Beautifully written story about love and friendship! The story followed three amazingly strong women and the friendship that connected them for years.

The Sunshine Club by Dee MacDonald, is an enjoyable account of the lives of three women who first met in 1964 when they were accepted as trainees for stewardesses for Skyline Airlines. Molly, from Scotland, and Eve and Vanessa, from England, became fast friends despite their different backgrounds. They initially secured a flat together near Heathrow Airport as their homebase. The book covered their lives from 1964 to 2015. Early in their careers they had named themselves "The Sunshine Club," because no matter how bad the flying weather was, once the aircraft ascended above the clouds, the sun was always shining. Overall an enjoyable book that I would recommend. Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Sunshine Club
Dee MacDonald
Published 25 September 2023, Read 2024
5 Stars


Thank you NetGalley and Publisher Bookoulture for my copy of The Sunshine Club by Dee MacDonald. I have not received any rewards or compensation for this review and therefore all views and opinions are of my own, the reviewer.

In summary: Reminiscing Eva, Nessa and Molly’s heyday years.

This is my first book by Dee MacDonald.

I LOVED this story! I could not put it down!
Eva, Nessa and Molly are in their seventies taking the reader through their heyday years as best friends. Travelling together as air hostesses in the early days of plane travel the three women have built solid friendships that have stood the time. In this slice of their lives, the characters face their pasts and come to terms with some issues that have plagued them over the years
i found the characters well written, each of their journeys unique and interesting. Air hostess backstory was also unique and made the story more richer for it. I did not feel bored at any point of the story, I was compelled to turn the page.
Highly recommend The Sunshine Club by Dee MacDonald.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Spoiler: this book felt like catching up with some old friends.

I had a good time reading it. It was so nice seeing the three main characters, Eve, Molly and Vanessa, grow and mature. We followed them since they were young, when they got their first job as air hostesses. What started off as rivalry becomes a nice friendship, through thick and thin.

I really enjoyed following them on this journey. They all grew so much. They each had their own struggles with love, work. Their lives were so different, but they were still there for each other. Molly ends up getting married and having 3 children with an Italian named Marco. Vanessa never fully gets over Jonny, her lover and the father of her child, even if she remarries. Eve finds a husband and has a baby, and she gets to meet the son she was forced to adopt. In their own way, all three had a happy ending.

The story is told through reminiscences throughout the years, which makes the story flow nicely. I love the way the book starts, with two women remembering one of their friends at her funeral. It is not until the end of the book when we find out who died.

I loved how unique each story was. My only issue with this book is that I expected more from their friendship. I wanted more moments with the three of them, rather than learning about their past lovers. I wanted to see how this connection between them was built, because to me, it felt a bit rushed and lacking substance.

Still, it was an easy and fun read. I still got very attached to the characters, It felt like I've known them forever, like we haven't seen each other in years and we are finally catching up.

Twenty-five percent in and this ended up as a DNF. I’ve enjoyed Dee MacDonald’s Kate Palmer series, but this book did not do it for me. With high ratings, I assume it will get better, but if a book doesn’t grab me by this point, I’m not going to force it.

What a charming page turner that had me laughing so hard I nearly wet myself and it also had me blubbering like a baby! You are never to old to have fun. The story while lighthearted and full of life is also sad.

This is the story of three friends who first meet at an interview for ‘air hostesses’, and it follows them along until they are in their 70’s. Life is not always kind to them, but the ups and downs show us how the friendship continues. Each of the characters point of view is given so we have the backstory of each woman, and how this impacts their lives. Plenty of laughs and some sadness. A good read.

Vanessa, Eve, and Molly when they apply to be flight stewardesses in England in the early 60s. Boy, has flying on planes and the services changed over the years! I wish I had been around to enjoy it. Anyway, Vanessa, Molly and Eve get hired, rent an apartment together and become friends. We see glimpses of their lives over the years, with the ups and down of their friendship and their romantic lives. MacDonald shares not only the joys of flight but the long hours, crazy schedule and challenges of the job.It had its glamorous moments but also had drudgery.

I loved this book! I will definitely recommend it. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Eve, Nessa and Molly, three great friends who have so much fun together, a lovely little easy to read story

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and to be honest, I didn't expect it to be this good. The journey of the three friends traveling the world, meeting different men, and navigating through family dramas felt incredibly realistic and kept me intrigued from start to finish. The depth of the characters and their interactions added a layer of engagement that made the story even more compelling. The enduring friendship among these women over the years was truly heartwarming, and it resonated with me on a personal level.

What I particularly loved was the book's ability to sprinkle moments of humor throughout. Those funny parts had me bursting out laughing, adding a delightful touch to the narrative. It was a well-rounded and enjoyable read that skillfully captured both the complexities of life and the joys of enduring friendships.

A big thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC, and to the publishing company for the opportunity to dive into this wonderful story in exchange for an honest review!

This was such a quick and easy read for me and I found it rather delightful, entertaining and fun. "You're never too old for an adventure..." is so true and I totally agree.

We have Eve, Nessa and Molly, all in their seventies and as you can imagine one of these good friends has passed and the memories of all their times together come the surface.  They laugh, cry and reminisce together which just makes their bonds stronger.

I laughed, I was entertained, I enjoyed reading this book as it was such a feel-good read. It is charming, funny, touching, emotional and an all round great book to read. Loved it.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

I did enjoy this story of three close female friends as they navigate their way through many years. Molly, Eve and Vanessa all meet when they are interviewing to be stewardesses on Skyline Airlines. Living together and sharing experiences created a bond that lasted through marriages, affairs, children, heartaches and more. I particularly enjoyed those parts relevant to the social history of the times, the place of women and expectations of what they could and couldn’t achieve. At times a bit disjointed, but all in all, a fun read. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

"The Sunshine Club" by Dee MacDonald is a heartwarming tale of friendship and senior citizens navigating the ups and downs of life in a retirement home. A delightful and touching read.

I was hooked from the start and I loved every word of this! I laughed so much my side hurt. I absolutely adored Eve, Nessa and Molly. They had such spunk. Love it!!
I just reviewed The Sunshine Club by Dee MacDonald. #TheSunshineClub #NetGalley
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A really enjoyable book. Littered with humour that was actually funny. I find books try and be funny but always fail. However this one delivered on all fronts.

My Review
Oh my, now this was a book cover that won me over completely. That and the cracking good feel of The Golden Girls to this story.
I loved watching The Golden Girls growing up, do you remember it?
Isn't it wonderful to never feel too old to have fun and adventure.
We meet Eve, Nessa & Molly in this story and they warmed my heart.
I haven't read anything from this author and honestly I'm the poorer for it.
She writes uplifting, funny, feel good type of books and you must try get to them.
These three ladies meet when they attend an interview to become air stewardesses and decide to house share together.
Excited for the lives that lay ahead of them, they forge a friendship that will last years.
Friendships like that should be cherished shouldn't they and as the ladies go through their lives, the ups and downs, we see them be there for one another along the way when life gets hard.
I found lots of humour in this read with a little sadness dotted along the way.
Her characters were enjoyable, funny, upbeat and quite solid. I adored them all to be fair.
Worth your time and a new author to add to your list if you haven't come across her yet.

Prologue opens up with two women stood by a graveside clearly upset about losing a close friend. There is no mention of names, so we go into this story not knowing who's funeral is being held.

Two weeks before the funeral we catch up with the three main characters of this story, Eve, Vanessa and Molly. They reminisce about their lives together from the initial first meeting where they all tried for a job as airline stewardesses.

This story is one of those that you get so deeply involved in the main characters lives, that you feel like a part of their world. It's written so effortlessly and flows easily.

We get the story from each of the main characters POV, this way we get to feel a better connection towards them and feel invested in their journeys.

The Sunshine Club is a perfect feel good story. Join Eva, Molly and Vanessa as they reminisce with us about their lives.

I liked the blurb and the cover for this; I do like women's fiction and I haven't read much about planes and flying. And that cover, so cheery and reminiscent of summertime. :)

Vanessa, Eve, and Molly when they apply to be flight stewardesses in England in the early 60s. Boy, has flying on planes and the services changed over the years! I wish I had been around to enjoy it. Anyway, Vanessa, Molly and Eve get hired, rent an apartment together and become friends. We see glimpses of their lives over the years, with the ups and down of their friendship and their romantic lives. MacDonald shares not only the joys of flight but the long hours, crazy schedule and challenges of the job.It had its glamorous moments but also had drudgery.

As Vanessa, Molly and Eve juggle their work, they also juggle their dreams, their love lives and mistakes and regrets. Their lives diverged greatly over the years and they fought at times but always came back together. Seeing their friendship and the care they gave was wonderful. Even when I wanted to slap one or more of them, I always cheered them on and hoped they would find or make some happiness.

Minor spoiler:



One character ends up dealing with cancer. I wish I'd known beforehand as I try to avoid fiction books with cancer. I've dealt with it in my real life; I don't need it in my fiction. It's not a huge part of the story but it does lead to a major development for that character.

End spoiler.

While "The Sunshine Club" was not laugh-out-loud funny as the blurb says, it was an enjoyable, emotional, sometimes humorous read. It was slow to draw me in, I put it down a few times, but I was gradually sucked in and ended up sitting for several hours and finishing it. I loved the decades-long friendship, the flying details, the descriptions of locales and people, and the emotional journeys of the main characters and some of the side characters.

I enjoyed this group of women and the reminiscing of their friendship that spans decades. I rarely see my name anywhere, so to see it as a secondary character gave it an automatic star!

The three main characters, Vanessa, Eve, and Molly, come from different backgrounds with a need to start their lives on their own. All three are chosen to become the newest batch of airline stewardesses and their bond grows as they decide to be flatmates. As life brings twists, turns, romance, loss, and everything else, they turn to each other for support. Sometimes lifelong friends keep secrets from each other so we get a glimpse of that as well.
Loved getting the behind the scenes of the travel industry in the 60's. The process of choosing and training airline staff is wild and it's crazy to see how much has changed on plane rides. These passengers are for sure not wearing leggings with slippers and a fanny pack. 😂

Grab this book for a quick and cute read!


👉🏻This book has:
•Friendship •Multiple POV •Travel •Romance •Loss •Family Relationships •European Locations


Thank you Netgalley & Bookouture for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review! 💕


💡 How many years of friendship do you have with your bestie?

**Review posted to Goodreads, Amazon, and IG today (publishing day)