Lovely, life affirming, marriage affirming family saga. Nearing retirement myself I didn't know if I was reading this as a work of fiction or as a self help book! Made me challenge and question myself and my thoughts, as well as trying to be nicer to my husband. Happy light reading as well.

I really struggled to get into Dancing Over The Hill. I felt the majority of what I did manage to read was boring so much so that I lost interest and gave up on it. Sorry not for me.

Really enjoyable read. Good characters and a Good story. Well worth a read. Think others will enjoy.

This was a bit of a different genre for me, with a more comical lighthearted style, but one that worked well for a holiday read. The main characters are Cait and Matt, in their early sixties with a long marriage that’s, shall we say tired. The main storyline - but not the only one - is when an old flame of Cait’s gets in touch on Facebook, and she contemplates a life change with a mix of help and hindrance from her best friends which is hilarious and I’m sure many of us can relate to.

There’s a touching side too which shows in her relationship with her father, her son and his boyfriend and with the living arrangements that transpire too. If you’re after a read that’s engaging, realistic and amusing but with not overly deep meaning (although it has well thought out characters), then this could be one for you.

I've read another boko by this author and I felt in love. Her writing is poetic and sensible. The book made me laught and cry and I love a book that make me feel all sort of feelings during the reading. Can't wait to read more books written by her.

What a great story about a mature marriage, with plenty of humour along the way!

Cait and Matt have survived 30 years of marriage. Matt heads off to work each day while his wife Cait, after many years as a teacher, works only part time to allow her to write the best selling novel she's been dreaming of for a long time. But then things change and suddenly their marriage doesn't seem quite as comfortable.

This is an entertaining read with it's roots firmly in realism. After children grow up and leave home, many couples realise that over the years they have stopped making an effort and are just rolling along out of habit. So how do they recapture the magic - and, do they both want to? I have giggled my way through this one, laughing and nodding my head throughout. My only complaint would be that everything was tied up in a bit of a rush, contrary to the pace of the rest of the novel. Certainly an author to read again, that's for sure. To my shame, this is another which has been stuck at the bottom of my tbr list for far too long, especially considering it's so good!

Provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

This was a really interesting read! I loved the characters and felt the ennui they were experiencing. I’m about 25 years off retirement, but the main characters really resonated. Their situation is one in which many couples find themselves. You have your life and your partner has theirs.. sometimes it’s hard to combine the two when the main breadwinner suddenly finds themselves at home all the time. The partner who’s the stay at home, finds their space ‘invaded’, ‘overtaken’, ‘occupied’.
It’s hard and this book takes you through that struggle and how this couple navigated their way out of it.

Add to the mix, and old love, a time of adventure and things get a little more complicated. Oh and a jealous friend... nice!

Anyway, all in all, a great book and well written.

Dancing over the hill, a feel good read.
A read that was certainly enjoyed more as I had a day home alone, and a day filled with sunshine.
What more can a girl want, good book to sit out with, well this is one of those books.

This is the first book I have read by Cathy Hopkins, it's safe to say it will not be the last.
Light read with some laugh out loud moments.

Give it a go, you'll enjoy it.

I was looking forward to getting tucked into this one, after the books I’ve been reading lately I decided I needed something a little bit more light-hearted and thought that Dancing Over The Hill would fit the bill.

It certainly ticked the box, I was laughing at most of the senior moments that Cait and was only slightly concerned that I have been known to have some of these moments myself and I’m a way off my sixties, but the story also managed to be a lot more insightful than I expected as well. At the heart of the story is an exploration into relationships, how they change and the effort it takes to make them work.

Whilst Cait and Matt are in their sixties and facing the extra challenge of retirement I felt like I could so relate to the issues they are facing in their relationship. I think every couple has a few moments where they wonder if they’ve fallen into too comfortable a rhythm with each other and the way this was approached in the book was brilliant, I know that I would have been cracking up alongside Cait at some of the things Matt doesn’t do.

Cait was brilliant, I loved that she also sometimes gets a bit carried away with quizzes on Facebook instead of the jobs she thought she should be doing. I really liked that she was a free spirit and was her own person and didn’t settle for just doing everything for the family. I think though what I liked most about her was that she was flawed, she didn’t always do the right thing or behave perfectly but that she was ultimately able to take responsibility for her actions.

It was great that we also got to hear from Matt, it’s so true that sometimes we expect people to be mindreaders so it was good that we got to see his side of the story at points as well and how he perceived Cait. Her friends Lorna and Debs were also great additions, they were both polar opposites and so were great for advice.

The one thing that bothered me a little is that there is a bit of an issue between Cait and Debs at one point and it wasn’t exactly resolved by the end. I can kind of see why because another good few chapters could have been dedicated to it and it still maybe wouldn’t have resolved itself, but I don’t know personally I maybe would have preferred a little bit more of a decisive action instead of it being left so open.

I really enjoyed this book and was delighted that it still had that light-hearted side whilst at the same time being heart-warming and giving me a lot to think about. I will certainly be looking out for more books from Cathy Hopkins in the future.

Married life for Cait and Matt has become, tea, biscuits and the latest boxset. 

Gone is the romance, the love, the respect.

It is replaced with resentment, loathing and routine. 

Surely after 30 years together there must be something which is holding them together. 

Cait cannot see what it is and when an old flame gets in touch, everything is thrown up in the air. 

Matt on the other hand discovers that being made redundant 

Cait feels she is missing something and when Matt suddenly retires, he can't find what he wants to do - let alone be. 

What follows is a journey as we watch this relationship go through peaks and troughs as they recapture the past, look to the future and be ever present. The secondary characters, of Cait's good friends, Lorna an Debs add some grounding to the storyline. But when it comes down to it, the only two people that are going to be able to do anything are Cait and Matt.

For me this book seemed to not go anywhere, we were watching the challenges of a relationship which was by no means interesting just ordinary. Perhaps that is the appeal. But I could not related to very much in the book and I think that is why I struggled with it. From other reviews many will relate to it so don't be put off by my perception of the book. 

Not all books work for the reader.

This was an interesting story both funny and sad but also informative. A couple in their 60s, children have left the nest, husband made redundant and home all day. A recipe for disaster. The ways they resolve their differences were very entertaining with enough to keep you guessing. Great conclusion and very good read.

I discovered Dancing Over the Hill through a Netgalley email from Harper Collins. I was looking for a change from all the crime fiction and psychological thrillers I'd been reading. All I can say is I am so glad I didn't pass this gem up and I will be purchasing Cathy's previous book ASAP.

What immediately endeared me towards Dancing Over the Hill were the two main characters, Cait and Matt. They weren't young, success hungry go-getters as is typical of this genre. They both are in their 60's and facing retirement while wondering, "Is this all there is?"

Matt has lost his job, the only thing he's ever felt good at. He find's it difficult to fill in his time and feels like a nuisance around the house. Cait, on the other hand is used to her alone time, filling her days with choir practice, yoga and lunches with friends. She finds it difficult to make time for her newly unemployed husband and is completely unimpressed with his lazing about the house in his dressing gown.

I think I loved this book so much because I could really relate to the characters. Like Cait, I love to be organised and I adore a good to-do list. I also saw similar struggles in my own house when my dad lost his job and struggled to find his place in the house as he searched for a new one. All I'll say is Cathy has captured the reality of retirement-the good and the bad!

As for the writing and structure, no complaints there. The characters are well rounded and authentic. Each character (even the secondary ones) felt well researched and developed, like the had a past before the reader opened this particular chapter in their lives.

There are no major twists and turns in Dancing Over the Hill, and that's not a bad thing. The familiarity of the story actually allowed me to get sucked in. This really is a comfort read. That doesn't mean it's dull though. I loved every page of this book and laughed out loud more than once. I genuinely didn't want it to end.

Dancing Over the Hill is a solid, enjoyable 5 star read.

This is hilarious and witty, touching and so believable! Another cracking read from Cathy Hopkins which will leave you with a full heart. Recommend!

A real fun book, great read from an older person's perspective. How life changes from one day to the next and how adjustment to suddenly being older can be tricky for relationships with friends and partners. Food for thought too.

Well written, I really enjoyed this book. Funny in places, it made me laugh out loud. An amusing story of life after retirement. Thought provoking in places. I warmed to the characters, their experiences and the mistakes they make. A lovely story about family, love, relationships and finding out the grass is not always greener on the other side.

A lighthearted read which is really enjoyable.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

The dilemma of what to do when the kids move out and you retire - do you still want to be together - is the grass greener elsewhere - what the hell are you going to do with yourself!

Well written and poignant with characters that you love and hate!

This is a great book! Not something I’d usually read to be honest but what a lovely surprise it was as I really enjoyed it, Cait and Matt are very relatable characters and you can totally understand the situation they find themselves in where 30 years of marriage and all of a sudden your at home retired and well, bored! Along comes an old flame and....well you’ll have to read the book! I laughed out loud at some points and also felt sad at others but in all a great little book and I’m going to read more from the author for sure!

As a fellow OAP I found myself identifying with the characters and incidents in the book. Found myself chuckling about some of the incidents, and the coincidences with my own life.

This was a very easy light read , a great holiday read. Would recommend to anyone over 50

Life can begin again at 50.....:
"Dancing Over the Hill" charts the lives of a couple, Cait and Matt, as they ease into the second half of their lives. Although happily married, they come to question the direction of their separate and conjoined lives. Readers of a similar age group will no doubt empathise as Cait and Matt find that they face new challenges, not least of which is their marriage. Keen observation and astuteness lie at the heart of this novel. How many times have you forgotten where you put something, searched for hours only to find that it was in front of your eyes, in the usual place, but you blindly somehow didn't see it there? Or got to the top of the stairs and forgotten what you went up for? In Cait's case her glasses go missing and where does she find them? Yes, on her head. I loved Cait's lists, a necessity from 50 on, as forgetfulness appears to creep in. As does complacency. And when confronted with fresh opportunities both Cait and Matt seem to be up for the challenge but in their own separate ways. Both main characters are very realistic, and Cathy Hopkins captures the essential problems besetting couples in this modern age when we can all expect to live longer than our grandparents (on average at least). Matt is effectively "retired" and has to face up to premature retirement. And the financial pressure which often goes with that. He covertly researches past-times to occupy his time whilst Cait faces a slightly different challenge: the reappearance of Tom, an-ex, who she still holds in her affections. As the novel progresses the reader is left to ponder how things will turn out. Will Cait and Matt enter the second half of their lives together or apart? This is a novel for readers of all ages: this is about the ageing process generally as well as specifically.
Permeated by delicate humour and perception this novel makes for a delightful read.

This book is written in an amusing way and I definitely laughed out loud on a couple of occasions. The two main characters of Matt and Cait were well described which made me want to find out how their relationship would work out.