What a lovely book, heart warming, funny, sad, wise but never twee. Ruth Hogan does it again, a book to savour and feel better about humanity. Some great characters who find life doesn't always take them down the path they expected but it's a pretty good path to take in the end.

A clever book which drew me in. It took me awhile to get used to the names of the characters but, I enjoyed this story. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

An excellent read.

Venetia is widowed, her son believes at the age of 70 she should be wrapped up in blankets in a care home.... Venetia has very different ideas.

When her son goes off to France with his wife to expand their business, she is left alone with a healthy bank balance.... a carer (not Venetia's choice of job title) and her very lonely sensitive grandson who is made to board at the local school.

In Venetia's early life she was a dancer, when she realises the ballroom which also doubles up as a community church and care centre is about to be turned into appartments, she sets about purchasing it and restoring it to its former glory!

Ruth Hogan always delivers heart-warming happiness, and here's another in that vein.

The Phoenix Ballroom is the solution to Venetia's empty life - rich, and recently widowed she needs to find a purpose in life, and buying the ballroom becomes just that. It's not only the answer to her need for fulfilment, but to a whole host of other lost and lonely people.

Recommended when you want something that will make you feel good about life.

The Phoenix ballroom by Ruth Hogan is the first book from the author I have read, and it won’t be my last.
Venetia is a 74-year-old widow and is deciding what to do with her life after her husband has just pasted. He has left her quite a substantial amount of money and wants to do something not only to enrich her life but other peoples as well. Her son Hawk thinks that she is ready for the knacker’s yard and hires her a Granny nanny to look after her.
Liberty Bell is also suffered a loss of her mother. Who has sent her cryptic clues through her solicitor. If she gets them right, she get something that’s left for her. But the clues are in an old phot album and Liberty is not sure what they mean.
Venetia decides to buy a ballroom which is above a spiritual church which was once a happy place for her in her younger years. As Ventia was a dancer. But now the Phoenix ballroom is a dilapidated and she wants to do it up to be grand again, like all the years ago. She gets help from not only Liberty, but sister Swan and grandson Kite and don’t forget Colin Firth the dog.
The is heart warming story of love, friendship and second chances. I loved every minute of this endearing and funny tale. It has a great storyline and characters especially Kite. I highly recommend 5 stars.

An enjoyable and warm story of a widow rediscovering herself after the death of her husband. Lost opportunities, second chances, new friendships and romance are beautifully woven together. I loved all the characters especially Kite. Ruth Hogan is a fantastic storyteller and I look forward to reading more of her work.

"The Phoenix Ballroom" centers around the ballroom which is at risk of being redeveloped into housing.

Liberty Bell, who finds herself homeless after her mother's death becomes a 'granny nanny' for Venetia Hamilton Hargreaves, a recently widowed, wealthy woman.
Venetia‘s home becomes a haven for Liberty, Swan, Kite and Colin Firth. I particularly loved the relationship between Venetia and her grandson Kite.

This is the perfect feel-good book about friendship, resilience, and new beginnings. It's an ideal summer read that will leave you smiling and uplifted.

Sometimes you just need a book that you know is going to be a pick me up. A warm hug of a book that makes you chuckle and smile. Ruth Hogan is a banker when it comes to this kind of novel.

The Phoenix Ballroom is a beautiful tale about bringing together new friends to form a family, all centered around the beautiful Phoenix Ballroom that is in danger of being redeveloped into housing.

The characters are so relatable and likeable, all with their own quirks and foibles. You feel part of the family. Thanks for a great read!

A lovely book showing that life is never over and that a new adventure is just around the corner if you believe and dream. Lovely, believable and likeable characters. A real feel good book. Ideal summer read.

I loved this from the start to the end. Completely heartwarming. Centred around two women - Liberty Bell (yes really) whose mother has recently died and after her will is read she has left nothing to Liberty who is now homeless. She gets a job as a ‘granny nanny’ with wealthy Venetia Hamilton Hargreaves who has been recently widowed. This book is full of the most wonderful characters, too many to mention but honestly I loved them all! The author has written such a lovely story with wonderful narrative I could feel myself falling into the story as if I was there.

Briefly, life with Venetia soon has Liberty coming out of her shell. With Venetia’s grandson Kite, her sister in law Swan and an Alsatian dog called Colin soon in residence Liberty finds herself accepted as part of the family. An unexpected encounter with old friend Evangeline, who runs a spiritual church and a drop in cafe soon has all the family volunteering at the cafe and Venetia get the idea to purchase the dilapidated Phoenix Ballroom, where she was a dance instructor prior to her marriage, and restore it to its former glory.

This was such a feel good story I could forgive some of more unlikely scenarios- it’s fiction so anything goes! I read this in a day it was so good I didn’t want to put it down. As a lady of a certain age I was 100% behind our ladies who were looking to bring back some colour into their lives and enjoy their remaining years. A wonderful story of friendship and second chances; did I say I loved it!

I loved this book - just the right of amount of nostalgia to create the right atmosphere. Bereavement and grief was dealt with in such a sympathetic manner, and the detailing of all of the main characters problems was so descriptive.

I loved this beautiful and engaging novel. Filled with a mix of lively characters dealing with real life problems, I was engaged with the plotline from page 1. I found the idea of rediscovering oneself at age 74 uplifting and positive. Highly recommend.

Delightful from start to finish!

A nice easy read that had a bit of everything. The characters were great, especially Kite the Grandson and the ending was everything that I wanted.

Having enjoyed The Keeper of the Lost Things I was keen to fall into another of Ruth Hogan's worlds, and I'm so glad I did!

The Phoenix Ballroom has all the elements required for the perfect uplifting story; there is a fabulous selection mixture of engaging characters, including enough baddies to be overcome, there are plenty of touching moments where characters learn more about themselves, or others, and the plot has the reader rooting for them all and what is more fitting than an old forgotten ballroom in need of renovation.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

What a wonderful story about an ending and starting again.
After the death of her husband and her son and wife moving abroad. A granny nanny is employed. Grandson is sent to be a boarding school. Things change drastically. Liberty, the granny nanny is altering her life as well.
Sister in law turns up on the doorstep to stay indefinitely. A dog is rescued and becomes part of the family.
Life is in flux for all the characters in very different ways but they come together to support each other.
A heart warming story

This book is a true delight! A wonderfully fulfilling and uplifting story a cast of characters it’s impossible not to love and a ballroom rising from the ashes of neglect and decay to shine once more as it had in its heyday. The writing here is so clever that every character leaves who they thought they were behind in order to become the person they were meant to be - all much happier and more comfortable in their own skins.

I absolutely adored this wonderful book!

When Hawk, 74 year old Venetia’s husband of 50 year dies, her son Heron decides that she needs a “Granny Nanny”, a thought that fills her with utter horror!

Liberty, having recently lost her mother and found herself homeless, takes the position as Venetia’s personal assistant and companion.

They are soon joined by a huge German Shepherd called Colin Firth and Venetia’s young grandson, Kite.

As Venetia starts to navigate life as a widow, she soon realises that, in many ways, this is where her life begins. The story of Venetia’s life is both happy and tragically heartbreaking, for her and her late husband and a chance meeting with her old friend Evangeline leads them to recapture their youth in the old Phoenix Ballroom and reevaluate what they want from life.

Ruth Hogan’s writing is exquisite and the cast of quirky characters are a delight. Kite in particular made me laugh constantly as, in his innocence, he would tell it like it is, that is, when he wasn’t busy hunting for dead fly biscuits - I honestly thought it was just me that called them that!

I loved the small details too, like how the men in the family were all named after birds.

A brilliant read, highly recommended.

5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Ruth Hogan and Atlantic for an ARC in return for an honest review.

A book that warms your heart and fills it with joy. Utterly delightful, funny, moving, with amazing characters and an engaging storyline. Not that I expected anything less from Ruth Hogan. I have loved every single one of her books and this is no exception. Amazing.
Thank you to Atlantic Books - Corvus, NetGalley and the author for an early copy.
#ThePhoenixBallroom #NetGalley

The book opens with Venetia preparing for her husband's funeral. She is unhappy with the arrangements that her son has made for the catering and even in choosing her outfit. But she hasn't said anything. After the funeral he announces his plans for his poor, vulnerable mother. And this is when Venetia's life starts to change.
Lots of new and old characters enter Venetia's life, and I loved every one of them. Hogan is so good at writing about people.

I so enjoyed this book and absolutely demolished it!

A really enjoyable book which I will certainly recommend to others.
Thanks for the opportunity to read & review it.