Based on the title of this book I expected something a little different, but I guess it just goes to show what one person sees as “bad” is not always seen that way by others. Perhaps the fights the sisters had were what could be considered as them behaving badly or maybe Kitty was behaving “badly”, but if that’s the case then I think we should all be “bad”. I want to be just like Kitty one day and I think we can all learn something from her look on life!

What to expect:

✅ an absolutely delightful main character Kitty telling the story of her adventures in France with her sister Jenny

✅ a renovation of a country home

✅ the special and at times difficult bond between sisters who have lived completely different lives, neither thinking highly about the choices of the other

✅ emphasis that age is just a number, there is no such thing as acting your age or being too old to do something

✅ making the most of every situation… staying positive and having a laugh especially when things go wrong

✅ romance and drama in the form of difficult relationships both romantic and with other family members

✅ a lot of humor and laugh out loud moments… I giggled and burst out laughing a few times while reading this book!

It was so easy to imagine this book as an audible book that would have me smiling and laughing a lot and at some point when I need an uplifting fun listen I will definitely listen to this story, despite already knowing how it will end.

Favorite Quotes:

He had also grown a really unattractive beard, which was a shame as he was a nice-looking chap. I couldn’t understand this new passion for face fungus.

The newcomer smiled, his teeth as yellow as his donkey’s… The donkey joined in with an impressive bray and Bertrand smiled broadly, showing several more impressive teeth the donkey might have envied.

It was surprising the way the younger generation had taken to tattoos; it used to be just salty old sea dogs who had them. Should I get one? I wondered. And if I did, what would it be? A Chinese proverb, perhaps, but no, I had heard of someone getting one that was eventually translated as chicken chow mein.

Hugo the Pool Boy… was probably about fifty with a grizzled beard and matching shock of hair that was held back with a pink unicorn hair band.

Sometimes, out of the blue, someone comes into your life who makes you sit up and take notice. A person who makes your heart flutter and your thoughts race. More often than not it’s a policeman behind you on the motorway, but sometimes it’s someone like Léo.


My Review:

I frequently giggle-snorted and cackled aloud as I made my way through this delightfully spirited and cleverly amusing tale of dueling sisters. I adore and covet the agile pen and sly wit of Maddie Please. Her storylines zip and zing with sparkling humor and snarky observations. I was highly entertained and resented any interruption to my perusal; I should be ashamed to say there was actual hissing involved at one point. There was one item mentioned that gave me considerable pause and consternation, and fearing the worst, I was compelled to consult Mr. Google about chocolate sardines as I’d never heard of such a thing. Sweet relief, no actual fish are involved.

I love these book with sisters and family in a great read loved every page enjoyed it so much full of laughter great chemistry great writing style you love

Sisters Behaving Badly
by: Maddie Please
Boldwood Books

When extreme opposite sisters Kitty and Jenny find themselves sharing a somewhat neglected French farmhouse near the sea, there's bound to be quarrels, laughter, and lots of wine and cheese. Younger sister Kitty is single, has a sense of humor, and likes to knit, read, and garden. Jenny, who can navigate roundabouts, is a wife and mother who wears cardigans and is never late. Both are "sixty-something". Their trip to France together to take care of their late Aunt Sheila's estate becomes an adventure in bonding, soul searching, and self-discovery.
Author Maddie Please's story of sisterhood is funny and entertaining, yet poignant and touching. As Kitty and Jenny settle in their new surroundings, they encounter mayhem, mishaps, and misunderstandings, leading to both amusement and discomfort.
The story is well-paced and enjoyable, with lots of interesting side characters, animals, gardening, and home renovations. I loved the moments that the sisters spent in their beloved Aunt's rural home together, talking, giggling, and sharing innermost feelings over food and beverages. Although other relationships are explored, sisterly bonding is the heart of this satisfying story.
Thank you to Net Galley and Boldwood Books for the advance reader's copy and the opportunity to provide my unbiased review.
#SistersBehavingBadly #NetGalley

This book really lives up to its name and is a great read for this time of the year. Loved everything about it. 5 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for this e ARC

When Jenny and Kitty, two sisters in their sixties, are left their aunt’s house in the French countryside, they have to travel there together and decide what to do about the place. The sisters haven’t been talking to each other and no having to renovate the house before they sell proves to be a difficult task. They do try to broker some peace to make things work, but the hurt runs deep. Also they have two very different personalities. While Jenny is very by the book, Kitty is more carefree and adventurous. Jenny also has a very demanding and judgmental husband, who has gone to the extent of cutting their son off from them.

The story is essentially about these two sisters finding their way back to each other and in many ways rebuilding their own self-esteem while they renovate.

I loved all the characters and with a flatulent donkey, some crazy chickens and some very charming French builders thrown in to the mix, this is a hilarious read. Yet, it also underlines that it’s never too late to change or forgive and move forward.

There’s nothing like a book to make you feel cozy as the autumn days get ready to make way to winter. When feuding sisters Kitty and Jenny are tasked with fixing up their deceased aunt’s French farmhouse, Kitty knows it will be a chore. Not just the repairs, but dealing with her sister Jenny. But it’s been a few years, and she wants to repair her relationship with her sister. But these two sisters are night and day, and that might be a tall order for them.

Please wrote these characters well. Jenny is the complete opposite of me. She’s too rigid, with a controlling husband, and she doesn’t appear to have any joy in her life. Please wrote her unlikability well, and if ever there was a character to help Jenny out, it was lighthearted Kitty. I enjoyed watching the sisters work together while trying to navigate their relationship. The added bonus of Kitty meeting a love interest made an already cozy book feel that much cozier. Overall, this book makes you feel good. It’s lighthearted, funny, and endearing.

5☆ Charming, Witty and Full of Humour

Estranged Sisters Kitty & Jenny have come together to travel to France, to fix up their Aunt Sheila’s farmhouse.
She passed away and they have inherited it with the plan to sell.

Things are not exactly a bed of roses between them and the snide and witty remarks from both Sisters, show there not quiet ready to forgive and forget!
But Kitty is determined to make their relationship better and move on.
She misses her sister and hopes this trip away from Jenny's overbearing and controlling husband Paul, will bring them closer together.

I loved watching Kitty and Jenny's relationship grow, both are so very different,
Kitty is carefree and not so cautious and Jenny comes across at first as obnoxious and stuck up but a lot of that has to do with how downtrodden Paul has made her without realising it.
Yet within time you could see the ice melt between them.

I absolutely loved this story it was Heartwarming, Witty, a few crazy Antics, Plenty of Humour, some loveable animals and a charming house with oodles of character, set within a stunning location, what's not to love!

This is a fun, lighthearted read and utterly captivating. I found laughter bubbling up as I visualised some of the scenarios with plenty of funny situations. Delightful book to escape with on a glum November day with quirky characters in Brittany. Some more serious poignant issues beneath the antics but addressed with humour which totally lifted the plot. I just wanted the book to carry on, I was so immersed in the antics of Kitty and Jenny as they find a way to reassess their lives and relationships all helped with some very expensive bottles of wine.

Oh I really enjoyed this delightful book! As soon as I met Kitty I knew that I was going to love her sense of humour and the sisters’ adventures are made so amusing by Kitty’s dry wit.

Right from the start, when the sisters meet on the ferry to France, there are mishaps and mischief. When they finally arrive at their Aunt’s house and begin to settle in they begin to heal their relationship and the rather uptight Jenny begins to find her sense of fun again and loosen up, possibly helped by some rather good French wine!

I found myself totally captivated and entertained by this gorgeous book, which was like a breath of fresh air. A thoroughly delightful and funny read, I can’t recommend it enough. Just be warned, don’t read it in public, there are some genuinely laugh-out-loud moments!

I thoroughly enjoyed this hilarious, poignant and compelling story. It's well written, it kept me reading, laughing and feeling for the sisters.
The characters are well developed and quirky, plot flows and there's plenty of humor.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This is a highly entertaining read, featuring two estranged sisters who find themselves in France, refurbishing a house they have inherited. The two sisters are quite different in personality but you begin to realise that the reasons behind their falling out might lie with other people. Their reactions to life in the French rural village are comical, at times and there are plenty of moments of genuine humour as they set about dealing with their builders and neighbours.

Behind the humour, there is the more serious thread of coercive control and a manipulating husband. The slow burn romance which develops is a satisfying touch and all the characters who you get to meet are lively and vividly drawn. As the two sisters face a crossroads in their lives, there is plenty of thoughts about starting over and having a second chance at relationships.

In short: a lively and amusing romcom
Thanks to the publisher for a copy of the book

3.5 stars.
I actually loved this book and I was wondering for a long, long time about the rating and in the end I set on 3.5 stars - there were simply too many, for my liking much too many, passages and chapters that actually brought nothing to the book, that were so dragging on - and I wanted to get back to the sisters, to their antics and brilliant humour - because they were great, and their story was so good, and it pains me, really pains me, that not the whole story was working so well. Some scenes were so over - done and felt forced, and the one that featured almost all characters, swimming pool and chaos and that was supposed to be oh so funny... well, let me just tell, it was not.
Nevertheless, it was a brilliant, funny story about two sisters who have lost touch some time ago and now must go to France to look after renovation of the house they both got after their Aunt's death. To say that they were awkward around each other at the beginning would be an understatement. It was, however, annoying to see Jenny behaving like this, however you will quickly learn why she's like this. I loved Kitty much more, she was a free spirit, with my kind of humour. Nevertheless, Jenny showed her true colours and she deserved standing ovation then, really. They were well written, with their flaws and problems that felt real.
Altogether, it was an entertaining, funny story set in a beautiful part of France and with some sexy locals, mmmm. I truly enjoyed it and I would love to try the wine, now please. A great, well - written, with a feel - good factor novel about second chances, family relationships, showing there is never late for love and new beginnings.

Sisters Jenny and Kitty are very different. Fun-loving Kitty has a string of failed marriages; sensible Jenny has been with husband Paul for over thirty years. Forced to spend time together in Brittany, they have a lot of work ahead of them in this book, which neatly combines multiple storylines and all sorts of relationship dramas - lots of action to keep the pages turning.

As they battle the dust of a renovation project and the weeds of the unkempt garden they have inherited from Aunt Sheila, they can’t ignore the need to rebuild their once-close relationship. Pausing only to sip from a decent bottle of Sheila’s French wine, they start the soul-searching process of unpicking their past mistakes, understanding each other and looking to where the future will take them.

The characters in this book often made me smile, despite the fact some of the situations were anything but funny. I warmed to Kitty immediately and the more I discovered about Jenny’s family life, the more I felt for her too. Life’s not always plain sailing, but there are plenty of entertaining moments cleverly crafted into the story as they try to cope with events that are often outside their comfort zones. I especially enjoyed the hilarious antics of the assorted animals (and Frenchmen) they seem to pick up along the way.

This book was a dream read and the more I read, the more I loved it. I enjoyed the family dramas, the French magic, the humour and the love (in all its forms) that shines through. Add in a well-described location, a few handy and rather dashing locals, plus some tasty regional food treats, and this book had a lot to offer me.

I rarely quote from a book, but I think we could all do with remembering this simple, but powerful quote:

“It is never too late to be happy, to fall in love, to change things.”

If you need a pick-me-up book to keep you entertained now the nights are drawing in, I can recommend Sister’s Behaving Badly. I will be looking out for more books by Maddie Please.

This was such a fun read, I love the writing style & how the story was told.

The first book I've read of Maddie's, but definitely not the last, I thoroughly enjoyed the laugh out loud antics of the two sisters. Both of which were great characters, although Jenny was a bit of a walking doormat wasn't she?

The settings sound so idyllic & dreamy, the food sounds amazing & the French men so swoonsome.

It's never too late to start having fun!

Many thanks to Rachel's Random Resources for my tour spot & gifted copy.

𝗜 𝗴𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮 4 ⭐ 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴

Sisters Behaving Badly - Maddie Please

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to Rachel's Random Resources and I am leaving this review voluntarily

Sisters Kitty and Jenny haven’t spoken since a very disappointing Carvery lunch. Kitty, sixty-two, thinks Jenny is turning grey. Jenny, sixty-six, thinks Kitty needs to grow up!

So when both sisters inherit a farmhouse in rural France, it gives them the perfect chance to heal the rift between them. Except the farmhouse is a wreck, the garden is terrorized by a flock of chickens, not to mention a donkey with a serious flatulence problem!

This book was a delightful surprise for me, it was not what I expected - it is about second chances. I enjoyed the fact that Maddie has made it so that the sisters bicker and argue and don't have the perfect relationship that is usually found in a book.

A well-written, funny, uplifting tale. I flew through the pages needing to know what would happen to the sisters next. This is my first book by Maddie and I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it and will be on the lookout for more of her works.

Rating: 4/5

Delightful romp with two sixty something sisters Kitty and Jenny. They are off on a trip to France to their aunt Sheila's villa.
Touching, laugh a minute, and cringe inducing moments make this book a great read. The relationship between the sisters raw and realistic, with tensions many of us experience in family. Great characters, great descriptions, fab story. Loved the French way of life, and would be happy to embrace it myself!
Really enjoyed this one! Refreshing to read about sixty year olds when life is just beginning.
Thank you NetGalley for the early read.

When I read The Old Ducks' Club by the same author earlier this year, I remember thinking I'd be on the lookout for other books by Maddie Please, so I was very exited to get a widget form Boldwood Books for her new book.

What a breath of fresh air this book is! I love Maddie's style, her humour and her mature characters that make you realise that there's no such thing as "too old to".

Reading Sisters Behaving Badly I could see myself (not with a sister, since I only have a brother) in 10 years time, when the kids are all grown up living their own life, leaving with a friend for a crazy adventure and a new start. Dreaming doesn't hurt, right? And that's what books are for.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I do love Maddie Please books and I simply cannot think of a better way to spend a dank Sunday afternoon, than catching up on what is certain to be a gem of a book. I just love the acceptance that not every literary heroine has to be a gorgeous young ‘twirties’ (20’s/30’s) woman.The only thing I struggle with, is the idea of two Sisters having fallen out so badly over a carvery lunch, only because I am so blessed with my Sister! I am not naive enough to know that we are lucky with our relationship though - although is it luck, or that we are prepared to put in the work? I was also shocked that the Sisters hadn’t lived together for 40 years! That is a lifetime!

Regardless, at the start of the book it looked as though some kind of reparation was going to be made (or at least attempted), which I was pleased about. It is so true that blood is thicker than water, so I held out great hopes for Jenny and Kitty reconciling.

This a wonderful book; once I had started it, I knew that I wasn’t going to be happy until I had finished it. It is a book about family and the ties between Sisters that despite being frayed for a while, can always be healed, if all parties are prepared to put in the effort.

This book has its humorous moments, with the Sisters still thinking about wanting to make the other laugh, despite not having spoken for some time. This gave me hope for the revival of their relationship. Other humorous moments included Kitty falling into a disused swimming pool of sludge and then going for the nonchalant look in front of dishy Leo, the builder! As for tbe debacle with the donkey and Dom the pool man - you will need to read it yourself to believe it!

The book was crammed full of intelligent, clever writing; for example, the description of the packed lunch that Paul had made for Jenny for the ferry crossing ’a dull affair of colourless things and cardboard bread’. Interesting and whether intentional or not, oddly reflective of Kitty’s opinion of Paul.

I loved the descriptions in the book - of France, the French house, the food and of the scenery. The author shrewdly brought it all to life with her characterisations and narrative and I never tired of the sights and sounds the two Sisters experienced. Paul sounded increasingly hideous and domineering, every time he was mentioned, for example when Jenny explained that she rarely cooks after Paul saw her licking a spoon once while cooking! Wow, what’s not to loath!? When the Sisters were eating pastries in Quimper, I wanted one, they sounded so delectable. Bertrand and Hector - what a pair! I found their characterisation amusing and at times I would read a passage and forget which character was the man and which the donkey!

I liked the way that the author was not afraid to broach tricky subjects - like at what age a woman should give up trying to find a partner. Personally I think I would rather have the life of single but thrice married Kitty, rather then be married to controlling Paul! The subject of domestic abuse comes up - the realisation that what Paul subjects Jenny to, is actually domestic abuse and it is dealt with empathetically.

It felt to me that finishing the renovation of their inheritance together, would bring the two Sisters closer, although it struck me as so sad, that Jenny was so used to her Husband telling her what should be done, that she seemed to have lost all ability to choose or make decisions. One could but hope that the two Sisters would grow to love the house and each other’s company so much, that they would opt to stay. Indeed could the discovery of one of their late Aunt’s paintings for sale in a gallery, lead to them having the cash for Jenny to live without Paul?

I loved this start from start to finish; it was like a breath of fresh air. A joyous romp, it was funny, sad and entertaining all in just the right amounts and it made me feel so happy, reading it.

There were lots of questions that needed answering in this story.

- Why did the Sisters fall out?
- Why does Kitty dislike Jenny’s Husband Paul, or is it just that he’s always been a bit of a miserable git?
- Why is Jenny so constantly haunted by Paul’s requirements and ’what Paul would think’?
- Why is Ace’s relationship with Paul so bad?
- Can the Sisters repair their relationship?
- Is there a future for Kitty and Leo?

In order to find out the answers to these questions and more, you will need to read this compelling book for yourself..

What a lovely book which has been written about older women. It was great to explore the differences between the sisters. Well done.