Book Description
What can two elderly women do, when they want to live their best lives, but don’t know where to
start?
Next-door neighbours, Molly and Janice, are in their seventies and are both widowed and lonely. In
lockdown, they had their garden fence removed so they could have socially-distanced chats outside.
Now the pandemic is over, but the conversation continues. In fact, it has become a daily ritual -
weather permitting.
As their friendship develops, talk turns from news headlines, the Sewing Bee and the Royal family to
their own long-lost hopes and dreams. Is it ever too late to contact a former boyfriend? Or to heal
family rifts? Or to try new things? Of course not! Because growing older doesn’t mean giving up.
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'Over The Garden Fence' by Karen Louise Hollis.
Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Karen Louise Hollis and Rachel's Random resources Tours.
Publication date 16th November 2023.
This is the first book I have read by this author but it most definitely won't be my last!!
This novel consists of 83 dates. The chapters are very short in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!
WOW!!!! What can I say?!?! What an absolutely beautiful book that I fell in love with!!! I cannot wait to read more books by this extremely talented author!
This book is beautifully written with vivid descriptions setting the picture perfectly in the readers mind. The title, description and cover works perfectly with the storyline.
This book is an absolutely gorgeous multigenerational escape!!! It is an absolute rollercoaster ride of emotions filled with laughter, regrets, romance, family, love, loss, friendship and so much more. I was completely swept away with the storyline and it felt like I was in the gardens along with Molly and Janice. I absolutely adored the unique storyline of a friendship made between neighbours of an older generation and one which started due to COVID lockdown. This book hasn't got any chapters as such and is split up with the dates which I really enjoyed as the majority were very short and meant you can pick it up between tasks and not worry about stopping half way through a chapter. It was an absolutely refreshing story and I loved seeing how they went from staying in their own gardens and mainly discussing everyday subjects such as news and weather to enjoying life, love and family by the end. I also enjoyed the fact that the dates covered were only from last year and Molly and Janice were discussing recent news topics. Their thoughts and opinions on several of the subjects had me laughing out loud, especially a certain incident at the family farm where Janice upsets a little girl!!!
Thanks to Karen's evocative writing skills it definitely felt like I was right next to them enjoying a chat over tea, prosecco or water. This book really is the perfect book if you are looking for something light, refreshing, a pick me up and something hilarious!! Be warned not to read this in public though as there were so many moments where I randomly burst out laughing I lost count of the amount of strange looks people gave me but honestly some of the things these two came out with, especially when they ended up getting drunk, was hilarious!!! They are not your typical little old friendly ladies but absolutely fantastic young at heart, unorthodox, hilarious, friendly and fun women who felt like my own friends by the end and I was gutted to have to say goodbye to them!! I was utterly glued to the pages and I could not bring myself to put my kindle down. I was carrying it every chance that I got. I adored the gorgeous ending and would love to see this book turned into a series. I don't want to say anything else about the storyline as I don't want to give to much away. I will say though that it was quite funny that I actually had The Chase on in the background while I read this part “I was at the loo the entire time. Missed half of The Chase yesterday. So, it’s back to the tea." which I thought was brilliant!! The other thing that was mentioned in the book while it was actually happening to me was this part
"She was really fussing. I fed her so she ate that, then she was right back again, meowing and pushing her head on my hand asking to be stroked. Then she jumped up on my knee, so I had to cuddle her while trying to read my book. In the end, she sat on top of my book as if to say ‘No, it’s just me you need to give attention to!’ Oh, she’s so clever, such a character.”" which I thought was absolutely brilliant!! I am off to add the rest of Karen's past and future books to my Amazon wish list as soon as I've finished this review ESPECIALLY 'Welcome To Whitlock Close', being a Whitlock myself it just has to be done!!!
Clear your schedules as this is one gorgeous and unputdownable stunner ❤️
The characters are strong, realistic, a breathe of fresh air and hilarious and I became completely invested in each and every one of them. They all had their own personalities, feelings and all had unique personalities and I just absolutely loved getting to know them all. I felt each of their love, friendship, sadness, excitement, happiness, joy and so much more. I loved the main protagonists Molly and Janice who were both such strong females. I love seeing strong female leads in books being female myself and these two were both fantastic women. I loved seeing their personalities change and develop as individuals as well as watching them bond with each other as the storyline went on. I also adored watching their relationships with Seb and Bethany grow in strength from page to page. Seb was Janice's first love and Bethany is Molly's granddaughter who also had me spitting my tea out laughing with some of the things she came out with!!! I was not a fan of Molly's daughter and Bethany's mum Charlotte who I thought was a bore, judgemental, bossy and so much more!! She was definitely a control freak and I was glad with how Molly stuck up for herself. However, regardless of if I loved them or hated them they each played their parts perfectly and it wouldn't have been as amazing a read as it was if I had loved them all!!! Karen really does do an absolutely amazing job of bringing the story to life and the characters leap out of the pages as your turning them thanks to her evocative writing skills!! It is so hard to say what I feel about the characters without giving anything away so I won't say anymore about them as I don't want to go into too much detail at the risk of spoiling it for other readers but Karen really has done an amazing job at bringing each of the characters to life and I am missing them already. Well done Karen!!
Congratulations Karen on an absolutely gorgeous and hilarious read filled with everything you could one in a page turner!!! I am looking forward to reading more of your previous and future books. I would absolutely love to see this book turned into a movie!!! This is why I would like to welcome you to my favourite author list and here's to your next success 🥂
Overall an absolutely gorgeous book that will warm your heart and have you in stitches laughing ❤️!!!
334 pages.
This book is just £3.99 to purchase on kindle and £12 in paperback (at time of review) via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!
Rated 5 /5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.
Feel free to add me on Goodreads or follow me on my website or Facebook for more reviews.
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Author Bio
Karen Louise Hollis was born in Lincoln in 1969 and is a full-time carer for her mother and a single
mother to her son.
She has had books published and self-published since 2003, including short stories and poetry,
and non-fiction books on motherhood, gymnastics and Doctor Who.
Her book Un-Conventional : 13 Years of Meeting the Stars of Doctor Who was published by Hirst
Publishing in 2010 and her biography of actor Anthony Ainley - The Man Behind The Master was
published by Fantom Publishing as a hardback in 2015, later as a paperback and audio CD.
Her first novel Welcome to Whitlock Close was published in 2022 and her second novel Starting
Again in Silver Sands Bay in 2023.
Karen Louise usually writes books based in Lincolnshire and including characters of all ages. She
is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association and writes books in various genres including non-
fiction, romance, recent historical fiction (1980s) and contemporary women’s fiction.
She also reviews books and writes a book blog – iheartbooks.blog – and is very active on social
media, especially on Twitter/X at @KarenLNHollis
Social Media Links
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KarenLNHollis
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karenlouisehollis/
Purchase Links
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CMDPRR7Z
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CMDPRR7Z
