Friday 12 June 2020

Review: The Gin O'Clock Club by Rosie Blake

Bring the sparkle and fizz back into your life with the help of The Gin O'Clock Club
Lottie is always in a hurry, rushing through her days ticking tasks off her to-do lists. Teddy is worried about his granddaughter - and he knows that his late wife, Lily, would have known exactly what to say to make things better. Now that Lily has gone, it's up to Teddy to talk some sense into Lottie.
With the help of Arjun, Geoffrey and Howard, the elderly reprobates who make up his Gin O'Clock Club, Teddy makes a plan to help Lottie find her way back to the things that really matter - family, friendship and love. But as Lottie balances a high-powered job with her reluctant attendance at whist drives, ballroom dances and bingo, Teddy wonders if she's really ready to open up her heart to the possibility of true happiness...
Laugh, cry and fall in love with this colourful cast of characters in THE feel-good novel of the year.

Review: I really loved the premise of this book. I liked the idea of someone being forced to slow down and the rule of dating being reversed so that young people went on dates like their grandparents and grandparents used dating apps and played the field like we have to do. I also loved the idea of a cross-generational novel. I am enjoying the surge of this trope in the market. 

Lottie was an interesting character to spend this novel with but unfortunately I didn’t gel with her at all. I love a complex character and Lottie is definitely true to life but I really couldn't get along with her and found her scenes a little stressful to read. She has taken way too much on her shoulders and she is neglecting those around her. The trouble is no one is telling her that she is neglecting them and reminding her that she can’t do it all and so she carries on blindly. I did expect her to grow on me as the book progressed but I just grew to dislike her even more and I think if she had been my friend, I would have said something a long time ago. 

I really enjoyed the fact that we alternate between Lottie’s scenes and her grandma's scenes which are told through letters to his late wife. I always enjoy books with letters in and it gave us a chance to really see things from his perspective and I found them to be a refreshing break from what was going on with Lottie to some extent. 

There are definitely care warnings here for bereavement, especially if you have recently lost someone and I also found Lottie’s anxieties rubbing off on me and so do take care of your own mental health before reading. I loved the way this book is structured and loved the dual perspective we got but I really wish I had grown to love Lottie over time.

To order your copy now, just click the link UK or US

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