At first, I was curious if I would enjoy the book I picked up. The first few pages didn't quite grab me, and I had to force myself to keep reading. However, as I continued to read, I enjoyed the story and fell in love with the characters. Reading a book that focused on older individuals who still had much to offer the world was refreshing. The story follows three siblings in their 70s: Robert, who has taken up baking after retirement and has become quite skilled at it; Hattie, who is coming out of her shell after a divorce from her domineering husband; and Bunty, who is having a fling while away from her husband and is beginning to regret it.
It took me a while to get into this story, but I persevered and ended up loving it. The tale is about second chances and is accompanied by beautiful food. Without giving too much away, there is a discussion on whether the jam or cream should go on a scone first, but one of the characters wisely says that it doesn't matter when both ways are delicious. I highly recommend it to those who enjoy slower, thoughtful books.

Harriet's willingness to become a new person develops confidence in herself, demonstrating a strength of character. Her relationship with her brother, Robert, and sister, Bunty, provides a nice flavour of encouragement and caring. In fact, even the supporting characters, such as the "hot to trot" ladies who were outrageously flirting with Robert, were entertaining and made me laugh or roll my eyes. I would love to visit Devon and meet the people in the gardening club.

#Thevintagevillagebakeoff '#bookreview #bookblogger #booktour

Absolutely loved this latest from Judy Leigh!! Hilarious laugh out loud tale of second chances, living and learning.
Hattie is getting used to being divorced after being relieved of her dreadful husband, when her sister Bunty turns up on her doorstep from Ireland.
Their brother Robert has a small holding in a village in Devon and has become hugely popular with the local ladies for his baking. As the three siblings find themselves and go from strength to strength, the local community comes together, with baking, music and friendships.
Great storyline, great characters, really entertaining and enjoyable. Particularly loved the names of Robert’s pets!!! This book brought me lots of smiles and a desire to bake!
Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the early read!! Much appreciated!

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book from Judy Leigh.

I loved how the characters were ‘older’, and their individual lives were relatable. Robert, Hattie and Bunty are brother and sisters, all are in their seventies, but, had different experiences, Hattie was always put down by her ex husband, Robert didn’t get married and Bunty, has left her Sean for Jackie who is a plumber.

The story is about second chances, how it’s never too late, whatever your age to do something different.

Robert, now has a fan club, as the residents of the village he lives in love his cooking, especially the ladies, and that is the main part of the story, it kept you engrossed, there was some issues covered, which make you laugh and some that don’t.

I highly recommend this book.

This was a nice light read set in a village involving baking and should give hope to people wanting or having to start again in later life.

The Vintage Village Bake Off really surprised me. The story focuses on three siblings. Hattie is learning who she truly is after her emotionally abusive husband leaves her for another women, Robert is navigating his new status in his garden club as the sexy baker and Bunty is learning that the grass is not always greener on the other side after leaving her husband for another man. Together, they learn it is never too late to enjoy life to the fullest.

I loved the main characters and enjoyed the character growth for each sibling. There were so many enjoyable and comedic moments during this book that I was sad to see it end. I also enjoyed the cooking that was described throughout the book. The description of scones and jams always left me hungry. Overall, The Vintage Village Bake Off is a fun, heartwarming book that I highly recommend.

The Vintage Village Bake Off comes out on December 4th!

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the opportunity to review the Vintage Village Bake Off. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

I’d like to thank Boldwood Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Vintage Village Bake Off’ written by Judy Leigh in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Robert Parkin lives quietly alone with his goats, chickens and cat Isaac Mewton in Millbrook, Devon, where he enjoys baking, but his scones and jams are so popular the women of the village flirt as they vie for his attention. Robert’s sisters Hattie and Bunty come to visit as they get away from their respective problems at home and soon realise what’s most important to them. Then Robert is asked to complete in a scone war competition against Cornwall’s Tressy Carew who runs a tea room in Padstow and the Millbrook residents join forces to make this an event to be remembered.

‘The Vintage Village Bake Off’ has to be my favourite novel by Judy Leigh as the characters of Robert and his sisters are really likeable and the residents of Millbrook so friendly that I’d love to pay them a visit. The village bake off adds an extra competitive dimension to this heart-warming and thoroughly enjoyable story. It’s a light-hearted and engaging novel that contains a bit of everything, fun, humour, entertainment, and proof that even folk in their seventies can find romance. This novel has been a joy to read and I can wholeheartedly recommend it.

4.5/5 Stars.
Well, if you’re expecting a book with a whole lot of recipes, this isn’t it. Sorry! But if you’re looking for another novel that is fun, about women (and a man) of a “certain age” that has both some romance and some elements of a coming-of-age story, then you’ve got a real treat in store for you with this one. As usual, Leigh knows just how to deliver on these fronts, while avoiding the pitfalls of many of these sub-genres as possible. Yes, many, but not all.

Let me explain. One of our main characters, Hattie, has been stuck in a 50-year marriage with a horror of a husband. But now he’s gone off to be with some woman from the bowling club, and they’re divorced. Well, better late than never right. But you see, here’s my one niggle with this book. On the one hand, we do see Hattie grow and change throughout the book, but on the other hand, it doesn’t seem to be totally consistent. She suddenly takes a couple leaps ahead in trying to get back to the real Hattie, but at other times, she’s back to the self-doubt that her ex-husband drilled into her for decades. I’m thinking that didn’t make total sense to me. Yes, I know that trying to escape the effects of Stockholm Syndrome is a bumpy ride, but perhaps Hattie shouldn’t have leapt ahead so much in the beginning of the book, so that the backtracking would have felt more natural.

That said, I still liked Hattie a whole lot, but I found Richard and Bunty to be more consistently drawn characters. Richard is almost unwaveringly solid and dependable, while Bunty is equally as flighty. Yes, both of them do grow from the start of this book, and I enjoyed watching them develop and change. I found it most amusing when all these women from Richard’s gardening club started chasing after him, once they knew he could bake, but he was clueless about their attention! My own dear, departed husband was also oblivious to the charms of other women, so I know full well there are men out there like Richard (albeit few and far between).

As for the bake off, I also found this to be an amusing subterfuge, where the competition between Richard (representing Devon) and a woman called Tessey (representing Cornwall) end up turning it into a far more social event than any baking battle I’ve ever witnessed. I did hope that there would have been a touch more of the baking than we got, but I was happy with the outcome (no, I won’t tell you who won, because that would be a spoiler)! All told, this was a lovely little romp that made me smile and giggle in places. That means it is yet another winner from Leigh, and I look forward to her next book (and I really must start delving into her back list, as well). That means I’m warmly recommending this novel and awarding it four and a half stars out of five!

It is unusual, and refreshing, to find a story with the main characters being in their retirement years. It is an easy-to-read, sometimes amusing and sometimes poignant, tale with underlying stories of how strong and powerful women of any age can be.

Fun and easy read filled with likable characters. Would recommend

Thank you to Judy Leigh, NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the arc of this book.

When I first opened this book and read the first few pages, I was not sure I was going to like it. I had to force myself to keep picking it up and reading another chapter. But I ended up really enjoying the story and fell in love with the characters. It is delightful to read a book that focuses on mostly older people who discover they still have something to offer to the world. Harriet’s willingness to become a new person who developed confidence in herself and demonstrated a strength of character. The relationship she has with her brother, Robert, and sister, Bunty, provided a nice flavor of encouragement and caring. In fact, even the support characters were entertaining and had me laughing or rolling my eyes, for example, the “hot to trot” ladies who were outrageously flirting with Robert. I think I would love to visit Devon and get to meet the people in the gardening club.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

For more reviews, please visit my blog at: https://www.msladybugsbookreviews.com/. Over 1000 reviews posted!

This is a new to me author.

I thought this started a little slow in setting the book up with the characters. Definitely a slow burn building up to the climax of the book. I also chose to listen to the book instead of reading it. I hope this is not the narrator.

Now to the story - it was interesting getting the back story of each sibling. After reading the synopsis of this book I felt the synopsis was giving of vibes of the story being along the lines of ‘ The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’ but I don’t feel it lived up to my expectations in that regard.

Story itself gets a 3 star from me due to it being slow but the ending itself gets a 4 star because I was satisfied with how the book ended. That gives my rating a 3 and half stars.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions in this review are my own.

This is a story about three siblings, all in their 70s. Robert has taken up baking after his retirement and has become an accomplished baker. Hattie is divorced from her domineering husband and is slowly coming out of her shell. Lastly Bunty is having a fling away from her husband, but is beginning to regret it.
This is a slow burner (or should it be baking?) story that took me a while to get into. I persevered and ended up loving the it . It is a tale of second chances accompanied by some wonderful sounding food. Without giving too much away there is a discussion on whether the jam or cream should go on a scone first, but as one of the characters wisely says, does it really matter when both ways are delicious? Highly recommended for those who enjoy slower, thoughtful books.
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 a lovely light read. Three siblings all in their seventies, are brought together at turning points in their life. Very nice feel good read. Wonderful interaction of the characters. There is romance, friendship, righting of wrongs, love and healing. Recommend. I was given an advanced reader copy of this book by NetGalley and I am freely sharing my review.

Awful. Ridiculous. So bad, I couldn't finish.one star
I don't understand how this book is being published.

I love Judy's books and this story was an absolute delight, so much fun although Bunty and Sean's sadness nearly broke me but everyone is on a path to happiness now and I enjoyed every single moment

You need to read this with cake or chocolate or a nice scone by your side. Three mature siblings who for different reasons have not had the best adult life and it is the story of how they turn it around with scones and being able to be reckless how ever old you are.. Lots of laughter, yummy scone descriptions . Just a feel good read. Perfect ending. Made you want to phone your own siblings. Ace read

Another great book from Judy Leigh. I really liked how the main characters were all ‘older’ and thought they were all very believable. Siblings Robert, Hattie and Bunty are all in their seventies and have all had very different life experiences. Hattie was belittled and bullied by her ex husband Geoffrey, Bunty has left the lovely Sean for Jacko the plumber and Robert has never married. This book is ultimately about second chances and how it’s never too late however old you are. I loved how the story developed and how everyone interacted. Robert is an amazing baker and has started to gain a bit of a fan club. The ladies of the village are all vying for his attention and that is the focal point of the story. This flowed well, was easy to follow and touched on various topics, some of which made me laugh and others that were quite serious.

A cosy, heart warming book with older , mature characters making the most of life and taking second chances. This book will particularly appeal to readers who love baking (and eating scones and cakes), and gardening. The descriptions are delightful.

Unfortunately, this book wasn't for me. It was too predictable and cliche. I had a hard time liking the characters to even finish the story.

A gentle tale about Robert and his two sisters, Hattie and Bunty. In their seventies, they have all come to a point in their lives when they need to review their lives and their futures. It's a fairly slow, predictable, sugar-coated story for over seventies. If you like ' Happy Ever After ' then this is a good read.