Ingrid is recently widowed and having found that her gregarious, life and soul of the party husband had left her with as much debt as memories, embarks upon a task to sell off some of the accumulated junk from her married life, so she can downsize and live a simple life.
She takes on a temporary let of her aunt's shop in order to accomplish this, and though she initially thinks she is alone, an entire village is there to help her.
I loved the Saga Louts, a group of older, independent women, each widowed, and trying to live their best lives. They take Ingrid under their wings and assist her with the shop set up, and I have to say I loved Winnie!
Josh, divorced carpenter with a teenage daughter also ends up helping, after being her removal driver, and finds that he has more reasons for volunteering to assist the lovely Ingrid.
Along with the above, there were so many great characters. There was a real eclectic mix of people, giving the book a wonderfully inclusive feel.
Ingrid may have had her doubts and problems, but she works out ways to overcome them with her new friends and faces up to age-old demons along the way. She even finds time to help some of those new friends with their own conundrums.
I really enjoyed reading this. A lovely feel-good story with an eclectic mix of characters supporting.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an ARC.

This is a lovely book which genuine deserves to be called “feel good.” It’s a terrific story and has plenty of interesting characters, who I hope will feature in future books…. The author creates romance without making it sappy and throws enough real world challenges to ensure the plot is relatable. Like a modern Maeve Binchy, she has created a lovely, immersive book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC.

Ingrid Copperfield moves to Willowbrook to sell her late husband Tommy's possessions in a pop-up shop using premises belonging to her aunt Sylvia. She's got a lease for a year and then she plans to get out of there and move somewhere remote.

However, her hopes of a quiet life are soon shattered when she meets the Saga Louts: Beryl, Winnie and Anthea, three elderly but very energetic ladies who take her under their wing.

We met the Saga Louts in Celia Anderson's previous book Life Begins at 50! already, as well as young single Dad Sam and his 7 year old daughter Elsie.

There is also Joel Dean, a divorced carpenter who has a teenage daughter named Leo, and who develops feelings for Ingrid. Together with the Saga Louts they become The Treasure Team, helping Ingrid to open up her Treasure Trove shop.

Then Lennie Nightingale, Sylvia's son and Ingrid's cousin, turns up to stalk her, Anthea becomes unwell and a mysterious stranger turns up with shocking news for Ingrid.

This is an uplifting story of a woman starting again with the help of her new quirky friends of all ages and a new man. It is quite predictable but the characters are great and it's a nice and easy read about friendship, community and second chances. I'm in my fifties myself, and it's great to see romances for characters my age. The ending felt a bit abrupt but we get an epilogue and I loved that little Elsie was back!

3.75 stars

Quite a lovely book, the cast of characters being feisty, yet flawed and sometimes unsure of themselves.

And a very big plus: I was happy to see, without this being emphasized, this book was inclusive. I feel like adding an exclamation mark to that: diversity! Yay! I am always happy to read books with lots of flavors of the human kind. All we need next time is a character being a chronic or disabled :)

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book.

Thank you Boldwood Books and Celia Anderson for the ARC!

Onwards and Upwards was my first book by Celia Anderson! It was an amazing and lighthearted read from all the heavy books I've been reading recently and it had me hooked from the very first page.

I finished it in a single setting and I was hooked the entire time! The characters were fun to read about the storyline is great! The development and pacing of the book was perfect! Can't wait to read more by the author!

Great book. The plot and characters had me hooked from the beginning. I’ve read other books by this author and couldn’t wait to read this one.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this book!!

What a great book!! It had me hooked from page one! I couldn’t put this down. I finished it in one sitting. I enjoyed the storyline and the characters. This was a first for me by this author but it will not be my last!!