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.

The Phoenix Ballroom” opens with Venetia Hamilton Hargreaves attending the funeral of her late husband, Hawk, a popular, well-respected, and wealthy barrister. Venetia would miss her husband “in the way that one misses a comfortable cardigan that was shrunk in the wash and became too tight to wear.” Venetia’s son, Heron (an unfortunate name for one deficient in stature and grace, but his grandfather had been an amateur ornithologist and named his children Hawk, Osprey, Nightingale and Swan), was working abroad and wanted his mother to have a companion or, as Venetia’s beloved grandson, Kite, referred to it, a “granny nanny.” Venetia was 74, younger than Cher as she observes, and she simply wasn’t ready to be old.

Enter Liberty Bell. Liberty had an affair with her married boss for 14 years until it ended painfully and messily along with her employment when Graham announced he was letting Liberty “go” because he owed it to his wife to try to “reinvest emotionally” in his marriage. The affair had caused Liberty’s social life to evaporate because she refused endless invitations in case her lover was able to get away for a couple of hours. Liberty was “held hostage by hope.” Then, her mother passed away and she learned that she had been left nothing in the will — not a penny and soon to be homeless. Liberty applied for the position as Venetia’s live-in companion and was hired on the stop by Venetia.

Venetia adopts an enormous German shepherd she named Colin Firth. While walking Colin, Venetia meets Evangeline who tells Venetia that the property where her church is housed is being converted into luxury apartments. The old ballroom on the ground floor was the where Venetia had first met Hawk, and where she used to teach dance. On a whim, Venetia decides to purchase the building which she restores while embracing her new independence and a crew of lost souls.

Ruth Hogan has crafted a charming novel with endearing characters. This story of family, heartbreak, hope and renewal is lovely. This is a novel that will appeal to fans on Siegfried Nunez. Thank you William Morrow and Net Galley for an advanced copy of this heartwarming tale.

Charming! That's the word for The Phoenix Ballroom by Ruth Hogan! Lovable characters galore. Sweet storyline. Yep, charming!

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for access to this endearing ARC.

Plot: An elderly woman named Venetia is newly a widow. Her son decides to hire a woman, Liberty, to be her “granny nanny.” But Venetia has quite a bit of spunk and decides to purchase an old ballroom where she and her husband met when she taught him dance lessons, and she enlists Liberty to help her do so. Through the process, they build a community and learn more about themselves and life along the way.

My Review: This book was a warm hug! I loved each of the characters, and I was intrigued by each of their stories. The story was simple and predictable, but not in a bad way. The only thing I didn’t love was the pacing. I felt like there were several storylines that didn’t get enough attention, and the ending felt a little abrupt when compared to the rest of the book. But overall, I loved this story, and I absolutely will be reading more from this author!

4.25🌟

Ruth Hogan's newest novel, The Phoenix Ballroom, is the story of a group of people that come together, each in their time of need. The characters each have their own struggles that they work to overcome through the book. Some start out as strangers, some are even already family, but they grow together as they heal and develop bonds.

I’ve read other books by this author and enjoyed them, so was excited to get the email letting me know I’d been approved to download and read the ARC of The Phoenix Ballroom by Ruth Hogan. While I enjoyed this story of the various characters coming into their own, there were a few small issues I had with the story. One of the main things is that given the description I assumed the book would center more on the ballroom itself which I thought would be interesting, but it didn't even come into the story until about the last third of the book.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, as I have her others, and grew to love each of the characters, flaws and all. I recommend this to those who have enjoyed her other books, as well as similar stories of people coming together to form a community and overcome their past issues.

Thank you to William Morrow for the gifted ARC copy provided through NetGalley.

The Phoenix Ballroom is a delightful, cozy, inspiring, feel-good light read. We have two amazing women who are both saying goodbye to loved ones. One is 74 and has just lost her husband, and the other is a 45-year-old who just laid her mother to rest. Liberty Bell is thrown for a loop when, at the reading of her mother, she finds that she basically gets kicked out of her home and is left with some test she needs to pass to gain her inheritance. But unfortunately, she was not told what this test entails. Venita is a widower who is lost and adrift after her husband dies. Her son is taking the reigns of her life and assigning her what her grandson calls a granny nanny. The connection between these two women and the sweet outcome of this book tugged at my heartstrings, and I was thrilled to see myself in the character Liberty Bell and how she rides out life after her mother's passing—a great summer read.

Thank you Netgalley and William Morrow for access to this arc.

When I requested this novel, I thought from the blurb that I was going to be getting something very different. I’d never read any of Hogan's books but there seems, from other reviewers’ comments, to be a pattern of character focused, lower stakes stories. I have to agree with another person who dubbed this book “relentlessly positive.”

There’s also a lot more religion in the story than I was expecting from the description. At first the “church” seemed more of a community center of lovely, endlessly caring people, ready with cups of hot tea and digestive biscuits to solve the world’s problems but then Christmas arrives and they’re all filled with even more sugary sweet community love. And Kite’s just a wonder with all these old folks. Even Vanetia’s rescue German Shepherd dog – saved from a neighborhood “grow house” and honestly he’s just so good tempered – gets along with everyone. The only fly in the ointment is Vanetia’s slightly overbearing son but he only rarely pops into the narrative and because he doesn’t, things are actually better!

In the second half of the book, lots of background information on these characters is unloaded on the reader as long info-dumps. Venetia (who has been left oodles of money and is conflicted about this as she never did anything to earn it) agonizes over whether to buy the ballroom building because is this all about her memories of her youth or a chance to assist the community. Her sister-in-law Swan is like aristocratic Maggie Smith without hearing aids and speaks mostly in exclamation points (and never suffers “mornings after” despite the quantities of gin she slugs back). She urges Venetia to do what she wants with her money because why can’t Venetia’s plans be both good for her and the community? Liberty’s mother’s will has the solicitor checking up on Liberty looking for things he can’t tell her in order to inherit something he also can’t tell her but the overall feeling I got was that this would end up well for her.

Even though they’re not, the plot points come across as just very low stakes – speed bumps in the road (the kind you don’t even have to slow down much to get over) instead of roadblocks. There’s no sense that anything will end badly for these people. No tension and no spice. For readers looking for a book that is the equivalent of a dozen sugary donuts, washed down with sweet ice tea while gently swinging in a hammock on a not too humid or hot day, this should fit the bill. But, knowing that I’m going to sound like a curmudgeon for saying this, I struggled to stay interested in something that is basically a Christmas Hallmark movie. It does have a gorgeous cover, though. C

The Phoenix Ballroom isn't the only thing reborn in this lovely story about hope, kindness, and second chances.
The cover of this book caught my eye, and the story captured my heart. After her husband of almost 50 years passes away, Venetia Hamilton Hargreaves realizes she let her marriage subsume her. Once vibrant and beautiful, a professional dancer, she let her life take the backseat to her husband's, then her son's, but now she is ready to stand up for herself and create a life she wants to live. Her son, however, thinks of her as an elderly woman in need of a "granny nanny" to take care of her, and one of the women who applies for the position is Liberty Bell. Liberty's life has also recently fallen into shambles after her boyfriend dumps her and her mother passes away and leaves Liberty nothing. The story follows the rebirth of both women, as they find things to be passionate about and change not only their own lives, but those of the people around them. The characters are wonderful and the story is both funny and heartwarming. This is my first book by this author, but it definitely won't be my last!

Everything changed when Venetia Hargreaves’s husband of fifty years passed away. Shortly afterwards, her son Heron announced that he and his wife were moving to France to oversee a new work project, and thy were putting their son Kite in boarding school (much to Kite's dismay). Heron also announced that he didn't feel as if his mother was capable of living on her own anymore and needed a companion (or granny nanny as Kite called it). This made Venetia dismayed, because she knew she was perfectly capable of living alone, and that her son was just being controlling. Used to capitulating to the men in the family, she agreed to interview some women, and she decided to hire a delightful young woman by the name of Liberty Bell, who is also at a crossroads in her life. As soon as Heron & his wife move away, Venetia declares her independence , and with the help of Liberty, she does a complete makeover of her life. One of the items on her agenda happens to be purchasing the ballroom where she once gave ballroom dancing lessons, and spent so much time with a man that she was very much in love with,

I have loved every book that this author has written, but this is definitely my new favorite. There were delightful & quirky characters, women proving that you are never too old to change your life or follow your dreams, a dog named Colin Firth, and happy endings all around. I highly recommend this one for anyone who is looking for a story that will make their day a little bit brighter.

The overall story was good and I loved the sense of community and redefined family that existed in the story. There was a bit too much swearing for me and there were a couple of things that seemed odd to the rest of the story, but overall I enjoyed it.

The Phoenix Ballroom was a balm for the soul! Unlike most character-driven stories I mostly don't care about, this one had me utterly charmed. The characters? They're the kind you want to invite over for tea and gossip. Sure, the plot simmers gently, and sometimes I would have loved the story a bit more fast-paced, but that's exactly what makes it so heartwarming. The book tackles tough topics without becoming too heavy, leaving you with a smile and a feel-good sentiment at the end. If you're looking for an uplifting escape, The Phoenix Ballroom is your happy place.

Thank you to Net Galley and Harper Collins Publishing for an early copy of The Phoenix Ballroom by Ruth Hogan

Author Ruth Hogan has provided a stellar opportunity for readers to grasp some of the myriad ways ordinary people come together and form new kinds of families. While former ballroom-dancing queen Venetia is the center of the story, several additional characters make her story one of growth and change not only for Venetia but for everyone around her.

Recently widowed, Venetia's son Heron insists they hire a "companion" to stay with her while he and his wife spend extended time in Paris. Venetia's life is about to change when this delightful and positive influence gives Venetia the strength to open her home to her grandson, help out with a local church group, intervene in the life of a homeless man who becomes a hero and eventually bring back to life the ballroom where she spent some of her happiest moments. Venetia will also find the courage to confront a calamity from her past.

The Phoenix Ballroom is witty and sharp, caring and nostalgic. This is the book that will be recommended to others for an engaging and thoughtful reminder of how dynamics can and will change.

What an inspiring, feel-good, comfortable read! The Phoenix Ballroom centers on two fabulous women: 74 year old, recently widowed Venetia Hamilton Hargreaves and 46 year old Liberty Bell, who recently lost her mother, her job and her 14 year relationship with a married man. They are brought together by their new life circumstances as each is looking to start anew and find some footing while healing from loss. As time goes on, Venetia and Liberty become surrounded by a wonderful group of people (and dogs) in their daily lives who are supportive and supported by them. Much of their time is focused on backing a spiritual church, drop-in center which helps those going through hard times, and a special, but abandoned and run-down ballroom - all housed in the same building. In addition to superb friendships, The Phoenix Ballroom addresses how life changes when loved ones die or move on, and how the past does not have to define the present and future. Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the digital ARC.

I always enjoy Ruth Hogan's books and The Phoenix Ballroom is another gem. After the death of her husband, seventy-four-year-old Venetia decides to buy the ballroom where she taught dancing fifty years ago. The book has a cast of Venetia's quirky family members, the "granny nanny" and many newfound friends. Family secrets are revealed, and the book has a touch of mystery. Thanks to the author, William Morrow, and NetGalley. I received a complimentary copy of this ebook. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Any book that Ruth Hogan writes is a book that I want to read. I still remember how much I loved The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes. I also enjoyed Queenie Malone’s Paradise Hotel, and The Moon, The Stars and Madame Burova. Common to all of these novels are characters for whom readers will care and good stories. That excellent trend continues in The Phoenix Ballroom.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be widowed at a certain age? Does life end or do new experiences come to one? Does it have to be that adult children think they know what is best for one? These are some of the themes in this story.

Venetia is seventy-four when her husband dies. Around the same time, her son and his wife plan to move to France leaving their young son, Kite, behind in boarding school. He is not happy there. Additionally, Venetia’s son, Heron, wants her to have someone nearby. This leads to Liberty Bell’s arrival.

Liberty has her own story. When her mother died, she did not receive the inheritance that she expected. She was left a copy of The Lady magazine which is where she saw the ad for Venetia’s position.

Kite, Liberty and Venetia will all develop and grow in these pages. Readers will adore spending time with them, other characters, and Venetia’s dog named Colin Firth. They will also watch to see what happens to the ballroom of the title.

Anyone who loves a good and charming story should pick this one up. It is very highly recommended.

Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for this title. All opinions are my own.