I am a big fan of Judy Leigh’s “it’s never too late” books, and The Golden Gals’ French Adventure was typically lovely and humorous. Really enjoyed it! The two female characters, Fliss and Shirl, are at opposite ends of the economic spectrum, Fliss being wealthy from her previous successful business, and Shirl being her cleaning lady and transportation home from alcohol-filled evenings at bars. Shirl also takes care of her own daughter, Gemma, who lives with her, and frequently babysits Gemma’s baby daughter, Macey Roux. Shirl has no time for fun, just work and caretaking, while Fliss gads about but is lonely, largely relying on Shirl for friendship and emotional support.

Fliss convinces Shirl to travel with her to Rose Falaise, Plouvannec-sur-Mer, France, and to stay in her friend Manu’s family home for a holiday. There they meet Maurice, Manu’s quirky 94-year old father, as well as his romantic pursuer, Clothilde, his late wife’s best friend. There are a host of great village characters as well—Joel, chef and owner of Le Shack restaurant, boulangerie owner Gisele, her son Bastien, and so on. These are well-drawn, as is Theo, Manu’s brother who comes to stay for awhile.

Ms. Leigh writes humor into the book which I love; For example, Bernard Barthez, former mayor, speaks rather stilted, past-century English consistently and when he invites Shirl to dinner says that Joel “is concocting some outdated diet at Le Shack.” Macey Roux is a typical baby and humorous, reacting in delight to sea waves, friendly faces, dropping food and being amazed it doesn’t return to her hand.

The wonderful thing about this book is that the characters evolve, see more fulfilling ways to live their lives and in some cases, find romance. My thanks to #Boldwood Books and #NetGalley for an advance copy of this uplifting book. It gave me many enjoyable hours of reading.

Another fun book by Judy Leigh. A light easy read dealing with friendship, family, love and purpose. A perfect beach type read.

Thank you #NetGalley, #BoldwoodBooks, #JudyLeighand #TheGoldenGals’FrenchAdventure for the advance readers copy for my honest review.

This talented author has written a page turner. Family and friends…adventures…this is a quick fun read. Realistic characters keep the story moving quickly. I look forward to reading more from this author. Thanks Netgalley.

Another fun adventure. Shirl and Fliss, and the accompanying characters, are all really enjoyable. It was fun to read through their adventure and how the trip changes them forever.

The Golden Girls French Adventure by Judy Leigh is a most charming contemporary novel that I absolutely loved. I sank into the tale like a cosy bathrobe. It was a pure delight.
Life is for living. Too often our lives are caught up with work and duty. As we get older, we have choices to make. In the tale we meet characters who are approaching seventy and at crossroads in life – to continue as they have always done? Or to take a new direction?
The two main characters are chalk and cheese – Fliss has had a successful business and a life that revolved around networking, spending money and drinking. Her life is lonely in retirement. Those whom she thought of as friends, turn out to merely be acquaintances who do not want to meet up, seeing as she is now serving no useful purpose to them.
The other character, Shirl, is Fliss’ cleaner. She is approaching sixty. She is more than just a cleaner, she is a true friend to Fliss. Shirl is a family woman. She still looks after her grown up daughter and granddaughter. Shirl is a kind hearted soul, taking pleasure in the simple things in life.
The unlikely pairing of Fliss and Shirl take a holiday to France, staying in the coastal house of a friend of Fliss. Here, the fresh air opens up more than lungs, it opens up both the women’s lives.
Judy Leigh shows the importance of having the correct priorities. “We lose the ability to relax by focusing too much on things that matter least – money, success.” Life is not about having loads of stuff. Life is about connecting with beating hearts.
All the characters are wonderfully drawn and realistic. Though approaching seventy, the characters still have a youthful zest for life. They have huge hearts and a lightness of spirit.
The Golden Girls French Adventure is such a fun read. It shows that life is for living, whatever your age.
The atmosphere of the French beachside escape has been perfectly captured by Judy Leigh. All the reader’s senses are assaulted by sun, sea, sand, companionship and love. The warmth of the welcome is matched by the warmth of the sun.
I absolutely adored The Golden Girls French Adventure. Books by Judy Leigh are always fun reads that leave me smiling and fill my heart with love.
I received a free copy from Rachel’s Random Resources for a blog tour. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.

3.5 stars, rounded up

At 69 years old, Fliss has everything everyone has always said she should want – a beautiful home, a closet full of designer clothes, and a successful business that she’s sold for an obscene amount of money. Shirl, just a few years younger than Fliss, is her part-time housekeeper, whose job demands more of her time as Fliss comes to rely on her for more than just cleaning. Shirl’s daughter, Gemma and new grandbaby are living with her while Gemma tries to get a handle on this motherhood thing. Fliss and Shirl both need a change of scenery, so Fliss books a vacation in Brittany for both of them, which makes them both realize what their lives have been missing.

I read another book by this author last year and enjoyed it more than anticipated, so I went into this book expecting good things. At first, I wasn’t sure that’s what I’d get – I got really annoyed with both Fliss and Gemma very quickly, and even at Shirl for letting the other two take advantage of her. As the story progressed and all of them started to grow up and take responsibility for themselves, I began to like all three women – and who could dislike baby Macey?

The setting was described so well, I felt like I could hear the waves, smell the fresh-baked bread, and hear the local music being played during the village fete. The story itself was rather predictable, although a couple of things didn’t work out the way I thought they would. Even so, it was fun watching things move from point A to points B, C and D, and I look forward to another vacation with the next book I read by this author.

Way to go, Shirl! Way to go, Fliss! I'm so glad I was invited to read an ARC of this fun, delightful novel. It's not just about a fun ladies' outing from England to France. It's really about two older woman (and how nice to read a book where most of the main characters were over 60!) who don't set about transforming themselves and their lives, but do so along the way, and all to good effect :)

The writing was strong and vivid; I could just imagine myself right there every step of the way. Some of the dialogue seemed clipped and some of the narrative a bit repetitive, but I didn't mind.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author, and publisher, for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

What a delightful read, I was hooked from the first page.
It’s all about sixty nine year old Fliss who has retired, has money but isn’t happy with her life and is lonely.
Shirley her cleaner is her only true friend and together they travel to Brittany with Shirley’s baby granddaughter. They have a brilliant time and it helps them both to truly see themselves and what they have become.
An excellent, heart warming read about friendship, family and the fact that you are never too old to have adventures.
Thanks to NetGalley, Judy Leigh and Boldwood Books for an advance copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

I loved that this book puts the focus on older people looking for an adventure. It is really easy to read and has everything you want in a summer novel - romance, comedy, great characters, fun plotline, and a feel-good ending.

I absolutely adore this authors books and her new book the golden gals French adventure was another brilliant ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read and I read it in one sitting perfect for reading while recovering from illness.

This story had me laughing and smiling from the very first page and I had vivid images in my head of what the characters fliss and shirl looked like while they were having fun and finding themselves in Brittany. This was a heartfelt read which highlights the importance of family and friendships and of finding love and a sense of belonging and how the camaraderie and bond between special friends is so much more precious than anything that money can buy and that even in your sixties and seventies you are never too old to follow your dreams and have fun. Life is too short and precious so grab it with both hands like the golden gals.

If you haven’t read this author before then i highly recommend
.

Shirl works for Fliss who is in her seventies and well off having run and sold a successful lingerie business. Shirl has a daughter Gemma who has a young baby. Shirl however is the unpaid nanny and doing most of the childcare whilst Gemma romances her new chap who she hasn't yet told about her daughter. Fliss loved Paris in the past and now has a hankering to go back for a holiday and take Shirl with her. Shirl thinks this would be a wonderful opportunity and Gemma can look after her own baby for once, until Gemma announces her own holiday plans. Can Shirl finally get her longed for holiday and rest and Fliss get rid of her boredom?

I really enjoy Judy’s books as they are always that bit more than a story- they have a life message. I liked Shirl and Fliss, and Bernard slightly reminded me of “ Allo, Allo ''. Those of a certain age will know what I mean, I'm sure. I very much sympathised with Fliss's upbringing and how a parent can crush a child's confidence for life and how hard it is to change mindset. It’s a read with a smile and a message to live life to the full, and not to listen to those voices of the past that tell you, you can't. You can, you should and you will. One life live it. A brilliantly entertaining read I more than thoroughly enjoyed

A brilliantly written witty book telling the story of Fliss, a wealthy retired owner of a lingerie empire, lonely and drinks too much and Shirl her neighbour that cleans her house, picks her up from bars and is seems to be her only friend.

When by chance Fliss runs into a old flame, Manu, who has also retired and living in Brittany, he invites her to visit.

Fliss convinces Shirl to go with her to stay with Manu, in the hopes of rekindling a romance.

The story is a great fun read that will have your attention held from beginning to end!

This book us a testament that if you act in the manner of how you are perceived by others, that you will lose out on finding your true self. Fliss constantly had her mother's voice in her head that she would never amount to much. Despite her success and subsequent sale of her company that enabled her to a very comfortable life, she was still the girl that wanted to be loved. When that didn't come, she created a hard exterior and firmly believed that shopping and drinking would fill the time. As she traveled to Brittany to see Manu, she realized that the only thing that pattern of behavior brought was loneliness. Shirl always accepted herself as one who was living in order to accommodate everyone else without really thinking about what she wanted in life. She catered to Gemma and her immature actions and as a result, really became the mother to Macey. It was her trip that changed her as she realized her capacity to live far exceeded what she had pigeonholed herself to believe. Joel commended her superior cooking skills. She was able to speak French and continued to pick it up quickly. What I enjoyed about this book is how much it emphasized the importance of the simple things in life as is truly what brings the most joy. It is watching the sun rise, paddling in a canoe, eating delicious food and like Fliss and Theo, jogging in the beach. I would read a sequel.

Absolutely and totally loved this latest from Judy Leigh!! Once started I was hooked into the story and the characters, and have had to research holidays in Brittany!!
Fliss has it all, a dream home, designer clothes and shoes, a successful business and career she has recently retired from and a wonderful cleaner Shirl who also drives her home when she’s had one too many on a night out.
Shirl is living with her daughter Gemma and granddaughter Macey Boux unexpectedly and is trying to do her best for them whilst working for Fliss.
When Fliss decides on a French adventure to Brittany with Shirl adventures abound along with a lot of baguettes and croissants!!
I so loved all the details of the festivities in Brittany, the wonderful characters throughout, the food and wine and tourist attractions, I quite felt I’d been on holiday myself with them all!!
A gorgeous warm hearted feel good read, consistently good writing, comfort food for the soul.
Hugely recommended!!
Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the early read!!

The author whisks the reader off to stunning Brittany and I have to say I didn’t want to come back. I fell hook, line and sinker for the area and the people.

Fliss is a fabulous character who was so much fun. She maybe be sixty-nine but has been living her life as if she was still in her twenties. I did feel a little sorry for her though. Where as she has done well for herself and money is of no worry to her as she has plenty of it, she hasn’t faired as well with what really matters, love and friendship. Her closest friend is Shirl who comes and cleans for her and goes above and beyond what a cleaner should do.

Shirl is so lovely who has always been a grafter and puts others before herself. I did wish she would say no more, especially to her daughter Gemma who really does take advantage of her. Her trip with Fliss is just what she needs and is wonderful seeing her blossoming in the gorgeous French setting.

There is an array of characters that we meet in Brittany and what follows is a gloriously uplifting and fun filled story that had my mouth watering as well as dreaming of sunnier climes and envisioning a beautiful beach and old-worldly buildings. It will have you wanting to pack your bags and book a trip.

The Golden Gals French Adventure shows you that even in your sixties, you are still in your prime and it is never too late to go after what you want as well as find love. Friendship plays a strong role in the story also and everyone will wish they had a friend like Fliss and Shirl. A wonderful story that you can escape into that will have you smiling and warms your heart until it’s fit to burst. Loved it!