Tag Archive | Maddie Please

The Dolce Vita Divas by Maddie Please

May3

The Ghosts Of The Past

The Dolce Vita Divas by Maddie Please is a most delightful contemporary novel that I read in just one sitting.

Maddie Please has created a wonderful, light-hearted read about second chances and really living life whatever your age.

All the characters are over sixty. They prove that age is no barrier to having fun. “I used to think life had passed me by and then I realized it hadn’t… Take every chance you get.” We need to grab life with both hands. We are never too old to re-write our story and to have a good ending – even an eighty-five-year-old knows how to live life. After all age is just a number.

The action is in the first person from the lead characters point of view. We get to know her intimately. Her life has been full, raising children but her first love has never left her heart. After her husband of many years left her (before the book opened), she realizes that now is the time to make some life changes.

A holiday in Capri with a friend, and in memory of another friend, offers new possibilities.

The landscape is in glorious technicolour compared with grey England. The reader can ‘feel’ the warmth and ‘see’ the vibrant colours.

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Sisters Making Mischief by Maddie Please

Nov22

Warmth, Welcome & Wit

Sisters Making Mischief by Maddie Please is the most charming contemporary novel that I thoroughly enjoyed.

I always enjoy novels by Maddie Please as she writes with warmth, welcome and wit. Sisters Making Mischief is like the sun appearing on a grey day, it cheers the reader from the start.

The reader, along with the main character, is transported from a tense Christmas in Britain to a carefree new year in France. The atmosphere and problems in England are in complete opposite to the carefree, fun atmosphere at her sisters in the French countryside. There is a new life, along with new possibilities awaiting.

The lead characters are in their sixties and there is a sprightly mother-in-law who is eighty four. They all show that life is for living whatever your age. It is glorious to see characters not in the first flush of youth enjoying and being invigorated by life.

Maddie Please injects much humor into her tale. With an accident prone lead character, I found myself literally laughing out loud throughout the story. There were some truly hilarious scenes.

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Old Girls On Deck by Maddie Please

Jul4

Bermuda Triangle

Old Girls On Deck by Maddie Please is the most delightfully fun contemporary novel that warmed my heart.

Maddie Please has created a wonderful set of characters who meet up and interact on a cruise ship. The leading ladies are sisters and both in their sixties. They make friends with an octogenarian who shows them how to have fun.

Growing older does not have to mean settling. Whilst we still have breath, life is for living.

The sisters re-evaluate their lives. One has been a captain’s widow for five years. She has spent her life in the shadow of her husband. Now it is time to stop hiding behind his memory and start to live and find herself again. Her opinions and knowledge are worth listening to.

The other sister is thankful for her steadfast husband of thirty five years. Now that he is newly retired, she realizes there is a whole world out there to explore. Life is much more than pottering in the garden and television dinners.

The reader is treated to the sights and sounds, the smells and flavours of the Mediterranean. We can almost ‘feel’ the heat and ‘taste’ the delicacies.

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The Old Ducks’ Hen Do by Maddie Please

Nov20

Really Fun

The Old Ducks’ Hen Do by Maddie Please is a really fun contemporary novel that I thoroughly enjoyed.

The characters are all in their sixties showing that life is for living. “Life is what you make it.” You are never too old to have a fresh start or to have fun.

Ten days in Mallorca for a hen do really invigorate the characters. Their villa is next door to a male group of twitchers, all over sixty. Together they have fun and characters who have been dormant for years, begin to blossom.

A chance meeting with an old sweetheart, sets a heart a flutter, as the years just peel away. Like a vintage wine, age has improved both of them.

All the characters are delightfully drawn. They know how to have fun. This light-filled atmosphere illuminates’ lives. Easy banter volleys backwards and forwards between the characters. It is also highly amusing.

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