This was the first book I’d read by Annie Lyons and it was an ABSOLUTE GEM OF A BOOK! I LOVED every minute of it!
The book begins with words no woman ever wants to hear from her husband “I don’t love you any more” which sends Natalie Garfield into a spin as she never had any inclination her marriage to Dan was even in trouble.
The story alternates between the two main characters Natalie who writes children’s books and Caroline who is coping with an elderly mother who has dementia. The only thing they have in common is they live on Hope Street and their children attend the same school. Their paths having never crossed until the irritating head of the PTA – Caroline (from the posh end of the street) nearly runs over Natalie outside the school gates. When Caroline discovers Natalie is a well-known author, she enlists her to help with her latest cause, saving the local community hall. The campaign heightens when they form a community choir and enter a competition. The two characters couldn’t be any more different, but an unexpected beautiful friendship forms.
Annie Lyons touches on real life issues and writes about them with sensitivity, you can’t help but become involved in each of the characters story. I loved the sense of community of Hope Street and I wanted to be in that choir!
It was a well-paced beautifully written tome with the right amount of humour and guaranteed to brighten up everyone’s day. Feel good fiction at its best.
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