Cover Image: Sisters Behaving Badly

Sisters Behaving Badly

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Member Reviews

An absolute treat of a book about two sisters in their 60's, refreshing change to be about older ladies. Beautifully descriptive and humorous in parts. Thank you netgalley for the advance copy

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I would just like to say a big thank you to NetGalley for very kindly approving me for this book, for my Kindle, in return for my honest review.

There are quite a few things that I really enjoyed from this book, including the second chance trope, sister relationships, the laugh out loud humour and that it is set in picturesque France.
I loved all the characters, they were all so interesting and the descriptions of France were wonderful, I could imagine myself being there in the gorgeous farmhouse.
Sisters Behaving Badly was written really well and it was a heartwarming, funny read and I really enjoyed the storyline too,

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An enjoyable story about two very different sisters in their 60s. As they revamp their aunt's French home, they discover more about themselves and each other. A quick read, with a lot of humor.

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Kitty and Jenny are sisters and they couldn’t be more different even if they didn’t try. After a falling out and having not spoken to one another for years they are now going to France to renovate their recently passed away Aunt Sheila’s house.

It seems that the sisters are beginning to mend their relationship reconcile their differences but life isn’t that easy and there is a lot that has been left unsaid. And yet they have a long way to go.

The book is endearing and well written although it was a tad dull in certain places and I preferred that Leó and Kitty’s friendship wasn’t the main focal point in the book it is about the sisters and their journey and that even at the age of 60+ you can still lead a fulling life and that your sell by date has expired.

There is typical British humour included here and what bothers me a bit is that the France were typically stereotyped.

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I blitzed through this book over the weekend as I just could not get enough. Light and witty I enjoyed every second. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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The story
This is a story about two 60-something sisters, older sister Jenny and younger sister Kitty. The two had a fall out a few years ago and haven’t spoken since. But their Aunt Sheila has passed away and left them her house in the French countryside. The house is in need of repair and the sisters are going there to oversee the repairs and sell the house. Jenny is married to control-freak Paul and Kitty is divorced (for the third time). Can the sisters make peace or will the Cold War continue?

My thoughts
This is a sweet story, I enjoyed the older characters of the sisters, the references to the French countryside experience and the antics of the various builders, neighbours and the roaming menagerie of donkey, cat and hens (it had me laughing at one point!). For me, a lot of this book is consumed with Kitty ruminating about her past mistakes, regrets about not having children, her fight with Jenny and life in general. When she is in fact happy and enjoying the start of a relationship with a new man, she takes time out to think some more 🙈

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I absolutely loved this book about two British women who inherit their aunt’s house in France. They haven’t spoken to each other in a few years after a huge argument but they are forced together as they travel to France to fix up their Aunt’s old house before they sell it.

The characters are delightful and easily likeable. I especially enjoyed Kitty. The supporting characters were also great. The story flowed smoothly, giving us more insight on each woman as it progressed.

The book is heartwarming and heartbreaking at times with a big heap of humour that had me chuckling out loud. When I finished the book I had a smile on my face and felt like I had made new friends.

Thank you to Boldwood Publishing for the opportunity to read this ebook via NetGalley.

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This book was very cute. The relationship between the sisters felt honest and real. I am an only child so I can only imagine how great it would be to grow old with sisters. After spending time in the french countryside, the encounters made me laugh. It was a sweet rom-com but with a new spin on the genre. It was nice to see a book where everyone wasn't in their twenties and successful.

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I really enjoyed this book. I’m not a great fan of rom-coms usually, but I fancied something a bit lighter and the cover really appealed to me. I would say it features two older protagonists, but with my own 60th birthday only a week around the corner I am certainly reluctant to refer to myself or anyone else in their sixth decade as old. Let’s just say wiser – sometimes.

I really liked Kitty and since her sister Jenny does a disappearing act part way into the book to another part of France, then quite a lot of the narrative tends to surround only Kitty. She’s a real happy-go-lucky kind of person who never really lets things get to her which made for a very uplifting read. There’s lots of humour and dry wit to keep you laughing along with her antics. I admit to being quite a lot like Jenny, always looking on the glass half empty side of life, so it was nice to see how Kitty tries to encourage her sister to let her hair down a little. Which is good! I now have a motivational quote to remind me to be more positive – “Be More Kitty”.

I loved the setting and soon wished I could move to a farmhouse in France myself, it sounded idyllic if a little run down. There are various threads running through the story. At the beginning of the book Kitty and Jenny aren’t getting along too well. There’s a lot of bad feeling still under the surface from when they both had a big fall out. As the book moves on we begin to realise that Jenny’s husband is at the root of much of their disagreements.

It’s a funny, uplifting, cheery book that has you flying through the pages to see what happens next. It does have its more serious moments with Jenny’s controlling husband, but this is always kept fairly light thanks to Kitty’s sense of humour and so even though it is a less than loving marriage there’s never anything too heavy to the story line. I really enjoyed it and would definitely read another of this author's books.

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I loved this book for so many reasons, but the first to address, is that the two sisters that the story features are both in their sixties which makes a refreshing change, So, two sisters at one time very close but in recent years have been estranged, travel to France together to see the house they have inherited from their Aunt. The plan is to finish the works to the property that their Aunt started with a view to then sell it on, this is where we meet some fantastic characters. Along this rebuild journey, we find out all about the sisters lives past & present and the reason for them falling out. This story is wonderfully written, with fabulous descriptions of food, wine & locations Its full of humour, love, respect and above all a relatable realness to Kitty in particular. Definitely a book I'm recommending to my friends.

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If you are in the mood for a fun, energizing read (and who isn’t?) you will have the best time with “Sisters Behaving Badly” by Maddie Please. This women’s humorous fiction features plenty of chuckles, but also lovingly presents the challenges of family and growing older.

Kitty, the younger sister at 62, tells the story in first person. As can happen in families, Kitty is the more adventurous, upbeat sibling and her older sister Jenny is the more serious rule follower. Still, as children and teens, they were close. But, to Kitty’s regret, they drifted apart as adults. Kitty had 3 odd marriages that Jenny held against her. Kitty didn’t like Jenny’s husband. Jenny shrieks, “Act your age!” at Kitty.

And then, their aunt dies and leaves them a tumble-down house in where else- France! The two sisters visit the house and plan to refurbish and sell it (with the help of some charming French men!) The plot may sound like a popular cliché, but this book has enough heart to make this a fresh and thoughtful story. As the sisters work to fix the house, can they repair their lives and their relationship?

I laughed and smiled many times throughout the story. I liked it when the sisters ended each day with a bottle of wine, from a big supply of bottles they found in dusty cupboard under the stairs. Turns out, these were very expensive bottles of wine they were gouging! The author gives us other fun and lovely descriptions of life in France.

I recommend this book. Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an advance digital review copy. This is my honest review.

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Oh goodies, what a treat this book was. I was very much taken in with Kitty and her constant silly thoughts provoking others and making me smile. Definitely a book that make me laugh out loud several times and still has me wondering where all that wine came from. Perhaps we can have a part two for this story?

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

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Sibling Rivalry Healed…
Sibling rivalry healed in this amusing, lighthearted and uplifting tale of two sisters, a rift and a farmhouse in the glorious French countryside. Packed with mishaps, misjudgements and misadventures this is an enjoyable, entertaining and escapist read.

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In this story, the bond in between two sisters comes in many layers. The author, Maddie Please, has written the story effortlessly to make it more a feel good read any time of the year. It has a well-balanced formula of drama and humor. There’s a lot going on in the story aside from mending an estranged sister relationship. It is about aging, family relationship and leaving a toxic marriage.

Not to mention, there are Frenchmen builders, which I find them really attractive and hot no matter what their age are (what can I say?). There are hilarious farm animals that create an extremely amusing destruction in the background. The picturesque of a country estate French village is also inviting for a reader like me.

Overall, reading this book is definitely such a delightful experience to feel the wonderful misadventures of Kitty and Jenny’s life journey in France.

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A wonderful story written about two sisters, and there adventures together. Enjoyed reading what they got up to, and the comical interactions between them. Thank you for the advance copy of the book.

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It's rare to find a book about "women of a certain age" that doesn't take itself too seriously but still offers characters with some depth who actually grow over the course of the novel. Sisters Behaving Badly does just that.

Jenny and Kitty are the sisters of the title, estranged as they set off to settle the estate of their late Aunt Sheila, an artist who lived in France. These two British women, both in their 60s, aren't quite ready for the quirky French villagers they are forced to deal with on a day-to-day basis as they renovate their inherited homestead.

The author doesn't allow the book to fall into farce, nor does she dwell on the negative aspects of failed marriages and aging. Rather, she tries to get us (and her characters) to see the humor in even the sadder aspects of life, and when something hilarious happens, you can bet she will make you laugh out loud (some chickens, a runaway donkey, and a swimming pool make for one great setup).

The setting couldn't be more inviting--a beautiful French country estate with a view of the sea--and the descriptions of the food, the wine, and the physical environment are all superb.

Not a love story in the traditional sense, but defiantly a story about love and family and forgiveness. Really, a beautiful story for anyone, but certainly for "women of a certain age."

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in return for this unbiased review.

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Firstly I love Maddie Please and have really enjoyed all her books and couldn’t wait to receive and review this one, thanks NetGallery. How disappointed I was. The story follows two sisters left a french house by their aunt, I (and i hate doing this) gave in after 26% the sisters arrived on France The story then lacked substance and was just centred around cleaning, sadly nothing to keep my attention.
Really sorry waited eagerly to read but could not finish, sadly not for me.

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Four and a half Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭒
Sisters Behaving Badly by Maddie Please was a delightful surprise for me. I enjoyed the humor as well as the beautiful setting in France. This book is about second chances and sisterly relationships.

Kitty and Jenny are sisters, both in their sixties, who have not spoken to each other in several years. The story starts as they meet at the ferry to travel to France to go and fix up their inheritance, a lovely farmhouse in rural France, that their Aunt Susan used to live in.

This book is all about relationships with a whole lot of humor written in. The book is written from Kitty’s point of view, and the writing is full of her humor and optimistic look at life. I loved all the side characters and the farm animals! The descriptions of the charming farmhouse in rural France were lovely and made me want to sit in the garden with the sisters and sip wine and eat cheese with them.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves books about sisters and relationships. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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I ADORED this book it was everything that I look for in a romcom. It was funny, heartwarming and totally compelling. I felt i was along for the ride with the sisters and I loved them, the writing is good, the characters are so well developed and the setting is lovely. I really enjoyed this, it is a great book.

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Frankly, this book was a hoot! The premise, that two sisters, Jenny and Kitty, quite estranged, inherit their artist-aunt Sheila’s home in bucolic France, travel there and gradually reconcile through the misadventures of the rehab work being done, is quite a funny and amusing story, though the subject of sisterly discord is problem enough. Jenny, very rigid and habituated to her husband Paul’s controlling ways on matters big and small, is at first rather horrified by the workmen’s disorder and the presence of one worker’s (Bertrand) donkey Hector, who is flatulent and leaves piles everywhere. The disorder of the house during rehab severely distresses her, as do her sister’s relaxed ways. In addition, there are invading chickens and Bertrand’s wife Mimi’s grumpy visits to retrieve them in a stroller! Jenny can hardly believe the scene. It is great fun to read the adventures and there is a love interest for Kitty as well, in the person of a handsome divorced gentleman, Leo, who is the head of construction.

Jenny has not seen her son Ace, who lives in Nantes, for some time and despite her trepidation makes a visit to him which restores their relationship and helps to soften her edges and adherence to her husband Paul’s rules.

This is a light and entertaining book which does cover frayed family relationships which are restored bit by bit, albeit with some setbacks. The various animals help create some hilarious havoc at times and draw an environment in small village France very different from those where Kitty and Jenny have resided. At the end, both sisters are much happier and forging ahead with new plans for life.

I truly enjoyed this book; my thanks to #Netgalley and #Boldwood books for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

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