Eddie Winston is ninety years old. He helps out at a local charity shop. He searches through items & sometimes takes them home to try & reunite them with their former owners who might not have meant to part from them. In a box he finds a battered, graffitied pair of trainers & some letters. He manages to track down Bella whose boyfriend had died. The pair strike up an unlikely friendship. Eddie admits that he has never been kissed & of the one who got away. He remembers the locket she wore & admits he's always on the look out for it.

The story tells of the past when Eddie was a young man & Bridie, the object of his love, who also never forgot him. It is a tale that makes you laugh & cry & just feel warm all over! When I started this book I hadn't realised it was the same author of A Hundred years of Lenny & Margot which I also loved. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this wonderful book.

As I started this book, I realised that it reminded me of one of my favourite books of the decade, One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot. Then I realised that it is by the same author! No wonder. It has the same moving mix of gentle comedy and compassionate characterisation leading to some fantastic relationships. I won’t rehash the plot here but enough to say that if you need some encouragement, particularly in view of how humanity can be compassionate to one another, then pick this book up and give it a go.

This is my book of the year. I have laughed and I have cried, and when it was over I wanted to start it all over again.

I fell in love with Eddie Winston and his eccentric fashion choices from the very beginning. I loved how the author shared his past and his present with us in a way that felt genuine and exciting.

I could not put it down and I loved the ending so completely. Can't wait to read what the author writes next.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for the ARC.

5★
“I’m lining up dead men’s shoes on a rack. How strange that for all their lives, the men who wore these shoes walked a path that would lead to me. At any point, through their childhood or in their teenage years, we were destined to be linked. ”

Eddie seems unlikely to be such a captivating protagonist of a love story. He’s an old man in his nineties, working in a charity shop, sorting through family donations of the treasures and detritus of the dead. Some boxes are dumped unceremoniously as the younger people hurry to get on with Life. But he cares. Eddie cares about everyone, the people who once were and the families they’ve left behind.

“And there is no telling if the shoe brush (£3) or the pink enamel mirror (£7.50) are pieces of historical importance, of meaning and metaphor, or if they are just bits of old junk. Things picked on whims that eventually become the bones of a house. Maybe it is in fact the game of Mouse Trap (50p, missing its boot piece) that is the thing that this poor deceased person treasured so dearly.”

Mirrors may have other significance, of course.

“A sturdy boat of a woman sails into the shop. She browses the women’s jackets for a moment and then docks at the till.
. . .
‘I’m not filling in a form!’ she scoffs. ‘It’s just a mirror – take it or leave it.’ And then she weighs anchor and steams towards the door. And I am left looking into her mirror.
. . .
And what is it lately, that this highly polished glass showed, or did not show, to the woman that she felt the need to banish it from her home for ever? Did it whisper to her, ‘You are not what you once were?’ ”

Her mirror won’t make it to the Eddie Shelf at home, where he keeps things he thinks someone might regret having given away.

“Sometimes, they come back.

‘Did you sell that Pink Panther jumper yet? My mother knitted it by hand.’

‘Has the gold clock gone? I hated the thing, but it reminded me of Grandad.’

‘I donated an emerald ring. Is it still here?’”

He is so taken with a packet of love letters found in a box with a man’s things, that he’s determined to find the sender so he can return them to her. Another find is a series of love letters that were never posted, and he wants to track down the intended recipient. He loves a good love story.

Not all donors drop and run. A young woman with pink hair comes in one day, carrying a big box. Eddie helps her and asks the name of the donor for their records.

“‘Um, it’s, but it’s for . . . on behalf of. You can just put “Jake”. ’ Her voice cracks when she says his name.”

We know immediately what Eddie will do with Jake’s things. (He knows a love story when he sees one.) We also know that he and Bella are bound to adopt each other, which they do, meeting accidentally having lunch in the park one day.

Bella learns he would still like to find love, so she decides to spruce him up and get him out of beige cardigans and into online dating. He is taken with the idea.

“ ‘Take a good long look in the mirror, Eddie’, the shirt says. ‘You don’t belong in camel-coloured comfort. You belong in splendour.’”

Of course he does! As well as Eddie and Bella in the present, we meet nineteen-year-old Bridie Brennan in 1954 on her wedding day, where she has stopped outside the church, considering making a run for it. But the priest comes out to convince her she’s ready to get married.

She thinks to herself, that’s easy for him to say – he’s married to Jesus, who “doesn’t need his food cooked or his clothes cleaned, would never dream of making snide comments about how your hips look in your Sunday dress… Doesn’t embarrass you down the pub by calling you piglet when you’ve asked him not to.”

But in she goes - how could she?! We meet her again from time to time, as she regrets her choices.

Both Eddie and Bella, however, have some kind of infectious, irrepressible enthusiasm that doesn’t allow them to be flattened by regret. They get caught up in everyone else’s lives and love stories with the letters and donations.

Cronin’s stories seem so full of life, and I like her attitude. Her previous book, "The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot", has a new companion on my favourites shelf.

Thanks to #NetGalley and Transworld/Random House UK for a copy of #EddieWinstonIsLookingForLove for review.

I am a big fan on Marianne Cronin after falling in love with The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot. I'm here to tell you that Eddie Winston Is Looking For Love continues the winning streak. Eddie Winston is 90 and has never been kissed - what a premise to start with! I loved all the characters, Eddie, Bella and her pink hair, Birdie who is Eddie's lost love and Margie Eddie's colleague at the charity shop. The author brings her characters to life and I defy you not to root for them all the way through this wonderful book.

Eddie Winston is looking for love is a lovely book. Eddie is 90 years old and volunteering in a charity shop. Eddie likes to take home anything donated that he thinks people may regret giving up.

Eddie befriends a young women who is grieving her boyfriend. They bring each other friendship and many adventures.

I love the characters, the adventures and the friendships along the way.

A heart warming, tale of friendship, love and grief.

“Life is all about timing, in the end”
The story centres around a beautiful friendship between Eddie and Bella and the ones they have lost
Age is just a number and it’s never too late to find love
The style and pace of the novel was just beautiful - an utter joy to read
Fall in love with Eddie and Bella
Thanks @itsmariannecronin @penguinbooksuk & @netgalley for life-affirming, uplifting, feel-good read

Eddie Winston is 90 and has never been kissed; when he befriends grieving 24 year old Bella, she is determined to find a partner for him. Together they embark on a wonderful new friendship.

I loved this book, I thought it was funny, poignant and uplifting. A reminder that it's never too late to go after what you want in life.

Eddie Winston, a kind soul working at a charity shop in Birmingham, cherishes items he believes might be lost treasures or tokens of love, keeping them on his special "shelf." Tender, funny, and full of heart, this beautiful book is a heartwarming exploration of love, loss, and the relationships that shape us, making it one of my favorite reads of the year.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book

We meet Nonagenarian Eddie, he works in a charity shop and sometimes the items people donate “talk” to him and he can’t bear to let them go, so he takes them home, where he keeps them on a special shelf.
One day a young girl comes in and from there a budding it unlikely friendship develops.
Bella has recently lost her boyfriend, they had been together from a young age. She is struggling with grief and as her friendship with Eddie develops, she is able to let go of some of her hurt and begins to rebuild her life.
Eddie has loved and lost, but never been kissed. So Bella is determined to find him love.
Through the story, we learn about Eddies one and only love Birdie, they met when he was an intern at the University of Birmingham, where she lived and worked alongside her husband. Birdies husband was often unfaithful but Birdie being a strong catholic was bond by her vows and could never love Eddie the way she wanted.

Can Eddie find love at his age?


I fell in love with all the characters in this book and was hoping for things to work out for them all

Highly recommend

This book! Quirky and charming and funny - and intensely moving. A truly fabulous cast of characters and I loved the message that it's never too late to go for what you want. Absolutely wonderful

I absolutely adored The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot, it is one of my all time fav reads so I was very excited to get an arc of Eddie Winston is Looking for Love!
This story was also absolutely adorable, another unlikely but utterly wonderful friendship of different generations who learn so much from each other, watching the bond blossoming and strengthening throughout was giving me all the cosy feelings, I also enjoyed Eddies back story that we visited in between the present day chapters.
All in all this was a lovely hug of a book!
One of my favourite lines was:
‘The eyes are the puppet of the heart; they can make a plain person beautiful so long as they are loved.’

Wow I loved this book.

Eddie is 90 works in a charity shop

This was humorous and fun and lovely
The relationships were great
I was taken in straight away
This book made me smile

What a beautiful story. The word I think best describes this novel is charming and it was certainly that.Ninety year old Eddie works in a charity shop and when he meets a young widow Bella they strke up a friendship that is full of warmth and charm and his story will make you laugh and cry tears of joy.Didnt think it would be as good as Marianne's first book but it really is so everyone should read this

This is a charming, rather delightful tale about love, loss and the passing of time.

Eddie Winston is 90 and never had the kiss he longs for, so, Bella, his new friend sets out to rectify this. It’s a tad sentimental and sugary, but, for those looking for an easy, positive, life affirming read, look no further.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK for the opportunity to preview.

A funny, feel good, tender read that beautifully explored themes of friendship, grief and loss. I loved Eddie and the whole story - one of my favourite reads this year so far!

Marianne Cronin has done it again. I adored Lenni and Margot, and this new book is just as good. Eddie Winston is 90 and has never been kissed; when he befriends grieving 24 year old Bella, she is determined to find a partner for him. Together they embark on a wonderful new friendship. This is a very sweet and uplifting story, with fabulous characters and is told so tenderly and beautifully. I thought it was wonderful.

I was really looking forward to reading this following Marianne Cronins amazing debut which was a five start plus for me!,
This book did not disappoint, I just love how the author is able to write about such fantastic friendships between different generations, she is so skilled and definitely becoming one of my favourite authors!

Eddie is 90 years old, retired and volunteers in a charity shop, Bella is 24 and they meet when she donates some of her late boyfriend’s items. A beautiful relationship begins as Bella grieves her boyfriend and never been kissed Eddie searches for love!

I do love a dual timeline and we go back to the 1960s and get to understand Eddies past and how he fell in love with Bridie but it wasn’t to be. Just a gorgeous book!

This book slowly crept up on me, so that by the end I was invested in the characters and would miss them. And it had the happy ending that all books should have, making it feel like a warm hug in a book and leaving me with a smile on my face.

Eddie is 90 and a true gentleman, who let the love of his life go as she was married. Now at the age of 90 he is looking for his first kiss. He works in a charity shop and meets the grief stricken Bella, aged 24. An unlikely friendship occurs and Bella sets on a mission to help Eddie find his first kiss.

The book interweaves with Eddie's past love from 60 years ago and the current time of Eddie and Bella's friendship. They go on adventures and both grow as characters.

This was a lovely heart warming book and delightful.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Delightful!
I loved this book, such a gentle engaging read that gave you such a good feel. Full of warmth and humour and you just wanted to keep on reading.
The world needs more people like Eddie Winston.