A lovely story of ignoring all the cliches and falling in love again. You had 3 good friends , 4 grown up children , an x pain in the neck husband and a beautiful setting. A real feel good read. Loved it. Read in one session.

Charming book. Great writing. But the highlight for me was the setting - reading this makes you feel like you are in the heart of the French Riviera.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It's not often that I don't get on with a book set in such a glamorous location. but I just did not enjoy the writing style of this novel. It felt like a non-stop stream of consciousness of a slightly neurotic 50 year old woman. I know it was billed as a 'later in life' romance but I felt like Lucy, the heroine just let herself by completely walked all over, first by her ex-husband, then her children and finally the supposed love interest. The only thing believable was Lucy's friends, Soraya and Carol. The plotline was repetitive and totally unrealistic. She was supposed to be writing a book but we didn't really hear much about this - I think it would have been much more interesting if some of the things she was writing were mirrored in the bigger story. I persevered with it because I thought there might be some change by the end but unfortunately, in my opinion, it just didn't come. Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 2.5 rounded to 3.

4⭐️

I thought this was a great book, it was definitely a feel good romance book. This was my first time reading a book by Helga Jensen and I was very impressed with her writing! I loved how throughout the whole book we saw so much character development with Lucy the main character. I thought Helga did an amazing job at capturing how it can be difficult dating after a divorce or losing a partner because family is always a big factor. I didn’t know how I was going to feel about reading a book with main characters who I do not relate to with their lives and situations. But this was the perfect feel good romance books that leave you smiling at the end.

Lucy is invited to spend her friends 50th birthday on the French Riviera. She hopes it will help her to write the book she's been trying to do for years. Her life's a mess and she just wants some time time to live her life. She meets Elias who invites her onto his employers boat

When aspiring author Lucy attends a rich friend’s 50th birthday party in glamorous Monaco, she has no idea that her life is about to change forever.

Heartsore after a broken marriage, she is not looking for love so when she meets Elias, and he offers to take her sailing on his employer’s boat, she agrees only as research for the book she desperately wants to write. They bond over their adult children – who seem to want to clip their wings and force them into living like pensioners – and the chemistry is undeniable.
But is he all he seems? And is she ready to trust again?

Well another one where Helga has done it again. I adore Helgas books, she is one of the few authors I have read that writes about women in their 50s with such relatable characters. They were so loveable. This later in life romance was a page turner. I laughed in parts and couldn’t put it down. It was heartwarming and addictive.

Lucy was a gorgeous character as were her friends and the more I read the more I was intrigued. I loved the element of Lucy pursuing her dreams of writing a novel and how the path is never smooth but to never give up. The scene was set perfectly in the French Riviera and took me to a descriptive France.

Elias and Lucy’s relationship was written so truthfully showing when families are in involved not everything is always smooth sailing. Their relationship journey was written beautifully and it was interesting to read how they were going to weave through the twists and turns.

I simply didn’t want this book to end and wanted more and more of it.

If you haven’t read one of Helgas books before please make sure you do! All are five star reads and people who have started reading her books after my recommendation also agree! This is one not to be missed and is out on the 20th February.

I loved this book so much! Full of beautiful hope for love after a certain age we need more books headed in that direction. I absolutely love the premise.