The premise of Friends of Dorothy really intrigued me and sounded like the type of uplifting contemporary book I usually love. However, it didn’t hit the mark for me and I didn’t finish reading it after about 35%.

The story got off to a strong start. I was drawn into the premise of an elderly woman who won’t leave her house and wanted to know more about Amber and Stevie. But I was never really convinced on why they let Dorothy stay and become part of their lives - something which is probably a key part of really enjoying the story.

As the story progressed the time jumps also became a little confusing. This added to the feeling of not really understanding the motives of certain characters or how relationships were developing. Some characters quirks started to feel quite forced and parts of the dialogue clunky. It really just left me craving more from the characters and ultimately kept pulling me out of the story.

While this wasn’t the book for me, it is a lighthearted and fun story and I love seeing intergenerational friendships explored in books.

Amber and Stevie have just bought their first house together. On moving in day, they find that the previous owner will not leave and it turns out that it is not easy to make her leave.
Exploring the LGBT+ community and also the question of getting older, Candy's wit and comedy shines through this book. Terrific, not to be missed.

Oh this book is so much fun, as well as being also kinda serious. I had an absolute blast reading it and, the only bad thing about it was having to say goodbye to the characters at the end. I'm looking forward to revisiting them in the audio version once it is out!
We start with happily married couple Amber and Stevie moving into their first house, 4 Grimaldi Place. Although it doesn't happen as smoothly as they'd hoped, mainly cos the previous owner is still in residence, and kinda reluctant to move out. Dorothy is an eighty year old "character" who I will leave you to get to know as the author intends. Suffice to say she is so much more that you think, so much larger than life, so many secrets, mostly good ones!
After trying to evict her, many many unsuccessful, but occasionally very funny attempts, she manages to worm her way into their hearts...
And with an absolutely cracking cast of other characters, including Jack, the builders, Agnes the pub landlady, the odd neighbour, and many more, all sort of forming their own "non-biological" very tight knit family, the story ramps up and we finally find out why Dorothy is reluctant to leave...
I could say so much more about this book. How wonderful it is, how it's happy and sad at the same time, how some of the stuff included really angered me. But I can't without spoiling it for you.
What I can say is that I really wish that these characters were real, and that they lived near me, and that I would absolutely love to be included in their family. Cos I really really do...
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

“Friends of Dorothy” is a delightful read that blends humour and heart. Amber and Stevie think they’ve found their perfect home, only to discover that the previous owner, Dorothy, isn’t leaving. Dorothy’s sharp wit and no-nonsense attitude bring both chaos and charm to their lives and the ongoing surprises really kept the plot interesting. The novel beautifully captures the essence of chosen families and life’s unexpected twists, with funny and touching writing, making this book a wonderful escape into a world where family is defined by love, laughter and overcoming challenges. Would recommend for anyone who enjoys a good laugh and a heartfelt story.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and devoured it in one day. It was easy to read with great characters and believable descriptions. The book is full of heart and humour and it keeps the reader engaged throughout.
It was a perfect holiday read.

In Friends of Dorothy by Sandi Toksvig, Amber and Stevie move into their first home together, only to discover Dorothy, the elderly former owner, still locked in an upstairs room. Dorothy isn't planning on leaving anytime soon, and so begins a whirlwind of events in this quirky, heartwarming novel.

Packed with an eccentric and lovable cast—including Birdie, Jack, Bobby, Arun, Agnes, and the nosy neighbour Mrs Haggerston—the story pulls you into a vibrant community that you wish you could be part of. Toksvig masterfully balances the fast-paced plot without losing clarity, even with so many characters.

While the novel touches on tender themes, it maintains a light-hearted tone, offering an enjoyable, madcap escape.

http://thesecretbookreview.co.uk

Stevie and Amber have bought a house, on moving day Stevie arrives to find the previous owner Dorothy still in the house, sitting on her red sofa.

This is a glorious story of friendship and family - logical rather than just biological.
Superb characters who you grow to love very quickly.

As soon as I saw author and title (friends of Dorothy being a euphemism for gay people), I knew this story would have a LGBTQIA+ setting, and there is indeed good representation, from Stevie and Amber to Jack the camp bartender, Arun the shy builder and Agnes the pub landlady. Just to warn you, with this comes representation of homophobia and transphobia, in a few minor and one major incident. So if you think this is just about an old lady charmingly bossing people about, you would only be half right, because that happens but not exclusively.

My new favourite genre is “old ladies misbehaving”

With thanks to NetGalley and Sandi Toksvig for the free ARC.

A warm and funny novel of LGBTQ+ friends
It felt like a cross between Ruth Hogan and Armistead Maupin.
I felt sympathetic to the characters, although Jack was self-centred and insensitive to Amber and Stevie's situation. The character of Bobby, the builder doing a women's studies course, was a nice touch.
Nuggets of humorous information were dotted throughout the story, garnered from Sandi's years on QI.

As a rule I am not the biggest fan of “celebrity” authors however, after reading this I may have to change my mind!

Stevie and her wife Amber buy a house but on the day of moving in find it still occupied by the previous elderly owner, Dorothy. At first, the couple try every nice way to get her to leave without any success. Dorothy is known to many in the neighbourhood and appears to be very antagonistic, particularly to her neighbour

The cast of characters is amazing and each of them brings something to the party, none of them are there to “pad out” the story. Stevie and Amber go through many trials, not least with Stevie’s father but to say any more would spoil the story.

I literally read this in 24 hours and really could not put it down. It was one of those rare gems that I really wanted to know where the story would go but equally, did not want it to finish.

A wonderful, thought provoking, emotional but ultimately feel good story

I enjoyed this book more than I was expecting. It isn’t very ‘real’ but it’s just a good fun romp.

Amber and Stevie are recently married, and have bought a house together – what they weren’t expecting was an octogenarian sitting tenant called Dorothy! Dorothy quickly gets under their skin – making them delicious meals, and tidying up around the house, although she nearly ruins it when she makes a large hole through a downstairs wall thinking she was being helpful and making it more open plan. Enter the builders – one of which seems to be fond of Stevie’s best friend Jack.

It is amusing, and it had a novel (if unbelievable) story line, and I was happy to read it to the end.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6820910806
https://maddybooksblog.blogspot.com/2024/09/friends-of-dorothy-by-sandi-toksvig-i.html

I love Sandi Toksvig and have been a fan for ages so I was very excited to read this book, It was full of humour and amazing characters.

The concept of this story was really intriguing; I was very excited to see how Sandi dealt with it. It was fabulous. The range of emotions inspired by this illustration of the importance of community was touching, poignant, energising, exciting and, of course, funny. I hope Sandi writes more great stories; she is a new talent to be followed.

We meet Stevie waiting impatiently for Amber to enter the new home they have just purchased together. They know they will have to do work on the house when they can afford it, but it was just about all they could afford. Stevie has plans and lists for everything and Amber was supposed to be there so they could enter their new home together. However she is not so Stevie enters alone and makes a startling discovery.
The book is full of wonderful characters from the nosy neighbour to Agnes who runs the pub opposite and of course Dorothy who flings surprise after surprise at the young couple, completely upending Stevie’s plans. It also is awash with Toksig’s dry humour to make you laugh out loud. I absolutely will be recommending everyone I know reads this great read.

I loved the main character Dorothy who was witty and lovable. The premise of the book was interesting - if a little far fetched! A very sweet and endearing book. The end was a little twee for me but overall a funny and enjoyable read.

Stevie and her wife Amber move into their new house at no. 4 Grimaldi Square looking forward to their new life there only to find that Dorothy, the person they bought the house from, had not moved out and wouldn't leave.
I've enjoyed watching Sandi on QI and was intrigued when I heard that she had written a book and jumped at the chance of reading an advance copy of it. It is, unsurprisingly, based around gay characters but in the end that isn't important in the context of the story which is as it should be, although it does highlight some prejudices against them. I loved Dorothy and her eccentric ways, trying to help everybody, plus the other supporting characters. There is plenty of humour, as well as the darker side of life, and be warned there is bad language and mild drug use if that offends you. There are also, naturally, random facts peppered throughout, to add to the interest. Overall a quirky book that grew on me, so try it if you want to read something different.
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, however this did not influence my review of the book.

I'm not sure why but I really struggled with this book. It just didn't work for me and I found I didn't care about the characters.

Not what I expected, but it was a good read. A good mix of characters with a lots of funny bits. Definitely recommend.

Thanks to Netgalley for an advanced copy

Absolutely loved this book!

It was well written, with a great storyline of found family and unexpected twists!

I've never read a Sandi Toksvig book before but I'll definitely be looking for more.

I laughed and cried! And I loved it!

3 stars

Amber and Stevie have found the house of their dreams (sure, it’s a fixer-upper) and are excited to move into the first proper home of their married life. Unfortunately, when Stevie picks up the keys, she finds an elderly woman named Dorothy stuck in one of the rooms, due to a faulty door handle. She and Amber try to move Dorothy along, but quickly find that the door was not really what was holding Dorothy back.

I really wanted to like this book, and in the end I guess I did. I’m a huge fan of Sandi Toksvig and, while I’ve never read any of her other published work, she’s always struck me as a very hilarious and eloquent woman. From the blurb I was expecting a hilarious rom com, and the true tone of this book is very different. It deals with serious topics including, but not limited to, pregnancy (& artificial insemination), homophobia, and transphobia.

Each of the characters were just a shade away from being fully formed, but the assorted cast does work very well together, especially with the constant bible bashing presence of Mrs Haggerston injecting some levity. The writing isn’t award-winning, but it is an easy and quick enough read. However, even in writing this review, I can barely remember anything that happened in the book. It just didn’t stay in my brain longer than 2 minutes after reading.

Hopefully it’s a fun book for someone else - it definitely wasn’t bad - but fell flat for me.

I adored Dorothy and her forthright speaking and meddling in the lives of everyone she meets. Toksvig made me laugh out loud with Dorothy's witty one liners and acerbic observations and moved me to tears with the revelations about all the characters. The books powerful message of acceptance and finding family in many different forms was incredibly moving and heartening. I could see the characters so vividly as they are described so well and became so lifelike. A wonderful novel that left me feeling uplifted and wanting to hug all the young people in my life that much harder.