This was such a lovely book to slip into one and one with some great characters to get to know. With Hilary, the manageress of the Tea Shop at St Judes, doing her best to overcome what life has thrown at her. Joy, who is trying to recover parts of her old self after caring for her ill husband and Chloe, the youngest of the three, newly turned 16 and stoked by her parents to become the doctor they want her to be, volunteering at the cafe as part of the Duke of Edinburgh award. I loved the dynamic between them and the more I read, the more I loved it!

A slight irk though - I did feel a little attacked at times with the writing and how much it demonised younger generations and the way they are (it’s all tied up with the new modern food franchise ‘Platter’ which is introduced into the hospital, in direct competition with the more old fashioned, traditional hospital cafeteria. Think avocado on sourdough with a hemp seed toppings vs a bacon butty and a sausage roll).

Modernising is seen as the death of the old ways (very true) but the way the newer generations and ‘millennials’ were portrayed was kind of hurtful (as a member of the younger generation, Ouch). With their quinoa and chia seeds, whole foods obsession and health kicks. It came off as a little spiteful and derogatory.

As quoted from the book ‘new age hippie shit the millennials insisted on, with their skinny jeans, side parted hair and pathetic Harry Potter obsession’. Ouch. I’ll just take my skinny jeans wearing, Harry Potter obsessed self off then…. Fyi I love Harry Potter so don’t come at me and skinny jeans are a totally superior trouser choice …!

Despite that though, I did really enjoy the story and some of me wants to give this 3 stars (on account of the above, my wounded skinny jeans, Harry Potter loving pride) but I did find myself invested in the story and I did really enjoy it. I was so rooting for them all and flew through the book in a few days. It’s one of those perfect slow movers with a simple story but an endearing one.

It was so heartwarming and one of those ‘leave you happy’ kind of endings. It would have been five stars but an insult to Harry Potter expelliarmus-sed one away but the writing style was great and it was a lovely lovely read.

Wow what a funny book loved this novel.
Based on an unlikely trio of two pensioners and a young college student and the various mishaps that happen along the way of life. But then the tea shop they volunteer in comes under threat. Funny and some sad moments in between great read

4.5 rounded down

Three women volunteer at the Margery Marshall Memorial cafeteria at Saint Judes Hospital which raises funds for many things including murals for children's wards. There is Hilary Halliday, currently down on her previously considerable uppers thanks to financial mismanagement by her husband and she is now living with her older sister Nancy. Nancy always has the last word and is a tour de force but she and Hillary are much more alike than Hillary thinks as she runs the cafeteria with military and pecuniary precision. Then there is colourful and lovely but exceptionally clumsy and frequently late Joy Grainger who brightens a room in every way. Finally, there’s Chloe Foster- Pearson the latest recruit, volunteering as part of the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme. She is the daughter of renowned surgeons and similarly predestined… Or is she?

The cafeteria springs to life in much the same way as the characters do. It’s dated, definitely needs a lick of paint but it’s been at the heart of the hospital for many years. That is until it becomes at risk from the latest hospital innovation of “Platter“ a café serving healthy food. It becomes a sort of battle of builders tea with full fat milk with a scone, jam and cream on the side versus a Chai latte with almond milk with a tofu salad and cauliflower rice. Although to Hilary’s shock it becomes more than that. Don the pinnies, roll up your sleeves and wave your rolling pin and let battle commence.

It’s a delightful blend of the touching and emotional with wit and humour but it’s also sensitive as it incorporates issues like loneliness, grief, parental expectations and the importance of friendship and family. Joanna Nell treats all her characters with sensitive respect but with perception and insight into what makes them tick. The chapter headings are humorous and apt. There are some excellent descriptions such as Nancy and Hillary’s rather dilapidated home and of the hospital and Nacy’s rakish driving, an experience indeed! I love the eventual camaraderie of the three women once Hilary forgets her jack boots and how they join forces for the good. It’s a delightful, warm easy read which is the authors trademark. It’s a fantastic blend of the comic with creativity, with sympathy and thoughtfulness and gives out a positive message.

With thanks to Hodder and Stoughton for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

This was an easygoing read set in a jaded hospital cafeteria which comes under threat from a healthy eating franchise that’s opened as part of the hospital refit. Featuring three very different females, each hiding secrets from the world, it was great to see the dynamics between them and how their stories evolved. The story is not so much about the battle to keep the cafeteria open, that actually only features in a small part of the book, as much as the three women and what’s troubling them which actually made for a lovely character read. 7/10

Joanna Nell is a new author to me, however this won’t be the last book of hers that I read. It’s laugh out loud funny from the start, with the hilarious description of Hilary and Nancy’s car ride through to the ending. It’s also touching, sad, and very well observed with characters that jump to life from the page. All three main characters have great back stories, making them believable and likeable, despite their quirks, bad habits and personality flaws. Hilary, Joy and Nancy all work at the shabby little tea room at St Jude’s hospital, although not always seeing eye to eye, once the tea rooms future is under threat they all pull together to drag it into the present to try and save it from closure. Having gone with my grandparents, when I was a child, as they ran the local hospital’s volunteer tea room on a Sunday, this brings back happy memories. I’m sure you will love it!

I’ve not read any of Joanna’s books before, but having finished this one, I will definitely be keeping an eye out for her others. She has such a natural way of writing.

The characters are so well defined and familiar - that’s not to say I liked all of them. They are all a bit over the top, but they stay the right side of caricature. Joanna really understands her characters, old and young, and how her audience will relate to them.

Whilst it is a fictionalised tale, and some would say a frivolous read, I think it really shows us how important hospital volunteers are. It’s like a love letter to our hospitals and our carers.

It is a light, quick read, but there are a few twists and surprises that I wasn’t expecting, which was a nice change to the other, so-called happily-ever-after books.

It’s a really cosy, happy, joyful book, and I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending it to others.

The Tea Ladies Of St Jude’s Hospital is the fourth novel by best-selling Australian author, Joanna Nell. Meet the staff of the Marjorie Marshall Memorial Cafeteria in the foyer of St Jude’s Hospital, volunteers all: Hilary Halliday, in her mid-seventies, manageress for ten years; Joy, also in her seventies, nearing the end of her first months’ probation; seventeen-year-old Chloe Foster-Pearson, their newest recruit, fulfilling a requirement for her Duke of Edinburgh gold medal.

Distracted by her currently chaotic personal life, Hilary has missed a few important emails from General Manager Dave Rawlinson concerning the hospital’s renovations, so none of them has any idea of what’s about to happen.

Virtually an institution in itself, the Marjorie Marshall has been serving refreshments to appreciative staff, patients and visitors at St Jude’s for some fifty years and is currently raising funds for a sea-life mural for the Children’s Ward. Their fare is basic: plain and simple; so when a branch of wholefood café chain, Platter opens in the foyer, with its black-T-shirted, blonde-ponytailed clones and its myriad of food and drink choices, Hilary immediately understands the threat it poses.

Despite Hilary’s tendency to micro-manage and her previous rejection of suggestions for improvement, with the café’s viability endangered, Joy and Chloe are wholeheartedly supportive of a makeover, contributing time and talent and furniture. But will it be enough? Because there’s that email about Phase 2 of the renovations that Hilary has neglected to open…

Nell’s depiction of the hospital foyer almost like a little village will resonate with hospital regulars: the passing parade of daily life here is presented from three different perspectives. As always, her characters have depth and appeal and the reader quickly invests in their fates, even the prickly ones.

She gives them insightful observations and wise words: “With the passing years, the list of things Joy could do was shrinking. Listening was the one thing that people became better at as they aged, she realised.”

Young Chloe labours under the heavy weight of expectations: those of her family, and of everyone to whom she is introduced as the progeny of consultant surgeon parents, all assuming she wants to be a doctor. The only exception is her best friend since kindergarten, Sam, who understands and enthusiastically encourages her artistic aspirations. Working with these two older, perceptive women helps her distil what is important.

Joy, ever cheerful in dress and manner, serves up tea with sympathy and comfort so it’s surprising to learn she has only recently dragged herself up out of a lengthy depression. But she’s still working up the courage to carry out the simple task she needs to complete on her beloved husband Len’s behalf.

For Hilary, her position as manageress has afforded her status with the well-off wives of her (soon-to-be-ex) husband’s associates, but her recent change in fortunes is compounded when she is forced to live with her bossy, cranky older sister, Nancy. She is understandably afraid that her raison d’etre might be lost.

Once again, Nell has her finger on the pulse when it comes to seniors, touching on many issues that affect the elderly: loneliness, poverty, malnutrition, denial in grief, the need for a sense of purpose, and the fear of being irrelevant or invisible. She addresses these topics with sensitivity and humour, giving the reader laughter and lumps-in-the-throat in equal measure. The clever chapter headings are a bonus. A delightful read!
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton

I’d like to thank Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Tea Ladies of St Jude’s Hospital’ written by Joanna Nell in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

The Marjorie Marshall Memorial Cafeteria may be shabby, past its best, but it’s still an integral part of St Jude’s Hospital, giving sustenance to patients, visitors and staff alike. The manager, Hilary, isn’t happy when she learns from the executive of changes afoot with the addition of a new ‘Wellbeing Hub’ offering healthy meals and drinks, and with her staff Joy and volunteer Chloe they rise to the challenge to keep the cafeteria up and running.

In ‘The Tea Ladies of St Jude’s Hospital’ author Joanna Nell gives fantastic descriptions of the characters, Hilary who’s living with her sister Nancy until she gets her own apartment, Joy with her glittery blue false eyelashes that keep coming adrift, Chloe whose parents are surgeons and expect her to follow in their footsteps, as well as Chloe’s friend Sam and shopkeeper Nitin. There are parts that have made me laugh out loud such as when they treat Chloe to an 18th birthday raspberry milkshake that explodes leaving Chloe covered in more pink goo than is in the glass. I think the main theme of the novel, that of the cafeteria, is a bit late arriving but I love how the three women become close especially towards the end and secrets are revealed. This novel has the feel-good factor that‘s left me with a warm glow and hope for the future of these three amazing women.

The Marjorie Marshall Memorial Cafeteria has been serving and raising money at the hospital for over fifty years, long after anybody can remember who Marjorie Marshall actually was. Staffed by successive generations of dedicated volunteers, the beloved cafeteria is known as much for offering a kind word and sympathetic ear (and often unsolicited life advice) as for its tea and buns. Hilary has worked her way up to manageress; Joy has been late everyday since she started as the newest recruit. Seventeen year old Chloe is volunteering during the school holidays. When they discover the cafeteria is under threat of closure, this unlikely trip must band together to save it.

Hilary, Joy and Chloe support each other at work and in their personal lives. The characters are intriguing as they reveal their problems and help each other through them. The pace is steady in this addictive and humorous read. Their bond is strengthened when they learn that the cafeteria is to close. People aren't always what they seem. This is a story about friendship, having courage in your beliefs, and the strength to carry them out.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #HodderStoughton and the author #JoannaBell for my ARC of #TheTeaLadiesOfStJudesHospital in exchange for an honest review.

There is something very soothing, almost therapeutical with the books by Joanna Nell. Lots of splendid, colorful characters also the ones in the background. Such as the professor who went to medical school together with Chloe's mum.
Too bad this author doesn't write sequels, because I would love to know about the adventures for some, like Nitin and his new job :)

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book.