Missy is a lonely older lady until she meets two women in the park who bring her out of her shell. We gradually find out about her earlier life and I really enjoyed this uplifting and Heartwarming tale.

I absolutely loved this. It's a joyous, uplifting book that reminds us of the important things in life. The characters are well developed and completed believable. I can see this being a bestseller. Brilliant.

This is a great read exploring loneliness, particularly poignant when based in a large city. Missy lives alone and is cut off from family. A story of how she finds her tribe in the place she least expects and has her heart thawed by the most unlikely companion. I loved this, thanks NetGalley!

A delightful, heart warming read. Well drawn out characters from the formidable Missy to her new found friends. Very much reminded me of Lissa Evans - no bad thing! Polished off in a couple of days.

Love Love Loved this book . Its everything I want when I read a book - heart warming , uplifting and made me shed a few tears but in a lovely way! Its a novel about friendships and love and the ways that you can be kind to people - sometimes the smallest gestures make the biggest impact that you may be unaware of.
Missy lives on her own and is lonely but doesn't really realise this. She meets a couple of women whilst in the park and develops a friendship with them . As the story progresses you hear her backstory. Its a very emotional book and left me thinking a lot about Missy.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this fabulous book!

I really enjoyed this book. Initially, you think it will just focus on how sad and lonely Missy is in her old age. However, it is so much more than that and with a twist you are not really expecting at the end. It covers Missy's past personal life but also how she meets new friends, has new experiences and comes to terms with where she finds herself now. I loved the characters and how the story unfolds. A thoroughly enjoyable read and in the end I did come to like Missy whereas at first, I wasn't very sympathetic towards her. Thank you Netgalley for letting me enjoy and review this book.

I just couldn't get into this one I'm afraid. Not entirely sure. Thank you netgalley for the arc. I don't know how or why I couldn't.

I honestly think after reading the reviews that I'm the only one that just didnt like this book.

The characters are stereotypical and the ending is just horrible.

I'm sorry but just not for me.

Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

Thank you to netgalley.co.uk for giving me a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review

This is a wonderfully written debut novel, I hope it does well when it is released in 2020. I loved how the author made the main character Missy reminisce about her life as she's edging towards the end of hers. It is a very emotional story that I really enjoyed reading.

This is a beautiful, heartwarming story of friendship and hope, about a lonely older lady who gets a new lease of life after looking after a friend's dog. Absolutely wonderful storytelling with unforgettable characters, a book that I will certainly read again and recommend to everyone.

Fantastic, well written! Really enjoyed it. I will be looking out for the authors other books! Thank you for letting me preview this book.

Millicent Carmichael, or Missy, is an elderly lady of 78. She's existing in her large house in London, with her husband no longer keeping her company, and her children having flown the nest.
A chance encounter with two very different women brings changes to her life that she never thought would happen.
For a start, she ends up with a dog.
Set in 2017 and bouncing back to various times in Missy's life, we learn a lot about Missy's life, and how she came to be all alone, despite being a mother to two, a grandmother and a wife.
A heartwarming read, with a few surprises, revealed along the way.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collines UK for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely adored this debut novel by Beth Morrey. It was a refreshing change to read about someone older and Missy has a wonderful character and back story. I am looking forward to this author's next book already, as this one was a joy to read.

Missy Carmichael is kind of a glass half-empty kind of gal, in more ways than one.

By retreating into the hollow sanctuary of her marital home, ignoring the bills that are piling up and the calls from the bank, there’s plenty of time to torment herself with not-so happy memories and the prospect of a future that already looks passed it’s sell-by date.

From here she can rattle around in relative safety and patiently crave half-interesting events to happen so she will have something, anything, to email to her forty-something son who lives on the other side of the world.

Throughout she is self-isolated, being little uneasy at social gatherings, never quite feeling like she belongs. On one hand it often feels a bit ‘poor me, me, me’, but on the other it’s as though she’s longs to acquire the natural ease that allows most people to simply get on and live their lives.

She may not invite a warm welcome immediately but she’s offered one all the same, and through chance encounters the layers of her protective armour are gradually chipped away. It’s quite a clever way to introduce a lady who has more on her plate than first impressions would have you believe, not forgetting the big-hearted folk with their kindness, laughter, and hope.

A beamingly uplifting story that puts everything into perspective and restore your faith that there is always someone willing to hold a light steady so you can find you way to the end of the tunnel, but only if you let them.

I cried several times. A very emotional story, possibly too close for comfort for an elderly retired librarian with very real worries about the health of myself and my husband and how we are going to manage in the future. HOWEVER the power of friendships and the love and support that come from those friendships is also very real and written about admirably by Beth Morray, I do hope that this becomes a success for her. Not only are the good times documented but also the sudden, sad and unexpected every day events, that you never thought about, are here too. It does have a happy, although very tidy, ending so don’t worry it really doesn’t leave you saddened or depressed. A nicely paced ‘old bird lit.’ There are more of these now, luckily, as it is a genre that seems to be expanding in the past few years.
Thank you Netgalley, publisher and author for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an unbiased review.

A most enjoyable and entertaining book that fits firmly into the feelgood mould. Missy is in her late 70s, prickly, lonely and living an isolated life. In the way that life can have of interfering, various encounters lead to Missy finding her world start to expand - it's never too late for a second chance, is it?

spoiler alert ** I liked Missy and her colourful cast of friends and family.
It seemed a very relevant story in this day and age where many people are struggling on their own.
I felt sorry for her the whole way through,As she made it sound like Leo just put up with her through their whole marriage.
I felt there were too many secrets to be revealed,what Missy and Melanie argued over,Bertie,Leo.
And I'm afraid from the offset I could guess the ending.
Non the less,it was heart warming and charming and far more positives than negatives.

Very enjoyable, well-written tale of how bottling things up can lead to all sorts of problems and learning to let others into your life can have miraculous results. Millicent, or Missy, has always hid her feelings, felt second-best and unable to move on with life but at nearing 80 a chance encounter in the park leads to a life she never thought she would have. I liked Missy, she was a good friend but not that nice, she could see flaws in others but accept them anyway. I enjoyed the gradual realisation of what has gone on in Missy's life, her secrets and burdens, and it was a great feel-good ending. I also liked that the main character is 80 but not shutting down her life, quite the opposite.

This is a wonderful heartfelt story of growing old, looking back on regrets in life, loneliness, making friends and growing bonds in unlikely places.

Missy is 79. With her husband gone she lives a lonely life. Her beloved son lives in Australia with her 7 year old grandson. She sees them far less than she would like. She has a daughter but as you read through the pages it appears they had a big fall out and Missy really doesn’t know what to do about that. Leo, her husband would know as they were close, but he’s not here any more.

On one of her lonely walks in the park on a cold winters day Missy happens upon Sylvie and her younger friend Angela, single mum to Otis. Otis reminds Missy of her own grandson. As a result of their acquaintance in the park, Missy begins to form unlikely friendships with both of these women and this is how Missy’s life starts to take a turn for the better.

Missy might be 79 but she’s no befuddled little old lady. Throughout the book we hear a lot about Missy’s younger days. Her university days, how she met her husband, life as a young mum and her relationship with both her husband and her children. The story is told in the first person by Missy and it’s via her memories as she mulls over past events from time to time, that the reader learns about what makes Missy who she is today.

There’s plenty going on in the present too which makes this book a compelling read. I always looked forward to picking it up to see what happened next. It has a good supporting cast of characters, all likeable in their own unique way. It has just the right mix of all the ingredients of a good read – humour, sadness, touching moments and action moments too. I missed my visits to Missy’s house and all the other characters when I’d finished it.

To be posted to my blog Mon 3 Feb 2020.

Missy is an elderly lady who is feeling so lonely since her son moved to Australia, she argued with her daughter and her husband as she knew him died. You don’t discover the reality of this until near the end of the book. She has always found it difficult to ‘fit in’ and continues to do so at this stage of her life. The way this story unfolded was just beautiful, I loved all the characters that were introduced and found Missy to be such an endearing lady. Brave, prickly, but ultimately so loving. The story has mystery, sadness, pathos, humour and is a tale full of redemption. This is possibly my best read of this year. Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins for this preview copy in exchange for an honest review.