Sister Margaret, Sister Bridget and Sister Cecilia are last three remaining sisters of an order living in Fairbridge. The money has run out, there are no new vocations and their parish priest is desperate for a new curate.

This was a light hearted little romp with some sympathetic nuns and a host of other peripheral characters. There were some lovely heart-warming moments and a neat little story.

Sadly for me, many of the side-quest stories just didn't feel fully fleshed out or like they added much to the story. I totally doubt is have noticed the absence of George or the couple from the travel agent, and their story arcs were just too convenient. The book hangs together, and would make for a nice holiday read, but didn't feel particularly satisfying.

What a refreshing story! The story mostly revolves around three religious sisters in the 90s who's convent is in a state of decay while their members and duties have dwindled in recent years. There are many details of religious life and the stresses of being part of a parish that really bring the whole story into the real world.

My favourite part of this work is how other, periphery, characters are drawn in and we learn more about the whole parish and the people inside it. This can make the writing confusing at points but I really enjoyed seeing how the sisters affected people, sometimes without them knowing it.

The novel is very spiritual, without being 'in-your-face' about it. Prayer is obviously a big part of religious life but we also learn about the doubts, feelings and challenges that everyone faces in their relationship with God which is much more refreshing than a deeply religious work of fiction such as 'Silence' or 'The Shack'.

The novel does feature a homosexual courtship as a sub-plot. I think it's a sub-plot that Pope Francis would tacitly approve of as it's very centred on the love these two people have for each-other. It's an interesting choice for the author to make in the midst of an otherwise very Catholic novel.

What a lovely, life-affirming book! I loved the depictions of the three main protagonists as they struggled with their situation (and each other). The different threads of the story seemed quite disparate at first, but were woven together beautifully as the story progressed. I liked the fact that the setting was a bit out of the ordinary, but the characters themselves were very ordinary and down-to-earth. An enjoyable read.

I’m afraid this just wasn’t for me. It was a very gentle read but a bit too slow for my taste. I was hoping it would pick up but I just didn’t relate to the characters and didn’t find them very appealing either. I’m sure others would enjoy it though!

St Philomena's convent is struggling. With only 3 ageing nuns and a crumbling convent, they need to do something to survive - but what?

Then there is a lottery win - not enough to solve their problems, but enough to set things in motion.

An enjoyable read with some great characters. I particularly enjoyed the nuns' conversations with God, despite being someone who doesn't do religion. Somehow the author made this seem just a normal part of life.

Great fun!

Gentle and charming with a full cast of weird and wonderful people both within the convent and the wider community!
Definitely a feel good read.

Three mature nuns, the Sisters of St Philomena's Convent, Fairbridge, have a lot to be thankful for and much that

needs to be fixed. A lottery win sends them on a pilgrimage to Italy to investigate a possible canonisation and

some historical paintings, This is a heartwarming and charming story, filled with hope and humour,

With the sisters' futures in the balance and a mystery to solve, this book is a positive and happy one. to read.

When the last 3 religious sisters of a destitute convent win the National Lottery, they have to find the best uses for the money considering their previous devotion (community and school teachers) is no longer an option.

This novel focuses mainly on the nuns and a few notable side characters. Each nun has their own problems and challenges, but considering these are our main characters who live with each other and should be interacting daily, they don't really take much notice of each other, which is part of the novel so they can resolve all their differences at the end but I think the author needed to spend more time showing us the characters drifting apart more and more as they start losing sight of the community as a whole to focus on their own personal problems. I think this would have help show why they became nuns in the first place, to help others.I think it would have been interesting to bring in some of the crisis the church was facing in 90s as way of the sister losing a little faith and showing them not to be perfect, but understandably this is suppose to be a light-hearted romp.

I was worried at first that this might have little diversity or even animosity to people of different lifestyles. But happily it didn't, there were even gay characters with their own story and challenges. The levitating nuns were a tad much for me personally but the imagery was lovely and very well written!

A very gentle read and perfect if you want something light - a real curl up and read book. I liked all the characters and following their trials and tribulations. It did demand a slight leap of faith towards the end, but all in all a very satisfying read.

I must admit this book took a while to get into but once I did I found it warm and such a lovely gentle tale. I'm certainly not religious or had any prior knowledge of nuns but don't let that put you off. There were a few twists during the book and everything was tied up nicely at the end. A real feel good novel.

A gentle comedy about 3 older nuns who need a miracle to save their convent. They end up in Italy where a secret is revealed.

The story is set in a small parish in the UK, Fairbridge and follows the lives of three nuns who are the only remaining nuns left in their order. The book follows their lives as they try to navigate a run down convent with very little money and their unfaltering faith... until a very lucky turn of events sets their future into motion!

Not only following Sister Margaret, Sister Bridget and Sister Cecilia, we meet a number of wonderful characters like the local parish priest who wants nothing more than to be able to say no to Sister Bridget's food, the hopeless romantic travel agent George and his cantankerous mother and the shy and intelligent Dr. Woodburn.

This book is so comforting, it is like a little hug in a book and a real palette cleanser after reading a lot of heavy themed books. I fell in love with some of the characters, particularly George and Sister Margaret. I loved the two of them and I felt a real affinity for Margaret, although she was a nun she was so relatable.

I gave this book three stars because of two things, I loved the atmosphere of this book, it was very cosy which I love and the characters were brilliant but I did feel like the plot was lacking and it didn't really hold my attention. Also, it lost some of the character arcs at times (Linda???) and it made little sense why they were written in in the first place. It look me a long while to finish the book because it didn't really grab hold of me.

Saying that, it is a gorgeous, cosy book and if you want a cute palette cleanser between books, you can't go far wrong with this!

I loved this book - it was a wonderful read.

This is the story of the three remaining nuns from the Order of the Sisters of Saint Philomena who have to deal with a crumbling convent, no money and a loss of their educational role. They have no idea what the future holds for them but have a firm faith in God to see them through.

A small win on the National Lottery opens up a range of possibilities for them and takes them beyond the convent to Rome to find out more about the lost history of their founder’s family.

The nuns’ interactions with those around them bring change and small miracles into their lives and their adventures allow them each to understand the others better. Changes, to the positive, come to them all and a new way forward is found for both the convent and its occupants.

A truly lovely story for these continuing uncertain times - one to be recommended.

For me this took a little while to get going and at times a little boring at the start. Eventually I felt that it picked up and ended up being a nice little story about community, friendship and hope. The story was mainly about three nuns who are the only ones left in a convent that desperately needs money and then they win the lottery. That is only the start but I don’t want to spoil any surprises! All the characters were interlinked in some way but I would have liked to have read more about Linda and her family. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review. I chose the title as it sounded like a feel good story for the troubled times we are living through. Of course these are troubling times for convents (as far back as the 1990s when this book is set), many of which have had to close due to fewer women wanting to be nuns and fewer people valuing the role of the nun in the community. However, for this community, a lottery win helps to save the day.
The characters are well depicted and realistic. The reader gets involved in the life of the community with its daily struggles. Friendship, loneliness and sometimes hilarious conversations with God are all part of the story. Whether or not you believe in God or any God, the story shows that with faith, miracles can happen.

This was a light warm hearted read. It was a bit unbelievable but setting this in a convent I guess was a change from the normal fare in this genre. Pleasant enough.

This a different book to what I normal read, but glad o took a chance on it. It was well written and light hearted. Give it a go.

This is a very gentle, touching story that was unexpected. I thoroughly enjoyed it and loved how the main characters came to self realisations as it progressed.. how small kindnesses contributed to unexpected miracles.
Read this book it is so heartwarming. .

A warm, light hearted, but, also, profound book, about human and heavenly love. Although this book was very different from the books that I normally read, I still thoroughly enjoyed it. Approach it with an open mind, and appreciate the essential goodness of the characters, and I am sure you will enjoy it, no matter what religious convictions you hold. A hug in a book and a reminder that there is, indeed, more good than evil in the world.

Thankyou for giving me the chance to read in advance. I did enjoy this even though most of it was predictable but still enjoyed and made me laugh. Would recommend