This book has inspired me to put my running shoes on again and just go for it! If the women in this book don’t inspire you, then nothing will!🏃‍♀️

I know a lot of readers are going to find The Cancer Ladies Running Club very moving and uplifting like me as you can’t help but feel emotionally connected to Keira and her friends. Friendship and family are so important in this book and I loved how all the women supported each another while they were in different stages of the cancer treatment. It doesn’t shy away from the reality of cancer, yet Josie uses humour to keep the story positive and honest. I was obsessed with the character of Tamsin. What a true legend!!! I won’t give too much away but expect tears, laughter and a lot of fist pump in the air moments!! It gives you all the feels.😍
I highly recommend this book if you enjoy contemporary uplifting fiction and inspiring stories.

Wow I knew when I started to read this book it would bring memories of my best friend and her brave fight with cancer, and it did but this book made me laugh so much and also cry in little places too
It follows the story of Kiera who runs her own shop and has 3 loveable children and a husband Tom who she adores the suddenly she finds a small pea sized lump and her world is turned upside down
She is standing outside the cancer centre at the beginning and it all feels insurmountable she sits on a bench after a few minutes she notices a woman jogging towards her she is wearing the shiniest outfit and makeup and has gorgeous hair she stops at the bench and asks if Kiera is ok then tells Kiera to meet her here next Friday at 8:50 to start running with the Cancer Ladies Running Club
And so begins the start of an amazing story of friendship and surviving and finding out who you’re true friends are
I loved this book from the very beginning to the very end it is a story that will resonate with every woman wether you had cancer or can run or not.

Every day that goes by, I become more and more grateful for stories about real humans making the most of their lives. I was prepared for an inspiring yet tearjerking read with this one and I knew I was going to get a lot from it.

When Keira is diagnosed with breast cancer, she is desperate for her life not to change. She wants to keep being Tom’s wife, a mum of three and a successful business owner of gift shop Wishwells. Cancer World isn’t a place she ever wants to go. Then she discovers running through a group of fierce and funny female cancer patients. As Keira is forced to accept that her life is different now, she will run as fast as she can to reclaim it.

Keira often speaks to her dead father when she needs guidance and reassurance. It’s tragic that he isn’t around to see her conquering the mountain that is cancer but there is definitely a sense that he is still there for her. Wishwells was originally his shop and it’s almost as if he is always present within its walls. Even when the shop is in trouble, Keira’s loyalty to the place combined with the spirit of her father gave me the confidence that things would work out.

I am lucky enough to never have had a serious medical diagnosis like cancer but I can imagine that fear of judgement is a very real concern for those that have. It is true that the majority of people treat cancer patients differently and I can only imagine the frustration of having to live with that. This is exactly why Keira wants to keep her diagnosis a secret.

Another constant torment for Keira is the questioning of why cancer has happened to her. She puts it down to her love of a drink and cigarette every so often, which of course is unlikely. Her fantastic friend Amma reminds her that they’ve all done exactly the same thing. One of cancer’s many cruel traits is that it is entirely non-judgemental when it comes to selecting victims. As Keira says, they are ‘just statistics’.

Keira and Tom’s marriage feels really authentic for me too. I’ve never been married but they felt like a real couple who have been together for a very long time. There were points in the book where I was extremely angry at Tom and I had the same suspicions about him that Keira had. At other times, he was a wonderful supportive husband, who is clearly madly in love with his wife. These peaks and troughs are so realistic in a long-term relationship, particularly one that has been rocked with a bombshell like cancer.

One of my favourite things about this book is that it manages to be very funny, even when talking about horrific things such as chemo. This is testament to the brilliance of the characters. Every founding member of the running club is a beautiful, smart, inspirational woman, which made the book such pure joy to read. I was constantly pre-empting the tears though!

The further that Keira immerses herself in Cancer World, the more happy endings she discovers. As the running club grows, she finally stops hearing stories of cancer patients dying and is presented with amazing living proof that cancer isn’t always a death sentence. I can’t think of a more hopeful sentiment to take away from a novel that is predominantly about a very real threat that we’re all terrified of.

Of course, there is a devastating occurrence towards the end of the book but it still manages to end on a final note of hope. Keira has learned so much from her friends and is determined to fully embrace every second that she is alive. Obviously, this is a wonderfully uplifting and important mantra for every single reader and I finished it with a newfound bag of energy to make the most of my time here on Earth too.

The Cancer Ladies’ Running Club is a beautiful, heartbreaking story, full of life lessons. It’s about finding your tribe and fighting demons -both within ourselves and those who try to sabotage our lives. Celebrating the power of friendship and overcoming incredible feats, this is the smile-inducing jolt of inspiration you need this year.

An absolutely amazing read .. and one I have relished!

Keira is shocked to her core when, as the result of a voluntary breast screening, she is diagnosed with cancer. She wants to keep it to herself, not tell her family and keep on working in her business but cancer doesn't wait for anything. She is soon persuaded to run with others to keep her fitness levels up whilst she undergoes treatment. The friends she makes do more for her wellbeing than anything else but life doesn't stop for illness; this is Keira's story.

What a corker of a read! I'm not sure what I expected from this one, but it quite cheering; full of positivity but doesn't shy away from the hard moments. The author has created a fine bunch of characters, all realistic and entirely believable. There is nothing morbid about this novel and I can imagine it's positivity will help many a person as it is an upbeat read which doesn't shy away from the fact that life goes on alongside the cancer fight. A truly endearing read and one I wouldn't have missed for anything. Josie Lloyd writes beautifully and although this is fiction, her own experiences obviously impacted strongly on her writing. An excellent read and one which, for me, has blown away several myths and replaced them with reality. This is definitely a five star read, and one I would recommend - to everyone.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

THIS BOOK. What an emotional, powerful and realistic rollercoaster.

It is about a group of women that meet by chance and get together to run while on their own personal cancer journey.

You can tell that this is very personal to the author as it is inspired by her own experience. Not only is well written but also the main character’s journey is real. There are very few books with this topic as the main storyline that are well done. I get extremely angry when cancer is used wrongly in books.

This might be a fiction book, but the journey is one that many women go through. Many of the things described in this piece of fiction are not fiction at all… it is very honest and realistic. The way people behave when they get this news is super well described with a touch of humour.

This topic is quite personal for me. I wish every single person, including myself, had this book when my bestie went through the diagnosis and treatment in 2019. Many people can learn a thing or two on how to deal with someone going through this journey. You have no idea the amount of rubbish that people can say because they don’t think before they open their mouth… or how they choose to use gaslighting for their benefit. It helps you clean up your friendship circle.

I recommend this book to everyone.

This is a very good book...but I did not enjoy it personally. Having had breast cancer myself (twice), this book was so real and raw and poignant that it felt like reading about my own anxiety with the disease and all I went through...which is a trauma I do now wish to live again, thank you very much. So this one read a lot like a PTSD trigger for me - but it is such a raw book of what one goes through upon being diagnosed with breast cancer that I do encourage anyone who's not been there to read it to know what it feels like (hence the 4 star rating)

Wow - this packs an emotional punch! It made me laugh and cry, fearful yet inspired, entertained and educated, and everything in-between. It had me before it even began with the 'Dear Reader' letter in which the author reveals the book is based on her own cancer journey. Knowing that, at first I couldn't get my head around the characters in that Keira isn't an author but owns a shop and Tom is a regular husband and not part of one of my favourite author double acts. But I soon forgot that and those elements (teenage angst, poorly pets, difficult colleagues, leaky conservatories, etc) added something else to the story as like in real life cancer doesn't take place in a vacuum. Don't get me wrong the author doesn't shy away from the heartbreaking realities of cancer but her easy-going, contemporary, witty writing style makes for an enjoyable and uplifting read despite the melancholy subject. Everyone should read this - especially as I really can't do it justice in my review!

The Cancer Ladies Running Club by Josie Lloyd is a charming contemporary novel that will swell your heart as you witness the love, care and bravery of the women within the tale.
As the title suggests the book is about a group of women with cancer who begin running together. They do not focus on the destination but the next one step. They support each other on and off the track.
The novel is written through the eyes of Keira, one of the ladies. We share her highs and lows not just of cancer but of her daily life.
Keira is forty seven years old running a family and a business when she receives a cancer diagnosis. Overnight people see her differently. “I’m being labelled again… as a sick person. And that’s not all I am.” Now she is seen as the lady with cancer but she is so much more… She is a wife, mother, daughter, shop owner, brave and beautiful but all of a sudden people have put her in a box labelled ‘cancer.’ The reader can empathise with her feelings and frustrations. “I still hate being treated differently.”
We witness true friendships being formed and we see false friendships. Some build up with love, others tear down in the most despicable fashion.
The Cancer Ladies Running Club is the most charming read. It is not a gloomy read. It is a brave, gutsy read that I thoroughly enjoyed. It is a novel of love, community and support showing the strength of the women to overcome.
I see that reading the afterword, that Josie Lloyd has had cancer too. The story of support is personal to her. Thank you Josie Lloyd for a wonderful, heartfelt read.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

Keira has the perfect life - a wonderful husband, wonderful children and a fantastic business then she gets breast cancer and everything changes.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable novel, and despite the title and a couple of emotional points in the book it is mostly uplifting and heartwarming. As per the usual contemporary fiction genre it has a slightly predictable ending but for the most part it is excellent. I will be keeping an eye out for more of Josie Lloyd's novels in future.

<i>Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review</i>

Sometimes we need our friends to help us find our feet…

When Keira first receives her breast cancer diagnosis, she never expects to end up joining a running group with three women she’s only just met. Totally blind-sided, all she can think about is how she doesn’t want to tell her family or step back from work. Nor does she want to be part of a group of fellow cancer patients. Cancer is not her club.

And yet it’s running – hot, sweaty, lycra-clad running in the company of brilliant, funny women all going through treatment – that unexpectedly gives Keira the hope she so urgently needs.

For Keira will not be defined by the C-word. And now, with the Cancer Ladies’ Running Club cheering her on, she is going to reclaim everything: her family, her identity, her life.

One step at a time.

Thanks to Netgalley and HQ Stories for an early review copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Oh my word, what a book. I read it in one evening, I had to know how the story developed and eventually ended. It was so well written, you could relate to all of the characters having met ones like them in real life. A very emotional read that I have already recommended to others,

Sometimes we find friendship in the most unexpected of places. When Keira receives her breast cancer diagnosis she doesn’t want to have to tell her children or her husband Tom, and she doesn’t want to step back from work. She doesn’t want to sit in a hospital and stare mortality in the face, nor be part of a group of fellow cancer sufferers. Cancer is not her club. But, as she is forced to accept everything must change and her health becomes something she can’t rely on, Keira finds herself embracing running.

This is a book about the power of friendship, how a random act of kindness can have huge consequences and that life doesn't miraculously become perfect just because you have cancer, kids still argue, parents are still difficult, dogs still need walking and the house still needs cleaning.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

What a truly inspirational story. A testament to the power of friendship. Highly recommended by me. Thanks for the opportunity to read and review this book

The Cancer Ladie’s Running Club by Josie Lloyd. . I don’t think anyone can say they haven’t been affected by cancer in some way, weather that’s personally, a family member or a friend. So in part that’s what drew me to this book, especially it being breast cancer, as my sister luckily found a lump early and was treated successfully for it. For me it gave me an insight into what she went through. The main character is Keira and went she finds out about having breast cancer, running isn’t even on her radar. Keira goes through those thoughts and emotions you would expect about work and family. Until a chance meeting with another lady who’s running, while Keira is sat on a bench, changes everything about the thought of running. The running club made up of three women she only just meets becomes her support group, but is about so much more than Cancer and they don’t just get her through the cancer. I believe what makes this book feel like it has the deepest heart and is filled with so much emotion is that the author herself had Breast Cancer and she writes ‘I felt passionately that I had to write an honest novel about breast cancer’ and she has achieved this without a doubt. I truly can’t describe how much I loved this book and didn’t want to put it down. This is definitely one of those books that you shouldn’t judge it by it’s title and cover because it’s so so much more, and despite the serious topic of Cancer it’s anything but a sad story. It’s funny, its a light and easy read, it will make you feel every emotion and it will get you thinking and you will be amazed at the main characters strength and braver, you get behind this group of woman in this running club like you know them.This book isn’t just about cancer, it about normal every day life, life that doesn’t stop in spite of cancer . It doesn’t shy away from the subject of cancer, it gives you the details of how it is, it doesn’t gloss over the treatments and how it makes a person feel. This book has given me the biggest book hangover. You can’t read a book about cancer and not call it heartbreaking because it is, and this group start to feel like friends and that is credit to the authors amazing writing ability. Undoubtedly there will be sadness but there’s a bucket load of positivity and bravery in this book. It’s a truly beautiful book of fiction book but with a lot of realism and honesty in it. I would recommend to all my friends and family. Up there as one of my favourite books this year. Even though I read it I would definitely go out and buy a copy.

This Book tells the story of Keira who has a wonderful life , successful marriage and 2 kids , successful business till one day she is diagnosed with breast cancer and her life is put on hold whilst she goes through treatment and surgery for her breast cancer whilst still being a wife and mother plus trying to run her business unfortunately Keira business partner Lorna has other ideas and partners up with her partner Pierre who between them do things behind keira back to try and Sabotage Keira Business .

Keira meets Tasmin who says to Keira to meet her in park for a run what follows is a incredible uplifting story of Keira, and her 3 friends who are all having treatment for breast cancer whilst running.

Without giving any spoilers away all I say is Lorna Sucessfull in her plan with the business ? what happens to Tasmin and her friends ?

I would recommend this book to everyone and would give it 4 out of 5 stars

with thanks to Netgalley & HQ Publishers for the arc of this book in exchange for this honest review.

The Cancer Ladies Running Club
Author: Josie Lloyd
Publisher: HQ
Publication Date: 13/5/2021
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

I could not put this down. A book for those going through any illness, their friends, family or anyone who just wants an inspiring, and, ultimately, uplifting read.
It’s an incredible testament to our wonderful health service, but also doesn’t shy away from the unpalatable truths that, cancer is a bitch, and not all care is always equal. It can very much depend on the person and the situation. But that’s not a negative. Although the book is very positive, it also shows people with all their flaws and human traits and reactions which is what makes it seem so real and relatable.
I’ll be putting my running shoes back on tomorrow.
I’d like to thank the author for her incredible bravery in using her own experience to create such a thought provoking book. The publisher and netgalley for providing me with this advance digital copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. This book will stay with me for a long time.

What a superb book. This is a difficult subject to tackle and even worse to suffer from cancer. The author manages to maintain a fine balance between humour and sadness and stayng positive.


The story centres around someone being newly diagnosed with cancer and her journey through various treatments whilst still maintaining business and family life.

The support of other women helps her maintain her positivity. A wonderful and uplifting novel.

This is a wonderful book. It is based on the author’s own experience of breast cancer, but it’s a novel with fictional people in. It’s a jolly good story as well, with strong women and their friendships at the heart of it.
It’s also very factual about what having breast cancer is actually like. I’d recommend this to anyone who is going through breast cancer or who has a loved one going through it. The cancer content might not appeal to those who don’t have any connection with cancer, but it’s still a really good read. The baddies are really bad, the good guys are really good. The ending ties up all the story arcs and there’s a poignant epilogue.

A book that celebrates friendship, and that makes it clear that true friends can be old or new, but that they’re the ones who are still there for you when you’re at your lowest ebb. Keira learns a lot about the people in her life, and who the dependable ones are, when her life gets hijacked by her breast cancer diagnosis. Her new running friends rapidly become irreplaceable mainstays of her life.
There are weaker points in the story, where the plot becomes less credible and more contrived, mainly in the stories of Tom’s and Keira’s working lives and the problems that start to accumulate as they come to terms with the fact that they inevitably have less time and energy to invest in working non-stop. However, the main threads of dealing with day to day family life through debilitating treatment, and forming and maintaining female friendships in times of adversity are well written and engaging.
Thank you to HQ and NetGalley for the chance to review an ARC of this book. I would happily recommend it. 3.5 stars rounded up.

Firstly, I would like to thank both HQ and Josie Lloyd for giving me early access to this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This story follows the life of Keira, a shopowner and mum that has her life flipped upside down when the results of a random early mammogram that she was called forward for prompt further tests. She goes from having it all and being completely content, to questioning everything and learning to keep balanced while everything begins to crumble around her.

Not only does the cancer diagnosis have an impact on her family and their school and work life, but also her own work life as her work partner uses the cancer diagnosis to begin to undermine Keira and take over with a front of being kind and understanding to her needs.

Kiera meets a runner in the park opposite the cancer clinic as she waits for her results, and this random encounter sparks the start of an unlikely friendship and the beginning of the Cancer Ladies' Running Club! The girls in this club keep Keira going and support her through all the obstacles she faces.

While I enjoyed learning about what happens when you are diagnosed with cancer and what follows, as this is very detailed and I learned a lot, I was definitely frustrated with some of the characters and part of the plot! However, I really enjoyed the ending where things came together.

I did notice mistakes throughout the book, however, since I was granted early access I'm sure these can be corrected in time for publication.

Overall, a really good emotional read that you can tell is really personal to the author. I would recommend!

Don’t let the title fool you. I was in two minds about reading this and the first couple of chapters didn’t entirely make my mind up. However, I read on and I’m glad I did. It’s not an easy read, especially when you know someone who has been through it, to a degree.
This is a book about life and family as any other. It will have you indignant, tearful, angry, outraged and joyful too. The title is relevant but don’t let it put you off. It’s that and so much more.