and find themselves.
Lena is running away from a demanding family and Olivia is trying to find herself after her husband told her he fell in love with someone else and they got a divorce. Like most women, they first look at what they did wrong and what they could have done different or better. So they decide to change houses for a month. As they start living again and discovering things about themselves, life takes a different turn. The book isn't advocating women run away from home and go find themselves, it shines a light on it because a lot of women feel this way. The book also shines a light on elder abuse. The first day Lena started living at Olivia's house she met Jade, a photographer and Jade offered to teach Lena about photography. Lena suspected that Jade was abusing her 90-year-old mother but didn't have the courage at the time to do anything about her suspicions. She eventually did have the courage to confront Jade and you can read the book to see what happens when she does. Lena and Olivia didn't just decide to only think of themselves but they lived the life they now had and included themselves in that life.
Ashley Farley is shining the light on things that women do, such as we put our families need above our own and wait until the kids leave home, to have a life or we try to do it all and Ashley just wants to remind us to believe in ourself, remember our worthiness, ask ourself are we living our best life and change the message in our head from what we are doing wrong or nor doing good enough to positive thoughts like all the things we are doing right.
It is too easy to slide back into our old habits so this is a book I will not only be buying for me but it is a book I will be buying and giving to the women in my family and many of my friends because this is a book to remind women that we need to take care of us, we aren't alone and as we live our life, we do for ourself what we will do for others. My kids have grown and now have families of their own so I had started to do things for me again and have been discovering things about myself and who I am today. My husband is enjoying the life we have now because I am more confident, believe in me and love who I am. As I read the book I started looking at the younger women and I see they are doing the same things I did, doing more for their families, community, career and less and less for themselves and I am hoping that once they read this book they will figure out that they can make time for themselves and do the things they enjoy now and don't have to wait. They have been given permission to include themselves in the life they have. I for one never thought I had permission to do that, I had followed what I had learned. Thank you, Ashley, for shining the light and writing this book.

"Trust in yourself."
I adored this book!
Who wouldn't love an opportunity for a "redo" in our lives?
This is exactly what a chance meeting in an airport gives to Olivia and Lena.
A time to regroup and learn from the past.
The two ladies once upon a time were connected back in their college days.
Can they go out of their comfort zone to find happiness as they switch homes for a month and head to unchartered waters to do some soul searching?
Not as easy as you would imagine. What will people think?

Ashley Farley out did herself on this novel.
The descriptions of South Caroline, Virginia and NYC were amazing and I was walking with these ladies on their journey's.
Do yourself a favor and sit down, get comfortable and begin this story.
You will not stop until the end!
Excellent!

I was pleasantly surprised one day while scrolling through on Facebook to find Geneva Agnos’ post from Georgia’s Porch telling that Ashley Farley’s new book was on NetGalley for read and review. Instantly I signed in to download it knowing that I was in for a treat as I have read and loved all but two of Ashley’s books. And this one was no exception! I hope to read the other two shortly. Life On Loan was a fast read for me. If I didn’t have other obligations I could of read it in one sitting because it really held my interest. Some of the things I liked about this book was that the two main characters, Lena and Olivia, were both around my age. What really grabbed me was that I could honestly relate to what both of them were going through. Each for different reasons. The fact that Lena had sort of lost her way, being an empty nester and losing the closeness and connection with her husband really hit home for me. She had lost her sense of who she was and what her purpose was anymore. She needed to find what truly made her happy and learn to live for herself. She’s the one I could mostly relate to. Olivia, after living so long being totally blindsighted by her husband and his sexuality, was a little afraid at first to commit herself again to another man. I loved all the characters involved, except Jade of course, and enjoyed reading about the differences in the three locations told about in the story. I could really picture myself relaxing in the Northern Neck at one of those houses on Carters Creek. It’s a great story for women, showing us that it’s never too late to remake, restart and reboot your life. It’s only you that’s holding you back. I’d like to thank NetGalley, Geneva Agnos and author Ashley Farley for the pleasure and opportunity to read and review an early copy of Life On Loan. As always, great job Ashley!

I received a kindle advanced readers copy from NetGalley which is greatly appreciated!
Absolutely loved this story from Ashley Farley. The book was easy reading the pages just flowed and I lost time in Lena and Olivia's lives...
After reading a book by Ashley Farley I always say to myself that has to be the best one...until she writes the next one. Ashley's writing actually makes you feel like you are part of the story...watching it from the sidelines unfolding before your eyes...
As other readers have said in their reviews, "Have you ever just wanted to runaway?" Change your life for the better knowing that it will be scary and undetermined? Trying something new? This is what Lena and Olivia are trying to accomplish...to find out if they can be on their own (Lena) and Olivia needed to separate herself from her current life to see what more she could do...
I loved all the characters in the story but Bessie and Phyllis hold a place in my heart...their characters just added to the story!
Thank you to NetGalley, Ashley Farley and the publisher for the advanced readers copy! Amazing book as always Ashley

Every book Ashley Farley has written, I think is the best and although I do have a few favorites, I believe every book she writes really is the best. Life on Loan falls into that "best" category! Farley has a gift of writing about women and the various phases and circumstances of life. When I am reading one of her books I feel like I am part of the story and can often feel the emotions of the characters in the book. This book is about Lena and Olivia, two middle-aged women who were friends in college and about 30 years later run into each other at an airport where both have a lay-over.. As they begin to catch up, it becomes apparent they each are running away from some difficult life circumstances and as a result, an important decision is made to cancel the remaining leg of their trips and instead swap houses for a month. They take a selfie to capture the moment with the plan to take another one when they meet up a month later. Olivia heads to Lena's cabin in the Northern Neck of Virginia and Lena will spend the month in Olivia's waterfront condo in Charleston. The new friends they make, the issues they encounter and new adventures, along with the changes that take place in both Lena and Olivia will keep you turning the pages. The two women who take a selfie at the end of the month aren't the same women in the first selfie. Loved this book!

I loved this story and the characters! It takes courage to step outside your comfort zone and make changes when life throws you curve balls. I really admired these two women for all the struggles they had faced and the desire to run away from a ton of stress, take a big breath, and figure out how to make it all better. Almost like a grown up fairy tale for me. I could even relate to the 90 year old lady in the book! Beautiful settings in Charleston and the Northern Neck of Virginia and characters that will stick with you long after you finish the bok. Thanks to Netgalley and the author/publisher for the ARC