I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley #netgalley

Oh my gosh what a journey filled with laughter and friendship and self-discovery.

This is the first book I've ready by author Judy Leigh and I'm delighted to say I've found a new author to go on my favourites list. The list is growing :)

Lil's Bus Trip is such a wonderful romp of a read that at times is daft, funny and entertaining and at other times it moves on to serious issues that are thought provoking. However, with the way the author has created her characters the poignant moments are soon lifted. There is a definite heart-warming feeling running throughout the storyline.

Lil is in her early 80's living in a retirement complex. Lil is full of mischief as she banters with the local cafe owner and has a heart of gold with her random acts of kindness. Lil fell in love very young but this was a short lived romance leaving her heartbroken and many, many years of what-ifs. It also left her with her most precious possession, her daughter Cassie.

Cassie is a poet and has performed and worked all over the world but is happy now settled close to her mum house sharing with her best friend Jamie.

When Lil hears of a trip around Europe a plan starts to spring into action and a little while later Lil with her downtrodden neighbour, Maggie, along with Cassie join a merry band of travellers all excited and a little anxious for the holiday.

What I loved about this merry band of travellers was the diversity in ages and backgrounds. We had 3 octogenarians sharing a minibus with 3 young lads eager for nightlife and football, 3 middle aged travellers looking for culture and good food, local pub landlord on the search for good beer, two other females who are friendly and amiable and Tommy the driver who was an enterprising fellow. With an eventful start to the journey the bus of mismatch travellers was off on an adventure they wouldn't forget!

I really enjoyed seeing the towns and cities across Europe through the eyes of the characters. Judy Leigh not only took her characters on a trip she also took her readers along with her.

Lil's Bus Trip is fun, whacky, entertaining, poignant and very readable ... I loved it!

I’d like to thank Boldwood Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Lil’s Bus Trip’ by Judy Leigh in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Lil’s in her eighties and resides at the Clover Hill Retirement Home where her friend Maggie lives with her husband Brian next door and daughter Cassie is just down the road. The local pub ‘The Jolly Weaver’ is organising a tour of Northern Europe with Toby Jugg Tours and Lil thinks it’s time for the three of them to have a bit of a holiday. So along with an assortment of people including three members of the Salterley Tennis Club and the pub’s five-a-side football team, they set off to enjoy the delights of Normandy, Amsterdam and Bruges. Lil has the time of her life and finds romance not just once but twice, a bit like waiting forever for a bus and then two come along at the same time.

‘Lil’s Bus Trip’ is the amusing story of Lil, Cassie and Maggie who enjoy the delights of the European tour where they make new friends but realise how much they miss those left behind. It describes the escapades that they and their fellow-passengers get up to, especially their experiences with the Customs officials at the ferry port in France that I found hilarious. I like Judy Leigh’s style of writing that brings warmth to her larger-than-life characters and proves there’s still fun, adventure and romance to be found by those into their eighties. I enjoyed this light-hearted novel and can recommend it as a relaxing holiday read.

This is the first book I’ve read by Judy Leigh. The book cover has caught my attention in all honesty because it shows that the protagonist of the story is a woman who is in her 80’s. I am fond of elder people who are full of excitement and wisdom. They uplift your spirit with inspirational and depth messages to ponder.

I find this book heartwarming since the story is full of people in different ages with a perfect blend of different personalities. They are living the best days of their lives. Reading Lil's Bus Trip is such a delightful experience to feel the wonderful journey of life – discovery of friendship, reawakening of romance and deeper understanding of values, character and purpose in life.

Thank you Netgalley and to the publisher, Boldwood Books for this e-ARC in exchange of an honest feedback.

What a fantastic novel, this one is completely different from the usual type of story. Set around a group of people of all ages and from different backgrounds as they take a lovely trip around part of Europe. Fun times, sad times and with all emotions. This is a great book to read and I was sorry when it came to an end. It could have gone on forever for me. Well written and a pleasure to read. This is a 5 star book, grab a copy and enjoy it as I have done.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for this eARC

Thanks for the opportunity to review this book.
Lil at 82 feels that she is missing something on her life so arranges to go on a coach trip with Cassie and Maggie to Europe. They are joined by members of the local pub as well.
Along the way there are plenty of funny moments and new memories to treasure.

🌟🌟🌟🌟

I loved this sweet and funny book. It was light-hearted as well as interesting. Featuring older people going on a bus trip to Europe and the antics they get up to. It was so refreshing to read about these people who had reached a time in their lives and wanted to go all out to have a great time travelling around different countries. It tells about friendships as well as love and I found this book very uplifting. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Lil is 82 and living in sheltered accommodation, she enjoys life but when she finds a flyer for a coach trip she decides it’s time for an adventure. The story follows Lil, her daughter Cassie and best friend Maggie as they travel across Europe with. A pub football team and members of the local tennis club. The combination os characters shouldn’t work but it does, and as the story unfolds you find out more about the characters and they find out more about themselves. This book is funny and moving in equal measure and I really enjoyed it.

Lil is a fiesta octogenarian single mum. She has brought Cassie up alone and done well for Kelsey since she became pregnant after a short post war fling with Frank Chapman an American soldier still drafted in uk.
She loves a lovely life next door to her down trodden best friend Maggie and near to her lovely daughter Cassie a banjo playing poet.
Lidl’s pub friends decide to take a bus trip to Europe and so she plans to take Maggie and Cassie with her. What a romp they get up to along the way. Fabulous book filled with female friendships and insight.

Book: Lil's Bus Trip
Author: Judy Leigh
Star Rating: 4.5 stars
Publication Date: 26th August 2021

Lil who is 82 and her daughter Cassie who is 65 go on a bus trip with some of the locals from their village, visiting The Netherlands, France and Belgium. We follow the highs and lows of their journey through Europe and what an amazing journey they had.

This book is laugh out loud funny and packed with fun and drama from cover to cover. We meet a range of characters, some in their twenties all the way up to Lil, Maggie and Albert in their eighties and it is wonderful to see the interactions between the characters throughout!!

I honestly hope that I am just like Lil when I am 82 heading off on a crazy adventure with so many wonderful and interesting people. I highly recommend this book, it was an absolute pleasure to read.

Thanks so much to Netgally and Boldwood Books for the Advanced Reader Copy of Lil's Bus Trip in exchange for an honest review.

Lil's Bus Trip by Judy Leigh
Publication Date: August 26, 2021
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Description…
“It’s always a good time for a road trip… 

When 82-year-old Lil decides to book herself, her 65-year-old daughter, Cassie, and her friend Maggie on a bus trip across Europe, she hopes for a little adventure to counteract the monotony of life in sheltered accommodation. 
Along with three members of the Salterley Tennis Club and the Jolly Weaver five-a side football team, whose ideas of a good time are rather different to Lil’s and strikingly at odds with each other’s, the merry band of travelers set out on their great adventure. 

From moving moments on the beaches of Normandy, outrageous adventures in Amsterdam, to the beauty of Bruges and gastronomic delights of France, the holiday is just the tonic Lil, Maggie and Cassie needed.  
And as the time approaches for them to head home, Lil makes an unexpected discovery - even in her advancing years, men are like buses – there isn’t one for ages then two come along at once. Is Lil ready to share her golden years, and can the ladies embrace the fresh starts that the trip has given them. Or is it just too late to change… “
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Thank you to @netgalley @bookandtonic #boldwoodbooks for the ALC in return for my honest review.
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My thoughts…
The title was what made me want to read this book. Especially, since I haven’t been on a road trip since the pandemic started. There were interesting characters in here; typical of small town residents. I enjoy reading about them. I liked the relationship between 82 year old Lil and her daughter Cassie who was in her 60s. The book started well, the middle slowed-down, and it ended quite nicely. I appreciated the different places they visited, with descriptions of food and drinks, such as the beaches of Normandy, Amsterdam and Bruges. A quick and cozy summer read.

2 stars
I am clearly in the minority with this book as I just did not like it at all. I did not finish.
Dnf

This is the perfect summer read! Lil, and 82-year-old woman, embarks in a road trip with her daughter, a friend, and ten other people. In the trip they encounter love, lust, laughs, and most of all, good and lasting friendships.

I loved all of the characters, even if there were 13 people on the road trip, each of them was so well written and detailed that it was as if I was on the road trip with them. The mix of very different people worked perfectly in this book. My favorite character is Cassie, although I grew to love all of them.

** Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion. **

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

Lil, who is living in sheltered accommodation and is 82 books herself, her daughter Cassie and her friend Maggie on a trip across Europe. She wants a bit of an adventure, something different from what she does daily.
Also on this trip are three people who belong to a tennis club, and the local pubs five-a side football team. Although their ideas of fun are totally different to those of Lil.

Together, they see the beaches of Normandy where soldiers lost their lives, and feel for those that did. Their adventures in Amsterdam are shocking, and in Bruges they visit the sites and sample the delights of different foods and drink. It seems it’s just what Lil, Maggie and Cassie needed.
As the time comes where they are getting to the end of their trip, for Lil, even though she’s getting older, she still feels that like buses, where one doesn’t turn up then two come together, the same applies to men…..
So, will this mean she’s ready for some companionship as she’s ageing? Will they all make changes when they head home. Or has the time passed to make these changes……

Recommend It

What could be more fun than a bus trip with a great assortment of quirky characters, especially if 82 year old Lil is part of the group! It's never too late for an adventure, something we would be wise to remember, as you'll never know what you may discover along the way! A great read!

A great laugh out loud trip through Europe. This is fun, quirky and a really good read.. so unusual to have older characters as the main characters.

Whistle Stop Tour….
Gloriously escapist and entertaining reading once again from this accomplished author who takes us on a joyful road trip with a group of delightfully engaging characters. Octogenarian Lil, her daughter and a friend take a whistle stop bus trip across Europe, meeting various individuals and groups along the way and take some delicious stops, age no object. Plenty of humour and fun to be had.

Four and a half Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭒
Lil’s Bus Trip by Judy Leigh is a delightful adventure with a cast of quirky and interesting characters. This book will take you on a laugh-out-loud journey through Europe, with a few characters who will soon become your friends.

Lil aged 82 and her daughter Cassie, age 65 decide to go on a minibus tour of Northern Europe with their friends from the local five aside football team, and three members of the tennis club. This band of merry holidaymakers bonds together as they visit the sights in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

Lil’s Bus Trip is just so much fun. You’ll never get bored of the antics of this group of friends as they make their way through Europe. There are a group of 20 somethings from the football team, and some middle-agers from the pub and tennis club, and a couple from the older generation too. They all get up to some humorous shenanigans as they travel together.

This multi-generational book is not just a travel diary of these characters’ adventures, but it examines the personal discoveries as these characters grow and learn about themselves and each other. It’s not just another holiday they are on, but a journey of discovery and adventure and it pulls the reader along for the experience.

I highly recommend this book for anyone, of any age, for a fun-filled adventure. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

What a wonderful heartwarming book, and so lovely to have a book full of older characters living their best life! The story is both uplifting and a little sad at times, taking us on a bus trip through France, Belgium and the Netherlands whilst meeting the locals, friendships being formed and lovers being taken. A joyful book that shows that life might just begin at 60…….

This book is an adventure! Great fun, with very real characters. Lots of humour and the antics of the characters keeps you turning the pages.
Thanks NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.