I absolutely loved every second of it!!

I had the joy of having the physical book as well as the audio. I have to admit, I ended up taking in the majority of the story by audio because Graham Norton's narration was just so absorbing!

The story mainly follows Carol and her ups and downs through married life with a blended family. In classic Norton style, no matter how much drama and sadness there is, the humour runs throughout. There are certain characters that 100% take the book to a completely higher level. Moira is the Mother that everyone and no one asked for 😂

Another awesome book by Graham Norton- each of his so very different but the characters always true and believable. A great story teller with the haiku Jack of making an implausible situation totally believable. I loved Moira.

**The new novel from bestselling author Graham Norton**

**In his tense and darkly comic new novel Norton casts a light on the relationship between mothers and daughters, and truth and self-preservation with unnerving effect.**

Carol is a divorced teacher living in a small town in Ireland, her only son now grown. A second chance at love brings her unexpected connection and belonging. The new relationship sparks local speculation: what does a woman like her see in a man like that? What happened to his wife who abandoned them all those years ago? But the gossip only serves to bring the couple closer.

When Declan becomes ill, things start to fall apart. His children are untrusting and cruel, and Carol is forced to leave their beloved home with its worn oak floors and elegant features and move back in with her parents.

Carol's mother is determined to get to the bottom of things, she won't see her daughter suffer in this way. It seems there are secrets in Declan's past, strange rumours that were never confronted and suddenly the house they shared takes on a more sinister significance.

In his tense and darkly comic new novel Norton casts a light on the relationship between mothers and daughters, and truth and self-preservation with unnerving effect.

I had a feeling Graham Norton would be a fantastic narrator so I dived straight into the audiobook and he did not disappoint. His voices were fantastic- particularly their old Irish men. I found myself smiling at the narration all the time.

This is a funny story. If it hadn’t been written by a man I’d probably describe it as woman’s fiction! It’s part mystery, part slice of life, part homage to a small town, part comedy. I’m intrigued by the fact that Graham chooses to write mainly from the perspective of a middle aged woman and he does it brilliantly!

I adored all the characters but my hands down favourite was Carol’s mum, Moira - what a tour de force she was!

This is a beautifully crafted and incredibly well observed story. It made me laugh and had me close to crying and had moments of edge of my seat suspense.

I absolutely loved it and will definitely read Graham’s other books (on audiobook if he’s narrating!)

This was a fantastic audiobook! Graham’s humour really added to the book and I think I enjoyed it far more by experiencing it this way. Great characters and a cracking story line! Would recommend.

This was my first book of Graham Norton's, and it won't be the last. I listened mostly to the audio which Graham himself narrated and it really made the book shine. The characters were so relatable, human and really believable. Maureen was such a wee Irish mammy! Considering her years, she really was such a strong and leading character. She was funny, endearing and at times pompous, yet I fully felt Carol's frustration at times as she was the yin to her Mother's yang. Carol was more reserved, lacked confidence in some areas and really did seem quite oblivious to events that happened in her life, until it was pointed out to her in the throes of a drama that was supposed to be frozen in the past. ..... for those who have read... see what I did there? ;)

The story itself, as much as the events are incredible. it is written in a way that makes it really quite believable. There's a lot of themes there, dementia, loss, marriage break ups and children leaving the nest. That's just to name a few, I was so invested in the story that I didn't want to stop, easy to read and pulls you right in,

A book that will stay with me for a while!

The wee book lady. xx

This is my first Graham Norton book and gosh I adored it. I was lucky enough that we not only got the physical copy to read, but we also got the audio version which is narrated by the man himself through @netgalley. I made the most of the audio and used it for the whole book, I think it made my experience so much more enjoyable, the comedy that comes through is just top notch!

The story is not my usual style but it was so enjoyable! It's written at such a nice speed. All the characters seem very realistic, I had a few theories while reading and it was so fun finding all the little details as I got through the days.

I will definitely be picking up Graham's books again, the humour was so good as well as the story. It was refreshing to enjoy figuring out the story as we go along. I would recommend this if you like cosy crime, but definitely give audio a go if you can!

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This was both a readalong and listenalong and I LOVED doing a bit of reading and a bit of listening.

Forever Home is a family drama with a mystery running through it. It’s been described as a dark comedy or a cosy mystery.

Set in a small (and rather judgmental) Irish town, the story follows Carol as she gets a second chance at love with an older man, Declan. The locals raise eyebrows and speculate about what Carol sees in Declan and why his wife abandoned him and their children years previously.

When Declan becomes ill, shocking truths are revealed, and Carol is forced to question whether she ever knew Declan at all.

This book was so much fun!
The characters are so well written and all their different little quirks really made them stand out. The audiobook is narrated by Graham Norton himself, and wow what a fantastic narrator he is! He truly made the characters come to life.

It’s written with such dry wit, warmth and relatability. My favourite character was Moira, Carol’s mother and I think we can all think of a Moira in our lives. A strong minded, formidable and determined older woman, who at times is overbearing and interfering but has the biggest heart.

If you enjoy a small town family drama with dark themes but an abundance of laugh out loud moments then this is the book for you.

Thank you @hodderbooks & @tandemcollectiveuk

This was my first @grahnort and I’ll definitely be reading more. Home Stretch has been on my shelf for ages and after reading this I’m all the more excited to pick it up.

Forever Home by @
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‘Carol is a divorced teacher living in a small town in Ireland, happy enough with the life she has. But a second chance at love brings her unexpected connection and joy. The new relationship with sparks local gossip: what does a woman like her see in a man like that? What happened to his wife who abandoned him all those years ago?’

Loved this cosy crime/family drama, I started off reading it but then switched to the audiobook narrated by the great man himself and that’s when the humour really began to shine through, particularly the chapters which include Carole’s no nonsense mother Moria.

That’s not to say there weren’t a few more serious and poignant moments, I especially found the look into dementia from the POV of a partner rather than the child or grandchild well written.

Would highly recommend and am keen to read more by him now.

I’d never read a Graham Norton book before, so I was very excited when I was sent this novel. Full of dry wit, this book made me laugh-out-loud. I particularly loved the narration of the audio which is delivered by Graham Norton himself. It really brings the characters to life and highlights the humour of the book. His narration even had me chuckling aloud when in a pharmacy, where I got some very strange looks.
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The plot of the book seems like it is going to be quite straightforward but takes a turn and has a few surprising twists. Once I got over half-way through the book, I was desperate to continue reading and listening as I needed to know what was going to happen.
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The characters in this book were brilliant. I was particularly fond of Moira. She may have been meddling, interfering and at times overbearing but she made me laugh and always meant well. The voice Graham Norton gave her was perfect. She took control of situations with determination and I especially liked her relationship with her put-upon daughter, Carol.
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A brilliant dark comedy that I would highly recommend.

I have read another of Graham Norton’s books and this one was just as fantastic. I particularly loved the audio book as he is the narrator and gives each character their unique persona.

I was on a readalong for this with set sections per day, but was so hooked I just kept listening. This is a real page turner with some hysterical moments.

I cannot recommend both Graham Norton and this one enough.

Forever Home was a wonderful mix of humour, darkness and mad capers involving freezers, fishing trawlers and a BBQ cover!

Carol felt like she'd found her forever home when she met Declan, and had her second chance at love. But cruelly, Declan's health declined and against Carol's wishes, his grown up children put him in a nursing home. And kicked her out of the house so they could sell it.

Bereft and living with her parents again at 49, she wonders how she's reached this point. When her parents put an offer on the house, she has a bad feeling. Accompanied by a bad smell seeping from the basement. Carol's mother Moira is determined to find the source, and this is where things take a decidedly dark turn.

What follows is a mad caper to cover up a crime that caused a rupture in the lives of many.

Written with incredible wit and warmth, Forever Home was entertaining, funny, poignant and a fantastic escape.

Took part in the Tandem Collective readalong and listen along - loved the audiobook - Graham's narration really added to the story. Thanks for allowing me to listen to it.

📚🎧Book & Audio Book Review🎧📚

Forever Home
Graham Norton

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This is the first book that I've read by Graham Norton (even though I've had Home Stretch on my tbr for an age 🫣). I really had no clue what I was expecting from it, although I had an inkling that it might be packed with his famous dry humour.

Through the first few chapters we're introduced to a couple of our main characters and given a little history of their lives.
Carol, a retired school teacher is coming to terms with her partner, Declan's, early diagnosed dementia.

There's a complicated situation here as Declan never married Carol having never officially split from his wife, Joan, who "disappeared" years ago leaving him with their 2 children.

To make matters worse, the children (now grown) don't see Carol as being part of the family and take over their father's care ....and property!....pushing Carol aside.

This is where the small town family drama turns into something a little more mysterious and intriguing.

I won't give any more plot away as things definitely take a turn and the characters and situation starts to get entangled with past events leaving us wondering what on earth went on behind closed doors at No. 7 Castle Row!

I absolutely loved all our characters ...and there were a fair few, but they all jumped off the page with their little -isms and quirks which made them completely relatable.
My favourite character has got to be Moira, Carol's mum. What an amazing woman. She was strong and level-headed throughout and she took no nonsense! I'd love to have her on my side in any situation.
She also added a sarcastic humour which so reminded me of Graham - I wonder if she was his favourite character to write?

The plot was brilliant and I was hooked from the start. Although we were supposed to be pacing ourselves, I just couldn't put it down!

The writing style flowed beautifully and with Graham, himself narrating the audio book, it translated perfectly both on the page and whilst listening.

I'm definitely digging out my next Norton masterpiece from my tbr and moving it to the top! Can't wait to read more......

Firstly a little bit of blurb :
‘Carol is a divorced teacher living in a small town in Ireland, her only son now grown. A second chance at love brings her unexpected connection and belonging. The new relationship sparks local speculation: what does a woman like her see in a man like that? What happened to his wife who abandoned them all those years ago? But the gossip only serves to bring the couple closer. When Declan becomes ill, things start to fall apart. His children are untrusting and cruel, and Carol is forced to leave their beloved home with its worn oak floors and elegant features and move back in with her parents. Carol's mother is determined to get to the bottom of things, she won't see her daughter suffer in this way. It seems there are secrets in Declan's past, strange rumours that were never confronted and suddenly the house they shared takes on a more sinister significance. In his tense and darkly comic new novel Norton casts a light on the relationship between mothers and daughters, and truth and self-preservation with unnerving effect.’

This was such a pleasure to read from the first page to the last !
It was so character driven, I found that I cared so much for carol and all our gorgeous other characters from the moment we were introduced.
Although a little ‘unlikely’ of a plot I still found that I was completely captivated and was smiling through nearly every page.
I had the pleasure of also partly listening to the audiobook version of this and Graham Norton did not disappoint me with his hilarious and emotive reading.
The writing style is so delightful and I’ll be adding all of Graham Nortons books to my ever increasing tbr shelf!

I thoroughly enjoyed this. Norton's narration really adds something to it as well. The book is darkly funny and Norton's wit and sense of humour is very apparent.

This book had some excellent twists and was just all round quite amusing.

Moira is a QUEEN! Adored her!