Another cracker of a heartwarming and feel good and life affirming story from Libby Page.. Fabulous read and as usual with Libby's books you instantly warm to the characters and become immersed into their lives.

The Lifeline is a really charming follow up to The Lido. A gentle easy read with likeable characters full of heart.
A fun summer read. 3 stars.

A fantastic follow up to The Lido, I enjoyed this heart warming fiction which isn't afraid to tackle difficult issues. It made me smile and cry, I loved it.

Always enjoy this author and this book is no different,good characters that warmed to and was on their side (always helps) and a believable good storyline that had relevant subjects broached
it was a relaxing read,just right and really enjoyed everything about it

Libby Page revisits the main characters of her debut novel The Lido, Kate and Jay. Like the author, Kate has moved to Somerset and the couple have recently had a baby. Kate's feelings of initially struggling to find a bond with their child and thinking she is a bad mother echoes Page's own experiences as well.
Alongside this story is the engaging narrative of Phoebe, a mental health worker who manages a case load of patients that take up a lot of her life, leaving little time for her own. The individual characters help to highlight the effects that poor mental health can have on people's lives and those around them, prompting empathic thoughts and consideration when anyone could be invisibly going through a tough time.
At a time when mental health is the cause of much unemployment, anxious struggling teenagers and health services are overwhelmed, this is very topical.
The solutions in the book are support, friendship and spending time in nature.. there is a wild swimming club at the local river.
I am sure everyone will be aware of the scandalous pollution of our rivers and streams by water companies at the moment, so the late introduction of another campaign, a la Lido, to make the water suitable for bathing was welcome. The story skipped forward, however, focussing on the characters rather than the protest, and tied the ending up very idyllically.
As always, Libby's stories are a positive tonic and embraces the power of fiction to tell an 'if only' point of view.
If we could only all live in that world... but individual and group actions can make a huge difference and help combat feelings of inadequacy and helplessness.

Reading The Lifeline felt like catching up with old friends. It was nice to dive back into the lives of Kate and Jay with the addition of little Rosie. I also enjoyed the nods to The Lido as familiar characters were reintroduced.

The author taps into the loneliness and isolation that can come with being a new mum. As someone who was a relatively young mum and the first in my friend group to have a baby, I could really relate to Kate's feeling of being left behind and the nerve-wracking experience of attending baby groups. You can tell Libby Page drew from her own life as a new mum who left London and her friends, making the book feel personal and authentic.

The healing power of wild swimming takes centre stage, offering not just a physical escape but a sense of community and new friendships. The novel covers some heavy topics, especially related to mental health, but it maintains an overall positive and uplifting vibe.

While the storyline is reminiscent of The Lido with its theme of a community coming together and an attempt to save the swimming area, The Lifeline stands on its own. You don't need to have read the first book to enjoy this one.

Another uplifting read by Libby Page.

A lovely feel good novel that also tackles mental health issues, water pollution, strains of modern life and being a new mother. All done without saccharine, characters are ones you want to spend some time with.

I loved The Lido, so was super excited to read the follow up.
This is another fantastic feel good read that I devoured in almost one sitting. The characters will draw you in and stay with you. Libby Page has definitely done it again with another fabulous and heartwarming read.

I enjoyed this book which follows on from the Lido which I also enjoyed. A good, enjoyable read with great characters. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book.

This is the follow up book to The Lido which I read so many years ago that I can only really remember the bones. I guess what I am saying is that it's probably good to have read it, but this book also stands up well enough on its own.
So... we reconnect with Kate and Jay as they start their life with their new-born in rural Somerset. Initially Kate is struggling not just with the baby but also the change of scene, new life, have to make new friends and connections, her world has literally been thrown up in the air. But she wants it to work, and she also really wants to reconnect with the water, swimming being her sanctuary previously. So it is with excitement that she looks out a new swimming spot. This time wild-swimming in the river Avon. But will it be enough to give her the stability and haven she desires.
We also meet Phoebe, a community mental health nurse who connects with Kate over their joint interest in swimming.
There are a lot of topics contained in this book. Sewage dumping, council inactivity, water authorities, but it isn't overly political. All these things are included for the story, not for preaching reasons. That said, I found the rest of the book to be a little basic for me. I don't have children so I found it harder to reconnect to Kate and her challenges, I was able to sympathise but not empathise. I also missed Rosemary who I think was the lynch-pin in The Lido, Phoebe not really taking up that challenge in this book. Also I wanted it to be a bit grittier than it was. I found it was a little too soft for me. That said, it did keep me nicely occupied and away from real life for a nice few hours, and mostly entertained, that's the main reason I read so it definitely tickled that box.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

A lovely read and had a feel good quality to it. You care about the characters and want them all to have a happy ever after.

Such a lovely follow on from The Lido, which I read a few years ago. It was nice to find out what happened to Kate. I particularly enjoyed the characterisation of Phoebe. A tattooed biker and mental health nurse. The relationship between the women was a joy to read about.
The Lifeline was an easy, enjoyable read which I would recommend.
Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is my first book by this author and won’t be my last. This is the follow up to the lido which I didn’t realise at the time of reading and am going to go back and read although this could be read as a standalone

This was such a compelling and heart wrenching read with lots of fabulous characters and also brought a lot of hard hitting and relatable topics out into the open in a very sensitive way. The author has also used her personal experiences to bring this book to life which is what made it even more special and hope they found some comfort whilst writing this story and sharing it with others.

I think we all need the love of the farleigjh on Avon river swimming club.

I have to confess that it took me a while to get into this book. The Lido is one of my all-time favourites, so there was a certain trepidation about meeting Kate again – especially as she begins her journey into motherhood. However it was the other main character, Phoebe, I found it hard to get to grips with, but ended up loving her all the more because of it.

Naturally the redemptive power of water and of the friendships formed in and around it are central to this book, and I loved the new cast of characters. The members of the wild bathing club with the impossibly long name, Phoebe’s patients, the tired new mums – all drawn with empathy and care. Of course there are men in the book too, but the women take centre stage and that’s wonderful.

I have a slight quibble with the ending; I felt too many curve balls hit at a very late stage of the book, and although they created great tension and were all tied up in a satisfying way, the conclusion did seem a little rushed.

It was lovely to be ‘reunited’ with Kate and see how her life had moved on since The Lido. You don’t need to have read ‘The Lido’ before this story, but it helps you understand the importance of Rosemary and of swimming to her. The other main character, Phoebe, is a mental health nurse battling with her own struggles in life. Libby Page ‘does’ people so well. You are so quickly sucked into their lives, worries and joys. Her books give you faith in the human race again with their sense of community and seeing their best qualities. The curative aspects of swimming, and in this case, wild swimming in particular have a lovely calming effect on the reader. You do feel like you are in the water with the characters, enjoying the relaxation and healing qualities afforded by the cooling waters surrounded by nature. I found this book thoroughly enjoyable and the perfect antidote to a stressful day. Made me want to grab my swimming costume and head out to find the nearest approved bathing spot!

I hadn't realised that this was a follow up to The Lido, but I was very happy when I realised.
This time it's an area of river that the local wild swimmers are trying to save, we have new mother Kate, mental health nurse Phoebe and they are both struggling. We also have a wonderful cast of characters all of whom have their own fights, the river is the place that they feel happiest.
Interestingly the big bad this time is the local water authority who are responsible for leaking sewage, which is currently a big issue for a lot of waterways across the country.

The Lifeline is a lovely, feel good book with warm, relatable characters. It’s a sequel to Libby Page’s very popular The Lido but also works as a standalone read. I loved the setting by the river and the theme of wild swimming. It’s such an immersive read, I felt like grabbing a swimsuit and joining Kate, Phoebe and friends.

Kate, who featured in The Lido, has moved from London to Somerset and is finding that new motherhood isn’t all she thought it would be. Phoebe, a mental health nurse, puts her patients first and struggles to make time for herself. They, and other appealing characters, are brought together by the river swimming club at FarleighAvon, a club with a meandering name that I won’t attempt to reproduce here! The Lifeline does tackle some difficult, poignant themes but is a wonderfully light read and one that left me feeling upbeat. Five stars!

This was another excellent book from Libby Page! I loved the characters, both old and new, and their stories. I especially loved the sense of community created here yet again. Libby’s books always leave me feeling happy and warm, it’s like coming home.

Another lovely, cosy, heart-warming read from Libby Page.

Sequel to The Lido, the story treats us to what's happening now with Kate - having relocated to Somerset, and with a new baby, she finds herself somewhat adrift and struggling to cope.

But then she finds FoARSBRWAC - the crazy acronym for the Farleigh on Avon River Swimming, Bathing and Waterbased Activity Club - with a lot of varied and colourful members. Kate makes new friends and begins to find her purpose in life again; she's not the only one who finds sanctuary here - there are a number of other characters who are all interesting and have their own problems, and who all find refuge with each other and in the river.

This story is clearly very personal for Libby Page, in the notes at the end we realise that a lot of the experiences mirror her own life changes. I hope you've found similar peace to Kate, Libby!

A great follow up book to The Lido although you can really read this one as a standalone. I wasn’t too keen on the start as it really jumped around the main characters but once it all joined up and stopped jumping around less, it turned into a very good read. Great characters and a great storyline that wasn’t complicated, just very enjoyable.