I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. But it exceeded all of them.
It was well written. It was a lovely read. One you imagine reading In a cozy nook with sun beams shining in and a smile on your face.
The kind that makes you want to set a picnic up on a blanket by the sea, a flask of tea and big hat vibe of life ha!
It was really great to have this age range aswell. We don't have enoguh. And each time I read one with this age group I love it.
It's like how we all love those elder characters in books. Well with this one we get that from all our characters so it's a huge win.

I thought this was a lovely book, but then being in that age group, I do appreciate tales of older women. What a tangled web it was with so many secrets. I did realise who Adele was fairly early. Dorothy and Gina, and of course, Lucien were superb characters. Altogether it was a book I very much enjoyed. Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood books for the chance to read and review.

Funny, quirky, simple lovable!

I enjoyed this story and the characters, their adventures and stories. I loved Dorothy’s energy and the bit of mystery surrounding her past.

I recommend this book if you want to feel like it’s never to late and you are never too old to go on an adventure!

The Old Girls’ Chateau Escape is part of a series but I believe it can be read as a stand alone. This is a fun read and is about women of a certain age who still have it. I can’t wait for the next one. Thank you to Boldwood Books.

Returning to Gina and Dorothy’s cozy mystery solving has been a joy. This time Gina goes to be a companion to an elderly couple, Gerald who sadly has dementia and his wife Meredith, who has broken her arm so needs help with caring for her husband and more intriguingly writing her memoirs.
Meredith and Dorothy were friends back in the day before a huge falling out and Meredith might be just about to spill some potentially life changing secrets so Dorothy encourages Gina to do a bit of snooping to make sure Meredith doesn’t let the cat out of the bag.
There also seems to be a thief in the hotel that they are living in so Gina gets to put her sleuthing hat on too.

Set in the South of France, this is a brilliant read which I really enjoyed. Having read the first book helped me dive straight into the story but I don’t think it’s particularly necessary to have read the first one in the series. Most things are explained along the way.

With thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for free arc. I am leaving this honest review voluntarily

My first Net Galley ARC read. Unfortunately, it was disappointing.

https://thebookstoryblog.wordpress.com/2025/01/14/the-old-girls-chateau-escape-kate-galley/

This is apparently part of a series and I haven’t read the first book, but that’s not why the book didn’t work for me. It did not deliver what the title and cover promised.

Gina Knight is seventy-one years old and she is kind of manipulated by Dorothy, her eighty-nine-year-old friend/ employer into travelling to Marseilles to work as a companion to Dorothy’s old but estranged friend Meredith. Dorothy learns that Meredith is planning to write a tell-all book and she is terrified that an old secret may be revealed, so she enlists Gina to keep an eye on Meredith. The book starts off with so much promise and I was hoping to read about some steamy, racy secret that the women had been hiding for more than half a century. On a parallel track, there is Lucien the manager of the hotel. He is paying off his mother’s gambling debts, silently dealing with heartbreak because the woman he loves is dating the obnoxious hotel chef, and to top it all, he has to now handle a series of thefts that are happening at the hotel. And then there is Adele, the mysterious guest at the hotel who claims to be a photographer working on her vlog, but obviously has some other agenda. A photographer and vlog? That was jarring. Isn’t a vlog a video blog? But anyway, that was the least of my annoyances. Another thing that annoyed me was the way French words were plugged into the narrative when they were not actually part of a conversation. Like Gina’s point of view unnecessarily using the word rénovations when it could have been perfectly normal to use ‘renovations.’ There were too many PoVs which added no value to the plot. Gina’s was in first person and then there was Lucien, Dorothy and Meredith’s Pov in third person. The parts of Meredith’s memoir flowed into Gina’s in first person narrative without a break and it was confusing. Those portions could have at least been italicised.

With so much going on, the book had so much scope to be a) A refreshing comedy of errors with the old and older women as the protagonists. Maybe something like Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers b) A thriller because of all the intrigue that was set up. Maybe something like a Miss Marple mystery c) A sappy nostalgia trip because it had the memoir and all.

But sadly, the book failed in all aspects. The big secret that Dorothy feared would be revealed turned out to be very lame. It wasn’t scandalous at all and was such a damp squib. Adele’s big reveal too was quite predictable and the whole way in which it unravelled was so matter-of-fact and flat. The thefts were solved so conveniently to do away with one character, and again, it was predictable. The only part of the book that made me chuckle was with the mafia boss who kept threatening Lucien about paying back his mother's debts.

The book could have ended with a happily ever after once the France parts were tied up, but it rambled after Gina returned home, with nothing much actually happening. It was probably done to set the tone for the next book in the series, but I had already stopped caring. It was irritating to read about new characters like Erik and Gina’s kids after the main story ended. This part could have been written as a teaser for the next book and remained optional for the reader. The only reason I saw it till the end was to see if there was a nicer twist to all those conveniently and boringly tied up ends in the ‘main’ story. I’m just pissed off because I kept reading and nothing more happened.

The first one in the series is available on Kindle Unlimited and I borrowed it, but now that I have finished this book, I don’t have much hope that the first one would be any better than this one.

I haven’t read the first book in this series, Old Girls Behaving Badly, but after reading the delightful The Old Girls’ Chateau Escape, I’m definitely going back to spend more time getting to know Dorothy and Gina, “The Old Girls.” However, with just enough of a backstory from the first book, I feel this book can be read as a stand-alone. If you’re looking for a feel-good story about friendship and living life to the fullest regardless of age, I recommend taking a trip to France with these “old girls.”

For me, it all comes down to the characters and dialogue, and I really enjoyed Dorothy, Gina, and chateau manager Lucien, among others. Each is three-dimensional and well-written. The story flows easily, and the dialogue and plot are realistic, with just the right touch of humor, drama, and mystery to keep things lively. It also helped that the description of the Chateau is beautifully described (although Gina, as caregiver, does not get to stay in the main house, but in a “villa” that is in the process of being renovated), and gave me a taste of life in France.

Without giving away any spoilers, Dorothy recommends Gina for a temporary job as caregiver to a couple in France, Gerald and her old (former) friend, Meredith. Dorothy has discovered that Meredith is writing a “tell all,” and Dorothy is hoping that Gina will scope out whether Dorothy, and some long-kept secrets, is mentioned in the book. More importantly, to me was that Gina, still reeling, at 71, from being left by her husband and still picking up the pieces, gets to travel to the beautiful French countryside. I was happy to go along with her.

I’ve only recently started reading books about “senior” women (of which I’m one!), and what I particularly liked about this book is that Ms. Galley eschews stereotypes and writes women who still have so much life to live and so much to contribute! Write on!

Thank you to Boldwood Books and for inviting me to read this advanced reader’s copy via NetGalley. I am happily providing this honest review.

second-chance, septuagenarian, octogenarians, lies, secrets, families, family-dynamics, family-expectations, family-drama, friends, friendship, frustration, companionship, france, multiple-perspectives, snooping, hotelier, hospitality-industry****

Elderly British friends defy the advanced years as they moved on and got on with living and doing what they could for one another.
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected ebook file from Boldwood Books via NetGalley. Thank you!
#TheOldGirlsChateauEscape by kategalley1 #BRANDNEWfromKateGalley #oldgirlsBk2 #NetGalley #goodreads #bookbub #librarythingofficial #Mystery #barnesandnoble **** Review #booksamillion #bookshop_org #bookshop_org_uk #kobo #Waterstones #theboldbookclub 📚 #BoldwoodBooks #SecondChance #gossipyread

I really enjoyed this book, it was like meeting old friends again, though it could also be read as a stand alone novel. I love novels with older main characters, (being of a certain age myself), with their youthful outlook and energy. The descriptions of the South of France are wonderful, making me want to travel to Aix and Marseille again. I hope there are many more books in this series to come.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
This is the second book in the "Old Girls" series by Kate Galley and while it can be read as a stand-alone you will probably enjoy it more if you have read the first book "Old Girls Behaving Badly".
Gina is living in Dorothy's boat-house and when Dorothy finds another companion job for her in the south of France (and find out something for her while she does her job) Gina sets of to a Hotel near Aix-en-Provence. Once there she meets the couple she is supposed to help, some hotel employees and guests and suddenly there seem to be secrets and thefts all around the hotel. Of course Gina cannot help but investigate...
I enjoyed reading this book but not as much as I did with the first book. It is an entertaining read but I found the changing POVs a bit unnecessary and I would have liked there to be more actual sleuthing. As it was the solutions to the extortion and the thefts were a bit anticlimatic. Still Gina's and Dorothy's characters and the story overall was entertaining.

Gina's husband of 71 decides to leave and she's left with no home. She takes a job looking after Dorothy and ends up living in her boathouse. Dorothy finds out her friend Meredith is writing her memoir and she's worried what she's going to write about. She gets Gina a job looking after Meredith who's living in the south of France

I absolutely loved this book and was really sorry to reach the end! I’m looking forwards to Kate’s next book and hope it won’t take too long before it appears! Highly recommended

When I finished reading the first book about these characters, Old Girls Behaving Badly, I immediately asked the author if there was going to be a sequel and she confirmed there was. I have been sitting on this secret for nine months! This is my third book by this author and I have a fourth on my to-be-read pile.

Kate Galley never disappoints in this one, we are in the south of France and Dot is up to her regular mischief, no good and nosing around. Gina is sent to help Meridith look after her husband. Meridith is a writer and has broken her arm so she asks Gina to type up her memoir. Dot wants Gina to find information on Meredith and to know the big secret she is writing about. Galley writes her stories like the old-time slapstick comedies and I am so here for it. I felt like I was in France with Gina because it was so descriptive without being wordy. It was like a friend telling me about her vacation. The chapters alternate between different points of view which is my favourite format.

The book is a story full of heart and humour with a pinch of mystery thrown in for good measure. As with all of Kate Galley’s books, the focus is on strong women who are of a certain age. Galley writes loveable characters with realistic flaws and the ladies are women who I wish I was friends with. I like that there was just a touch of romance even though the characters are older. The elderly ladies are vibrant, and not feeble. They remind me of my mom and grandmother, charming and funny and not afraid to tell people to go kick rocks.

Even though there are the same characters from the previous book both books can be read as a standalone but work much better together. I recommend them both, I recommend all of Kate Galley’s books.

this is the second book in a series about Gina and Dorothy. I love that they were older women. Loved the book, it can be read as a stand alone, as I have not read the first book.

This was a lovely book about friendships. Old friends Gina and Dorothy are back with the second book in this series, Gina is working as a writing companion in France when Dorothy is on holiday there. It’s a lovely story with a perfect setting. Leaves a smile on your face. 4 star read.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy.

I loved catching up with Gina and Dorothy! In this instalment, Gina, 71 and newly single, heads to the South of France to provide companionship for a short while to an elderly couple, Meredith and Gerald.

This is the second book in the 'Old Girls' series and whilst this book can be enjoyed on its own, I would recommend reading “Old Girls Behaving Badly” so you can get to know Gina and Dorothy a bit better.
The perfect feel good read!!

The cover of this book got my attention and I knew I had to read it. Loved the characters and would love to read more books with these wonderful and funny characters.

I received this book from Netgalley for my honest opinion.

Love the older characters and love their adventure! It was a pleasure to read this story with such great characters and a fun premise!

It was great to catch up with Gina and Dorothy who previously appeared in Old girls behaving badly. However this book can be read as a standalone.
Gina goes to France to help an elderly couple as a companion on Dorothy’s suggestion. What follows is a story full of mystery and humour. I was worried at first Dorothy would not appear much in the book but I was glad as the story progressed that she did.
There were plenty of great well written characters and I really enjoyed this story. I can’t wait for the next one.
Thanks to NetGalley, Kate Galley and Boldwood Books for an advance copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

✨3 stars✨

This was a really quick read and I enjoyed the setting of the chateau in the south of France.

However, this was just an okay read for me because I didn’t feel connected to any of the characters and felt that some of the point of views used didn’t really add anything to the plot. This meant that the switch in narrator was quite jarring at points. I also didn’t realise that there was a book that was published before this one which is about how Gina and Dorothy met and became friends. If I had read that first I may have enjoyed this more.

Although it wasn’t for me, if you have read and enjoyed this author’s other works then I would still recommend this to you as you might get more out of it!

I received an ARC from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!