I have enjoyed Rhys Bowen's work in the past, but this book felt like two separate stories -the 'second act' story of Mrs. Endicott and her friends and then a story of WW2. The characters weren't fully believable due to being underwritten (I think). It appears that there was lack of focus on which kind of book this was going to be.

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Ellie has done it all for her family. She’s made a home, supported her husband’s career, and launched two handsome young men off into the world. So when her husband announced he wanted a divorce, she was awestruck. But after all she’d done for them, it was time to put herself first. So Ellie packed up the car, including two other ladies from their village, and headed off to find what she’d been missing in her life for decades. The question is, will the ladies find it before World War II breaks out?

Known for her best-selling mystery novels, Rhys Bowen is back this time with a historical fiction filled with hope and romance in Mrs. Endicott’s Splendid Adventure. Set just before and during the outbreak of World War II, Bowen explores the challenges women faced to lead rewarding and productive lives without supportive men, and then again with them. This book also explores those marginalized by society both now and then – autistic individuals and those in the LGBTQ+ community. Further, Bowen shows how even one small act of defiance can create a large impact and that every small contrition leads to much larger wins for the enemy. Above all, this is a book about the power of community and coming together to fight against a common enemy – something so important in the historical setting of the novel, and again in today’s environment.

I give Mrs. Endicott’s Splendid Adventure 4 out of 5 stars. I really loved the character of Ellie and how she was the shelter for so many misfit-type characters along the way. However, the beginning of the novel felt a bit forced – this usually meek woman suddenly stood up for herself with little prompting and these women who she barely knew suddenly thrust themselves into her adventure? Otherwise, this was a book that kept my attention throughout – I was invested from the time the ladies arrived in their new home to find out who capture Ellie’s heart and was not disappointed. I also appreciated the way Bowen wrote about the marriages of convenience that protected both the resident aliens and those in the LGBTQ+ community during that era – I believe these are still common in some areas and it was interesting to see them in practice here.

With discussions of war and physical violence, this book would be best directed to more mature audiences over 13. I would also recommend this book for historical fiction book clubs and romance book clubs alike! If you like Under the Tuscan Sun or Eat Pray Love, or even any of the many historical fiction and romance novels set during this era, you’ll love this book!

I chose Mrs. Endicott’s Splendid Adventure because of it’s cover. This one immediately caught my eye on Netgalley – the cover is absolutely gorgeous featuring the property that Ellie and the ladies live in after leaving England. That property becomes as much of a character in the book as any of them and has me daydreaming of a trip to the French coast to see villas like it with my own eyes!
Mrs. Endicott’s Splendid Adventure will release on August 5th. Preorder your copy today in our Bookshop.org store!

Absolutely splendid adventure with Mrs. Endicott! Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this novel. Ellie’s husband wants a divorce which sets her on the adventure of a lifetime to the south of France . The friendship between Ellie . Maeve and Dora was beautiful. Each woman had their own heartbreaks in life that led them down a path to freedom! Secretly I was rooting for her friend on the island to be her forever .

A 15+ year reader of Rhys's, I look forward to reading each of her new novels as I know they will always satisfy me. Mrs. Endicott's Splendid Adventure is her latest standalone novel, set immediately before and during WWII in the south of France. Three women - one a spinster, one a divorcee, and one leaving her abusive husband - set out on an adventure to get away from their small town in Surrey. Little do they know how they will fall in love with their new home. Mrs. Endicott's Splendid Adventure follows the three women as the war breaks out and life goes from blissful to difficult, and how they handle the wartime period. I already cannot wait for Rhys's next novel!

Set at the start and during World War Two,this story features a very mixed bunch of characters who are drawn together by happenstance. A splendid adventure indeed for Mrs Endicott.

Surrey, 1938: Ellie Endicott thought her marriage was fine – boring, perhaps, but after 30 years it wasn’t unexpected. When her husband announced at breakfast one morning that he was leaving her for a younger woman, she was, to say the least, gobsmacked.
When she discussed her options with her long-time maid turned good friend, Mavis Moss, she realized that this may be the best thing that has ever happened to her. She was soon on the way to the south of France in her husband’s treasured Bentley, accompanied by Mavis, fleeing her abusive husband, and Miss Dora Smith-Humphries, an elderly, cantankerous, formidable woman with a desire to return to a place where she had been happy one last time.
The trip was uneventful until the Bentley gave up the ghost one rainy night in the small French village of Saint-Benet. After a rocky start, they are welcomed, given food and drink and a place to stay while the local mechanic worked on their car.
The days turned into weeks, then months. Strangers became friends, friends became family.
Mrs. Endicott’s adventure is a charming, uplifting story, a tale of the strength of the human spirit and the value of love in all its forms. The characters come alive on the page, as does the beauty of the French coast.

I absolutely loved this charming story set in France before, during, and after WWII. It has substance and grit, and a touch of history. I was rooting for friends Ellie and Mavis to not only succeed, but thrive. You’ll have to read the story to find out how it ends. Highly recommended.

1938 England and Ellie Endicott is shocked when her husband of 30 years wants a divorce. He assumed she would live quietly on whatever money he chose to give her. She decided to have an adventure! A nearly perfect book

Mrs. Endicott's Splendid Adventure was a bit of a headscratcher for me. I have enjoyed other books I've read by Bown in the past, and there were certainly elements of this one that I appreciated. There was a colorful cast of (many) characters, a lovely setting, and plenty of interesting plot twists. Yet, many of these positives were also negatives from my view. Ellie Endicott was clearly a collector of people, but it seemed very convenient that new characters just popped up every time another character disappeared. The many characters and plot twists were TOO many and got to the point of being a bit much. As a result of this, the story felt extremely dragged out and unnecessarily long. So much of the story was before the war, and I legitimately thought it was coming to a natural conclusion. But no, we still had half the book to go! The period of time during the war took up "almost" all of the second half of the book, and then in the final two chapters, every loose end was quickly and neatly tied up. Also....being a 40 year old woman (which to be honest feels "old" at this point), I found it extremely hard to believe that a 50+ woman drew the attention of so many men! I just had a very difficult time picturing a fairly older looking woman somehow being irrestistable to multiple men of varying ages. It just didn't work!

Thank you #NetGalley for the eARC of #MrsEndicottsSpendidAdventure

Mrs. Endicott’s Splendid Adventure is a charming book that offers readers a scenic detour to the South of France just before WWII. Ellie Endicott’s abrupt departure from her comfortable but crumbling life in Surrey with Bentley, housekeeper, and elderly friend in tow—makes for a whimsical setup that promises reinvention, friendship, and a bit of wartime suspense.

Ellie Endicott leaves her husband, takes his Bentley , loads up her housekeeper and her friend Dorie and leaves for the South of France. Follow along on their adventures as they end up in a small village. Then comes the War. They must work together with some in the village to stay safe. A great read!!

Title: Mrs.
Endicott's Splendid Adventure
Author: Rhys Bowen
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Release Date: August 5, 2025
Rating: 4
If only I had read this book sitting on a terrace in the South of France overlooking the sea. I adore the intrepid Mrs. Endicott. Dora and Mavis were the perfect unlikely sidekicks for her adventure. The inhabitants of St. Benet were varied and colorful and engaging.
This is the perfect summer read that has just the right amount of heart, laughter, emotion, and suspense.
It's a fast-paced and easy read. The one drawback is there is just a little too much.
All the loose ends are nicely tied up but because there were so many different subplots, it felt like a few of them, a major one in particular, that got wrapped up too quickly. It left me a little unsatisfied compared to the emotional punch during the action.

Thank you to Netgalley.co.uk and Lake Union Publishing for a copy of this book.

In the beginning I was not quite sure where this story was going. I thought that it travelled in the right direction, and I enjoyed getting to know Ellie. Her adventure was indeed splendid, although at times a little too convenient and I found myself wishing there were more challenges to be met.
Along with her companions, she seemed to always be falling on her feet, and at times, a little stumble would have been more entertaining. When she did encounter trouble, solutions were readily available which made it a bit too easy.
There was not enough depth to either the characters or the story. Some subtle changes, including more connections between the players, would have made a huge difference to the overall feeling of inclusion to the reader.
On the whole though, it was an enjoyable story with a predictable outcome, and a light read for a holiday.

Ellie Endicott's long term marriage is over. Her two boys are long gone. So she sets off with her housekeeper and town spinster to travel to the coast of France. Along the journey they pick up a young lady in need. So the four travel to the town of Saint Benet where their car beaks down. The book follows these characters, their lives, the outbreak of WWII, the German occupation of their small town, their struggles to survive, and to find love again. The characters ae fully developed and you feel their joy and pain.

Bowen sets her story among the events leading up to and during World War II. She follows a middle aged woman through the rebuilding of her life admist her husband leaving her. Bowen weaves in the devotion of friendship, travel, and camaraderie. Mrs. Endicott ultimately finds that everything she needs and wants is right at her fingertips. She must only reach out and own it. While the background of WWII adds to the depth and chaos of the story, the historical aspects seem thrown in and we’re not often cohesive in the story. The book was a bit of whirlwind with constant changes and shifts. However, it truly was a book that sparked creativity, a love for travel, and yearning for deep friendship!

Imagine your husband turns an ordinary day into an opportunity to set a new course in your life. Ellie upon reflection doesn’t love her husband, never has really. She has two boys who , in keeping with upper class tradition, were sent away to boarding school and are now men living their own lives. The announcement by her husband that he wants a divorce and the house she has decorated and maintained for decades sets her blood to boil. So she finds a solicitor who advises her to stand her ground and she does , laying the groundwork for her to consider life other than in England in a place remote enough to wait out the impending war. Ellie’s independent attitude becomes contagious in her little village and soon she finds herself in her husbands car traveling through France with two companions. It’s a marvelous tale of how the flip of a coin can move us to great adventure.

Blindsided by betrayal in pre-WWII England, a woman charts a daring new course in this captivating tale of resilience, friendship, and new love by the bestselling author of The Rose Arbor and The Venice Sketchbook.

Surrey, England, 1938. After thirty devoted years of marriage, Ellie Endicott is blindsided by her husband’s appeal for divorce. It’s Ellie’s opportunity for change too. The unfaithful cad can have the house. She’s taking the Bentley. Ellie, her housekeeper Mavis, and her elderly friend Dora—each needing escape—impulsively head for parts unknown in the South of France.

I love cozy mysteries and this one is one of my absolute favorites

I picked up Mrs. Endicott's Splendid Adventure because I am a fan of Rhys Bowen and her books, especially the Lady Georgie series and some of the standalones. This one is a standalone and quite different from her other books. It starts in 1938 in England and quickly progresses to a picturesque French fishing village, where Ellie has come to heal from the humiliation of her divorce and her husband's plans to marry his much younger paramour. Ellie is tired of her boring life as her husband's doormat anyway, but she wasn't expecting to pick up several traveling companions: her maid, a prickly elderly woman with a terminal diagnosis, and a pregnant teenager they rescued along the way. All of the women are looking for an escape from something, and they find it when Ellie's car fortuitously breaks down in Saint-Benet. The results are truly magical, as the women come to love the small-town atmosphere, their new friends, and the opportunity to rent and renovate a beautiful but neglected house by the sea.

But WWII is not only encroaching; it ultimately affects and endangers their lives. What happens in the later chapters of the book is anything but "splendid," so I wouldn't have chosen the book if I had read the synopsis a bit more closely. I'm a lightweight when it comes to war stories--I avoid them like the plague--and I didn't correctly interpret some quotes from the synopsis--"blindsided by betrayal in pre-WWII England" and "becoming an adventure she never expected." However, having said that, I can affirm that Rhys Bowen has a wonderful writing style and always creates memorable characters, so I will still be delighted when she releases her next book. I will just try to read the synopsis a bit more carefully.

My thanks to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this book.

In her latest historical stand-alone novel, Rhys Bowen gives us the story of Ellie Endicott, a recent divorcee who goes from a humdrum marriage in England to a grand adventure in the French Riviera on the cusp of World War II. When she goes to France, she takes along her abused housekeeper Mavis and elderly friend Dora, and the three of them find themselves in the a series of unexpected predicaments. After their car breaks down in a hamlet in the South of France, they rent a nearby villa in need of renovation. What follows is a heart-warming story of second chances and reinvention.

I'm glad the story didn't focus too much on the war, since it seems that every other historical novel has covered that subject in recent years. I was more interested in watching Ellie's new relationships unfold.

I look forward to reading more Rhys Bowen books in the future. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my views.

I enjoyed the characters, the storyline and especially the setting. That was probably my favorite part of the book.