Oh my goodness...... What a joy to read Heading Over the Hill was. To read of a couple of older members of life, enjoying life to the full; moving away from their family to find their dream home whilst renting a stop gap house in a community that was crying out for fun and frolics. Boy, did Judy Leigh give them that in abundance with Billy and Dawnie. I laughed out loud, I sobbed them laughed some more. It was great to see the community come together at last, some finding new love, others reconnecting and above all, finding friends. Brilliant read, highly recommend

I adore Judy Leigh’s books. Her uplifting, enjoyable and captivating novels never fail to entertain and inspire and she is back with a fantastic new novel guaranteed to cheer everybody up in what has been a trying and dismal year for us all: Heading Over the Hill.

Billy and Dawnie might be in their seventies, but that doesn’t mean that they are putting blankets over their knees and sucking on toffees. They are certainly not going to let their advanced years keep them from living life to the full and making the most of every single day. With their grown-up children having settled down and leading busy lives of their own, Billy and Dawnie decide to make their dream of living by the sea a reality. After all, nobody is ever too old for a second chance, so they pack up their bags and head over to the Devon coastline for a brand new life. Are the residents of Margot Street ready for their new neighbours? Or are they going to be in for the shock of their lives?

No sooner have Billy and Dawnie moved in that jaws start drop and tuts start echoing down the length of the entire street. Billy’s loud Harley Davidson sticks out among the sensible people-carriers the residents of Margot Street tend to favour and Dawnie’s outrageous wigs and brightly coloured clothes make her impossible to miss. It doesn’t look like the couple will be making lots of new friends in Margot Street, but will they manage to win their neighbours round? Or have Billy and Dawnie just made the biggest mistakes of their lives?

Before long, Billy and Dawnie realise that they are not that different from their new neighbours after all and when real life comes knocking, the entire community realises that the time has come to pull together, help each other out and enjoy every possible moment of the time they have left.

Judy Leigh’s books are the literary equivalent of joy and happiness. I love the worlds she creates and the eccentric characters that people her sparkling, feel-good and effervescent novels and Heading Over the Hill is certainly no exception. A brilliantly told tale about friendship, love and the ties that bind, Heading Over the Hill will not only keep readers engrossed from start to finish, but show them that life is for living – regardless of how many birthday candles one has on their cake!

Heading Over the Hill is a delicious and delightful page-turner from a writer whose books should be prescribed on the NHS: Judy Leigh!

Going Live on 4th December

I have a lot of time these days for romantic fiction – I just feel in the current climate I need something with a happy ending to see me through. Heading Over the Hill by Judy Leigh supplies that happy ending, but not without some bumps along the way.

The books of Judy’s that I’ve read are special in that they feature older people as their main characters – for instance in this book there is a feisty Octogenarian who dons a Shirley Bassey outfit for a night out!

Billy and Dawnie are in what would traditionally be called their ‘twilight years’, but neither of them is ready to call it a day by any means and both are looking to embrace life now that they are able to spend all their time together.

This book has a definite message to live your life to the fullest, but while it is overwhelmingly positive, there is tragedy here too as old and new grief are felt by all the residents of Margot Street.

There is also a very strong sense of comradeship running through the book – both male and female characters form strong bonds and show the real benefits of relying on others in our communities – something very much in keeping with the feel of 2020!

I like Judy Leigh’s books – they are warm and funny, but never shy away from the realities of being an older person in today’s society. There may well be a happy ending, but it is always at the end of a nuanced and thought-provoking story.

I am going to start by saying that I have not finished this book- I am, in fact, only 30% in. It's not that I don't like it, because I do, and will continue to read it and write a better review later. Time simply got away from me. This year has taken an emotional tole on me and made it harder for me to concentrate on my reading... I will probably only read 70 books this year when normally I read between 100 and 150. The fact that I received an eARC of this book from Netgalley and Boldwood Books in exchange for an honest review made me feel like I owed them something on opening day, and then I will write a "real review" once finished and post that one on Goodreads, Litsy and Amazon. My apologies... and here we go.
Right off the bat you can see that Billy Murphy and Dawnie Smith are not your average older married couple. Dawnie is into bright, outlandish clothes and eye catching wigs. Billy, with his harley and drum kit, is hardly your typical older man either. The two have decided- or maybe Billy decided and Dawnie wanted to try- to give their kids more space and move to the sea, just the two of them. I love that Leigh gave these two a great marriage, but also personal issues. Billy has some pain- nightmares and regrets. Dawnie is vivacious and charming, but also an empty nester that can't figure out how to move forward without the family around her.
Then you have the neighbors on the block where they rented a house. A pair of bright and charming women; a lonely and hopelessly romantic man living with his mother; and a pair of snoopers living next door. Malcolm Frost is everyone's worst nightmare come to life when it comes to neighbors- at least so far. Cruel, gossipy, and judgmental, he rules his house and finds fault with everyone. As the characters here get to know one another and form friendships, there are a lot of misunderstandings. For one, our forlorn Romeo, Vinnie, mistakenly assumes that the woman he first met is not Dawnie, but her sister... the wigs throwing him off. Malcom on the other hand assumes that there are several women and they are all Billy's "wives". While pretty outlandish, each misunderstanding is one that could actually happen.
I think my favorite part of this book so far is the attention to detail. Each character is well fleshed out already and I am invested in their lives. I have always found authors that can do this to be fairly magical. Unfortunately, that also means that the pacing of the book can feel a tad slow sometimes (after all, there's a lot of information to drop). It's in no way unpleasant, but it also isn't a book I would have finished in one sitting even on my best days. If I had to give a star review right now I would give it a three.
On the adult content side, there's already some language, drinking, and sexual innuendo. I think it's safe to say that this is going to be for an eighteen and older crowd.

A fun read about love, friendship and enjoying life to the full, with some real laugh out loud moments. Dawnie and Billy are large than life main characters ready for their retirement. After years of looking after everyone else, it’s now time for just the two of them to concentrate on each other.
The quirky other characters really added to the story and the feel good factor, with the influence of Dawnie and Billy encouraging them to live life to the full on ‘Maggot Street’.

‘Maggot Street? You have to be kidding me, Billy.’

A great opening line for this laugh out loud tale of two seventy-year-old misfit hippies moving to Barnstaple, by the sea.

This is a story about neighbours. When Billy and Dawnie arrive at no. 13 Margot Street they certainly give their new neighbours a fright. Pony-tailed, larger than life Billy unloads his beloved Harley motorbike and drum kit from the van. Dawnie climbs down from the front seat of the battered transit van, clad in a blonde wig, scarlet sunglasses and colourful outfit and waves at the twitching curtains of the neighbours.

This is the first Judy Leigh book that I’ve read. I was attracted by the book cover initially, two oldies riding off into the sunset, growing old disgracefully.

I found the writing style fun and easy to read and very relatable. Billy’s bike cleaning and tinkering obsession for example are scenes I’m familiar with in my house. Mind you we don’t keep our bike in the hallway!

There were some very funny scenes that had me chuckling throughout the book. The ski-slope trip was just hilarious, poor old Dilly.

Lovely read. A lesson in living living life to the max no matter your age.

Thanks NetGalley for my digital copy of this fun book. x

Judy Leigh really does create the most wonderful characters – and I love the fact that they’re often not the people you usually find at the centre of a story, and not only because of their age.

This is one of those wonderful ensemble pieces where you’re introduced to a cast of characters – and as casts go, it’s quite a large one – and then enjoy watching the story unfold. I do suspect that, like the neighbours, I might have been a tad worried watching the arrival of this couple in my street too – the Harley, the leathers, the drum kit being moved in, the pony-tailed bear of a man and his tiny pillion passenger with her colourful wigs and eccentric dress sense – but perhaps without quite the degree of animosity shown by the Frosts next door.

Vinnie, unlucky in love, and who lives opposite with his mother, is particularly intrigued by the petite blonde he spots on the first day who might just be the woman of his dreams: mother Dilly, with her passion for bloodthirsty movies, is just intrigued, soon won over by the gifts of home brew and the prospect of some excitement in her life. Then there’s the “feminist” couple up the street (and their wonderful small and feathered companion) who are immediately welcoming – and their new biker friends who live within easy walking distance and show just the same devotion to each other.

Through a character driven story, Billy and Dawnie search for a new home in the area that ticks all their boxes – but they also build the strongest of friendships, spread a lot of joy, and rather change the lives of their neighbours in Margot Street. There are so many themes to this book that I really don’t know where to start: there’s the obvious one about not judging by appearances and first impressions, but I think I’ll let you discover and explore the rest for yourself.

I will admit that I didn’t glide entirely smoothly into the story at the start – I did get a little lost in the background information about Dawnie’s family, and wasn’t sure if it was all going to be important to the story. It might just help others if I say that it really isn’t, other than to set the context – and it does serve as an excellent introduction to that whole complex subject of family relationships, along with the importance of living your own life and allowing your adult children to live theirs.

While this book has an obvious appeal for older readers, I can’t imagine anyone failing to enjoy it – it’s joyous and uplifting, and I just loved the character development, some of those secrets lying just below the surface, and some of the story’s twists and turns. There’s such a wonderful balance between the moments of raucous fun – the 60s disco night particularly memorable – and some considerably more thoughtful moments, and (as I’d rather expected) the whole story is superbly told.

This was another really excellent book from Judy Leigh – I might have been just a tad worried about Billy and Dawnie when they landed in Margot Street, but by the time they’d won over the neighbours and spread their love far and wide, I entirely adored them. This was a book to bring a real smile to your face, a celebration of life and its special moments – recommended to all.

This is such a joy to read! It would be easy to tell you all the things it's about, but really it's about living your best life.

Billy and Dawnie have packed up their van and taken off for pastures new; leaving their family behind, this couple of septuagenarians don't let anything stop them enjoying life to the full. Arriving in Devon at the house Billy has taken on a short term let, they shock the neighbours with their style - and everything else! However, before long they begin winning them over with their warm and friendliness, but it's not all happiness . . .

This is a bright, uplifting read and just what we all need after the awful year the pandemic has bestowed upon us! Written with warmth and humour, this just oozes fun and laughter. Bringing out the very best of my imagination, I have giggled all the way through this one and - well, apart from the drum kit - would love to have Dawnie and Billy as neighbours! Fabulously entertaining, skilfully crafted and providing what is much needed at the end of this terrible year, this is definitely a five star read. If you haven't read any of Judy Leigh's novels yet, this is a great place to begin!

My thanks to the publisher for my copy of this novel and to Rachel's Random Resources for my spot on this tour; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

I’d like to thank Boldwood Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Heading Over The Hill’ by Judy Leigh in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

After a lifetime of bringing up their children, seventy-plus Billy and Dawnie decide to find their forever home in Devon and rent 13 Margot Street for six months while they’re looking. Being a sociable couple they immediately make friends with Aude and Sylv at No. 15, Vinnie and his mother Dilly at No. 14 and Lester and Ursula a couple of roads roads away. But Malcolm, who lives with his wife Gillian next door at No. 11, thinks that Billy is a Hell’s Angel who’s been locked away for GBH and is only too happy to make his prejudices heard around Margot Street. It’s not long before Dawnie encourages the ladies to live their lives to the full while Billy’s thoroughly enjoying working on his motorbike with Lester, but little do they realise that disaster is just round the corner.

Every novel Judy Leigh writes is filled with fun and laughter and ‘Heading Over The Hill’ is no exception. I’m glad that the characters, some of whom are getting on a bit, are portrayed as still being able to get out and enjoy life, and even miserable old Malcolm has another side that we get to meet further on in the story. But even with amusing and carefree novels there’s often sadness round the corner and I was caught out at the end with shock, disbelief and tears in my eyes. This is a thoroughly enjoyable novel with larger-than-life characters that’s easy to read and I’m happy to recommend it.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

Billy and Dawnie are aging hippies, after leaving their family home in the north to their daughter and her extended family., they’ve come to Devon in search of their "home near the sea" .

They’ve landed in Margot Street where they meet a cast of neighbours who find their behaviour a bit curious as well as frightening.

But as they get to know each other a bit better, there’s a variety of topics that come to the fore in this story, ranging from empty nesters' woes to PTSD, reactions to grief.

I felt that it’s clearly illustrated the outcomes when we make judgments based on first impressions.

You can identify with some of the characters and what they go through.

I admired Dawnie for the way she took on the aging process with such flair and joy.

I highly recommend this book

This is a new author to me and I really enjoyed reading this book.
Dawnie and Billie are madly in love. They have left their city house with their children and are heading to the country to live by the sea. They are wanting a calm life by the ocean. Oh, and they are in their 70's! But 1st to give them time to choose the right place they are renting an apartment on Maggot Street. They find Maggot street has very eclectic neighbors. Dawnie and Billy's kindness mixed with their zest for life have an interesting and big impact on the neighbors.
The thing I liked most seeing the life long love Dawnie and Billy had for each other Still holding hands. communicating, caring and sacrificing for one another.
Thanks to NetGalley,the author and Boldwood Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.
its release date is 12/3/2020

I absolutely loved this story of love, friendship and living life to the full. It’s a solid 5 stars from me.
I’m going to struggle to review this book which is equal parts hilarious and heart-warming with a light sprinkling of sadness. I avoid spoilers at all costs, but this story is just packed full of some of the best characters that I’ve met in a while.
Margot Street boasts some of the loveliest folks around and even the grouches have good reason for their poor attitude.
The stand-out characters, for me, beside Billy and Dawnie, were Dilly and the foul-mouthed Budgie, Tequila! That said, the competition was strong but they provided me with the best laugh out loud moments.
If, like me, you’re getting ready to head over the hill, this is a gem of a story and one that will bring a smile to your face.

Well they say never judge a book by its cover - and in this case I don't mean the cover for this book which is rather lovely and very fitting, but rather that this is the overall message and theme I was feeling throughout this book.

Don't judge on appearances, and there may be more to a person than meets the eye - which you may think sounds rather obvious but when Billy and Dawnie move onto Maggot Street, it shakes things up completely.

They are in their seventies, he is a biker, she loves bright colourful wigs and is the life and soul of any room. At first I struggled to get to grips with them, not because of that, but due to Dawnie mentioning the names of all of her family rather quickly as you enter the book, and I just was a tad lost as to who any of these people were, but I did get to grips with it quite fast after that.

We are also treated to the inner goings on at two of the neighbours. Malcolm and Gillian, where Malcolm is keeping a notebook of the reasons he reckons Billy and Dawnie will never fit into Maggot Street, mostly based on assumptions and its scary in some respects to know there are almost certainly people like Malcolm out there in the world making the same snap judgments but since it was fiction it was rather amusing too.

And Gillian who initially seems to be there purely to do whatever Malcolm wants, but it becomes apparent there is a lot more to her than meets the eye.

The other house we see inside is that of Vinnie and Dilly (his mother). Vinnie is a lovely young man (well in a novel where most of the characters are 70+, 50 is young!), seems to be unlucky in love and is currently back living at home with his mother, but wants more from life.

Dawnie and Billy's arrival on the street shakes things up for all the nearest neighbours in ways you wouldn't believe at the start. It is a huge cast of characters and I wouldn't have it any other way, as they are all so believable, that they started to feel like my own community.

But I have failed to mention the best character - Tequila. He only gets short mentions now and then but if he doesn't make you giggle I'd be shocked!!

It's yet another fabulous book from the talented Judy Leigh and is one that I really enjoyed reading.

Thank you to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

This is my first Judy Leigh book and won’t be my last, I loved the warmth and humour, I was a little unsure about the main characters at first as they seemed a bit exaggerated but their natural warmth grew on me and enabled me to look beyond the physical descriptions. The friendships they struck up and the impact they had on the neighbours was joyous and it was interesting to see how the characters pasts defined them. I’d definitely love some positive neighbours like these especially if there’s home brew involved!

Such a sweet story about couples, friends and lots of fun. This was a really pleasant book to read and I loved all of the characters. There are a few sad moments but the way this group pulls together is so heart warming. I would recommend it to all of my friends,

First of all the character names. There’s a theme going on here - ie/y. One which started to grate like fingernails down a blackboard. It spoilt the book for me because I found it so irritating. Dawnie, Billy, Buddy, Dilly Vinnie, Stewie….it was too much and just came across as child like.

Names aside, I quite enjoyed some of the situations in the book, though again there was that certain cloying niceness that got a bit too much for me at times. The dry ski slope scene had me laughing out loud - great visualisation there. The story itself was a good one, there were some poignant moments with serious underlying themes, along with funny lighter moments. However I thought the characterisations were just too over the top to be realistic or even that likeable.

All in all it was a disappointment for me. A Grand Old Time and The Old Girls Network were so good, but I think with this one the ‘you’re never too old’ theme went too far for it to be a credible read.

Sorry not for me at all.

Billy and Dawnie are off to Devon for a new life now they are in their seventies and now that the children are grown up. Settling into a new neighbourhood brings contact with new neighbours, new friendships and more.
It is well written, the stories of the characters well put together, and very enjoyable to read. No major laugh out loud moments but meaningful none the less.
Great to read a book about the older generations, refreshing and yes there is life after 50!!! 60!! 70!! And 80!!
Thoroughly enjoyable read! Thank you

Utterly charming. Pair with GOOD EGGS and THE SWITCH. A recommended purchase for fiction collection where WF is popular.

This was a delightful book with quirky characters. It was better than I expected.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

This is a fairly enjoyable book, although I didn't really warm to the characters. It raises the question, amongst others, of when are your children grown up enough to look after themselves. All parents should be able to have time to themselves and live where they want to when they retire, shouldn't they? One of the morals of the tale is not to make assumptions based on personal appearance, something we could all do well to remember. Above all this is a story about love and friendship.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this novel.