When things go wrong which makes complete life changes. This is exactly what happens to Jen. Finding a new job after being made redundant and finding a new companion love interest or not!!
This book made me laugh as well as keep turning the pages. A situation that anyone could find themselves in.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC. It was an absolute pleasure.

Jen perceives herself first and foremost, as a full-time flight attendant. As a mother of a fully grown woman, Jen always found peace at her relatively systematic job as a flight attendant. In the sky, she knows how to handle any group of flyers, even the mean drunk ones.
When she loses her job, at fifty years old, she feels betrayed, lost and alone - and her singleness starts to weight on her. When she's notified that she has a deadline to use her previously won award of a trip to Santorini, Jen decides that she will start dating till she finds the perfect man to accompany her to the trip.
She tries not to give up after going on countless failed dates, which are very humorous to us readers, but not so much to Jen. Her journey to find a suitable partner, turns into a road to self discovery, as she tries to figure out who is she, if not a flight attendant.

Fiona Gibson's Jen is funny, realistic, and very easily relatable - even if you're far from fifty.

Happy to have received this from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Jen a air hostess suddenly finds herself redundant and single. The book takes you on Jen’s journey to find herself someone to share a holiday and life with.

Another good book by Fiona.

Jen is who I want to be when I get older. I related to her so much and everything about her is amazing. Moral of the story is to take chance and see what happens. As a mom of one kid she is literally my spirit animal! I love this book!

Jen is 50 years old and the airline she has worked for for 30 years as a flight attendant has just made her redundant. Her daughter Hannah no longer lives at home, and with the current state of affairs, no arlines are hiring at the moment, so she's having trouble finding another job.

Finally with time on her hands and egged by her daughter and her friends, she joins a dating website for "mature" people. She's also in a rush to find a date - she won a romantic getaway in Greece as a prize for excellence from the airline and she has to use it or lose altogether. She doesn't want to go alone and she's now "auditioning" for who's going with her. 

I was immediately drawn to this book on NetGalley when I saw the age of the heroine! How refreshing! She's 50! With 50-year-old problems and concerns! It's so hard to find a romance novel where the heroine is over 40! Though this is not a by-the-book romance novel (it's more on the women's fiction side), we do get an HEA. Or a Happy For Now. 

I confess I was a little disappointed with the online dating development. Those dates were a perfect opportunity for comedy gold, but they were a little flat and a tad repetitive. It felt a little short in the comedy department, but it's still a very enjoyable book. It has the "Britishness" that I love so much, without being plagued by The Bridget Jones Syndrome that I see in a lot of British rom coms.

I also appreciated how Jen and Rod, her daughter's father and who she never married (they are just great friends) have a very healthy and mature relationship. The situation with her mother's dementia is also dealt in a realistic but very sweet way.

I loved the ending: a sweet epilogue eight months in the future tying everything up. Sorta. ;) It gives you hope that Jen will sort everything out and be happy in the end.

Note: if you are looking for funny, it certainly has its moment. If you are looking for spicy, you are not going to find any. Fun book, though. 

Possible Triggers: dealing with parent with dementia, losing a job, fear of unemployment



I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you, @NetGalley, Avon Books, UK and Fiona Gibson for the copy.

Lighthearted and entertaining

For the past 30 years Jen has worked for BudgieAir as a flight attendant, when the airline suddenly goes out of business, 50 year old Jen is unexpectedly out of a job. For the first time in many years Jen's life is no longer filled with a continuous work schedule. After receiving a paltry redundancy she finds work at a supermarket, during late-night shopping nights she's in charge of the cut price sticker gun and with her years in the service industry is able to fend off customers demanding unapproved discounts.

Alone at home now her daughter has moved out, Jen is persuaded to sign up for internet dating. She's not necessarily looking for love, rather hoping to find a good companion to accompany her on her prizewinning holiday in Greece. After registering with Mature Matches a series of dates follow, frequently disastrous for Jen, but amusing for the reader.

Genuinely funny, a delightful read with an unexpected conclusion.

This book was a fun and light read that I found really enjoyable after reading another book with a heavy subject matter.
Jen is a very witty character and it was really fun and wonderful to watch her realize her life isn't over yet!

Honestly, I didn't finish this book. I wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt but after getting over 50% through and nothing exciting happening, I decided to put the book down.

I'm sure others would find this book a good read but it just wasn't exciting enough for me.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I adored this book. Genuinely lovely and hilariously funny, it was an absolute pleasure to read, I’d happily buy this for a friend.

Enjoyable, easy reading, feel good novel with likeable characters. Good insights into the role of a flight attendant, call centre operator and supermarket worker, as well as the world of online dating. Several unusual twists keep interesting levels high. A light, warm hearted read.

This book was so funny I was literally laughing out loud at moments. But don't be fooled dear reader as this story also deals with some heavy subject matter. We deal with layoffs, an empty nest, taking care of elder parents and dating for the 50+.

Fiona Gibson really gets you inside her characters heads and I loved how real and true to life they are. This was such a wonderful palate cleanser between thrillers and I enjoyed how heartwarming it was without being saccharine. And that ending was the perfect surprise! Fiona Gibson, you have a new fan!

Thank you Avon Books (UK) for another wonderful book and for allowing me to review The Woman Who Took a Chance (thank you NetGalley as well for access). Fiona Gibson's story is a delightful, charming, and for me empowering examination of the joy of women at midlife. I am excited to see books like this treat women in midlife as women who are looking outward and forward, not backward, and who are fulfilled in their lives in many ways but deserving of chances to seek out and look for meaning and connection and love. Jen is funny, witty, and her own person, a well developed and engaging character looking for Mr. Right and diving into the world of online dating through the advice of her daughter. The plot and contexts provide a lot of space for hilarity blended with personal growth and is brought to life for the reader though a fast paced narrative, relatable characters, and a vivacious protagonist. I celebrated Jen's journey and hope other readers will enjoy this book too.

I really enjoyed this book I have never read one from this author before but it was a easy read and I couldn’t put it down.

I can’t wait to read another one from f this author.

You’re know you’re going to get an enjoyable, positive, upbeat, happy story with Fiona’s novels, and this was no different.

I find myself identifying with the 50-year-old Jen, single and unemployed, trying to find a date and making ends meet. It’s a very human story that transcends ages.

I did find myself a little disappointed with the plot if I’m honest. Judging by the cover, I was expecting some kind of rom-com adventurous romp, when it’s actually focussed predominately on Jean’s dating life which did get a little repetitive.

Not my favourite Gibson book - that accolade goes to The Dog Share - but it’s up there.

It is a happy, joyful book that doesn’t sugarcoat hard topics. It’s light and funny without being twee; it’s real and honest without being patronising. Overall, it is heartwarming and a real pick-me-up book.

Really enjoyed this one. A heart-warming and hilarious novel that proves age is just a number and it’s never too late for a second chance. Rich with carefully drawn characters who really come to life in the hands of this skilled writer. Truly could not put this down. Such a great book.

"I'm wondering now if there are any nice, normal men who aren't half-dead on their sofas, posing in their flashy offices, skiing off precipices, flaunting their toilets or attending to mundane domestic chores."

The Woman Who Took a Chance is an at times sweet, at times laugh-out-loud, book about Jen. Jen is a 50 year old flight attendant who, after having worked for the same budget-airline company for ever, has been made redundant. Her daughter Hanna has moved out too and Jen finds she has a lot of time alone, and is quite unsure what to do. Egged on by her daughter, she signs up for a mature online dating platform, and what follows is a slew of chat conversations, some in person conversations, and al lot of hilarity. The story is not just about Jen's dating experiences though, and I appreciated that. This is a bigger story of reinvention (she takes up running, and finds a new job that she comes to love), and (familial) relationships (as Jen cares for her mum who is showing signs of dementia, and reconnects with Rod, Hanna's father).

I enjoyed this book for what it was, a feel-good, rom-com read. I loved the stories of Jen's time as a flight attendant (the crazy things people do!), and the fun, slightly out of control conversations she had with the helpline lady after having been made redundant. I enjoyed reading about the craziness that is online dating (especially for the first time). The weird chats seemed plucked from real life and made me giggle. At times a bit repetitive, as is online dating, this was ultimately a book that I'd recommend to lovers of rom-coms who would love to see their genre through the eyes of a more mature MC.

The Woman Who Took a Chance is another satisfying Fiona Gibson read. Jen is a middle aged flight attendant, who finds herself suddenly relieved of her lifelong career, and facing some major decisions in her life. With bills to pay, and her daughter living away, Jen has to find a new life for herself, as well as a job!

Hip hop hurray for this book, as it was a joy to read and definitely worth a spot on my for-a-rainy-day shelf on Goodreads. Lovely main characters, people you could've been passing on the street or even running into at a park.
Life these days can still be really competitive, thankfully not with The Woman Who Took a Chance. There is no hierarchy and therefore nothing wrong with working at a supermarket.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book.

I reviewed The Woman Who Took a Chance by Fiona Gibson for LoveReading.co.uk, the review can be found on their website. It’s been chosen as a Liz Robinson Pick of the Month for March.

Fun read and nice for once for a book to be about a 50 something woman wanting to enjoy life, someone with a backstory rather than just starting out, I’m sure a lot of readers will be able to empathise