This was not what I expected it to be at all.. it was so much better!! It’s a lot deeper than I thought it would be, exploring some real tough issues.

At first I couldn’t warm to Connie however as the story unfolds you start to empathise as it’s clear there’s some underlying reasons to explain her behaviour. The friendships and community spirit were just lovely, I laughed and cried!

I will be recommending this book!!

Connie is living with her mom in council housing hiding from some terrible secret in her past and trying to avoid life through an obsession with Gilmore Girls and vodka when her prickly elderly neighbor Matilda unexpectedly needs her to care for her animals and garden.

Connie is reluctant, even fearful of doing so, but finds it to be healing. And from there a tentative friendship begins.

Soon it comes to light that the council is intending to brokerage a sale of the close and move all the tenants to other locations. As the community comes together to fight the sale, we learn more about the secrets each holds.

This is a lovely story of chosen family, resiliency, and hope.

Really enjoyed this story of Connie, who’s returned home to live with her mum after a traumatic event, and her elderly neighbour, the reclusive Matilda, who keeps animals in her back garden.

Connie is in a terrible state, getting drunk to anaesthetise herself daily, barely getting out of bed, except for her dawn walks. She hits rock bottom and decides to end her life - extremely sensitively managed - but spots that Matilda has collapsed in her garden. Realising she needs to help Matilda but to do that, she can’t let herself die.

Matilda is kept in hospital and Connie comes home. Her mum volunteers her to look after Matilda’s animals and once Connie meets a little goat, she starts to find a reason to live.

This is a really enjoyable story of the residents of the close finding each other as they join in a fight against unscrupulous developers who follow Matilda home from hospital and see an opportunity to make money by ousting not just the hoarding pensioner but also the rest of the residents.

As they all band together, they begin to help and heal each other. With some heartbreaking and shocking revelations along the way, and plenty of wit and charm, this is a thoroughly enjoyable story. A very fitting addition to the library of Victoria’s stories. If you haven’t yet read Patience and Grace, go back and find them, They are also brilliant.

This is the second book I have read by this author and both have been amazing reads.
The author has a gift for writing about difficult realities.
In alternating chapters the book follows the two main characters- Connie & Matilda as they fight for their right to not be rehoused. As a reader I was fully immersed in the story and praying for a positive outcome.
I would definitely recommend this amazing 5star book.
Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for this read

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for providing me a copy of the book.

This was warm and lighthearted, with a good historical background and lovely scenery. It would have been a five star if the end itself hadn't been a bit dragged out, while the main event was resolved too quickly.

Nevertheless, Victoria Scott is an author whose books I'm looking forward to reading again.

Overall this is a feel good story, which is something we all need on occasion. Matilda and Connie are relatable characters, particularly in their ups and downs of life. It's fun to read about the unlikely pair in this well written read. Dialogue is authentic, and it helps the readers experience a mixture of emotions throughout the story. I appreciated the humor, as well. At the core, this story is about friendship and finding a sense of belonging.

Loved reading this and how the characters developed. If only there were more communities around like that, there used to be but life has got in the way now. I recommend this book and give it 5 stars. Very well written with a good storyline.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for this ARC

Connie is irritated by the mere a presence of her neighbors and don’t socialize or interact with them at all but when her elderly neighbor Madeline has an accident she is forced by her mom to tend to the woman’s animals. But before long the same housing council that ignores every plea for help makes a decision that affects both women and will force them to come together and make a stand. I know a lot of people love this book and I am happy for them but for many reasons that I cannot stay due to ruining the plot I just could not get into the book. I find when I force myself to read a book it makes me not like it even more so my reading may also be due to that I really had high hopes for The Women Who Wouldn’t Leave by Victoria Scott because but like I said many times not every book is going to be for every reader and I guess this one just wasn’t for me. I want to thank net galley and And aria and Aries books for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

I loved this book!

It's incredibly heartwarming and uplifting and I couldn't put it down.

Massive thanks to netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF - This is a book that is simply not for me. I have seen many other readers adore it for all that it offers & I'm glad that it's found its target readers.

Home to hide after years of disastrous decisions in London, Connie numbs herself with too much vodka and endless repeats of episodes of "The Gilmore Girls". She also spies on her neighbours from her bedroom in her mother's long time rental, giving them nicknames and creating narratives based on their appearances and habits.

Meanwhile, elderly next door neighbour Matilda lives with only her animals for company, and years of hoarded papers, food cans and grief. When Connie and another neighbour, Jamie, find Matilda incapacitated and unconscious one day, this sets off a series of events:
-Connie begins caring for Matilda's goats, cats and chickens, and taking care of Matilda's overgrown garden and vegetable patch
-Matilda begins receiving some medical care, and getting to know Connie. The two begin ever so slowly opening up to one another about their lives
-Connie becomes acquainted with the others in the council rental homes, discovering that all of the people are much more complex than she realized, and all have concerns, griefs and hopes in their pasts and presents
-The local council decides to award a contract to a local developer for the land the council homes are on, based on an assessment of Matilda''s home and its years of lack of maintenance
-The residents all decide to fight back against the proposed sale and redevelopment

Connie and Matilda are the main characters, and they both are well characterized: the women's fears and unwillingness to connect with others was believable, and their slow moves to open up were full of the hesitances two lonely and mistrustful people would feel. As well, despite their differences in ages and experiences, the two grow to love and respect one another, and Connie begins taking charge of her life after years of ignoring her mental health issues.

This is a terrific novel about friendship, and how it can flourish if one takes the time to listen and respect oneself and others. It's also about coming together as a community to fight for each other. It's moving, and left me happy and hopeful by its end.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Aria & Aries for this ARC in exchange for my review.

I loved this book, and cannot help wanting to spread the word. Connie is a young woman who made many mistakes in her life, leaving London to hide away at her mother’s house in council housing. Connie tried to keep to herself until the day she heard the goats in the neighbor’s backyard, and found the neighbor, an elderly woman named Matilda, had fallen. Matilda was unkempt, a hoarder, and a loner. The two form a friendship as the local council is threatening to evict them and their neighbors. It’s a book you won’t want to put down, with characters you will miss. Highly recommended. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

What a lovely book! I really enjoyed the development of the characters and their relationship as the story wound on. Some lovely moments and a great representation of what it is to live with secrets in a community where people are determined to care. I loved the community spirit as they stand up for their homes and their lives. A great read.

I absolutely adored this book!! I instantly loved both main characters and was invested in their stories from the start. I have never read anything from the perspective of the final Matilda chapter, but it was so well written. A heart warming story to make you laugh and cry. Highly recommend.
Thank you to Netgalley, Aria & Aries, and the author for the ARC in exchange for a review.

The women who wouldn’t leave is a heart warming tale of two women learning to accept themselves. Matilda and Connie are very different is all respects, but both find themselves in Roseacre trying to hide from their pasts.

When their homes are threatened they join forces and with the local community work to save their homes. In so doing they risk having to share their darkest secrets. Will their relationship survive?

A tale of family, love, forgiveness. Acceptance and community.

For me this did not quite live up to the high bar of Grace. The first 2 parts felt unnecessarily slow, but the latter parts were much stronger.

I started the story very much disliking both main characters: Matilda was way too abrasive and Connie was too scare of everything... But I must say, Scott knows what she's doing: slowly showing the hows and whys of their personalities, their stories and traumas and how they are more similar than we can simply see. If there's something you can take away from this book is a sense of community, friendship in the most unlikely places and that no one can determine who or how strong you are but yourself. I loved the mental health discussion (including a hoarding disorder, depression, addiction and dealing with toxic relationship and rape, please check the trigger warnings) and how love can be present in so many different ways. This was an amazing read, definitely recommend it!

When Matilda lands in hospital after a fall, she must rely on her strange young neighbor, Connie, to take care of things for her in her cottage, Stonecastle, in Worcestershire. As developers begin to eye their homes, these two unlikely friends come together to save their homes. Well written and sensitive.

I love reading about women finding their voices and becoming empowered and this novel had that in spades. From the start, I connected with the main characters who were both headstrong, set in their ways, feisty in the presence of others and tied to their homes in the council estate. The age difference didn’t matter as they discovered they had more in common than they thought. Despite her age, Matilda ran a small holding from her worse for wear home and these animals ranging from chickens to goats provided a central thread to both her and Connie’s life. The use of nature to bond the women together worked well and highlighted how it can lift the shroud of depression slightly and keep it at bay. Both storylines were heart-wrenching at times, but told compassionately.

Connie’s and Matilda’s backstories were original and a surprise, which is hard to do when there are so many books out there. It was a delight watching the friendship grow and them find the strength to fight for their homes.

With strong characterisation and sense of place, I galloped through this book and was left feeling uplifted, emotional and bereft at leaving Matilda behind. It showed how kindness can change lives and provide much needed friendship.

The Women Who Wouldn’t Leave - Victoria Scott.

Neighbours, Matilda and Connie, both lead a quiet life. Until a fall leaves Matilda in need of Connie’s help.
The two women form an unlikely but special friendship.
When the prospect of losing their homes looms large, Connie and Matilda lead the charge to save their little community.

#TheWomenWhoWouldn’tLeave is a gorgeous piece of writing.
Victoria Scott creates some wonderful characters.
Connie and Matilda are so different in many ways, but these two feisty women find their common ground, and a beautiful friendship blossoms.
Both women have been through their hard times in life and I felt for them both.
The other residents of the close are a varied bunch, but maybe not the people that Connie assumed them to be.

#TheWomenWhoWouldn’tLeave is a story about strong women, the power of friendships and the strength of community. Not forgetting Matilda’s loveable motley crew of pets.
It’s an emotional story, that made my eyes leak at times, but it also filled my heart with joy and hope.

A feel good read, touching, poignant and utterly heartwarming.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

With thanks to Netgalley, Rachel’s Random Resources and Aria & Aries for a digital arc of this title.

his is a novel which sweeps you along and you find yourself caring about the characters and what is going to happen to them. At first, you see different generations who are living around the cul de sac through Connie's eyes. It takes some time to work out what is the matter with Connie and why she is keeping herself hidden away. She has tried to make herself invisible and unnoticed. In truth, she is noticed. As Connie comes to realise, her impression of her neighbours was not accurate. They have their own challenges.

Matilda, Connie's elderly next door neighbour has also tried to live her life away from people. They have quite a lot in common. Her accident is the catalyst for Connie beginning to look outwards. The mystery of why Matilda is living as she does runs throughout the story. There are some emotional moments and a slow burn romance. I enjoyed this novel a great deal and found myself hoping that Victoria Scott revisits Stonecastle.

In short: an uplifting tale despite some dark issues