After heartbreak, a much deserved holiday with that something more!

Synopsis

Annie’s big birthday is looming. Sixty! She feels half that age, even if the mirror tells her otherwise. Hubby Keith promises her a birthday to remember, and doesn’t let her down, but packing his suitcase to shack up with a forty-something isn’t quite the memory Annie wants to make. Suddenly she’s single and – as an empty nester – very, very alone. The Bucket List she and Keith had promised to work their way through is but a dream, until besties Bella and Caz rally around Annie and whisk her away for a trip that will be remembered for ever. Dubai. But it’s not all skyscrapers, bling, sand dunes and sheiks. As the sun sinks over the horizon of Jumeirah Beach… might there also be love?

My review

Annie’s sixtieth birthday is lurking around the corner, and she is hoping that her husband Keith will finally organize a birthday to remember.
And remember she will, only not how she expected… because Keith decided to leave Annie as he has fallen in love with another, much younger woman!
Annie’s world is falling apart, and that’s when her best friend Bella and Caz decide to take her on a trip to Dubai.
How wonderful Dubai may be, this holiday is not what the women expected  it would be, and then there is that one man that continues to appear everywhere Annie is…

I always enjoy reading a story written by this author, so I thought this one would be just alike.
And enjoy I did, but I surely didn’t expect to be laughing out loud so much, making my neighbours think I was going totally crazy!

Annie is a woman that is in rut. At sixty, being married for a long time to Keith and looking forward to the birth of her first granddaughter but beside that, she isn’t making that a big of an effort.
Of course I understood her reasoning, why bother when it’s so easy to do nothing and for years you have been doing the same routine without any complaints…

However, I was angry when Keith delivered his news like it was nothing. Of course there were some signs that the marriage wasn’t a perfect one, but leaving your wife after so long, without even a discussion and for another woman, well, I find it very hard to comprehend.

But let me assure you, from the moment the girls (yes yes, I knew that their ages doesn’t really fit the wording ‘girls’, but I do it anyway) are in the plane, it’s a funny adventure of a lifetime!
Annie manages to sit next to the most grumpy man ever, and even his looks don’t help. There is just a certain level of looking like Gerard Butler that may forgive you for being rude.

The story taking place in Dubai is giving us the readers the opportunity to dream away, wishing we were spending those times in such a wonderful location. We are “seeing” magical places, but we are also learning about the differences in culture. And in such a way, it let us learn new things.

But back to Annie… every new adventure she starts, is the recipe of laughing out loud. She does things she would never imagine she would do, making her learn to enjoy life a little bit more. With her best friends by her side, she opens up more, decides that age is just a number and that she can truly enjoy her life at the most, even without her husband by her side.

I loved reading the competitive streak she has, especially each time that Mr. Butler (the lookalike nicknamed after the real thing) keeps on showing up.
And when that competition turns into something more friendly, I was happy for Annie when she realizes that she still has *IT*.
Even the revelation about Mr. Butler (okay, Theo is his real name…) couldn’t change my feelings towards him, because in the end, he is just too easy too like!

This was a hysterical story to read, about a woman that has to adapt to the changes in her life. She has the funniest adventures, meets new people and learns that sometimes a devastating, one –sided decision from your partner can be the start of something totally new and even better. It makes you open your eyes and gives the opportunity to think about your own life and to do the unexpected and make you happy, even if you didn’t realize you really weren’t.

A funny story with an important underlying message I recommend everyone to read!