Lorna Landvik is wonderful at writing charming stories with quirky characters and enviable friendships and Last Circle of Love didn’t stray from her bread and butter. This tale of a progressive female pastor and the group of post-menopausal church ladies who come up with a radical idea to raise money to save their beloved yet failing church is full of chuckles, bittersweet musings, and heart warming moments. In comparison to some of her other novels, I had a harder time getting into this book as I found the pacing slow and I had the hardest time accurately matching the individual ladies up with their personality quirks. Despite these challenges, overall it was a good break from the dark thrillers and fiction I normally read but not one of my favorites from Landvik.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was surprised by how much I liked this book. It was quirky, interesting, and really sweet. There was a diverse cast of characters, and I liked all of their stories.

I would love to be within this circle of women, because I know the power of having a circle of different age women supporting each other. Older members have a lot of wisdom to impart and younger members bring fresh ideas. One such group forms at All Souls Lutheran, when Mallory “Pastor Pete” Peterson comes to lead the church. It doesn’t take long for her to realise that this church isn’t just struggling, it’s sinking. There are five members in the Naomi Circle, a loyal bunch who know everything that’s going on in their community and who try to keep the church afloat. With their new, young and bold minister they brainstorm fundraising ideas. All the women agree, the usual recipe book won’t add much to the parish bank account, but what if they shared the ingredients on how to heat up relationships rather than casseroles…

Pastor Pete really isn’t sure, but this group of postmenopausal women have a lot to say on the subject of romance. Charlene is the youngest member at fifty-two, but she struggles with the idea; Marlys is an incredible baker of cakes, but can she cook up these ingredients; Bunny is the bohemian one; Velda is a little bit proper and always right; finally there’s Edie, always enthusiastic and happy to gather everyone’s contributions. They want the book to cover all angles, cooking up love in all its forms. Unsurprisingly, the congregation aren’t sure about the project, in fact some think it’s scandalous. As Pastor Pete starts to field opposition to what they’re doing, the women will have to decide how hard to fight for what they’re creating. This isn’t a dirty book, it’s not even erotica or risqué. It’s a powerful collection of stories full of awakenings, the extent of our hearts ability to grow and let people in, hearts that change and soften, and how love changes lives. Although there’s a sexual element, this is more about love and has a transformative effect for some, making them look at their love lives and perhaps change a few things. I loved these characters and the way they worked together. This isn’t a negative look at men either, both genders are represented equally and positively. It doesn’t shy away from showing where relationships are unhealthy too. I’m currently menopausal so I did feel at home with these characters but I think younger readers would enjoy it too. There’s a good mix of characters and ages in a book that’s gentle, full of humour and warmth. I found their stories uplifting and definitely more fun than a cookbook.

Love this author….always a great story that captures your heart and your attention . Can’t wait for the next one.

I enjoyed reading the Last Circle of Love by Lorna Landvik. The characters in this story will warm your heart. Happy Reading!
**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**

I have been a longtime fan of Lorna Landvik and own all her books. I was very excited to read this one that I thought would have that naughty, but silly “Calendar Girls” vibe set in the Midwest. I enjoyed “The Last Circle of Love” but it isn't my favorite.

The pacing was a bit slow and choppy due to the vast array of characters all contributing their “chapters” to a church fundraising book. It was hard to keep track of who was who and you never got a full picture of any of them.

I really loved some of the stories and found myself wishing for more on certain characters. I also really appreciated the attempt to show ALL forms of love, which you don’t always see!

Thanks for Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I took me a little while to get into it, but once I did enjoy it. There are great character though there were quite a number of them that I got confused at the start. Some of the concersations are bit cringey, but I find myself laughing a few times.

This book wasn’t quite the naughty laugh fest I was expecting, but what it was was honestly I think even better. The stories shared were romantic and heart warming, reminding you of small gestures in your own life and really highlighting what’s important when it comes to love. The religious aspects were not preachy at all, and actually added a comforting community aspect to the characters. There are a lot of points of view, so be aware of that if you struggle to follow multiple characters. I did feel like we unfortunately didn’t get to know any of the characters really well, but this didn’t detract overall.

Last Circle of Love A Novel by Lorna Landvik You Like Them General Fiction (Adult) | Women's Fiction Pub Date 06 Dec 2022 | Archive Date 20 Dec 2022 Lake Union Publishing This is a book about older ladies who are going through a change. I did think it was more fun than wanting to do a book about Erotica using the ABCs. I enjoyed the story but felt the execution could have been better as the story felt flat at times. Some parts of the story made me feel sad. #NetGalley #bookreview @lakeUnion #generalfictionadult #womensfiction

I was intrigued by the blurb. Imagine members of the church coming together to write the ABCs of Erotica to raise money for their church. Despite the presumptuous blurb, the story unfolds in a very heartwarming way. It focuses on four women coming up with ideas for their ABCs, giving a different outlook on love and relationships.

This is a very heartwarming and thoughtful story, I was worried that the plot will be preachy as it centers on a church but I was pleasantly surprised by how the author execute her plot. I also enjoyed the individual story of each character and how they come together and support each other.

The plot may seem stagnant at times but overall, I still enjoyed reading this. Thank you Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the arc.

Calendar Girls meets the Full Monty when this Church Cirlce of “Naomi’s” seeks to raise money for their ailing parish by writing a book about the ABC’s of love. Told in multiple perspectives, each woman shares what living and loving means to them, and finds themselves on a journey of self discovery along the way. These ladies are reclaiming old narratives, repairing relationships, and rewriting their stories. Thank you to @NetGalley and Lake Union for my gifted ARC.

I really enjoyed this book. Some parts are a little uncomfortable, as I am sure you can imagine when you think about octogenarians talking about sex and romance. Some parts are very sad as you hear about the other things associated with age like death, cancer, and dementia. But through it all there is such a large amount of love and gratitude within the Naomi's circle and the book they write. In order to raise money for their Church, the group writes the ABCs of Erotica, later termed the Last Circle of Love. However, it doesn't really end up being about sex but rather about love and romance in general. For example, B stands for bravery because there is no starting a relationship or making steps without it. J is for Jewel, both to commemorate one woman's story and a way to say that you should always be cherished in relationships. There are so many others and nice bits of wisdom that you will just need to read to discover on your own. I think I am going to make my own ABC book for my boyfriend about what he means to me and maybe one for myself for those days when I need a pick-me-up to remind me of my good qualities or things I have to be grateful for. I think it might be a good gift idea for lovers, parents to children especially at major milestones, or children to parents to thank them for all they do. I am so glad I was able to get this ARC to read and review.

I really liked that this book was about older people instead of the younger crowd. It was a nice change. This was the type of book you wanted to live in the town and be friends with all the people. I love when an author can make you feel at home with a book! This was a first read by Lorna but it definitely won't be my last!

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for allowing me to read this ARC.

I like to take a chance now and then and read something outside of my comfort zone. Sometimes this pays off, and sometimes it doesn’t. I thought the premise of Last Circle of Love sounded unusual, and I’ve read something from the author, Lorna Landvik, before, so though I usually avoid books that mention religion, I hoped for the best.

Last Circle of Love has its moments, I often found it sweet, warm, funny and thoughtful, and somewhat surprisingly, really not at all preachy. The women of the circle, and their Pastor, are often not what you’d expect, certainly a little bolder, and and I enjoyed their individual stories.

Unfortunately however the novel’s execution overall felt uneven to me. The plot doesn’t really have much in the way of momentum and often feels unfocused. In part I think this is because the shifts between the perspectives of the many characters happen quite randomly and as a result the story feels disjointed. The conclusion also leaves some important threads dangling.

Though it has its charms, the issues with the structure meant Last Circle of Love was simply an okay read for me.

I haven’t read a Lorna Landvik tale in a long time. She didn’t disappoint! Charming, heartwarming and a bit risque!
Thanks for something new! Also, thanks for a book about a great subject- Love. Something we all need to be reminded of in this crazy, busy world.

3.5 stars for this enjoyable story about a group of Women in a Naomi group at All Souls Lutheran Church. The new pastor has her work cut out for her…trying to compete with a new shiny MegaChurch and slow the number of parishioners leaving in addition to raising money for her ailing church. They brainstorm an idea of a different type of recipe book…ABCs of Erotica. Scandalous for a church book!

What a cast of characters. Each women, all over 50, have secrets and need to explore what this means to each of them. A larger cast of characters, all lovable in their own right, but can be hard to follow all the stories and keep them straight. It was nice to read about ‘mature’ women coming to term with their past, present and future. Deeper friendships are formed, relationships renewed and eyes opened. Cozy, lighter read.

Thanks to Ms Landvik, Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone!

It was not what I thought it would be, it was a nice read but it did feel like it was dragging. I really wanted to love it more. A good read, not great.

⭐️⭐️⭐️
Could even be rounded up to 3.5. I had some trouble focusing on this one, it seemed like the storyline jumped around quite a bit.
Overall, I enjoyed it.
It was cute, I liked the characters a lot.
I could definitely get a good idea in my head of the types of characters the women of All Souls were.
The ending was slightly lackluster. A twist that came out of left field, but it was just…unnecessary, I thought.

There was a lot that I enjoyed about this book, and some things I could have done without.

The thing I enjoyed the most was the focus on how it's the simple things that really capture our hearts and imaginations. It's dancing. It's gallantry. It's compliments. The early lustful part of a relationship is all well and good, but it's not going to be enough decades later because lust will fade. So, exploring what "gets your motor running," as these sweet ladies put it, is a worthwhile exploration.

Personally, I couldn't get into the gay and transgendered bits as much. The publishing industry is swinging too far in that direction right now, trying to overcorrect, in my opinion.

But overall, I found it an enjoyable story. I enjoyed the peeks into each of the main characters' lives, and how working on this book together really changed them and their circumstances.

Thanks to Lorna Landvik, Lake Union Publishing, and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

A lovely, warm, feel good book with a great set of characters and a certain amount of mischief. An enjoyable, feel good read..