This book was absolutely delightful! I have enjoyed all of Ruth Hogan's books, and I know our patrons will love this one.

Thoroughly enjoyed this one! The senior citizens were portrayed as capable, smart, and engaging. I particularly liked the authentic way Heron's relationships were portrayed - the good, the bad, and the ugly-real. Another favorite character was the crazy/goofy sister in law who takes up residence with Venetia and her cobbled together crew.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opp for the early read/review!

This is a quiet character-based novel set in England, filled with people trying to figure out their next phases in life. Septuagenarian Venetia, the central character, is mourning her husband and her son Heron wants her to have a “granny nanny” to help her out while he goes out of country. Liberty, who has had a bad breakup, takes the position. In the meantime, Venetia’s grandson Kite is having a tough time at his boarding school and would rather stay with her.

For the first half, the book wasn’t pulling me in, and I found that I wasn’t picking it up to continue reading. But when I hit the 50% mark, I hit my stride and felt invested in the characters and their futures.

I recommend it to those who enjoy a sweet multigenerational story with lovable side characters who become “found” family.

Many thanks to #WilliamMorrow for offering me the eARC is exchange for my honest review.

I chose to read this because it says it is about an older woman who has forgotten her purpose - which I can relate to. When we get older - and especially after the death of a spouse, it is hard to find your footing again and find ways to still feel alive and useful.

Description:
When it's time to face the music, all we can do is dance...

Recently widowed Venetia Hamilton Hargreaves is left with a huge house, a bank balance to match and an uneasy feeling that she's been sleepwalking through the last fifty years. Determined to live fully again, she embraces life with an enthusiasm and purpose she'd forgotten she could muster.

Buying the dilapidated Phoenix Ballroom and with it a drop-in centre and spiritualist church could be seen as reckless, but Venetia's generosity, courage and kindness provide a refuge for a touching cast of damaged and lonely people who find their chosen family. As their stories intertwine, long buried secrets are revealed, missed opportunities seized and lives are renewed as the Phoenix lives up to its name.
The Phoenix Ballroom is a story of hope and second chances across the generations.

My Thoughts:
I found this to be a heartwarming book filled with hope and a new sense of purpose. Yes there was some sadness as well, but I loved the relationships of the characters and how they grew to become so close. Venetia was amazing with her determination to reconstruct the ballroom she remembered. I enjoyed the concept of the spiritualist church and how it served the community. The secrets revealed were surprising and added depth to the story. The "found family" that came together was great and ultimately formed a warm and loving bond just like a real family and I love that. The humor in the book was icing on the cake. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys stories about relationships and second chances.

Thanks to William Morrow through Netgalley for an advance copy.

I loved this book!
After the death of her husband, Venetia Is being treated like an old lady. Her son believes she needs a carer, her relatives think she will be next but she knows that she has lots of good life in her and she is determined to take her life back. So this coming alive story brings together an unlikely cast of characters, while addressing the past, long held secrets, And the different ways people show strength.
Ruth Hogan always has a beautiful way of bringing together unusual stories, unlikely characters and a lovely understanding of people and circumstance. I loved reading more of her perspective.

#arc
#netgalley
#thephoenixballroom

4 stars
One Liner: Low-stakes cozy read

At seventy-four, Venetia spent fifty years of her life being a wife and a mother. After her dear husband’s death, she finally decides to find her previous self, a beautiful dance instructor who wanted to open her own ballroom school.
Liberty is in her mid-forties and lost her mother. She also lost her job. An unexpected chance gives her a fresh start. But can she build a new life without dwelling too much on her past and making safe choices?
What brings these two women and many others together? What decisions will they make? How will their lives change?
The story comes in the third-person POV of Venetia and Liberty, with some chapters from Kite, Crow, Swan, and Evangeline (also in the third person).

My Thoughts:
I read the author’s The Keeper of Lost Things a few years ago and liked it. Glad to say this one gave me the same enjoyment.
The book deals with many heavy themes like mourning, grief, parental death, assault, bullying, lost love, etc. However, none of them are overwhelming or intense. This is a low-stakes version, so the characters manage to move on without too much trauma. It may not work for everyone, but I like it since the aspect is consistent throughout the book.
It is a story of second chances for Venetia and Liberty. They all have distinct personalities, which make them react differently to the circumstances. This also brings out a nice contrast while establishing the found family trope.
Kite is my absolute favorite character. He is Venetia’s ten-year-old grandson, a delightful darling with a huge heart! I cannot imagine the book without him, so a majority of my rating is only for Kite and Colin Firth (secret).
The pacing is slow, especially in the middle when we get the backstories (in the info dump). This could have been better and spread out more evenly across the chapters. Luckily, the pace picks up in the last quarter.
There’s a spiritual church, too. I’m usually wary of such stuff, but this one is well done. It’s not really a church kind of church. More like a community center that opens the door to anyone who needs help with a touch of god’s blessings and service.
Things start to come together even as they fall apart, just like life! Secrets are revealed, and decisions have to be made. One teeny element hasn’t been made clear. I wish there was a line mentioning that.
Naturally, everything ties up in a sweet and neat bow at the end. It’s not that realistic, but who cares. I liked it enough and enjoyed it.
To summarize, The Phoenix Ballroom is a sweet and heartwarming book about second chances, finding one’s tribe, kindness, hope, and doing what makes one happy (without hurting others).
(Alcohol freely flows and no one seems to get hangovers!)
Thank you, NetGalley and William Morrow, for eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
***
PS: I love this cover (the blue-green one with flowers and shoes)!

The Phoenix Ballroom was a delightful, sentimental read. You have a cast of characters who grow throughout the story, who shine at different times, and who you could grow to love.

While the book was nice, I was also a little bored. Just not feeling it, but I would recommend it to certain people.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC!

Heartwarming story about living after losing a spouse and finding your place in the world. Venetia is smart, sassy, and fun. The supporting characters are just as lovable and their very different personalities mesh well to bring a well-rounded, interesting, and engrossing story. This was my first Ruth Hogan novel but not my last.

This was another quirky and sweet read by his author. I enjoyed the exploits and I really enjoyed the characters. This was a happy read! Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher!

In a Nutshell: A sweet and heartwarming contemporary novel about an eclectic group of characters who learn to live and work in harmony. Great for those who enjoy found family stories with relatable and loveable characters. Only one thing was a major bugbear for me, but it might not be an irritant for all. Definitely recommended to women’s fiction readers.

Plot Preview:
Seventy-four-year-old Venetia Hargreaves, recently widowed after almost fifty years of marriage, now has a huge empty house, a hefty bank balance, and a newfound determination to finally live her life the way she wants, even if her son Heron is adamant that she cannot survive on her own and forces her to employ a caretaker, or a “granny nanny”, as her grandson Kite puts it. But Venetia makes sure that her new employee Liberty follows her commands and no one else’s.
When a dilapidated old ballroom comes on the market, the lives of the key characters changes, not just because of echoes from the past but also through influences of the present and dreams of the future.
The story comes to us in the third person perspective of various characters, with Venetia’s story coming from two timelines.


Bookish Yays:
💐 Venetia: Not a typical geriatric character. Comes with oodles of wit and spunk. Hates being considered elderly, and uses Cher as her inspiration towards age. Loved her independence!
💐 Venetia’s sister-in-law Swan, the “granny nanny” Liberty Bell, and a mysterious character named Crow (the only “bird” not related to the Hargreaves family) all add much to the proceedings with their layered arcs. I would have loved to know more about Liberty's mom Bernadette, an amazing character who, though no longer alive, leaves a major impact on the story. The character descriptions are impeccable.
💐 One special fellow I have deliberately not mentioned above is Venetia’s ten-year-old grandson Kite, who deserves his own “Yay” appearance. He is funny, sensitive, caring, genuine, outspoken and unconcerned about convention just as kids are. In short, Kite is adorable!
💐 Another special fellow deserving a distinct “Yay”: Venetia’s pet German Shepherd, who is named ‘Colin Firth’! How can I not love Colin Firth! 😍 (Just in case you are confused about which Colin Firth I am referring to in that last sentence – human or canine, the answer is, ‘Both’!)
💐 The ornithologically inspired names of the Hargreaves family were ridiculous to the point of being hilarious. It was fun to see so many “birds”, and also how each bird shaped the respective character’s personality.
💐 Though not exactly a found family story, as some characters are already part of the same family, the novel has the same kind of warm vibes, where the individuals learn to function with, support and motivate each other. The theme of ‘second chances’ also has a strong role to play in the story.
💐 The plot plays around with plenty of emotions, ranging from fun moments to emotional ones.

Bookish Mixed Bags:
🌹 The story is mostly predictable, as is obvious and acceptable considering the genre. But it does spring a couple of surprises. One of these secrets was fairly guessable, but I like how the author didn’t drag out the revelation just to add to the suspense.
🌹 The ending is too positive and too “couple” dominated. While this is also a common feature of the genre, I wish there hadn’t been romantic matches for so many key characters. After all, happiness can be found even without a partner. Of course, this is a personal preference; most fans of the genre love such endings.
🌹 It is cool to have a story with a ballroom and a ballroom dancer. But I wish these had more presence in the plot. Though we see glimpses of the titular ‘Phoenix Ballroom’ in the first half as well, it's only in the second half that it's more prominent in the story.
🌹 Though the book has a mostly feelgood effect, there is one dark scene in the final section, which is also connected to a main character’s backstory. I didn’t find the aftermath of the event convincing. But I appreciate how the author handled the event sensitively and realistically.

Bookish Nays:
🌵 Only one Nay but a strong one for me: the presence of the “spiritualist church”, and its being treated as a religious location throughout the story. No offence to those who believe in it, but to my head, using the word ‘church” for such a place is balderdash. Moreover, the “spiritualism” aspects are not even prevalent in the story, in which case the presence of this "church" in the plot could have been justified. This place was more like a community outreach centre, with more focus on the social service performed by the "church" than any mention of the "spiritualist" activities such a "church" is actually involved in.

All in all, despite my annoyance at the “church”, I enjoyed this story quite a lot. The characters are the main reason to try this out, because each of them brings their own charm to this otherwise straightforward tale.

I have read only one Ruth Hogan book prior to this, and that was ‘The Keeper of Lost Things’. I still remember how impressed I had been with her implementation of magical realism in that novel. While this latest novel doesn’t have magical realism (sadly!), it still has the same vibes, with memorable lost characters who find happiness and friendship over the course of the novel.

Definitely recommended to those who enjoy this genre. It is a fairly quick and highly comfortable read.

4 stars.

My thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for the DRC of “The Phoenix Ballroom”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

Recently widowed Venetia is very strongly encouraged by her pompous (and unhappy) son Heron to hire a personal assistant after her husband's death. Liberty, whose audacious mother recently died and left her homeless, is fortuitously looking for a job after her last romantic relationship ended in unemployment. Their paths intersect when Liberty takes a job to become Venetia's "granny nanny." Both women work to find out who they are in the wake of large personal losses, and eventually learn to embrace their best selves. This is a sweet and comforting story with a great supporting cast. It's one of those books where everyone finds themselves exactly right where they're supposed to be at just the right time with all of the storylines are neatly resolved. The story lagged a bit in places but it was carried along on the strength of the characters as well as a couple of sub-plot mysteries. A very cozy read. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGally for providing an eARC of this book, this is my objective review.

I have been a fan of Ruth Hogan's work since The Keeper of Lost Things. I love any books with a quirky cast of characters that shows we are better together. The Phoenix Ballroom did not disappoint.

Venetia's husband has died and their son is insistent that they hire a Granny Nanny for Venetia since he and his wife are leaving for France. Determined to live a new life and not sludge through, Venetia buys a ballroom and "learns to dance once again".

Ruth Hogan has a great way of developing a cast of characters that work so well together. They are imperfect just like the readers but together they are magical.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Phoenix Ballroom is a feel-good, life-affirming, second-chance book that teaches us that family is the people who make us feel good about ourselves. If you want to read an uplifting story, full of people you will come to like, with happy endings for all, this book is definitely for you.

I received an ARC from the Publisher for free and gave my honest opinion voluntarily.

Such an enchanting story of life after 70, redemption, forgiveness, and the power of kindness and love. Ruth Hogan has written a multi layered story surrounding several fascinating characters - Venetia, a 74 year old newly widowed women who finds new meaning in her life, her grandson, Kite, who stole my heart with his charming insights, Liberty, who faces an uncertain life after the loss of her mother, and several other amazing characters whose interactions will make you smile, laugh, and feel happy. So many interesting storylines that somehow manage to merge seamlessly together creating an unforgettable read.
I enjoyed the resurrection of the ballroom and the role it played in bringing so many people and their storylines together. The descriptions Ruth Hogan wrote evoked such a magical setting.
I so loved the theme of birds that Ruth Hogan used so successfully. Many, many thanks to Ruth Hogan for creating these unique characters, William Morrow, and NetGalley for affording me the absolute pleasure of reading an arc of this just recently published enchanting story that will leave you smiling and happy. This was my first read by Ruth Hogan but it definitely made me a huge fan.

Thank you William Morrow Paperbacks and Ruth Hogan for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

When Venetia finds herself a widow, she also finds a second chance to live her dreams.

I really wanted to love this. As a former ballroom dancer who also had dreams of going to Blackpool and opening a dance studio, I thought it would be so cool to read about someone coming back to a life they left behind after so long. The pacing of this was too slow for me and the characters weren’t really characters I fell in love with. With the exception of Kite.

Certain books are for certain people, I was just not the audience for this one.

New author for me - I thought the story was beautifully written centered around hope. A story about love, friendship, and never giving up. I love pets named after celebrities - so fun. We follow Venetia as she navigates her new life following her life's dream. I loved reading about the connection between the characters in this one - very found family trope. This was a very entertaining - feel good story. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the eARC of this book.
Ruth Hogan has done it again. This is a beautiful, well-written story about second chances and living one's life to its fullest potential. Most of the characters are very lovable and unique, albeit a bit quirky! The story just warmed my heart and serves as such a good reminder of the goodness in people and never giving up on your dreams. Don't hesitate to pick this one up: one of Ruth Hogan's best! 4.5 stars

Ruth Hogan’s newest feel-good novel is destined to appeal to many readers, yet will strike lovers of literary fiction as overly sweet with too little conflict and depth, too few ideas.

Once a dance instructor, Venetia dreamed of starting her own dance academy, but she followed the path of most women of her generation. She married Hawk Hargraves, devoted herself to husband and family, meticulously maintained the household, and served dinner each evening by the clock. A half century after marriage, Venetia’s life changes. Hawk dies, leaving her without focus. Even their son Heron and his wife decide to spend extended time in France and deposit young son Kite in boarding school against his will.

Enter an assortment of extended family and community members, including Heron’s sisters, Swan and Nightingale; Liberty Bell, the “granny-nanny” Heron thought his mother needed; and ten-year-old boarding school runaway Kite. Left well-off, Venetia decides to buy a building housing a non-denominational church, dog shelter, bookstore, and ballroom, and with the building, more supporting characters enter Venetia’s life, such the church leader Evangeline and a rescue dog.

Hogan provides extensive back stories, devoting many chapters to Venetia but filling in other characters’ lives, their weaknesses, problems, and emotional baggage. In so doing, she maintains her third-person presentation but shifts the focus from character to character.
Overall, The Phoenix Ballroom is uplifting and light. Characters’ past problems vanish all too easily in the face of family, friendship, and money. Although not my type of book, the many positive reviews indicate Hogan’s ongoing success as a writer of unrealistic but sweet fiction.

Of course, readers will gradually come to understand Hogan’s odd choice of character names.

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the advance reader egalley in exchange for my review.

I loved every moment with THE PHOENIX BALLROOM by Ruth Hogan. As in all her stories, the characters are richly developed, events are believable, and the story told so well it felt like I was there with wealthy widow Venetia Hargreave's reviving a once-grand ballroom and in so doing, bringing life and vitality to a community and reviving her own spirits on a long life lived well. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

The Phoenix Ballroom is a story of starting over and finding community.
Venetia, a 74 year old widow, is the main character who is trying to rebuild her life after the death of her husband. Venetia’s life had revolved around her husband so she decides to purchase the ballroom where she worked as a dance instructor as she and her husband met there.
Along the way, we meet several well-developed characters that add to Venetia’s story of becoming her own independent woman.
I would definitely recommend this book.
Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy. My opinions are my own.