(3.5 stars!)

Reminiscent of reads like A Man Called Ove, The Autumn of Ruth Winters follows a no nonsense retiree who finds in grief and second chances a new lease on life.

This was a fine read. I enjoyed Ruth and the premise overall. Although it's unfortunate how long it took, I'm glad Ruth could move past old hurts and begin truly enjoying herself and her life.

I will say I struggled with some parts of this read. It felt pretty obvious this was written by a man. It also lacked a level of emotion and nuance I expected given the premise and concepts presented. With a doubt, I rooted for Ruth, but there was a disconnect. The ending was also a bit abrupt. Felt like we focused more on the past when I would've preferred a more elongated ending as a trade off.

Overall, a nice quick contemporary fiction read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

A lovely heartwarming story about an older woman learning that it's never too late to change and grow. While the story felt fairly predictable at points, it a comforting story that I would recommend to any readers looking for an impactful read.

In a style. Similar to Elizabeth Strout, Marshall Fine tells the story of Ruth Winter. What seems to be her mid-Western pragmatism is really old hurts cloaked in a sense of just settling. A series of events, both good and bad, change all that for her. The characters are beautifully developed and I kept wanting to cheer for all of them.

I am French so I am sorry if my English is not good enough.

I have just finished this book and it was nice. I appreciated Ruth personality and her kindness. But I don’t like the flashbacks. They were boring.

This b00k is a wonderful reminder that it is never to late in life to choose joy and find peace. I loved how the character expressed how they saw each other only to find it was not how the others thought they were seen. I would have liked the ending to lead further down the road to happiness.

This was not one of the genres I would usually read, but I found it to be a satisfying story. Good character development, and I liked that the main character was rather quirky and seemed possibly neurodivergent. It seemed like a character and story arc that many older women could relate to. I enjoyed it!

Ruth is a 70-ish widow (The timelines are fluid and you can drive yourself crazy trying to figure out exactly what year it was or what songs were popular when or when cellphones became part of you so don't even try.). She baby sits to earn some extra money, is estranged from her sister and has had a self-sacrificing and difficult life.

The moral, if there is one, is that it's never too late to discover (or re-discover) who you are and that as long as you are alive, almost anything is possible. And even a Cinderella story can be in your future. That is the drawback of this very fine novel. Can a happy ending really result from a painful, boring and introverted life? ; Marshall Fine says yes and can maybe convince you that it is. The scenes with Veronica, Ruth's sister's illness and death are heartbreaking and real. The 5th high school class reunion not so much. Still, The Autumn of Ruth Winters is worth a read.

Thanks to Net Galley and Lake Union Press for a chance to read this ARC copy.

I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this book.
I was hooked into Ruths's story from the beginning but then something happened and what was a totally believable plot became a bit, well, unbelievable and then I turned the page and the story ended so abruptly that 3had to check I hadn't made a mistake.
A promising start turned into a bit of a disappointment.
Thanks to Netgalley.

While this book isn't something I would necessarily read, I enjoyed the transformation of lonely (though she didn't realize it) Ruth Winters into someone who became compassionate and collected a few friends/relatives along the way. I can't say I loved the book and I felt the ending was abrupt, but if you're looking for a read similar to A Man Called Ove, then give this one a try.

I was provided a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

A witty, enduring, sweet story about an quirky, aging widow facing the second part of her life. Ruth Winters is forced to confront past regrets, complicated familial relationships and paths she didn’t take in this charming book by Marshall Fine.

Admittedly this novel is out of my genre but I was throughly entertained. Fine has managed to create one of the most lovable curmudgeons.

Easy read, good paced plot, relatable characters with depth and emotion in a story with an important message about Life. Highly recommend!

Thank you NetGalley and Union Lake Publishing for letting me read this advanced readers copy.

Ruth was an unique FMC and reading her story was exceptional. I liked the adversity she faced. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Well done!

I was hooked in the beginning of the book but felt it got a little slower and did more telling than showing throughout the rest of it.

When I started book I didn’t look at authors name so was surprised when I got to the authors photo at the end, it was a man.
Book had good female characters and was well written, quite an easy read and I enjoyed it.

This book reminded me so much of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, which I loved!!! Ruth is Eleanor!! She’s funny and quirky but at the same time has such a warm presence to her. This book is about second chances which happens to be a favorite trope of mine. Highly recommend this one!

This is a heartwarming story about flawed relationships and the love of sisters. I loved the familiar minnesota settings and the character growth in this book. I look forward to reading more books by this author. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

Well, I usually do like character-driven stories with older characters, especially the ones with a lof of stories to tell.
Ruth Winter certainly has a lot to tell, but I was expecting a deeply emotional narrative - personally, I didn't feel invested in her character, not even with the relationship with her sister.
I guess I was expecting something else.
I don't have bad things to say about this book, but it didn't please me as much as I hoped it would.
Other readers might enjoy it much more than I did.

I must admit that the premise didn't necessarily draw me in, but only because I feel like we have seen quite a few books with similar premises. The grumpy curmudgeon gets a second chance at life, etc. However, I am really glad I read this one because it is thoroughly enjoyable. Fans of A Man Called Ove and similar novels will certainly admire this one. Ruth Winters is slightly bitter but also very engaging, and I loved her journey. Her life changes in a meaningful way throughout the course of the story, which is what we want with this type of plot. She eventually learns about forgiveness and is given a second chance.. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-galley; all opinions in this review are completely my own.

A very heartwarming story about second acts and second chances, Ruth Winters a widow and retiree, very much set in her ways, is resigned to spending her life as she has every day. Then a series of events changes her daily routine and causes her to take a different approach to her life and look at her past with a different lens.

This story caught my attention from the first chapter, I fell in love with Ruth and even though I am not her age, I felt a kinship with her and her outlook on life. Even more so in her relationship with her sister and the social awkwardness she had with the rest of the world.

I love to read books in which I can find some sort of connectedness between myself and the main character, and just as with Eleanor from “ Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine” I could identify with Ruth and her struggle in life. The story caused me to take a look at relationships in my own life and reevaluate.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves stories with quirky female characters who find their strength after years of dismissing their value to the world and others.
Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC

The Autumn of Ruth Winters somehow felt like a warm blanket in autumn. When you're really freezing and wrap yourself in a blanket, it takes a little time before you actually feel warm.

We follow Ruth Winters, a retired woman who is searching for a new purpose in life and who is navigating a difficult family relationship.

At the beginning I didn't really care about the characters and the story started off a bit slow. But boy once it got me, it got me good. In the beginning Ruth felt a bit shallow and bitter. She was honestly just complaining a lot. But as the book went on Ruth gets more rounded as a character and you learn where all the bitterness and complaining comes from. Ruth as a character really grew on me. The interactions with her sister felt real, with real feelings and within a timeframe that felt realistic. All in all I was pleasantly surprised by the story of Ruth Winters.

Thank you NetGalley for making it possible to read The Autumn of Ruth Winters by Marshall Fine coming out on November 5th 2024.

This is a lovely story of elderly widow Ruth Winters. Living alone with no children and laid off from her job of 40+ years she has taken to babysitting the local children for some extra income. Apart fom that she's chosen to isolate herself from the world - and barely speaks to her own sister Veronica after lifelong squabbles with each other. When she gets a call from Veronica one day to let her know she has cancer, things are turned upside down and they have to rebuild their relationship whilst there's still time. This wouldn't be a read for anyone dealing with those issues at the moment, I found some of it a little upsetting, but it is ultimately a heartwarming read.