Thank you so much for letting listen to this audiobook. I liked this story but I have to say that I didn't love it. The relationships between the women was what drew me to it.

I have to admit I almost have up after the first couple of chapters, too much talk of COVID, which I want keen on, I like to forget all that when reading.
However, I am so pleased I persevered! A really uplifting book about a group of women who find friendship through their sea swimming.
Each character has their own story of struggles and problems, but together they work through them and rebuild their lives in different ways.
A really well written and emotional book.

Maddy's son and his father had a huge fight and he stormed out of the house. She has not seen him since. When she receives a call from him on Christmas Day, she is not home, but he leaves a message on the machine. She is able to track the call to a payphone in Brighton. At the same time, she finds out that her husband has been having an affair, and his business has gone belly up. She has no reason to stay in her beautiful, instagrammable house any longer. Worried that Jamie may harm himself, she is determined to find him and sets off. While walking the beach in Brighton, she meets a group of women who call themselves The Sea-Gals. It is an interesting group of women who are sea swimmers. We meet seventy-year-old Helga who is determined not to slow down because of her age, twenty-something Tor who is still figuring out who she is, recently widowed Dominica swims to help deal with her grief, while busy mum of two Claire has started swimming to put herself first for a change. This group become fast friends who are there to support one another, offer advice and just be there when they are needed. Together, they help Maddy begin a new life.

I enjoyed this story of friendship, multi-generational friends, new beginnings and of course a bunch of happily ever afters. Maddy was a character that I loved because of her mama bear instincts. She did everything she could to find Jamie and her friends helped out as well. The camaraderie these women had was great. I love my group of friends that is made up of a few widows, a mom with a special needs child, a divorcee and an empty nester. Lifesaving for Beginners reminded me a bit of this group and that helped me connect even more. Friendship is the heart of this book, but there are also themes of loneliness, grief, body image, homelessness, environment and menopause. Apparently there are both physical and therapeutic benefits of swimming year-round in the sea, but I am not a fan of cold water, so will stick to the heated pool. I am a big fan of stories dealing with female friendships as I believe they are very important to share all the changes in life as we grow and get older, so this was a hit for me. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Lucy Scott. I enjoyed all the voices she created to become each of the women. Her tone, expression and emotion made this an enjoyable book to listen to and I definitely recommend it to those who enjoy that format.

“Lifesaving for Beginners” is a contemporary novel which focuses around the events triggered by the disappearance of Maddy’s son (Jamie). Told from multiple points of view, the novel follows Claire, Dominica, Helga, Maddy, and Tor, as they bond during their swimming sessions in the sea and learn from each other how to deal with the effects of time on their relationship with their spouses, family, and the effect of time on their own bodies.

As the story develops and each of the narrators starts to take their life in their own hands, I found myself rooting for all of the “Sea Gals” to find their happy ending. Each of their stories are so full of emotions and drama that it is really hard not to get attached to the characters. While emotion is the key element of the novel, the element of surprise is not that strong and I found myself predicting most of the scenes, which is also why I felt that it took me a long time to finish the book.

Having listened to the audio version, I also found it surprisingly good how narrator Lucy Scott found a way to give each character their own voice through emotions.

Special thanks to NetGalley, HarperCollins UK Audio, HQ, and the editorial team for giving me the opportunity to review the ARC in audiobook format and to you, my reader, for taking the time to read this honest personal book review.

If you are interested in other of my book reviews, make sure to follow me on GoodReads!

#LifesavingforBeginners #NetGalley

A quick and easy read that I found myself picking up after a long day to unwind. The characters are beautifully written and I came to love them within the first few pages and was rooting for them all the way to the end. At times I wanted to stop reading because I just wanted the experience to go on for longer.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this audio and this story. This group of women felt honest and truthful and so real to me I felt like I was with friends. This really is a sweet story about how cold water swimming brought an group of broken women together and reignited the spark inside them all. Don’t miss this book.

I started listening to this on a whim. It had a plotline that had the covid pandemic and the lockdowns in Britain in it, and as I have mentioned it earlier, I have been wondering how authors would be incorporating it into their plotlines. Although it has been two years since it all began, it is hard to imagine a world where it never happened, even in fiction. This book does not lean heavily on the issue but works around it, except for all the characters taking turns putting down the distancing rules as if they are too ridiculous to work. This happened once too often to put me off. I know a lot of the restrictions felt a little too far for many, but almost every character had a go at how it spoils something, small and large.
That tiny rant aside, I really enjoyed the book. I am starting to appreciate these books with older protagonists and relatively stable (but differing) lives.
Multiple women seek out the sea at Brighton to find new meaning in their life or work hard on their current ones. The original Salty Sea-gals has three women who have been meeting up for open water swimming in the sea, even in winter. They are experienced and have created a pattern. The oldest, Helga's body, is fighting her even as she keeps everyone entertained with her quick remarks and supportive commentary, even as she educates everyone around her about the birds they regularly don't pay attention to. Dominica is nursing her sorrow. She misses her husband and is not sure she wants to go back to work the way she was once used to. Tor has not come out to her family and is struggling with the kind of life she leads with her girlfriend.
Then come the two women who end up finding this group and a whole new strength they did not know they had. Claire feels underappreciated at home and struggling with body image issues. Her arc was probably my favourite because it was gradual and had a lot of meaningful conversations before it reached its conclusion. Maggie's life is the most turbulent. She lives her life on Instagram, and that false facade collapses, leaving her struggling. She is trying to find her possibly homeless son and thinking about all the ways her decision might have brought him to that point. Their plotline was also quite adventurous.
Although I may not have delved deeper into the original trio, I did enjoy their individual trials too. It is a very full book, with a lot of meaningful interactions. The narrator did a pretty great job in bringing all the people to life. I was able to imagine very different people based on how the author and, subsequently, the narrator portrayed them. It is not easy to have multiple protagonists and ensure they come across as separate individuals as well as feel like they all got their own time in the story.
Here, I felt like both of the above points was achieved, and it is easy for me to recommend this to readers of this genre.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

Narrated by Lucy Scott 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Really great voice. Did a brilliant job with all the characters (and there are sooooo many)

Story 3 ⭐⭐⭐
Honestly it took me a little bit to get into this book. There are a lot of characters to keep track of and at the first mention of covid I wanted to put this down, but unlike other authors Josie Lloyd actually made it relevant to the entire story instead of just dropping it in like a bullet point needing to be marked off the 2022 guide on how to write a novel.
Anyway... Back to the book... The characters are very diverse and each have emotional back stories with where they are at in their lives.

This is the first book I've read/listen to by Josie Lloyd and while it is only a 3 star for me I would definitely buy a book of hers from the kindle store or audible because her writing is very good and she does a remarkable job with her characters.

This was such a heart warming book, set during the covid pandemic and focusing around a group of friends - the sea-gals who bonded over the daily dips on the sea in Brighton.

Each of the sea-gals has their own backstories they are dealing with - some of these might be triggering but their camaraderie is so wholesome.

I adore swimming but am not really one for open water swimming in the middle of winter but this book nearly tempted me to give it a go!

Narration of this book was so good, brought the book alive for me and easily followed the storyline. Definitely one to recommend!

The perfect audio book for women seeking adventure and escape. The characters are all wonderfully written and I felt as if I was part of the Brighton swimmers. Loved it!

I really enjoyed this book. Josie Lloyd has written another lovely story where a group of women called the Sea-Gals come together to support one another daily and especially during difficult times. The individual storylines of each of these women are compelling and relatable. It is the compassion and care for each other that culminates into one dramatic moment that made the book for me.

Maddie is the newest addition to the group after finding out on Christmas Day that her husband had been having an affair for the past two years. The same day, she received a brief call from her son Jamie who had been missing for several years. She tracks the call to Brighton and travels there to try and find Jamie. She discovers and is fascinated by the Sea-Gals as she walks along the beach one day.

The group is made up of diverse women whose common interest is swimming in the sea. The physical and therapeutic benefits of swimming year-round in the sea were highlighted and each woman had their reason for participating. The women are at different points in their lives which created a significant bond in the group.

I listened to the audiobook version of Lifesaving For Beginners which was narrated by Lucy Scott. I enjoyed the diversity in her voice as she became each of the women in the group and the clarity in her voice. She made the book easy to listen to and would not hesitate to recommend the audiobook version to those that enjoy this format.

I recommend this book to those that enjoyed the author’s book The Bright Side Running Club (aka The Cancer Ladies’ Running Club) or to those that enjoy Women’s Fiction. It is a book that celebrates friendships between women and the idea that we are stronger together.

4.5 stars

This audiobook is set in Brighton and is based around five women who belong in a swimming group. They all have a back story and all have things going on in their lives. . There are some interesting stories covered that we can all relate to and I enjoyed the book because of that - it is very grounded. I also loved the comerarderie that develops between the characters and the strong bonds that form and from that - the support the women start to give each other. My favourite character was Helga with her no nonsense attitude which leads me into Lucy Scott’s narration (particularly of Helga!) which was absolutely brilliant!!
This is a gorgeous summer listen , full of friendship and loveliness and swimming of course! Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins for my copy

My thanks to NetGalley and HQ publishing for the opportunity to review this book.
I loved it, a cosy contemporary book with lots of happy endings.
I engaged with the ladies at every page turned and although the storyline storyline was a times obvious it didn't spoil the book for me.
This is my second Josie Lloyd book and I loved it as much as the first.
I highly recommend the book and the author.

Lifesaving for Beginners by Josie Lloyd
Narrated by Lucy Scott

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK and I am leaving this review voluntarily

When Maddy receives a call on Christmas Day from her estranged son Jamie who has been missing for the past few years on a Brighton phone number, she decides to go there in attempt to track him down and repair their relationship. As she strolls on the beach one morning mulling over her next steps, she meets the Sea-Gals – a group of feisty women who are sea swimmers.

Seventy-year-old Helga is determined not to slow down because of her age, while twenty-something Tor is still figuring out who she is. Recently widowed Dominica swims to help deal with her grief, while busy mum of two Claire has started swimming to put herself first for a change.

The first thing that struck me about this book was how much Josie was using covid as a theme through the book - this actually spoilt my enjoyment. A satisfying ending redeemed this book a bit, but I feel like I am in the minority not loving this book. The characters are all enjoyable and overall this is a powerful book, with some very strong female characters.

Rating 3/5

This book is life-affirming and heartwarming, I things it demonstrates how friends can become family and blood isn't necessary. All the women in this novel are navigating their own personal issues. Still, with the help of the unbreakable bonds they build throughout, they become stronger, more confident versions of themselves. There will be a character every reader can relate to demonstrates that anyone can go through a tough time and come out the other side,

The book is a great summer read, with a beautifully written positive narrative, if you love female-led, empowering novels this is perfect.#NetGalley #LifesavingForBeginners

This works great as an audio book. I loved the narration. This was such a lovely book. Warm hearted, humorous, honest, relatable and beautiful.it’ll make you laugh and cry. I’d happily read this again or gift to a friend.