We first meet Tess and Simon Sparrow on their honeymoon in Cornwall. When they set eyes upon a large clifftop house, they both fall in love with it. With retirement looming, Tess and Simon decide to take a huge leap of faith. They buy the property with a view to open a guesthouse which they will run together.

Once in Cornwall, they discover that it will take much more than a lick of paint for their dream to become a reality. With finances running out, ceilings falling down and no heating, their marriage is stretched to its limit.

Will the hotel be ready for their guests in time?
I saw this as a book of two halves. In the first half, we read about the extensive renovations and how the Sparrow’s coped with a Christmas family invasion. In the second part of the book, we get to know the guests who arrive. Each guest has their own reason to stay at Sparrow’s Nest. They are all quirky characters with interesting backstories. Dee MacDonald describes the Cornish coastline to perfection with the amazing clifftop location. You get a true feeling of the slower pace of life in that part of the country. I liked the contrast between Tess and Simon’s characters, they really balanced each other out well. There is so much humour and warmth throughout the book and you feel part of Tess and Simon’s journey. There are plenty of surprises in store and some life-changing decisions made.

The Golden Oldies Guesthouse has some multi-layered characters, a stunning location, and a feel-good atmosphere. People of all ages will be inspired by this wonderful story. It really shows that you can turn your dreams into reality at any age!

I started to read this book before I realised it was a sequel to The Silver Ladies of Penny Lane. I had read the previous book but it works just as well as a standalone.

I actually enjoyed this one more than 'Silver ladies' This focuses on Tess, who with her new husband Simon, fall in love with a ramshackle old house with amazing sea views in Cornwall. Determined to make it into a guest house, they sell up & move. The first part deals with the renovation. Filled with various disasters & local characters, somehow they managed to get the four rooms for let.

The second part deals with the characters that come to stay. They all have their various reasons for being there, & once again the characters are engaging. awful, sad & amusing in different ways.

This was an enjoyable read. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

Tess and Simon Sparrow find a cliffside house for sale in Cornwall and impulsively buy it. They hope to set up a guest house for long term visitors but renovations take so long Tess despairs they will ever be completed. Her son and wife and their two kids come for Christmas in the middle of the mess but the holidays pass well with lots of fun and food. When the spring arrives the house is ready for guests.

The chapters that follow are mostly about the guests and their reasons for travelling to such a remote place for a holiday. I enjoyed this book very much, it was a light, fast and enjoyable read. I know I'll read more by this author.

Many thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy.

Though not specifically billed as a sequel to “The Silver Ladies of Penny Lane”, since “The Golden Oldies Guesthouse” can be read as a standalone, it takes up about eighteen months after Tess and Simon Sparrow are married. While on vacation in the Cotswolds, the ever-adventurous Simon takes an old bumpy road and at the end is a glorious yet crumbling mansion. Called Over and Above due to its never-ending costs, which are over and above quoted repair bills, Tess and Simon toss all care to the wind and purchase it with the hopes of turning it into a long-term retreat for authors, artists, and whatnot.

The whatnot is their first set of guests who arrive in the second part of the book, and with them, secrets which bring this book to life since the first part was beginning to border on boring. As backstories are revealed, the reader finds themselves falling deeper into the narrative. From a spinster, to a lonely older man, to a has-been actress, to a couple trying to hold on to their marriage, this book bounces from one storyline to the next without missing a beat.

I do hope that Dee McDonald continues this as a series. The mere fact that each guest coming to the Sparrows’ Nest (which they had renamed) will have their own unique stories could make this a gem of a series for years to come.

Tess and Simon Sparrow are in love! These two "golden oldies" were in their sixties when they met and fell madly in love! They decide to move from London to Cornwall, England. There they find an old dilapidated mansion that seems like the perfect place for them. The mansion boasts beautiful, cliff-side views but needed to be totally refurbished to become a respectable guesthouse! This delightful story is full of great characters and crazy situations! I found it to be engaging and full of heartfelt emotions and love. I would recommend this five star book to anyone!

Loved this book. Great characters, easy read, uplifting, funny, romantic and charming. A really nice story that is the perfect sumer read.

This is such a fun read ! I highly recommend this book.. I have not read the first by the author but was easily introduced to the charcters and was able to get to know their story enough to follow along. Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity. My opinion is my own..

I love stories where people re invent themselves and start new adventures especially later in life.
This is a wonderful story of two people doing just that.

Simon and Tess are newly married and in their lively 60's. They love life and decide to move to Cornwall to start work on a new home that they hope to turn into a guesthouse. Lots of laughs ensue as many villagers of unique charcter and many others get to know them and offer friendship and help building their home. Its a bit of a money pit and they enjoy the process no matter how many problems with the old house they have. .
The descriptions of Cornwall are wonderful. I love the humor, the friendships and even a little mystery that came with the old guesthouse. This book has it all for a entertaining fun read . I loved it and look forward to further works by the author . This was a delightful read ! Thank you to the author for featuring seniors as valuable members of society and loving life as interesting fun people ! Well done

I love an English Rose story and Tess proved to be deeper than the surface suggested. I loved the back story each new guest brought to the storyline. I especially liked the aging boozing actress who many would have let drink herself into depression but here was a woman on a mission, determined and delusional. The cast of characters ran the gamut, one appearing mousy only to end up resourceful and cunning a totally under the radar surprise. My least favorite was the retired publisher I just couldn’t find any sympathy but was heartened that he didn’t dissolve into a cliche in the end. I was surprised and entertained by this house of retirees who for a variety of reasons end up in Swallows Nest all to emerge changed after their stay.

I got into this book right from the very beginning. I loved that the main characters (Simon and Tess) were older and trying to find their “second life.” There seriously are not enough books with that theme – there is life after 40 (and even 50)! I liked how the story was in three parts: the first was the set-up, part two was the introduction of the renters and the third dealt with all of the relationships and events at The Sparrows’ Nest. It was like reading a play in three acts with delightful characters and amusing, but realistic events. For a more in-depth review, please visit my blog at Fireflies and Free Kicks Fiction Reviews. Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture, and the author for a complimentary, pre-release, digital ARC of the book.

I have been a fan of Dee's work for a little while now. I read the synopsis for 'The Golden Oldies Guesthouse' and it certainly sounded like the sort of read I needed at the moment. A fun, light hearted, funny sort of read. Oh my, this book certainly fulfilled all those criteria and then some. I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'The Golden Oldies Guesthouse' but more about that in a bit.
I absolutely loved the cast of characters in this book. The two main characters are called Tess and Simon Sparrow. They are a couple of a particular age, who found love in their later years. They have lived in the city but they want a slower pace of life so they decide to move to the country. They buy a guesthouse with the intent of refurbishing it and perhaps opening it as a guesthouse. Things don't exactly go to plan and the house ends up needing more work than they had anticipated. In order to generate some money, they rent out some of the rooms so that they can afford the extra works. I absolutely loved the villagers who are mentioned. There are some real characters amongst them. Some of the characters that immediately spring to mind include 'Fiery Fred' the electrician who set himself on fire, Jacko Jones the caravan dealer and Granny Gumm, who wasn't really a granny. When I was reading about the villagers' antics, I kept chuckling away to myself to the extent that my Mam asked what I was reading that was so amusing. I told her and when I relayed some of the details to her, she kept chuckling too. The characters in this book made me think of the characters in the television programme 'The Vicar Of Dibley'.
I haven't enjoyed a book as much as I enjoyed 'The Golden Oldies Guesthouse' in a long, long time. I soon realised that I would become addicted to reading this fabulous sounding book and so it proved to be. I began reading this book shortly before I went to bed, which was a bad mistake in a way because I ended up reading until the wee small hours of the morning. Even when I put the book down to go sleep, all I could think about as I was going to sleep was the book and how soon I could get back to reading it. The more of this book that I read, the more I wanted to read and the more involved in the story I became. The book wasn't glued to my hand but it might as well have been because it came everywhere with me. I soon reached the end of the story which I was disappointed about. I don't mean that in a negative way but I was enjoying the author's writing style, the storylines and the characters so much that I just wanted the book to continue on and on and on.
The author has a fabulous writing style that draws you into the story from the first word onwards. Once she has your attention, she won't let it go. She has created characters that you will not fail to warm to. Dee writes so realistically and uses such fabulous descriptions that I really did feel as though I was part of the story myself and that I lived in the village where the story takes place. I do live in a village but unfortunately it's not as exciting as the one in the book, although we do have our fair share of characters an oddly behaving people.
'The Golden Oldies Guesthouse' certainly took me on an emotional rollercoaster ride with all the ups and downs, the happiness and sadness, the laughs and the sobs. I would be chuckling away one minute and the next minute I would find myself feeling sad or upset.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'The Golden Oldies Guesthouse' and I will most definitely be recommending this book to other readers. Dee has done it again and she has written one hell of a fantastic book, which is sure to soar to the top of the bestsellers list. I thought Dee's other books were good but for me, 'The Golden Oldies Guesthouse' is the best of her books to date. I can't wait to read what Dee comes up with next. Here's hoping that we don't have too long to wait. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

We are back with Tess who we met in the previous book The Silver Ladies of Penny Lane. Whilst The Golden Oldies Guesthouse is a sequel, it can be read quite easily as a standalone book. Tess is now with Simon Sparrow following a whirlwind romance. Buying an old hotel as a retirement project, they both feel they may have bitten off more than they can chew with the crumbling building. Renting out rooms to generate some income, they end up meeting some wide-ranging characters who all have their own reasons for being at the Golden Oldies Guesthouse.

I have read all of the books written by this author and have enjoyed every one of them. They all have the ability to make you smile, make you cry and make you take stock of your own life and live it to the full! This book was no different!! It’s always a refreshing change when this author brings out a new book as the characters are always men and women in the more mature age bracket, as opposed to the younger characters we see in other books, and it’s great to see that women over a certain age are just as entitled to fall in love and live life as others are!

This story had me chuckling my way through it, with an abundance of things going wrong whilst they are attempting to renovate Sparrow’s Nest! I loved Tess’s relationship with Simon and it just proves that you are never too old to find ‘The One’!! The other characters who move into the guesthouse are all equally delightful with each one of them not only bringing some different to the story but having their own individual reasons for being there. The setting was absolutely perfect with the backdrop of the Cornish Coast and how the author wrote made me feel like I wanted to be amongst them all!! Hopefully this is the first in a series of Sparrow’s Nest books as I’d really like the other characters to have their own individual storylines!!

As with the previous books, this author has got it just right again!! A different theme based around the older generation, but making them ideal reads for anyone of any age!! These books are funny, heart-warming and remind you that life certainly begins at 60!! Highly recommended!!

I loved this book, it was perfect summer read and it made me laugh loud more than once.
I loved the quirky and well written characters and the plot.
I look forward to reading other books by this author.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Absolutely loved this book. Really fast read as a wonderful set of character that you actually begin to car about and want to know more about. In actual fact I would love to see follow up books set at 'Sparrows Nest'
Simon and Tess are a mature couple both on a second marriage. Blissfully happy they holiday in Cornwall. While there they fall in love with a big old house called Over and Above.
Due to the cost of renovation they realise they will need an income so set about renting their four bedrooms out to a set of eclectic guest who stay for weeks not days.
Dominic has come to write a book. Celia has come to discover painting.. Joe and Jackie to work on their marriage and Titiania is just Titiania.
The book follows there comings and goings during there stay.
Lovely book. Give it a read

Lovely feel good read. It was well written and flowed well. I enjoyed it very much. The plot was good and interesting. Hard to put down

This author's books are always so good. She treats you to a very nice mixture of love and laughter and they are always heartwarming but sometimes a little bit of sadness creeps in as well. This time she also scattered a bit of suspense over the whole.

People often say that you have to grab your chances when you are young, but why can't you make a u-turn when you are more mature? It's not because you are over 50 or older that you should not make changes anymore. In every stage of your life you should try to do what you love most to do. It's a pity it's maybe not always possible, but sometimes you have to take a risk and see where your heart takes you.

There are a lot of single mature people and when Cupid strikes he does not check your age ...

In the previous book we met Orla and Tess and in this one the spotlight is on Tess. I have an inkling we will be in for a sequel with the focus on Orla. I hope my feeling does not betray me.

A lovely story that I totally enjoyed. 5 stars.

Thank you, Dee MacDonald and Bookouture (via Netgalley)

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. How this book made me laugh and made me realise that at the age of 63 life is not over for me. Whopping 5 stars

Oh, this was a lovely, easy read of a book!

I really liked the characters of Tess and Simon Sparrow and the fact that they were prepared to renovate an old house (with a great view, of course!) when most people in their age bracket would be starting to look at retirement villages to settle into. Naturally enough, things don't always go to plan with the renovations and I loved the first Christmas that they had in the house. I also enjoyed the setting, Cornwall, and the way the locals did things, which was very different to what Tess and Simon were used to. "Dreckly" is now my new favourite word :)

The guests are an eclectic bunch but I loved that even though they were very different, they were all interesting in their own ways and also a slightly older bunch of people than is usual in novels. Lots of things to be commended here.

4.5 stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture.

Feel good and heartwarming - this book has it in spades, along with a large dose of drama and some really lovable characters.
The setting is pretty awesome, too

Cornwall! Simon and Tess, a mature couple, impulsively buy a (let's face it- in really bad shape) hulking house in Cornwall and then realize that not only is renovation awful, they also need to bring in some money so they decide to rent out rooms. What a fun book this is! If you didn't read the first book where we met Tess, her friend Orla, and Simon, don't worry- this stands perfectly well on it's own. I found this to be a hoot in spots, especially with their escapades in trying to fix up Sparrow's Nest while living in a caravan. I also loved meeting the people who came to stay- all of whom are looking for something. This is a good positive read with nice characters (all of whom are, ahem, mature) and let's not forget- it's set in Cornwall! Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

We last saw Tess at her daughter’s wedding : where she meets Simon the on-again-off-again actor with a mellifluous voice and charm enough for three. After a bit of a whirlwind courtship and marriage, and remodeling a London flat, the two are on a ‘getaway’ to Simon’s childhood vacation spot in Cornwall. Planning just a ‘fisherman’s cottage’ getaway, the two are soon looking at property that overlooks the town and ocean, the Over and Above it’s called. Soon they’ve sold the London flat, with plans to renovate and repurpose the old house into a luxurious, specialty longer-stay B&B.

From one sportscar that is woefully unequipped for country lane driving, to a campervan dubbed Windsor Castle, the struggle of adapting to “direkly” and the isolation – not to mention the expense and Simon’s rather cavalier attitude toward the costs involved, Tess is masterminding the plans, cajoling the workmen and generally holding down the fort while Simon is, as she has come to learn, charming his way through life and the unpleasant tasks. Again, MacDonald has created two characters who interact exactly as people really do – with the little things being more aggravating and causing more strops than the big ones, and everyone tense and worried about the unknown questions.

Yet soon, they have their first guests – a former publisher, now retired, in Cornwall to be close to his ex and to write a book on smuggling, a woman planning to paint with watercolors for a few weeks following her ‘retirement’, and a faded actress, dressed in clothes more appropriate to her great-grand-daughters with a need for all the attention……. The charm and stories unfold with the usual amounts of tumult, particularly when a couple arrives to “rekindle” their marriage and ends with him leaving in a not-so-gracious way. From finding new friends, reconnecting with family and discovering the ‘actual’ purposes of their guest’s extended visits, the story is a gentle and clever tale of taking the road less travelled on the way to a new start after 60.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=” https://wp.me/p3OmRo-avm/” > <a> I am, Indeed </a>