Maddy Young thought she had it all.

Swanky city apartment? – yep. Fancy car? sorted. High-flying career? – tick.

Even if she’s lost most of her friends because of spending all her time at work, and can’t remember when she last had fun, it’s worth it.

Until she’s suddenly made redundant. Now she’s 37, jobless, and after the breakup with the former love of her life, unhappily single.

Enter Maddy’s childhood friend, Beth, the owner of Growlers, the doggy daycare centre at Giddywell Grange, on a mission to make Maddy see there’s more to life than work.

Soon, Maddy is swapping spreadsheets for volunteer duty at the library, daily Starbucks for cups of tea with elderly neighbours, and her Prada handbag for doggy poo bags… And with Beth’s gorgeous brother, Alex, back from the States, Maddy starts to think that Giddywell Grange might just be her happy place.

But when her old life – and her old boyfriend – comes calling, will Maddy go back to the job she loved so much? Or will she discover that the key to happiness lies in making others happy?

An uplifting romantic comedy that will warm your heart – perfect for fans of Cathy Bramley, Milly Johnson and Katie Fforde.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Celine is my idol. She’s elegant, dramatic, stunning and just amazing. She takes no crap from anyone. She’s a badass. If I could be anyone in life, I’d want to be her.

 

We all have twenty-four hours in a day, Mads, even Richard Branson and Beyoncé. It’s what we choose to do with it which makes all the difference.

 

I’m so looking forward to reading these books. I love a good murder, the more gruesome the better. And Lei loves all these bloody daft romances that you’ve brought her too. Hope there’s no saucy books in there. I don’t want her getting ideas and ravishing me. I don’t think my heart is up to it these days.

 

Seeing something pink and white heading towards my face, I reached out and realised, to my absolute horror, that I had caught a pair of false teeth in my hands. I looked over and one of the old ladies in the front row was laughing her head off! I screamed and dropped them, which made her cackle some more. Hayley came over and apologised, saying that she should perhaps have warned me that Betty had a habit of laughing so much that her teeth flew out.

 

My Review:

 

I enjoyed this insightful and amusing British women’s fiction tale told from the first person POV of a designer power suit and high heels wearing corporate workaholic named Madison, “Maddy” to her friends. When her boss told Maddy to come in early before work to talk, Maddy had believed herself to be in line for a big promotion as she had been slaving away by coming in early, staying late, and working weekends for many years. While looking at the desk she planned to be taking over and envisioning how she would organize her own possessions in the space, her boss quickly informed her she no longer had a job at all due to budget cuts or made “redundant” as the Brits say.   A stunned Maddy was immediately released to clean out her desk and informed to leave behind her laptop, phone, and that later the company car would be retrieved. Yikes.

 

Being at loose ends, Maddy found she time to spend with her long-neglected mother and tackle several lingering paternal questions and issues of her childhood, as well as pitch in to help her best friend, Beth, who required surgery. In a vast departure from her Louboutin wearing corporate days, Maddy took on partial duties at Beth’s doggy daycare business as well as several unusual obligations to community projects during Beth’s long recovery. Maddy began to realize she was happier than she had been in years and felt uplifted and fulfilled by completing tasks she would never have considered doing on her own, such as a singing engagement in a care home, delivering books to shut-ins, farm chores, and doggy wrangling – which included poo duty.

 

Maddy’s evolution and eventual life-changing transformation were pleasantly entertaining and cleverly amusing. I enjoyed Ms. Nash’s levity and wit as well as the strengths and skills she bestowed on her characters. The storylines were relatable, easy to follow, and laced with humor and perceptive observations, and populated with an endearing and quirky group of characters.

 

I addition to being delightfully entertained, Ms. Nash provided me with several new additions to my newly renamed “Brit List of Words and Sayings.” Mr. Google and the Urban Dictionary were dutifully consulted for definitions for 1) having it off – which is British informal for having sex which some may consider rather rude; 2) lairy – which is slang for showing a loud or aggressive attitude, picking a fight, or being argumentative; and 3) pull my finger out – which amounts to stop dithering and get busy or “any lack of activity when something needs doing,” and I don’t believe I need to point out where that finger is supposedly lodged… do I? 😉