Cover Image: The Best Thing About Bennett

The Best Thing About Bennett

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Member Reviews

I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

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I'm 22 and there have been more than one time when I've felt I haven't lived my life. Very few people found me interesting in real life until a few years ago. It is the same for Bennett. She is a middle-aged woman who is recently fired from her job. She has no friends, no family.

Deciding she has not lived her life, she takes her first active step in her life and sells her aunt's house, and moves to a new neighborhood. Things begin unfolding and she comes out of her shell and even goes on an adventure.

This was a good read for me. I could relate to Bennett more than I would like to admit. I'm glad she could finally find happiness in her life. Not only it is a lovely story, but it also gives me hope that it is never too late to start living your life.

The book was a bit slow-paced near the end. Also, it is for the plot progress and all. but I felt Bennett was putting way more effort into Joe than he was putting for her. If it were real life, I would have definitely suspected she is being taken advantage of. Like dude, she went to ANOTHER CONTINENT for you. The least you could do is be sweet and declare your love for her.

Overall, the book is a good read. Would recommend reading it if you don't mind the slow pace.

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This story revolves around middle aged woman Bennett, how she find the meaning of life after being terminated from her office and selling her self willed house to Aunt Mary’s mansion and shifted to low maintenance house where she meets McElroy and from then onwards her life begins for the second time.

Her surroundings changed, later she realised what she missed in life and how long she suppressed her feelings her emotions deep within only because she’s been responsible towards her aunt.

She once loved Stephen but he now settled and seems happy and content now.
Being neighbour with Dr. Joe Muir gave her life a different direction.

Maria, Juanita, Lola, Meyer, Peter, Hilda, Jocob …. They’re too good to be Bennett’s support system. They all played important roles in the story!

Finding Grace & fulfilling Elsie’s last two wishes gave Bennett reasons why you shouldn’t take life for granted and how small it is, how uncertain it is and still you’ve to live it and feel it like there’s no tomorrow.

I loved the story, the author writes so beautifully I’m hooked from the beginning it’s hard to put down my phone and finishing other chores. Cause I was so attached with what’s happening with Bennett. I loved Isabella, Medi and Hope! They’re adorable in this book!

Simply this is the story about Bennett, how she overcomes the fears, danger, hardship and challenges she confronts, she must find the courage she always lacked.

Loved the cover photo of the book. This is my first book by the author and I really wanna read more from hers.

Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Thank you @netgalley and @booksgosocialgroup for the #arc in exchange for an honest review.

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It’s an uplifting story of a middle-aged woman overcoming fear and self-doubts to find adventure, love and family. Bennett Hall was forced into early retirement as her employment with Bancroft, Chandler and Co was terminated. She is happy that she no longer have to care for her Aunt Mary who just passed away.
Recommend reading ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Bennett Hall has lived a rather uneventful life. Living with a mother and an Aunt who was dominant, pressurised Bennett into doing exactly as she
wanted she has moulded Bennett into a compliant woman with no will or interests of her own. When Bennett decides to get rid of the enormous house
that she lived in all her life, with all its furnishings, she steps out of her comfort zone into a world of strangeness - a world where she can
decide what she wants to do next. For Bennett however this is not easy. She has no idea what she wants to do, has no desires or longings of her own
to fulfill and is hesitant to even try out anything new.

Her adventure starts with buying a ordinary house in a quiet neighbourhood and then befriending a neighbour. This sets off a chain of events which
will bring adventure, love and a new focus in her life. It is an idealistic way of looking at the way Bennett's life changes - all for the better, with
a few initial hiccups on the way. It made for easy reading as well. It is an ideal read to take on vacation. You can pick up where you left off without
any worries.

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After Bennett gets made redundant at work, she realizes she has wasted her life caring for her terrible aunt (now deceased) and has never really made friends or made a life for herself. She decides to start opening herself up to people and experiences. This is one of those kind of nice happy-ending books about someone finding themselves. I found Bennett and most of her friends endearing and enjoyed her personal growth, but it felt a bit rushed at points. Things that I would have expected a little more emotional response to would be thrown in quickly and then on to the next event. For example, the deaths of the store owners. Bennett didn't know them well and it didn't have to be a whole chapter or something, but it was kind of thrown out very quickly and then onto Maria taking over. Someone should have seemed to care a little more! It was the same with the Uganda portion of the book. I felt like Bennett would have been a bit more overwhelmed by some of the things going on, but she just kind of rolled with everything, suddenly capable of anything, and zipped through one thing to the next. But I did enjoy it for the most part, and I thought Bennett was a very likeable character. 3.5 stars rounded to 3.

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A sheltered middle-aged woman figures out how to live.

Good writing initially, then seems sketched and needs another work-through. The first half felt more rich than after she went to Uganda. I would have liked more emotion portrayed while in Uganda and either amp up th tension or slow down the pace (pick one). There wasn’t enough tension in getting Grace, it just went from event to event.
I liked how the community around Bennett was developed. It made sense that the types of people that became her group were the types that would be active. Bennett has been in a passive role most of her life. It was also good she was able to say “no” to someone she thought wasn’t a good fit and realize that person wouldn’t punish her. Bennett had good character growth. The romance is quiet.
Pacing was medium and steady. The story kept me interested. Would be a good book to read on vacation but you could also read it between other activities or before bed. Its straightforward and you won’t lose your place or be lost like in convoluted or more complex novels.

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Bennet is a character that resonated with me. It a was a joy to read about her journey in finding happiness and finally living life. I picked this up because of the cover and was captivated by the story. It’s an fun read with a few tearjerkers. Maybe i’m just sensitive but I found my self crying a few times. Bennet is an easy person to root for and it’s nice to read about older heroines. I truly enjoyed this novel. It’s a reminder to take chances and that it’s never too late to turn things around.

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For starters, I’m not sure how the title fits in with the story. I can’t say with confidence if the author wanted to highlight Bennett’s willingness to take things in her stride or was she referring to another trait. It doubt if it was the latter, because Bennett as a character came across as weak and indecisive. While I was reading the book, I couldn’t connect with Bennett emotionally. Situations where I would expect her to react a certain way, she did the exact opposite. For me, Bennett’s character development was weak. Joe on the other hand, had a stronger character, not just in his personality but also in terms of consistencies in his behaviour and dialogue.
The story was another aspect with which I couldn’t come to terms. There were so many meandering story lines that started and ended abruptly. Closure from her ex, the truth about her family history, truth about her aunt were all potential storylines that could have been developed, but instead a completely different path was developed and elaborated on in the second half. The transition from a shy, timid Bennett to one fighting off bad guys was not smooth. It also really irked me that all her actions were tied to Joe’s validation. If he was curt or dismissive, Bennett’s mood would become off. You’re a grown up woman Bennett, act like it!

The book started off well and I enjoyed the addition of a book and antique store in the plot. But after the 40% mark I wanted to see the end of Bennett Hall.

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