When attending on your own is not an option, a year will be enough to find the perfect match, right?

Synopsis

Never say never to falling in love…

Val didn’t expect to be starting again in her seventies, but when life gives her lemons, Val is determined to make lemonade.

Settled into her new home – a picture-perfect fisherman’s cottage in the small Cornish seaside town of Lowenstowe – Val is ready to start a new chapter. And with her son due to get married next Christmas, there’s also the little job of finding herself a plus-one to help her face her ex-husband and his new girlfriend.

With the support of her neighbour Connie, and after decades of married life, Val takes the plunge back into the world of dating with trepidation and excitement. But can she remember how the single life works, let alone what her type is? There seem to be plenty of Mr Maybes, but no sign of Mr Right.

As the year passes, and as friendships and community life flourish, Val begins to blossom. And as Christmas approach, she might just decide she doesn’t need that plus-one after all – although never say never… 

Judy Leigh is back with her trademark promise of laughter, love and friendship. The perfect feel-good novel for all fans of Dawn French, Dee Macdonald and Cathy Hopkins.

My review

The last thing Val expected, surely at her age, was getting a divorce and having to start all over again in a new town.
Even being in her seventies, Val is determined to make her new situation work, and feel truly home in her new cottage and making new friends.
And she is over the moon when her son tells her he is getting married next Christmas. Although… being on her own in the pictures is not how she envisioned the happiest moment of her son.
Together with her new friend and neighbour Connie, Val decides to start dating again. Each month she has to meet a new man, a Mr. Maybe, and see if he could be the man to accompany her and be her plus one.
Easier said than done, because Val quickly realizes that she is out of her depth in the dating scene and finding a Mr. Right is not that easy as she thought…

I have read several books of this author, and while the main protagonists are older than me, I find it surprizing how relatable their story is.

I admired Val her positivism, and her determination to make her new situation work, how difficult it may seem.
Getting a divorce and moving to a new place is never easy, but I can image how more difficult is can be when you are in your seventies. 
But Val makes the best of the situation, and quickly makes new friends.

I had several laughs, as we see each month how Val is meeting new men. And while you may think that Val is being the ‘seductress’, trying to find desperately a man, the opposite is true.
Her monthly man isn’t always a contender for going to the wedding, but she also meets people that open her eyes more.

While it’s Val’s mission to find the perfect date, we see more how Val is becoming an important and valuable member of Lowenstowe.
Not only is she discovering the town, but she also sees what fights are being fought to maintain the beauty of the place. And she joins the fight, determined to not being dismissed.

The more I read in this story, the more I realized that age truly us just a number. It’s not because you are in your seventies that you are obsolete.
And while the premise is Val finding a date, this is not the main purpose in this tale.
Because what stuck with me is that finding yourself, being yourself is more important than finding a man to stand by your side.

Also the way she acts, is an important thing. Because it would be easier to just sit on your own, but Val isn’t that kind of woman, and she rolls up her sleeves and takes action.
She is an example of not only how people of a certain age should be, but people in general, no matter what your age is.
You should enjoy life as it is, making the best of every situation, and never let anyone or anything hold you back.

And as is commonly known, the thing you are searching for the most, will come at the most unexpected moment!