I loved the setting of this book - The Jane Austen Happy Home for Ladies, sometimes known as Friendship House. Doesn't that sounds wonderful? It's a sort of retirement home for women of a variety of ages. Laney, Dot and Maggie are three of the ladies and I loved each one in different ways, particularly the prickly Maggie who probably undergoes the most change over the course of the book. The main character, however, is the very much younger Phoebe, the chef in charge of the restaurant at the home.

Phoebe narrates her own story and whilst she was a generally lovely person, sometimes I did find her a bit frustrating. She's mad about Nick, occupational therapist/gardener/jack of all trades. Apart from being a bit too nice at times, I can understand what she liked about him as he's a (half) Greek God! Actually, Phoebe's the same, a bit too nice if that's possible. The pair of them wanted their heads banging together for much of the novel as a number of misunderstandings cause them to skirt around their feelings for each other.

There are two main strands to the story. One is Phoebe coping with the death of her mum with whom she had a sometimes tricky relationship, whilst dealing with her feelings for Nick. The other strand is about the owner of the home wanting to start introducing male residents, something that the female ones aren't too keen on. I must admit I much preferred the second strand, as I particularly liked the characters involved.

I thought this was a sweet rom-com, a feel-good read with some lovely characters. I didn't find myself drawn into the story as much as the last Lilly Bartlett story I read, but it's got a nice vibe to it and a great ending. If you like light-hearted story with a bit of conflict to be surmounted and a helping of fun then this is one for you. ( )