It’s never too late to have fun on a cruise!

Synopsis

Three friends set sail on a luxury cruise… will they be able to catch a husband on the open seas?

Leaving behind the heartache, guilt and disappointment of their real lives, three friends decide that now they’re in their sixties, it’s time they finally did something for themselves!

Swapping Christmas turkeys and BBC reruns for crystal waters, white sandy beaches and smooth golden rum, Anne, Jane and Kath throw caution (and tradition) to the wind as they set sail on a luxury two-week Christmas cruise around the Caribbean.

Will the three friends find the comfort and joy they seek aboard the Diamond Star?

My review

Anne, Jane and Kath have been best friends for years. They have been by each other’s side when gods things happened but also bad things happened.
After their high school reunion, they decide that age is just a number and the world is still their oyster. So what is holding them back to book a luxury two  -week Christmas cruise around the Caribbean?
On the Diamond Star, the three women will have shared adventures but also separate ones. But one thing is for sure, this will be a trip neither one of them will ever forget! 

Before I opened the book, and just read the blurb, I thought this would be a sweet yet funny tale about three women in their sixties, ready to embark on an adventure together.
But I must say I was totally surprised by this book, and it was a good surprise! 

I liked it how the friendship between the three women was still so strong, after all these years. And while their lives took different directions, and their characters were very different, they still keep on finding each other.
Also in the romantic aspect they are completely different, as Anne is almost divorced, Kath is a widow and Jane never married. And it may seem that this are all different yet normal situations, I was a bit shocked towards the end when some truths came out. I did not see especially the big one coming it all! 

Jane was the character I sympathized the most. She felt like the most real of the friends, as she this insecurity and vulnerability about her that many people recognize. But seeing how slowly she got out of her shell was just great to read about.
And then the blooming friendship with Selwyn was the cherry on top of her cake! 

Anne could best be described as a strong character, not allowing anyone to tell her what she should do or not. Especially when she has set her eyes on Dicky, even when there are several red flags she just ignores.
But she is also a loyal friend, giving her friends a nudge in the back when needed. 

Kath can be best described as a dark horse. Recently widowed, it seems that she still mourns the loss of her husband after a wonderful marriage. So reading about her worries about her memory, made me pity her, and add the way her own children act towards her, well I know for sure I still wouldn’t dare to talk to my mother like that!.
Yet it’s only in the second half of the book that we see a side of Kath that was so unexpected. And when we get to know some secrets, I felt sorry for her for what she had to endure, but I somehow also felt that she did what she had to do… 

With the addition of all the other guests on the cruise, and the excursions the women made, it felt like I was on the cruise with them. But beside the holiday – part, this is also a story that age truly is just a number, and that you shouldn’t allow that number to hold you back. Because no matter if you are in your twenties, thirties, forties or even sixties, you never know what Life and Fate still have in store for you.