September 11, 2026 – My Sanctuary

Review Book & Book Review- Old Girls Go Off The Rails By Maddie Please

A one way ticket to misadventure! 🚂🎟️💼

When Lizzie Stevens was eighteen, life took a wrong turn. While her best friends Harriet and Anna went interrailing across Europe, Lizzie stayed behind—shunted into a dusty bank job and a sensible life that never quite got back on track.

Now sixty-four, freshly divorced from terminally dull Freddie and wondering how she ended up here, Lizzie is unexpectedly reunited with the friends who left her behind. This time, she’s not missing the train.

Their plan? A gloriously reckless rail adventure across Europe. The women are older, allegedly wiser, and considerably less flexible—but their bags are packed and they’re ready to depart.

Yet once the train pulls out of Worcester, it’s clear this journey won’t be smooth. Old secrets derail fond memories, Harriet and Anna barely tolerate each other, and Lizzie discovers the trip she idolised for decades wasn’t quite first-class.

As they rattle from city to city – Paris to Venice before embarking on a cruise along the Croatian coast – the old girls are fuelled by laughter and questionable decisions. And Lizzie begins to realise it’s never too late to change direction—and that the best adventures are the ones without a timetable.

About The Author

My Review

This book is about second chances, long-buried friendships, and the courage to start living boldly at any age. Newly divorced Lizzie Stevens decides she’s done being sensible and overlooked. When she reconnects with old friends Harriet and Anna, the trio impulsively set off on a rail adventure across Europe, determined to make up for lost time.

What follows is a joyful, chaotic journey packed with laughter, mishaps, and emotional reckonings. Beneath the humour, the novel thoughtfully explores the complexity of long-term friendships: old hurts resurface, nostalgia gets challenged, and the women must confront who they were versus who they’ve become. Lizzie is an especially endearing heroine, and watching her reclaim independence and confidence feels genuinely uplifting.

The European settings add breezy escapism, but the real heart of the story lies in the women themselves—their banter, vulnerability, and stubborn determination to embrace life fully. Warm, funny, and quietly empowering, this novel celebrates reinvention, friendship, and the thrill of saying yes to adventure when you least expect it.

Lifelong Friendship

European Adventure

Second Chances

Old Secrets Resurface

My Rating

Link To Purchase

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Kobo

Happy Publication Day – 11 September 2026

Christmas Actually By Donna Ashcroft

Welcome to Hollythorpe, a quaint village in the Cotswolds, where the locals are stringing lights around their village tree. And meet Clara as she pulls her suitcase through the snow, hoping for a new start…

This isn’t the Christmas that Clara was hoping for. Twenty-four hours ago, she was engaged, a shiny diamond on her wedding finger and a gorgeous husband-to-be by her side. Only now, the ring is gone and so is he. She’s almost given up on Christmas magic completely – until she arrives in Hollythorpe.

Clara waits outside of her kindly Aunt Eleanor’s red front door, knowing that a warm welcome will help heal her aching heart. Snowflakes are falling gently on her long dark hair when a car sprays her with slush and then, unexpectedly, stops to help. Clara lays eyes on Liam stepping out of his car, six feet of gorgeousness. She realises maybe there could be upsides to a cosy Cotswolds Christmas…

Except Liam is closed off to everyone and Clara knows she should be protecting her heart too, so she tries to put him out of her mind. When the village’s usual Mrs Christmas calls in sick before Hollythorpe’s winter fair, Clara steps into the role to help Aunt Eleanor. Only, she hasn’t realised who Mr Christmas is… none other than Liam himself.

As the two are thrown together to bring Christmas to Hollythorpe, Liam’s icy exterior starts to thaw. And Clara can’t deny she’s falling for him. But then the past comes back to haunt them, changing everything…

The Way We Are Now By Julie Houston

First love, long-hidden secrets and second chances.

Anna Piasecki thought she had left her university heartbreak behind. After spending decades building a successful life, she arrives at sixty with everything as she wants it – a glittering career, a devoted partner and brightest star of all, her brilliant son Noah, the apple of her eye.

Theo Mandeville is trapped. Bound by aristocratic duty to his sprawling Yorkshire estate, he has spent decades living the life that was expected of him while regretting the star-crossed romance he walked away from.

When their children meet at college, Anna and Theo suddenly find their carefully constructed lives colliding. With a devastating forty-year-old secret hanging over them, can their families survive the truth and do they dare to trust that fate has other plans for them?

Review Card & Book Review- The Villa Of Secrets By Emma Burstall

Can a stay at a magical villa help her find her way to start again?

When Cleo arrives at Villa Ariadne on the sun-drenched island of Crete, she’s hoping for space to breathe – and perhaps some clarity about the life she no longer recognises. Newly divorced and estranged from one of her children, she’s not sure what comes next.

Sharing the villa with a small group of women, each carrying their own private heartaches, Cleo is drawn into the gentle rhythm of island life. Beneath the lemon trees and endless blue skies, friendships begin to form and long-buried hopes stir.

But when an unexpected event shakes their peaceful escape, the women are forced to come together in ways none of them anticipated. And as Villa Ariadne works its quiet magic once more, Cleo may discover that even in uncertainty, second chances are still possible.

About The Author

My Review

This book is about starting over in a place where sunshine, friendship, and quiet self-discovery gently reshape a life that feels broken. This book delivers a warm, escapist story centered on Cleo, a woman arriving in Crete after divorce has unraveled everything she thought defined her. She feels adrift and uncertain, and those early chapters capture the disorientation of rebuilding from emotional rubble with touching honesty.

The villa itself becomes the novel’s emotional heart. As Cleo meets a group of women carrying their own private struggles, Burstall slowly and tenderly builds a found-family dynamic. Their bond develops through everyday intimacy—shared meals, conversations under the sun, and the comforting rhythm of life far from home. The friendships feel authentic and grounding rather than dramatic, giving the story a soothing, immersive pace.

When an unexpected disruption shakes their peaceful refuge, the narrative deepens, allowing each woman to confront buried truths and long-avoided fears. The emotional stakes rise without losing the novel’s warmth, striking a satisfying balance between escapism and heartfelt growth.

Ultimately, this is a comforting, sun-lit story about healing, second chances, and rediscovering hope in unexpected places. Perfect for readers who enjoy gentle women’s fiction filled with friendship, renewal, and a strong sense of place.

My Rating