Member Reviews
I love Faith Hogan books and this one did not disappoint. So beautifully written with gorgeous descriptive writing once again. This book is so uplifting, it’s just what I needed with everything that’s going on!! An absolute joy to read
Book REVIEW
The Ladies Midnight Swimming Club
By Faith Hogan
Thank you to @netgalley and Aria &Aries for my gifted ecopy in exchange for an honest review
The descriptions of the small sea-side town of Ballyrock Ireland had me yearning to travel and explore.
The story focuses on three women Jo, her daughter Lucy, and Elizabeth. Each of these ladies find themselves at a crossroads in their life, Ballyrock is where they intersect.
What follows is a story of friendship, self discovery and redemption. While on their own paths these women offer emotional support to each other, forming tight bonds regardless of their age and experiences.
The story itself was predictable but I thoroughly enjoyed the journey. The book felt like a Sunday Hallmark movie perfect for watching/reading with my mom or a few close girlfriends.
The Ladies' Midnight Swimming Club is a fantastic book about family and friendship set in a small coastal village in Ireland. Elizabeth, Jo, and Lucy are dealing with their own personal issues but come together to help each other find the strength to overcome and start over. This was a very delightful read. Thanks to the author Faith Hogan, publisher Aria & Aries, and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book for a honest review.
Such a well written and beautiful book about family and friendships. Warmed my heart.
Definitely one to pick up.
Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an early release of this book.
This was a beautiful book! Book about friendship and family. This was an enjoyable read! I loved the characters, the realness, the strength. The story was amazing..... And this writing! Faith really held my attention.
Thank you NetGalley and Aria & Aries for this early copy of The Ladies Midnight Swimming Club. What a lovely read about new beginnings, friendships and change. The relationship between the main characters was lovely and the kind of friendships everyone would love to have. My overall take on this book was how gentle and kind everyone was. Sure there was some ugliness dealing with divorce, grief and loneliness but it was a growing process vs a hateful one.
The setting of the book was a character in itself. After reading the book one just longs to be in Ireland watching the storms roll in and embracing warm days when they happen. Taking long walks by sea and dashing into the cold Irish Sea seems very enjoyable too.
This is the first book I have read written by Faith Hogan. I found her style is perfect for when you want to escape into a slightly predictable but very enjoyable read. I equate it to watching a feel good Hallmark movie. You are not taxed at all, you get to smile and shed a tear or two and everything works out in the end.
The Ladies Midnight Swimming Club is the book to define female friendship and the length to which friends will go to for each other. Faith Hogan was able to make me laugh and make me cry all within the same pages and she did it beautifully. A wonderful story of the strength of women.
Three different woman at three different points in their lives with the backdrop of
Ireland. This is a book not to pass up ! I enjoyed it and I recommend it !
Oh, what a beautiful book!
Three women, three different stories and yet, a bond transcending all.
Elizabeth's husband passed away and left her immersed in debt. Jo's confronting the last challenge. And Lucy is in front of a mayor change, taking a year off of her job and coming back to Ballycove after years.
The author found the way to intersect all the stories into the most delightful journey. She gave the characters that lovable magical Irish touch.
I loved this book and I hope to read more from this author.
Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed this book set in an Irish village about a mother and daughter, the Mother's friend, and also a newcomer seeking answers.Jo is the midnight swimmer initially, but once her daughter comes back to the village for a while with her son she ropes her in too, along with her friend Elizabeth.
Elizabeth is the previous doctor's wife and lives in a big house. He has died fairly recently and left her with crippling debt, which she knew nothing about. Their marriage wasn't a happy one, more one that benefited them both at the time. But now Elizabeth has to sort out what to do, and as Jo's daughter, Lucy, is at a bit of a crossroads in her life and career she is persuaded to take over the doctor's surgery for a short time to help out. But of course as time goes by Lucy realises that maybe she's in the right place for her now. Her son, Niall, though is a different matter. He's a teenager and living in a 'backwards' Irish village is the last thing he wants, especially as he's also struggling with the fact that his parents divorced and his Dad now lives in Australia.
Also in the mix is Dan, a TV scriptwriter, also at a bit of a crossroads in his life, and in Ireland to try and write his book, and see if he can find some answers to a question he has about where he came from.
The mix of characters worked really well, I liked them all. They eventually worked through their problems and came through it happier. There are some very sad moments too though, so you'll need a tissue, but through the sad moments also come moments of everyone pulling together and appreciating their life a bit more. I do love a Faith Hogan book, she just has a way that draws you into the story and the lives of the characters.
This is a heartwarming novel set in the west of Ireland. It’s a tale of friendship and family, but also of grief and transformation. The author’s passionate depiction of the gorgeous ocean setting made me homesick. Reading this is like a yoga class, gentle and comforting. It’s predictable, but still enjoyable.
I have always been in love with Ireland so I tend to flock toward stories set there. This was no exception. Filled with compelling characters and beautiful world setting and energy I read the whole of this sweet, heartbreaking and ultimately redemptive story in a day. This is a great read for a book club, it's universal in its appeal.
Thank you to netgalley for the arc, all opinions are my own
Elizabeth has lost her husband and he has left her in debt and with a surgery to run. Her friend Jo is her confidante and support during this time. Jos daughter Lucy is working in a hospital in Dublin, struggling to keep it all together after a tough divorce, when her mother asks her to come home to help Elizabeth. The ladies support each other through the tough times by swimming in the sea at night to was their cares away. Add in a supporting cast of Lucys son, a writer on sabbatical from London and various neighbours and it all adds up to a great story.
Yet again I loved this book from Faith Hogan. She brings everyones lives together brilliantly and examines some tough events through their eyes. The story touches on marriage breakdown, debt, teenage angst, cancer and the fall out from mother and baby homes. But all of this is done with respect and care.
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for granting me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
You know that sometimes a book comes along that perfectly fits in not just with your mood, but the moment? A book about women going through adversity and finding friendship and swimming as a tonic was just the tonic I needed.
This should be a feel good movie as it was a feel good book. I wanted to be friends with these women myself. Join the group. I felt as if I had.
I've finished reading and I miss them already. A character led book with a fictional yet cute place in Ireland to get to know as well. you could hear the lilt as they talked and imagine the green grass of the rolling irish hills, the warm waters of the cove....or was that just me?
Ah dip your toe into this one! You'll be swimming in no time.
Loved this book on so many different levels - the characters and the challenges they face. I didn't think I would like the book being written from so many different points of view, but it was seamless and added to the story.
He doesn't even feature in the novel, but I wanted to bop Elizabeth's late husband on the nose, especially towards the end of the book. I was praying for Lucy's son, Niall to make the right choices, shed tears over Jo and Dan. I want to go and stay in Dan's rented house on the hill and take part in the Ladies' Midnight Swimming Club. Great book and I'm off to find the author's other stories.
When Elizabeth's husband dies she is now free to live the life she wants without her drunken , gambling husband. But he has left behind so much debt that Elizabeth might have to change her life more than she thought. With the help of her friend Jo and her daughter things start to look brighter and going swimming at night unites the women even more.
Such a lovely story of friendship and overcoming adversity. This is the first book Ihave read byFaith Hogan but I'm going to catch up with her other ones.
Wonderful novel of life in a village along with Irish Sea. It centers around the woman who must handle their lives the best they can. Very heartwarming story which almost sees to hug you.
Lovely read.
I received an advance copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. I loved this book - it was an easy read and I finished it in one day. This is the first time I have read a book by this author and I can say I can't wait to read more. This book has everything the bad, the good and the day to day struggles we all face in life. I highly recommend reading this!
This was a joy to read from the moment I experienced the first swim to the end; it was pure escapism with moments of happiness and sadness. It was refreshing to read a novel based on older, well-developed characters finding their place and growing. Jo’s love of the sea and swimming drew me in, but Elizabeth’s journey as a widow kept me there. The dynamics and relationships were believable, and the cosy setting of Ballycove was just what I needed.
It is beautifully written, emotional, and I could easily see it adapted to the screen for an uplifting movie.
Set in the beautiful, coastal village of Ballycove, Ireland we meet some strong and resilient women who have
weathered much.
Recently widowed Elizabeth feels relief now that she is by herself.. Her husband Eric, the previous village GP ,
was a drunk and a gambler, an unpleasant man. Her best friend Jo is very ill Jo's daughter Lucy arrived to
take over the practice and her grandson Niall is in a permanent strop, Then Dan, an author comes to the
village for some peace and quiet. He wants to write in peace.
Together they manage to be positive about their situations in a most amazing way by forming The Ladies
Midnight Swimming Club.. By being naked in the freezing Atlantic Ocean,, life's difficulties
seem much smaller, solutions appear to be possible, and hope is just over the horizon. This is such a lovely tale
of how. life can be shaken around for the good to appear. It is warm,. uplifting and honest.