The Highland Hens
- Downloads：2984
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-07-16 10:19:37
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Judy Leigh
- ISBN：B09WTNZWB4
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Nancy L。
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This was another very good “late in life romance” book by Judy Leigh， one of my favorite authors。 Jessica Oliver， age 59， a recent divorcee， comes to a B&B in the Highlands run by a lady named Heather， who soon becomes a close friend。 Since repairs on Jess’s new post-divorce home are encountering time-consuming complications， she responds to a help-wanted ad and applies to be a temporary companion to the elderly Mrs。 Mimi McFarland （whose stage name in London was “Mimi Solitaire”）; Mimi resides This was another very good “late in life romance” book by Judy Leigh， one of my favorite authors。 Jessica Oliver， age 59， a recent divorcee， comes to a B&B in the Highlands run by a lady named Heather， who soon becomes a close friend。 Since repairs on Jess’s new post-divorce home are encountering time-consuming complications， she responds to a help-wanted ad and applies to be a temporary companion to the elderly Mrs。 Mimi McFarland （whose stage name in London was “Mimi Solitaire”）; Mimi resides at Glen Carrick House nearby。 Jess soon becomes an integral part of the McFarland family and a very close friend of Mimi， whose love of stage and singing has extended into her elder years: she is 88。Before Jess’s arrival， the lonely Mimi has dressed up in her old stage costumes， sung and danced in her home， sometimes with the musical and dance support of her three sons Fin， Hamish and Angus， who love her dearly。 Her outgoing friend Isabella visits and takes her out often， but more often Mimi dresses up， puts on records， and reverts to “Chardonnay time” in her loneliness。 Jess becomes a beloved friend and quasi-family member of all three brothers as well as Mimi， and gradually her own sense of isolation is eased。 At one point， Mimi attends a mini-show composed by her musical son Hamish and encounters an old friend from her stage days named Charlie Gosling with whom she renews friendship。This was a fun and heart-warming read; my thanks to #Boldwood Books and #NetGalley for an advance reader’s copy 。。。more
Rachel Gilbey
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Ah Judy Leigh， you have had me smiling and laughing throughout but also made me feel many other emotions too。 But above all Mimi is a larger than life character， she is so full of life at 88， and as an inspiration to us all。 If I was able to sing and dance well into my eighties， and had a stage career as varied as Mimi's then I would be one happy girl。 Although I don't have her talent so it would be impossible！ Mimi is a massive fan of the theatre and musicals too， but is living a rather lonely Ah Judy Leigh， you have had me smiling and laughing throughout but also made me feel many other emotions too。 But above all Mimi is a larger than life character， she is so full of life at 88， and as an inspiration to us all。 If I was able to sing and dance well into my eighties， and had a stage career as varied as Mimi's then I would be one happy girl。 Although I don't have her talent so it would be impossible！ Mimi is a massive fan of the theatre and musicals too， but is living a rather lonely existence at home with her sons， who are in and out of the family home。 She loves it when her best friend Isabella visits but the rest of the time seems sad。 Until Finn advertises for a live in companion for his mother and Jess enters the McKinlay's lives。 Jess is wonderful with Mimi and the three brothers， and I thoroughly loved getting to know all of the characters。 Mimi though brightens up every page she is on， and is a real breath of fresh air and I loved my time spent between the pages with her。 Once again Judy Leigh has shone a big light on the more experienced of life's years， and portrayed them so well。 Loved this book so so much。 Thank you to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for this copy which i have reviewed honestly and voluntarily。 。。。more
Books By Your Bedside
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Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review。A Judy Leigh novel + Scotland + the theatre + love and friendship。 Is there a better combination？ I’ll answer that…no！There are three sons in the book and I instantly liked Angus， he seemed like the most complete character， honest and likeable。 The other two were not my favourites but they did grow on me throughout the story。 But my favourite character was their mother Mimi。 She was absolutely fab Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review。A Judy Leigh novel + Scotland + the theatre + love and friendship。 Is there a better combination？ I’ll answer that…no！There are three sons in the book and I instantly liked Angus， he seemed like the most complete character， honest and likeable。 The other two were not my favourites but they did grow on me throughout the story。 But my favourite character was their mother Mimi。 She was absolutely fabulous。 88 and never better in my eyes。 She’s had a fascinating life and is not ready to give that up， and why should she？ Why shouldn’t she war a fancy frock， heels and an elaborate headdress for lunch if she wants to？ I hope I get to be as amazing as she is。Scotland is described perfectly， almost like a poem。 I love the country and it’s depicted so visually， it’s absolutely beautiful。 I fell in love with the idea of Hogmanay。 I spent New Years in Scotland about ten years ago and I loved it， but to be in a grand house， snow falling and bagpipes playing （yes I like them） is just idyllic。 There is also a small Christmassy scene and anyone who have read my previous reviews knows how much I love a festive book so that’s definitely a big green tick。The descriptions of Mimi’s clothes is enough to warrant a TV series I feel。 Whilst lovely on the page， they’d do even better on a screen， with someone of Maggie Smith’s calibre。 It is overwhelmingly happy and joyful and loving and funny and beautiful， but， if you’re anything like me， it’ll destroy your heart and you’ll find yourself sobbing as a friend。 I really felt part of this family and I didn’t want to leave them。 。。。more
Susan Peterson
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This is a heartwarming book about friendship and family。 Wonderful， quirky characters bring this poignant story to life！ I laughed some， I cried some， but mostly I just loved。
Rachel Stansel
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This took me a bit， but I loved it once I got in。 Mimi is an elderly woman， lonely and reliving her glory days as a singer and dancer on the West End （or was she？）。 That changes when her loved 3 sons hire Jess to be a carer and company。 As Jess joins the family， Things begin to turnaround and the family and Jess find new joy。 I really enjoyed the story。 I was so glad some of the mysteries and uncertainties remained unspoiled while others are nicely wrapped up。
Sally Tyrer
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Such a wonderful read totally captivating， touching and endearing！Throwing all misconceptions regarding old age aside， we meet Mimi with her outlandish outfits，sense of fun and mischief and reliving her youth with impromptu singing and dancing forays！ A wonderful sense of family and belonging her three sons doing all they can to ensure mimi has the best life possible even if it involves mad cap dates with her old friend Isabella！Dear Jess employed to be mimis companion/carer such a lovely charac Such a wonderful read totally captivating， touching and endearing！Throwing all misconceptions regarding old age aside， we meet Mimi with her outlandish outfits，sense of fun and mischief and reliving her youth with impromptu singing and dancing forays！ A wonderful sense of family and belonging her three sons doing all they can to ensure mimi has the best life possible even if it involves mad cap dates with her old friend Isabella！Dear Jess employed to be mimis companion/carer such a lovely character full of love and tenderness who becomes integral to the family lined by all three sons snd adored by mimi！Second chances your never too old for love， no matter what firm that takes and no matter how long it will last！A great read full of compassion， care and romance。Thankyou netgalley for this early read。 。。。more
Misfits farm
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Mimi is a star， well at least she was， or she thought she was and sadly spends her time reliving her youth， dressing up and singing。 The dancing isn't so great when you are in your late eighties。 Her three sons Angus， Hamish and Fin despair but are glad that their mother is at least enjoying life- or is she？ Young Jess （at late fifties :） ） has bought a cottage that her brother is doing up for her。 Only one job finds another and another and it's going to be months before she can move in。 She was Mimi is a star， well at least she was， or she thought she was and sadly spends her time reliving her youth， dressing up and singing。 The dancing isn't so great when you are in your late eighties。 Her three sons Angus， Hamish and Fin despair but are glad that their mother is at least enjoying life- or is she？ Young Jess （at late fifties :） ） has bought a cottage that her brother is doing up for her。 Only one job finds another and another and it's going to be months before she can move in。 She was taking a few days holiday before moving in when the work was only going to take a few days。 Now she might just stay a while longer as there's clearly no rush to get back。 When Jess and Mimi cross paths a friendship forms quite unlike any other each has known。This is a treasure of a read。 I smiled and I cried。 Judy has that special talent to bring characters to life and leave the reader with that feel good factor and one of one life， live it。 Wonderful characters- Mimi is one in a million and I couldn't help but love Jess and Angus。 A feel good read for anyone needing that little lift in life and that there is good in most people。 A wonderful read and one I will remember with a smile。For more reviews please follow me on Twitter@nickisbookblog 。。。more
Judy Christiana
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This is a wonderful story about a unique， eccentric， loving， close-knit family and the blessed people that love them and are loved by them in return。 I honestly did not know what to expect when I started reading the book。 I took in the title and the book cover and though that this was going to be a fun story about older women。 Well I was not far off， but this book is so much more。Friendship and family are strong themes in this story。 The author， Judy Leigh， has created a gem。 I adore the charact This is a wonderful story about a unique， eccentric， loving， close-knit family and the blessed people that love them and are loved by them in return。 I honestly did not know what to expect when I started reading the book。 I took in the title and the book cover and though that this was going to be a fun story about older women。 Well I was not far off， but this book is so much more。Friendship and family are strong themes in this story。 The author， Judy Leigh， has created a gem。 I adore the characters she has created and I think they will stay with me for a long time。 I laughed quite a bit and shed a few tears also。 I was immediately drawn into the story and it never let me go。 I enjoyed this time in Scotland and truly felt I was there with the beautiful scenery descriptions。A huge thank you Boldwood Books and NetGalley for giving me the immense pleasure of reading the advance reader copy， with no obligation to write a review。 My review is written freely as a hobby， and is totally my own opinion， not influenced by receiving the ARC。 。。。more
Helen Appleby
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Having recently discovered this author this year I was looking forward to reading this and it didn’t disappoint it was such a lovely read that as always with this authors books here to the heart of human emotion and real life issues in a very sensitive way。 This was a beautiful heartwarming and at times heart wrenching read of love friendship and the importance of family。 Loved the characters in this book particularly mimi。 This author has the ability to write about the older generation in such Having recently discovered this author this year I was looking forward to reading this and it didn’t disappoint it was such a lovely read that as always with this authors books here to the heart of human emotion and real life issues in a very sensitive way。 This was a beautiful heartwarming and at times heart wrenching read of love friendship and the importance of family。 Loved the characters in this book particularly mimi。 This author has the ability to write about the older generation in such a lovely way and to give them a voice and make them shine。 This was a beautiful escapism read and looking forward to reading more from this author。 。。。more
Kim
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