I really enjoyed one of Sophie Green's previous books and was looking forward to picking this one up but I just sadly don't see myself picking this up anytime soon. I'm so sorry and if this changes then I'll add my review!

This is a contemporary Australian based novel which features female characters at its core. Having read previous books by Green before I was looking forward to this one.

Victoria is a stalwart of Bellbird River, a little town in New South Wales. Trying to rebuild her life as her husband has decided to find a younger model. She is joined by her gregarious operatic sister Geraldine and they seem to rub along together with very different views on life but neither of them knowing what to do next.

Alex and younger daughter Kim have moved to Bellbird so Alex can spend more time with her daughter. Kim doesn’t want to be there, misses Sydney desperately and finds settling into school even harder when her mum is a teacher next door.

Debbie is trying to rebuild her life in Bellbird after a period of time away from her family, but there is much still to overcome about her past, before she can tackle her present.

Through various different means and reasons, the women all find themselves involved with the Bellbird River Country Choir. This outlet provides them a basis of new friendships, old relationships and new beginnings as they all use the strnegth of the singing, to overcome all most everything.

There are some quite difficult subjects tackled, illness, loneliness and bullying which sometimes made for almost awkward reading as I felt I was intruding. The author does this well, but at times I felt it was these issues which overtook the development of the characters. I did feel in parts that I couldn’t quite warm to any of these characters and that left me feeling a bit flat about the book.

A fair novel from this author but not as strong as ones I have previous read.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers and of course the author for gifting me this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was very excited to receive a copy of this book early and found it to be an enjoyable read. Following the life of Alex, a single mum and teacher, who moves to the country town of Bellbird River in NSW having moved from the city and with a dream to reconnect with her daughter. When paths cross over with Victoria and Debbie and the past is brought into the present the story shows the courage these women can find when facing their past and moving forward.
An emotional book showing the strengths and beauty unexpected friendships can have.

Lovely sweet story. I read one another one of this writer's books and I always said I would read more.

The characters we well rounded, funny and real. I could imagine chatting to any of them but I wished for more dialogue and real time action. I found a lot of info dumped before me rather than allowing me to live it with the characters.

Still would read more from this writer.

Bellbird River is a small town in the dusty heart of nowhere, a place where every knows everyone else and crime is non-existent. For a group of residents their choir is everything, a disparate group of individuals who perform an eclectic mix of songs and who represent the town. Into the choir come a new group of women, Alex - a single mother, Gabrielle - a opera singer recovering from a failed operation, Debbie - hiding from the world, Janine - consumed by guilt and Victoria - abandoned and angry, through friendship they leant to progress.
This book belongs to a very overcrowded and cliched genre but I really enjoyed it. The setting in the late 1990s is unusual and I liked the fact that there is the claustrophobia of isolated country life to content with. At it's heart this is a feel-good novel and sometimes that is exactly what I want to read - not too demanding, not too challenging, just relaxingly pleasant.

I wasn't entirely sure how I would find this novel and for some reason it fell flat for me. I would look forward to reading another novel from this author as maybe this was just a blip and the wrong time/ style for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review.

I didn’t know what to expect from this book. I’ve never read anything by the author before and this type of novel where a group of disparate characters come together in a shared activity can either work brilliantly or just be dull and bland. I didn’t need to worry though as I loved the book and found it really difficult to put down.

This type of novel stands or falls by the depiction of the characters and I loved all of the ones in this novel. There are several POV characters who all join the choir and we see their stories and problems. Some are newcomers to the area such as Alex and Debbie while others such as Janine and Victoria have lived in the small town of Bedford Rock all of their lives. All of the characters have major issues in their lives but find that membership of the choir helps either by forging new friendships or just by being given the confidence to attempt something for the first time.

I really enjoyed the descriptions of the choir practices and loved the character of Warwick the choir master. I also loved the depiction of the small town too. I liked the fact that the downsides such as the gossip and everyone knowing your business were shown alongside the benefits of people knowing you and caring about you.

This was a perfect read for a Summer’s afternoon and I am very grateful to Net Galley and Little Brown Book Group UK for providing my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Sophie Green is a reliable author whose novels always look forward to. While this was enjoyable with a cast of interesting and varied characters, I found it a little slow and a little meh (not a word I use very often).

While there were a few momentous events which helped the respective characters deal with the events in their lives, they weren’t spectacular but rather taken in their stride as if this was a common everyday occurrence.

I think if these events and the evolution of the characters has had more pizzazz, then I think this could easily have been a four star book. However, the underplaying of these events left me, feeling a little underwhelmed. Sad to say I wasn’t desperate to read this book like I have been with her previous books. So overall this is three stars. Not awful but not brilliant either.

Having previously read another book by the author I was hoping for an enjoyable and thought provoking read and I was not disappointed. The Bellbird River Country Choir weaves together the lives of several members of the local community and examines their various hopes and troubles all merging together at the choir. It does not shy away from realistic social issues such as infidelity, mental health issues and low self esteem but still provides an engaging and uplifting story of a community brought together in their enjoyment of song. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this ebook.

A warm hearted, uplifting and heart warming book. About new beginnings, finding yourself, learning to love again, finding new friendships, thze power of love, friendship and community.