I knew that The Unlikely Life of Maisie Meadows would be a hit with me from the first paragraph.
Keer's writing reads beautifully, flows really well and feels elegant. The story she tells is engrossing, the characters she offers are interesting. I liked the pacing, I liked the romance the story featured. I found it all to be surprisingly unpredictable. With laugh out loud moments, this book was basically unputdownable, which is why I read it so fast.
Everything about this book is well executed. I think it's very enjoyable, and it's definitely a read that fans of the genre will enjoy.

When you read as many romance books as I do, it can be quite difficult to find one that stands out from the crowd – although I enjoy every single one, and have a love for the genre that will never die. But it is always particularly exciting when you find one of the particularly special ones – and this lovely book provides sheer enjoyment from beginning to end, with some really original twists and turns to the story, a touch of magic, and a cast of characters that you can’t fail to fall in love with.

And then there’s the writing: strong, confident, with dialogue that sparkles and the surest of touches with both the emotional content – and there’s plenty of that – and the gentle comedy that constantly makes you smile. There’s a multiplicity of story threads in this book that would be daunting for the most experienced of authors – all equally enchanting and engaging, every one spooled out and untangled with dexterity, care for the detail, and tremendous aplomb.

Maisie, at the book’s centre, won my heart very quickly – with her desperate need to bring together her fragmented family, to recreate the happier times of her childhood, however unlikely and difficult that might be. And that’s mirrored in her quest to reunite the parts of a tea set, initiated by the chance find of a teapot that played an important part in her childhood memories. I loved Maisie’s quirkiness and relentless optimism, unusually coupled with an obsessive need for control and order, everything in its proper place: and I loved her release, the art created in her spare bedroom, a truer reflection of her messy life but tackled with a joy that’s entirely contagious.

As she tries to bring her family and the tea set together – and finds herself involved in bringing together yet another fractured family, and quite a few more broken links and relationships – she’s finding her feet in a new job at Gildersleeves auction house, taken on to bring their marketing into the 21st century. The setting is wonderful and lovingly recreated – if the auction house’s name sounds Dickensian, wait until you meet Johnny – and allows the introduction of a whole additional cast of quite wonderful characters. Misunderstandings do abound, mainly about the relationships between all her new colleagues – and while that might not always be my favourite plot device, in this book it all works just perfectly, its glorious confusion providing many of the book’s funniest moments.

Then there are the gnomes, Nigel’s reactions and interventions (no, you’ll need to read the book!), the tea set’s secret code, the relationship between Maisie’s parents (I adored her mother), her particularly intrusive and entitled sister, Theo’s scruffiness and 80s obsession (but he’s so thoroughly loveable), Elle’s vulnerability and the unfolding of her character…

I must particularly mention the quite excellent handling of the individual stories of the book’s older characters – Meredith’s support for her struggling neighbours, the nursing home scenes so realistically portrayed (and with such funny and touching moments), the relationships between the Mayhew sisters – but particularly that of auction house porter Arthur, so beautifully done and so unexpected that it made me cry.

I’ve rarely come across a book where every subsidiary character is so perfectly drawn that I became so entirely engrossed in and enchanted by their personal stories, every one given appropriate weight and worked through to conclusion. Its magical touches might be real, might be coincidental, but it’s all so very beautifully and cleverly done – and the book’s ending is so absolutely perfect, uplifting and heartwarming, that it moved me to tears yet again.

Just in case I might have left any room for doubt, this was such a special book, and I loved everything about it – highly recommended to all.

(Copied to Amazon UK, but link not yet available.)

The Unlikely Life of Maisie Meadows is such a charming, quirky story about a disjointed family. Maisie is the youngest sibling in the Meadows family of six. The family have had an eventful upbringing and with the myriad of personalities, that often clash, the siblings are all grown up and are living in various locations across the globe. Maisie has fond memories of an idyllic family Christmas and she has a vision of bringing the family back together to try and recreate this picture perfect family.

After an unexpected end to a relationship and job Maisie was on the lookout for new employment. With a new job comes new opportunities and new friends. Life for Maisie takes on new directions. Her new place of employment is full of colourful characters, each with their own stories to tell. Maisie takes upon herself to help two individuals at work who appear a little lost.

I loved how the author Jenni Keer developed a dysfunctional family, it made them more relatable and realistic as a family are individuals that are forced to live together by bloodline. The introduction of new friends who were as unique and individual as some of the items brought into the auction house made for some great endearing and comedic scenes.

Maisie's quest to bring her family together was eventful to say the least and was joined by another hunt to bring a special tea set back together.

I loved this story so much especially the interactions between the characters young and old. The Unlikely Life of Maisie Meadows is charming and fun with an air of mystery and is filled with plenty of romantic promise.

A super read! One I've enjoyed so much that I'm going to make sure that I add The Hopes and Dreams of Lucy Baker to my list.

Maisie Meadows thinks it's about time something went right in her life; she needs a new job, has a strong desire to gather her widespread family close once more and perhaps New Year's day is the perfect time to begin to plan for the future. Who knows what the coming year will bring?

What a novel! Beautifully written in an easy, flowing style which pulls the reader in from page one and keeps them in a firm grip until the very final one. A gorgeous story about life, work, relationships, new friends and, last but not least, family. The differing storylines are easily intertwined, and it makes for a smooth and immensely enjoyable read. Funny, delightful, and truly entertaining - this one really struck a chord with me and I could not find fault even if I wanted to. I will certainly look out for this author's future novels, I loved this one so much and the fabulous cover really drew me in to begin with. It has 'winner' stamped all over it, and is a solid five star read!

My thanks to publisher Avon for my copy, and to Rachel's Random Resources for inviting me to take part in this Blog Tour. All stated opinions are entirely my own.

Because of so much British slang, it was hard to follow some of the story. Overall, I did like the plot but couldn’t follow along at times.

It seems like only 5 minutes since Jenni’s first book was released, but it’s been 6 months already. This second book is every bit as charming as the first. You are drawn into Maisie’s life immediately as she starts her job at Gildersleeve’s auction house. The characters are quirky, funny and likeable and I really liked learning more about the workings of an auction house. In fact, now I’m so curious to visit one. Although I’ll probably be sat on my hands in fear of accidentally bidding on something I didn’t mean to!

The hunt for the various components of the tea set was a great way of connecting people. Does it really have mystical powers??? I like the slightly supernatural feel to Jenni’s writing. Is it superstition or something more?

One line in the book that stood out to me was something that I’ve said to several friends recently. “If you can’t control it, why stress over it?” In this crazy, chaotic world, there’s so much to worry about, but if there’s nothing that you can do to change it, don’t let it bring you down. Life is too short. Do things that make you happy. Read great books (like this one!), eat cake, take chances and do things that make you happy.

This is a book to pick up when you need a smile. Maisie may have lost her job but she's gained oh so much since going to work at Gildersleeves auction house. There's all her colleagues (love them!) and then there's the tea set. How to explain how important it is to Maisie to reunite the pieces and the family from whence it came? Well, Maisie's own family has been divided in recent years. Trust that the cover of this novel gives you a good sense of what you'll find inside. It's a light and positive story with good characters and a nice tone. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A very good read.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you NetGalley.

Maisie is such an unique and relatable character. Jenni Keer does a great job developing her characters and making you feel as if you're a part of the story.

This book was adorable, and I'll definitely be reading more by Jenni Keer.

I really loved this book, it was such a cute romance, a story full of heart. Such a relatable story and main character in Maisie, an really adorable read.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

I'd forgotten just how much I'd enjoyed reading The Hopes and Dreams of Lucy Baker, until I dived into Ms Keer's second novel. The author does a wonderful job of transporting the reader into the mind of Maisie, and the way each individual character is portrayed is fabulous.

Although the story has a sound plot, I loved the book more for the characterisation and the hint of other worldliness weaving its way through the whole thing. And of course, it's as heartwarming as one would expect from the genre. Sweet, gentle, delightfully old-fashioned in places, I particularly enjoyed Ms Keer's depiction of the older generation. The setting was fab, too.

Congratulations on another fantastic story.

Thank you Avon Books UK and Netgalley for the review copy!

I really enjoyed that THE UNLIKELY LIFE OF MAISIE MEADOWS was at its heart a story about family. The cute romance was just a plus!

The Unlikely Life of Maisie Meadows was not what I expected. I started reading it not knowing where the story would take me, but wow!! I truly enjoyed it!! Maisie's life was full of drama due to her not-so-perfect family. She starts a new job at an auction house and her life changes for the better. The people she works with become her family by choice. Each one of them becomes an integral part of her life. When she takes upon the task of tracking down a tea set that she saw as a child in a friendly neighbor's house is when things around her get interesting.
This book made me laugh and cry. The romance was a wonderful bonus. It was funny to see how Theo and Maisie were such complete opposites, but were a perfect match for each other. I liked how they both learned from each other on how to handle life differently but for the better.

Great story!! Highly recommended!!

*Thank you to the publisher for providing the galley through NetGalley for review. All opinions are my own.*

This book was just what I needed - a quirky, clever protagonist who must navigate some completely relatable family drama. The cast of characters is rich and their stories flow together in a really interesting way. This is a perfect summer read.

The Unlikely Life of Maisie Meadows is the second book published by up and coming author Jenni Keer. This is the first book I’ve actually had the pleasure of reading from Ms. Keer. I loved it so much I went and purchased her first book! I always love discovering new authors and I look forward to seeing what Ms. Keer has for us in the future!

Not being familiar with Ms. Keer’s writing style, I didn’t know what to expect. So I was pleasantly surprised to get caught up in this story from the very beginning, and quickly became invested in the storyline and all the characters. I found my self picking up the book throughout the day just to read one more page!

As we start our story, Maisie Meadows has recently quit her job and broken up with her boyfriend, who also happened to be her boss. As she starts a new job at Gildersleeve’s auction house, she works at settling into her new job and dealing with her new coworkers. Oh my, what a fabulous collection of characters at Gildersleeve’s! From Johnny the eccentric, exuberant owner, to the painfully shy, quiet & thoughtful Ella, to the chatty but totally loveable Arthur, and then finally the down to earth, engaging and good-looking Theo, I absolutely loved them all. Gildersleeve’s auction house in itself was a fabulous backdrop for a story. It was a unique setting and one I’ve not read before.

When Maisie stumbles across an old teapot that once belonged to a neighbor from 20 years ago, she works to reunite the tea set.  As Maisie discovers piece by piece the missing tea set from long ago, she begins to wonder if her family can also be reunited as well. This brings us another fabulous set of characters with the Mayhew sisters and Maisie’s parents and siblings and who could forget Nigel the hamster! He truly was the star of the book! ;-) I loved the teapot storyline and all that went along with it. There were so many wonderful stories intertwined into this book and I felt they all flowed beautifully together to make this story perfectly complete.

This was a wonderfully well-written story based on family, friends, secrets, misconceptions, love, loss, in summary, it’s based on life! I devoured this book and absolutely loved the ending. I enjoyed my time with Maisie and her family and friends and would have no problem revisiting this fabulous group of characters again. I highly recommend this book and author!

Maisie Meadows (who has one of those names which seem to exist only in romcoms and never in real life, though no doubt there are some around somewhere), driven out of her old job by an ill-advised romance, takes a new job with the delightful Johnny at Gildersleeve’s auction house. There’s obviously romance on the cards (though not with Johnny) and some shenanigans with a mysterious black and white tea set. Via a *lot* of Unfortunate Misunderstandings.

I know Unfortunate Misunderstandings and miscommunications are a standard in the romance genre but these were just too obvious and predictable to be satisfying and there were zero surprises. I was actually getting quite annoyed with the, at times, incredible density of the characters in this respect, and the ongoing misunderstandings, particularly towards the end, seemed far too contrived. Just communicate, for goodness sake!

That said I did like the characters and the auction house setting, and the story is well written. I particularly appreciated the inclusion of several older characters with very different personalities, which is not something we always see. Arthur was a particular gem. I wasn’t really fussed about the magic tea set element, though.

A pleasant escapist read.

Thank you to Avon Books UK and Net Galley for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
I have to admit that this book was not the one for me. I kept reading (almost to the end), but the story just seemed random without really making any connections. I noticed that this book got a lot of good reviews so maybe it was just me. It just wasn't the book for me.

A tail of family and finding your place in it. Love this book. The main character could be any of us. You will relate to the story because it could be yours. Very good read. Pick it up for yourself!

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book and characters. Maisie quits her job after finding her boyfriend/boss cheating on her. After finding a new job at an auction house, she discovers a tea pot from her childhood. This sets her off finding the rest of the set with the belief that finding each object from the set will bring back together her wayward family.

This is a quick read and it's helped by how enjoyable everyone is. My only problem was the romance plot. The thing that kept them apart was many misunderstandings that could have so easily been cleared up by saying 'Is that your girlfriend/boyfriend.' Instead, I had to deal of pages and pages of misunderstandings that got annoying really fast.

When 25-year old Maisie finds herself out of a job and out of a boyfriend (her ex-boss) she finds herself a new life as the marketing expert of a small auction house where a team of curious yet wonderful characters work with her. At the same time as she starts this job, Maisie begins a quest to reunite her scattered family and a scattered tea set that has sentimental value to her. Some wordplay puts Maisie in all sorts of situations and misunderstandings but unfortunately while a clever idea, they are a bit too easily spotted to make the twists and turns of the story much of a surprise to the reader. While I enjoyed this book and especially liked some of the secondary characters, I wish I had been a little more surprised by the various would-be surprises.

Maisie Meadows like her life neat and orderly, however life doesn't seem to follow that path. This story follows Maisie as she takes on a new job and uncovers part of mysterious tea set from her past. As she works to find all parts of the tea set, Maisie learns about what things hold a family together and what things can keep a family a part. Maisie is a sweet, quirky character.