Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC.

This is a sequel to Five French Hens but can be read as a standalone as we get a good summary at the beginning.

Tess, Rose, Della, Jen and Pam, all in their seventies, are best friends. They had an adventure five years ago that led to Rose living and working in Paris, playing piano in a nightclub, Tess throwing out her husband Alan and a wedding not taking place.

It is December, Jen is going on an Iceland cruise, Pam is off to Greece with her dog Elvis and Della is planning a pre-seasonal short trip to Paris with husband Sylvester. Feeling left out, Tess books a trip to the snowy Isle of Skye in Scotland.

Then bereavement and illness strike our quintet, which leads to Della accompanying Tess to Skye, and after a while, Rose joining too with her young friend Daz. The owner of the hotel, Roddy Fraser, is in a terrible pickle though. His wife Isla has left him, threatens him for half the hotel and leaves him broken and unable to deal with guests, so our lot decide to help out until Christmas.

There's a fairly big and interesting cast, with the hens, owner Roddy, guests like Robin and his son Jamie and quirky old men like Murdo and Aul Crabbit. The author does a good job of marketing Skye to the reader - it feels as if you're there seeing the majestic Northern Lights yourself and eating the delectable Scottish food.

I like the fact that elderly women are celebrated here as being and having fun and getting second chances, not being "past it" in the slightest. I have read books from Judy Leigh before and they were similarly full of adventures for the mature gals.

The central friendship and support between the five is lovely and uplifting to see. They laugh, they cry and above all, they live, nurture old and form new relationships with people of all ages, have adventures and put up a drag show. Marvellous. If you want to read something feel-good and heartwarming, you could do worse than picking this.