Kate's just about to turn 50 when her husband decides to leave and move in with his mistress. She is devastated after everything she's gone through and hasn't been able to get on with her life. She then gets help with 3 older women and then bumps into Milo who also has his own problems. Lovely book

Life Begins at 50 struck me as being imbalanced. Celia Rees has created some strong, well-drawn characters but her story I felt got a little bogged down. Kate's father has recently died, her husband has left her for another woman and she is still not dealing with a succession of earlier miscarriages. As a result she is fading away into the background and has almost opted out of life. Much of the book looks back and gets stuck there. I enjoyed the book for the characters but only really became involved in the story once Kate started dealing with her past. And, for me, that was too far through the book.

Definitely one for the 50 plus crowd to read as it is extremely relatable. At the age of losing parents, pondering life choices to date and wondering what next, this definitely captures the key themes for this age group. The author created a strong main character but also a strong world for her to live in, including the various people in her lives, she didn’t try to make her perfect and I think this makes her all the more engaging, yea, it’s funny but it’s also got it’s poignant moments, so keep the tissues handy.

A sweet story of a fresh start and friendships. A slow romance but written beautifully and you won’t be disappointed.

The authors did a great job of describing the characters and having the reader become engaged in the story. As someone coming close to the age of the characters within the book, this was a great read!

Loved this one! Great and fun read. Highly recommend.
Many thanks to the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for my ARC.

I loved the theme, that life can begin (or keep expanding) at 50. I wasn't sold on Kate. We're told everyone likes Kate, but I sometimes found her quite sharp, especially with Milo. She blamed her ex a lot, but an excerpt from the past shows us she married him in truth to have children. A case of, he'd do. It wasn't a love match. As another reader has said, the story was bleak a lot of time. Things are a lot more positive at the end though, and overall I did enjoy this book. With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was the first book that I have read by this author and it was a book that really resonated with me having turned 50 a few months ago.

The story covered a lot of relatable and life changing issues in a sensitive way and am sure a lot of readers will be able to relate to the storyline no matter their age.

I laughed and cried in equal measure while reading and it also had a lovely community feel and also the sense that no matter you age it is never to late to start again and make a fresh start and you are never to old to fulfil your dreams and that anything is possible if you set your mind to it.

Kate is about to turn 50 and is in a bad place after the death of her father, breakdown of her marriage and several miscarriages.
This book was a lovely read and I enjoyed watching Kate flourish and form new friendships.
The other characters in the book were great and I loved the friendship between her and Sophie.
I liked the way there were full chapters of her past so the reader could really understand Kate’s feelings and what she had gone through.
A lovely heart warming story that shows life truly does begin at 50.
Thanks to NetGalley, Boldwood Books and Celia Anderson for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

I only have good feelings about this book. Whether you happen or not to relate to the story or some of the characters, there are so many moments that I personally can see myself doing or feeling.

Kate is about to turn 50 and her life can’t get any worse. She is full of self doubt, and family heartache. Her life is fulled but she can only see the glass half empty at this point in her life.

Milo is grieving the death of her sister and the change in his married life when he meets Kate by a chance encounter.
Their journey is marked by insightful moments and good advice.

I’m not a fashionable person but I never realized that the colors I usually wear can express how I feel. I thought that by wearing “Indigo”, black and gray I was being practical, but maybe, I just avoid colors because I just felt depressed. Sometimes you need a stranger to tell you what you aren’t able to see for yourself or what your love ones are trying to tell you. Kate’s journey made me realized many things about mine.

Thanks NetGalley for allowing me to read this copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Kindle $2.99 and Barnes and Noble 2.99

This was a difficult novel to read. It is a major novel about the growth of someone soon to turn 50. Oh, it has its cute moments, but for me, it was mainly depressing. However, it did have a very happy ending, so there is that.

Trigger warnings and things that contribute to me being mostly depressed as I read this:

Bad timing divorces.
Four miscarriages.
Two deaths, one in which our character finds him.
Family troubles.
Child theft.

There really isn't much I can say about this book—you will either love it and grasp what the author is trying to convey or, like me, feel blue while reading it. I don't usually trust books that have such a gushing non-personal opinion along with the title. I'm going to stick with that

*ARC was supplied by the publisher, Boldwood Books, the author, and NetGalley.

This was a fine book. Middle aged lady getting her life together at fifty, coming to terms with the loss in her life. Her husband has left her and her father has died. She never had the children she so desperately wanted. There is a romance tacked in but mostly its about Kate learning to be with herself. It was a sort of melancholy book. We are told repeatedly the everyone loves Kate. But everyone seems to just push her to do what they want. I just once wanted her to stand up for herself. There is a HEA, but I didn’t feel any shift in Kate, except that she went back to wearing colors. But maybe that remembering who you once were is the growth?

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC.

Kate is nearly 50 and her life hasn't turned out how she wanted it. Her husband of 25 years has left her for another woman, her Dad has died, she is estranged from her mother and brother Jamie, her teaching career has stalled and her biggest grief is that she could not have children. She has such an ardent desire for a baby that she once tried to steal one and still beats herself up over it. The story of her miscarriages is told in flashbacks that I think aren't really needed to get the point across.

She does however surround herself with children. She used to work in a school as a TA and has acquired lots of godchildren. One in particular, little Elsie, spends a lot of time with her to give her young single Dad a break.

Then she meets the Saga Louts: Beryl, Winnie and Anthea, three elderly but very energetic ladies who take her under their wing. Best friend Sophie is always by her side too, and then she meets Milo, who has a similar story to hers - his wife has left him for another man. Then they realise what they have actually in common... Can they overcome that hurdle and can Kate stop wearing navy, I mean indigo?

This is an uplifting story of a woman who tries to get her mojo back with the help of her friends, family and a new man. It is quite predictable but it's a nice and easy read about friendship, forgiveness and second chances, without too much drama. I'm in my fifties myself, and it's great to see romances for characters my age. I loved little Elsie!

3.5 stars

Kate dreamed of a happy marriage, a house full of children and a fulfilling teaching career. But after twenty-five years of married life and about to hit the big 5-0, it’s clear that her dreams haven’t quite come true. Then her husband leaves her for his golf partner, forcing Kate to take stock of what has become of her life.

Luckily, new friendship comes her way in the form of three feisty older women who take Kate under their wings, plus a new flame (could it be more . . .?) sparks with local divorced dad, Milo. As her big birthday approaches, Kate’s zest for life begins to return.

But opening herself up means making herself vulnerable to being hurt all over again . . .

Can it be true that life begins at fifty? And will Kate be brave enough to find happiness, and grab hold of it with both hands?

As a woman in my early 50s I had a field day reading this one ! Pick up this novel and you will find it hard to put it down again, and when you have read it, you will find it easy to believe that you have actually been there experiencing the story yourself.