This book blew me away! Brilliantly written with a very likeable main character and ensemble of women.

Faith has been through so much, and there's more to come. Also really liked the character of Dylan, and especially his integrity. Think I'm a little bit in love with him!

An uplifting and glorious read. Beth Morgan’s books are always more than “a story” they leave you feeling touched by all the characters and the trauma they’ve been through and the hope they have for a happy future ahead with the support of so many feel good characters. This story stays with you long after you’ve finished the book, a perfect read

Thank you to Netgalley the author and publishers for an arc in exchange for an honest review

I had a big problem with this book in that I didn't like the main character, Faith. I know she had been through a lot, but the way she treated Perry was appalling. I know he wasn't perfect, but she was using him, marrying him for his money, plus she didn't confide in him about her past, so how was he supposed to know what was going on? For the most part, apart from a couple of scenes when he was drunk, he was always so nice to her. Dylan was lovely, but I disliked the way Faith was with him, when she was engaged to be married and Dylan was the vicar marrying her and Perry! I loved the choir, the 'women supporting women' angle, but I did find some of the plotlines far-fetched. There were lots of loose ends too, I think the author tried to cover too much. With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review,

Warning - you will need tissues!
Beth Moran does a fantastic job in her books of covering some hard hitting subjects with warmth, empathy and stunning characterisation and all of these considered this is one of her most heartbreakingly raw and stunning books to date.
Faith was someone I instantly warmed to, she was open with the reader in a way that she couldn't be with her initial social circle and then this expands in a wonderful twist of fate that brings exactly the kind of group in her life that she needs at her most vulnerable.
There were so many comedic moments, Marilyn is such a funny relatable wing woman, and those light moments do offset the very dark and raw themes that are sensitively and adeptly written about also. I felt like this book was a healing journey in itself, of following your heart, being unashamedly yourself and the different, beautiful ways love can save us.

Beth Moran is fast becoming one of my favourite authors. Her books never disappoint and are unpredictable in subject matter.
Lean On Me covers themes such as domestic abuse and mental health issues.
Faith's story is heartbreaking, however, she gradually becomes surrounded by some amazing, inspiring and unusual women, who lift her up and help her become her true self.

I was not expecting such a deep and moving story in this book. Faith and her brother Sam have had to survive so much and each is left with their own scars. Faith finds a partner who will support them both in the ways they need but their path forward is not your average love story. I was drawn to the connections she makes through her church choir and they really demonstrate how "love" shows up in all kinds of ways. This book is equal parts beautiful, engrossing, and heartbreaking. I really enjoyed it and I think it will give readers a lot to talk about when they finish. Thanks to Beth Moran, Boldwood Books, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is a book that has a bit of everything and although there is humour there is also the very serious thread of domestic violence and mental illness. Faith is due to marry posh Perry but his mother seems to be making all the decisions about their wedding. Add the fact that she hasn’t told Perry the whole truth about her past and how she is always looking out for and dropping everything for her brother Sam, Faith is struggling. Faith stumbles across the Grace choir, which is made up of a group of women who are all very different and who all have their owns issues and insecurities. It’s from this point that she begins a journey of self discovery and inner strength, as well as making some important friendships. This has well developed characters, some of whom are more likeable than others! Ultimately it is a story about addiction, trauma, friendship, love, hope and survival. Thanks to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for the ARC

Having discovered this author last year they have fast become a favourite and am always excited to read their newest book. As always this author writes about compelling issues with compassion and sensitivity and sets about to rip your heart in two before slowly piecing it back together again.

Lean on me is a story of friendship and grief and love and also explores the theme of addiction. Whilst at the same time is a poignant uplifting and positive read.

Everyone needs to find a Grace choir and be taken under their wing by this charming group of people to help them navigate life’s ups and downs.


I would love a sequel to this to see where the story of faith and Dylan goes.

There is such a lot packed into this book. Abuse, murder, drug and alcohol addiction, mental health issues and much more. Thankfully there is also humour and some heart warming friendships to counteract the darker parts. I found the main character, Faith, frustrating at times as she was such a doormat especially when being regularly humiliated by her prospective mother in law, a horrible woman. Faith's fiance, Perry, was a wimp who failed to support Faith by standing up to his mother. I liked the choir ladies but found some of their storylines a bit far fetched. This was a stop-start book for me as there were some parts that I loved and raced through, not wanting to put the book down and then other parts that felt slow and hard to get through. Overall, I did enjoy the book and look forward to the author's future work. I voluntarily read and reviewed this after receiving a pre-release copy for which I thank Netgalley and the publisher.

This book was alright, but I never really connected with it. There are a few very great themes in this book like sisterhood, finding yourself, learning to trust and overcoming a horrible past, but other than that there wasn’t much about this book that spoke to me. I found it messy with so many characters in focus and I felt like the pacing was very slow. I didn’t really like the main character and I just felt like she lacked a lot of personality.
However I can see how other people might enjoy it. It just isn’t for me, which is a shame because I usually adore Beth Moran writing.

Having read all of Beth Moran’s previous books, I can say that this is up there with one of my favourites. Really likeable characters, an interesting storyline (somewhat grittier than I expected!), and a satisfying ending make for a great read. I love how Moran somehow demonstrates human nature and the intricacies of relationships in her writing- you end up really caring about the characters.

I’m always so excited to start a new Beth Moran book, confident that within a couple of chapters I’ll know everyone so well that I feel like I’m at home. How does she do it? I have no idea. But all I care is that she’s done it again!

And as ever, prepare to go through all the emotions - joy, sadness, fear and laughter. It’s all here!

Lean on Me centres around Faith, a young woman in her 20s who has had a really difficult life so far. Her mother’s murder when she was only 6 left her and her older brother with troubled upbringings - and Faith continues to do whatever she can to look after her brother through his addictions and battles with his mental health.

Cue the rich, arrogant Perry - not the man of Faith’s dreams, but someone who can give her a safe home and the means to support Sam.

One day whilst pretending to shop for all the things she really wants for her wedding (if the decisions didn’t have to be made my her abominable mother-in-law-to-be), Faith and her best friend Marilyn happen upon a church choir practice and find themselves drawn in to the group.

Soon this group of women, from all walks of life and with all their own demons to battle, become friends. And the church minister, Dylan, starts having an unexpected effect on Faith as she tries to concentrate on her wedding.

As always with Beth Moran, almost every character in the book is so well-developed they could be the star of their own book. Just like in real life, everyone has a complicated past and a strong character. And as they bond together through the increasingly whacky tactics of choir director Hester, they start to find strength in each other to make the positive changes they need to be happy.

Another fabulous story from Beth - quite genuinely, I have been googling choirs to join in my area this morning to bring some of this feel-good positivity into my own life! I laughed and cried and fell in love with Faith and Dylan.

Wonderful book!

This is one of those stories that will stay with you long after you read it. Faith has had a horrible life, there's no way to put a nice spin on it. Mother-less at age 6, orphaned again when her grandmother died, leaving Faith to care for her brother Sam, she was forced to survive. Even after domestic violence she still had to survive, and she vowed that she would never be reliant on anyone ever again.

Faith and her fiancee Perry are definitely a case of opposites attract. He is wealthy, his family is a bunch of snoopy snobs, and his mother takes every opportunity to belittle Faith. Faith stuffs down her resentment and irritation because only she knows why she must go through with the wedding, despite Perry not knowing her history.

When Faith stumbles onto the Grace choir during a visit to her mother's former church, she doesn't realize that she has found the path to family, a place where she can just be herself. A minister who doesn't judge her and who listens to the history she hasn't shared with Perry.

Perry and his family aren't likeable characters. The choir members are wonderful, a disparate group of women who come together from different backgrounds yet make beautiful music together, both when singing and not. I absolutely loved this book. It will make you mad, sad and happy, sometimes all on the same page.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.

As usual in my reviews, I will not rehash the plot or the publisher's blurb - there are already reviews like that out there if that's what you are looking for.

I've read quite a few books by Beth Moran, and have enjoyed them immensely. However I cannot say that I actually enjoyed this one, for several reasons...

The "heroine" of the plot, Faith, was somewhat annoying. Having come through a terrible past, she does herself no favours by being what can only be described as a doormat. Her attitude to her rich fiance and his family is strange - and I didn't understand why she let them treat her badly. The scene at her own "surprise" engagement party was rather unbelievable to me - I can't imagine anyone's fiance throwing a party like that without at least making sure his intended could make it!

Whilst I enjoyed the sections featuring the Grace Choir, I found some of that hard to believe (eg: that someone would not throw an absolute fit if people (some of whom she barely knew!) had "decluttered" their house!)

The whole tone of the book was gloomy - both in the present and the past. Previous books I have found uplifting, but not this one.

Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy parts of the book, but it was almost verging on a psych thriller, which I did not expect - I read a lot of that genre but this was kindof a mashup style for me.

I hope to read more by this talented author, but I'm only giving this one 3-stars (sorry!)

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC. All opinions my own.

Not a bad read but definitely what I would call tragedy porn. Bad things happening to everyone, abuse loss death etc. and most of it seemed to just be thrown in to shock or make the reader feel bad.

The main character was too much of a wishy washy doormat type for me. The peripheral characters were ok at times but this book is just filled with tragedy. Faith flitting between two guys was uncomfortable. The fact that she agreed to marry someone without ever even saying she loved them was odd at best. The way her fiancé spoke to her and let his family treat her like the help was just terrible. This is definitely not a light relaxing or feel good read. But it’s not a bad read if you can handle all the tragedy.

I really enjoyed Lean on Me, it covered some tough subjects and I was rooting for Faith from the beginning. I think we can all relate to at least one of the choir members! A heartwarming story of finding friendships and yourself.

I didn't finish this book, to be fair I barely stared it, the characters were all over the place, it seemed really chaotic, I just couldn't read it if the rest was going to be the same and I had a feeling it would be.

Gave 3 stars as its not the authors fault it wasn't to my taste.

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC of Lean on Me by Beth Moran in exchange for an honest review.

At the onset of this book I wasn’t sure it was for me and almost didn’t finish it. The story line has a lot going on. It’s a story of hope, friendship, love, bad relationships, childhood trauma, adult trauma, addiction, family dysfunction, murder, and survival. That’s a lot to pack into a book.

Faith has been through it in life and is just trying to survive. That’s all she’s ever done is try and survive. After the murder of her Mother and death of her guardian Faith, then Rachel, starts her personal reinvention. Navigating life with her mentally ill and substance addicted brother has left her scraping by. She’s Faith now but hasn’t always been.

Hiding her past from her ultra rich fiancé to keep up appearances is another hurdle she must face. Faith stumbles into a choir, literally, while trying to book a church for her wedding and in turn gains a whole new family. She also starts to fall for the pastor despite her insistence she will marry her fiancé Perry. While all this is happening her Mother’s killer was released and has vowed revenge. Her brother has relapsed again. There’s also a plot about her overbearing mother-in-law and a hideous dress dubbed the ghost web.

This book is all over the place as Moran tries to pack all these themes with little to no development for some of them. The story was cute and at parts kept me wanting more but overall I was disappointed and left with questions.


Pub Date: March 4, 2024

This story is about disparate group of women who, for various reasons, join the village choir and become extraordinary together. The story is both funny and, at times, heartbreaking. It was a gripping read but I felt the ending was too abrupt - I desperately wanted an epilogue to bring it all together!

have only recently discovered this author and I am so glad I have. Her books are so wonderfully written that you can’t help but fall in love with the characters.

With this book I laughed out loud and i cried (a lot). I honestly cannot recommend it enough.

Faith and her brother Sam have been through a lot. Their mother was killed by her evil partner when Faith was only six and they went to live with their Grandmother. The trauma from their childhood was too much for Sam and he turned to drugs and alcohol in a bid to erase his pain. 20 years on and he is still an addict trying to conquer his addictions. Faith, although younger, feels responsible for him and he is very much dependent on her. They have struggled their whole lives with very little money always terrified that their mother’s killer might come after that if and when he gets released from prison.

Faith is engaged to Perry who is as far away as possible from Faith in terms of wealth as can be imagined. His mother does not hide her disapproval of Faith and tries to commandeer every last detail of the wedding - going so far as to insist that Faith wear the dress she wore on her wedding day ‘the ghost web’.

It is on a rare day out with her new friend Marilyn to sample what Faith would like her wedding to look like, that they come to be in a church in the neighbourhood where Faith’s mother lived. Whilst there they end up joining the choir who are a wonderful bunch of people headed up by Hester (who comes across as a bit sergeant major like but has the choir members best interests at heart), Faith also meets Dylan … who she wrongly thinks is the church caretaker but who is in fact the Pastor.

Can Faith face up to her past and to her future?

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced read copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.