4 Stars
One Liner: Heartwarming!

My Thoughts:

The book follows the same template as the author’s previous works. The story takes place on a weekend when seemingly unrelated characters come together and help each other.
This one is a little different as the content is more personal to the author. We have a note at the beginning and another at the end to explain certain things. Moreover, we also have a list of main characters with brief descriptions about them. It is quite helpful in tracking who is who.
The individual POVs of the main characters allow the reader to understand their backstories and actions. Each of them is facing a battle and finds support in different ways. Rory’s POV was really helpful and enhanced the narrative.
The story is on the heavier side and deals with themes like mourning, grief, parental death, domestic abuse, failed relationships, etc. It can be overwhelming if the reader has faced something similar in real life. However, the pacing is steady and keeps the story moving.
We know how a book in this genre would end, but I much enjoyed the journey, watching the characters step out of their comfort zones, making tough decisions, and being kind to others. Naturally, you will also find a few lucky coincidences, but that’s done well too.
There is some infodump, which is okay I don’t need a book to show me everything. The details are enough to get the picture.
There are references to characters from other books (it is set in the same location and has the same Glasgow Hospital). It won’t affect your reading experience even if you don’t know the characters.

To Summarize, One Long Weekend is a heartwarming story with warm characters. It can be read in a couple of sittings.
Thank you, NetGalley and Boldwood Books, for eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

Another amazing emotional and entertaining story from this awesome author!
Instantly I was hooked into the intertwined stories of all the various characters in this book.
Over the course of the long weekend we are introduced to several characters who have some dramatic things occurring to them. With each character I was emotionally invested and desperately wanted to find out what was happening with them. I loved how the chapters were evenly shared out between them, making their stories more suspenseful by doing so.
Val’s story was so heartbreaking and really made you feel for her. It was fantastic to see the level of support that she received.
Sophie was an interesting character too and her own backstory was filled with sadness but her determination to find her lost love was inspiring.
Alice was a character I could identify with and I was willing her on every step of the way.
Rory was another lovely character who was estranged from his mother and was living a difficult life due to his narcissistic father, I so wanted him to be happy and to be back with his devoted mother.
All their stories were tied up together so beautifully and I was incredibly moved by their situations. Such a wonderful book that was heartwarming and exciting to read.

I happened to be reading this book over the recent long weekend which seemed very appropriate as we followed four characters over the course of one eventful weekend. I love Shari Low’s way of writing books from the points of view of several characters in turn. If you have read any of her books before you will be delighted to see some main characters from previous novels pop up in more minor roles in this book. But don’t worry if you haven’t read it, don’t worry as this book is completely standalone.

Val has been a recurring character in many of Shari Low’s books and it was great to see her step into the spotlight in this one. Val has recently lost her beloved husband, Don, and naturally is finding life difficult. When she is persuaded to visit her nieces Carly and Carol in London, in her flustered rush to leave the house, she manages to lose four precious rings.

Sophie is visiting Glasgow to see if she can reconnect with the man who proposed to her two year previously and have a second chance at love. She has plans to revisit the same spot on the same day but fate intervenes to prevent her getting there. Alice’s husband used to be an MP but after a scandal, he is now a taxi driver and she is a cleaner with dreams of leaving him. They are estranged from their son Rory whose life has also fallen apart,

I really enjoyed following the lives of these four characters over the weekend and discovering the connections between their stories. I particularly enjoyed finding out the reasons why Val’s lost rings were so important to her and was desperately hoping she’d get them back. It was so moving to read about how precious they were to her even if they didn’t necessarily have a lot of monetary value. As everyone knows, sentimental value really is priceless. It was good to see social media being used in such a positive way in the search for the rings. Of course, social media does have lots of problems but it can also be a powerful force for good.

A common feature in Shari Low’s books is that women stick together and support each other whether as friends or family, or even sometimes as passing acquaintances. We certainly see that in Val’s part of the story with her nieces Carol and Carly and also hearing about her own friendship with her pal Josie. I must just give a passing mention to lovely nurse Bernadette who featured in One Day in Winter. Although she’s not a main character in this one, she was understanding and a sympathetic ear for Alice. Incidentally, I know that Carly was the main character in the author’s first novel, What If? I haven’t read that one but I really want to now after Carly’s adventures were mentioned

I found this book to be a really fast-paced read that I didn’t want to put down. I was always so eager to find out what would happen next for each character. It was particularly poignant to read in the author’s notes before and at the end of the novel that the main drama in the book was inspired by something which happened to her, and also that Val was inspired by her own lovely grandmothers. One Long Weekend is another fantastic, compelling read from Shari Low, a natural storyteller. She really has a gift for writing about thoughts and emotions so that you feel you are right there experiencing everything along with her characters. I loved it.

Shari Low is one of my favorite contemporary authors. She writes such beautiful characters that are so relatable, and this was all true in this story. I also loved the personal note at the beginning of this book and couldn’t wait to see how it played out. I was a little confused at the beginning of this book while things were getting set up and the characters were getting introduced. For me its hard when a story is broken up in a way such as this one, to really get to know everyone, when I really just want to know what they all mean to each other. Patience has never been my strong suit as anyone who knows me can tell you. But as the story goes on, it becomes clear how things are going to intersect, and it begins to make sense. Once the connections were made clear I was fully invested and on board. The story was lovely, and each character had something to offer.

If you’re looking for a truly beautiful read, then you need to read this book.

Four POVs all impacted by one accident. It’s was both heart wrenching and heart warming. I loved how this one incident brought them together and inspired hope.

So much happens and so much character development over one long weekend. The author does such a good job bringing all the characters to life and making me care about them all. I usually find when there are a lot of characters, some of them become uninteresting. But that wasn’t the case here.

Such a diverse group and they all fit together in this story.

I loved the authors note at both the beginning and continued at the end, that explains how the story came about and the relevance to her.

A really good womens feel good fiction book.

Shari is an author who knows how to pull at your heart strings then seconds later have you chuckling to yourself! Val is quite possibly my favourite character than I have read of Shari’s,you can feel the devastation as Val talks about the loss of her rings and why they mean so much to her. I loved all the characters (bar one, you know which one!) how their stories all intertwine together!

#boldwoodblogtourreview

In this novel, we meet Val (one of our regular favourites), Sophie, Alice and Rory.

The characters of Alice, Rory and Sophie have had to make life-changing decisions which lead them on a specific path.

However Val loses some precious possessions and it is this incident which will lead her on a journey to meet our three other characters, and while these items are lost friends will be found.

As always, I love this author's unique writing style! The way different lives become intertwined and connected so elegantly is a talent in writing I wish I had.

These unique characters are also believable and I like how the chapters alternate switching points of view so we get different thoughts and feelings between each one and see different sides to the narrative.

I felt a different emotion for each character in every chapter, scared for Sophie, heartbreak for Val, determination for Alice and anger for Rory, this truly talented author will bring out a range of emotions in a wonderful narrative with incredible characters. Another novel not to miss.

I also loved the top and tale of this novel where this author gives us an insight into their personal life and how this story came about, and I'm grateful the novel had a different outcome but want to send an apology to the author and truly hope that one day their rings will turn up and they will be reunited.

One Long Weekend is an engaging and moving story, not least because it was inspired by a very unfortunate incident experienced by the author, explained in the notes before and after the story.
Four people with individual lives and problems who don’t know each other are brought together by one person’s misfortune.

Val Murray, despite some reservations, was going to London to spend the weekend with her nieces, Carly and Carol. She wasn’t coping very well since her husband died…the third devastating loss she’d suffered over the years. Unable to motivate herself, she was running late and the taxi was already waiting outside. When Val arrives at her niece’s house she realises her prize possessions that go everywhere with her, memories of those she loved and lost, are missing.

Alice McLenn’s husband had once been a powerful, sought after man but a scandal brought him crashing down and now he’s an obnoxious bully. McLenn’s fall from grace cost Alice her son. She’s had more than enough and has an escape plan. She just needs to squirrel enough money away from her cleaning jobs and she’ll be off.

Sophie Smith was on a mission to find the man whose proposal of marriage she’d turned down two years ago.

Due to his father being in the news again for the wrong reasons, Rory Brookes loses both his job and his wife.

This was a very memorable weekend for all concerned, unfolding in alternating and nicely balanced chapters from each perspective, which keeps up the momentum perfectly. Strangers who, before the weekend, had nothing in common, meet through a string of coincidences, intricacies and a willingness to help each other. Social media plays a big part, in a good way.

The characters are extremely well crafted, all relevant and, apart from one or two, very likeable, their stories touching and intertwined believably, with humour and warmth, and brought to a very satisfying conclusion. Feel good fiction at its best. This is my second book by Shari Low and I’ll definitely be seeking out more.

This was such a heart warming book, I really enjoyed the ups and downs throughout the story.

I loved how everyone became intertwined in the same story In search of the missing rings.

There was some unexpected relationship building and some coming together after having been through a lot.

I particularly loved the relationship between Val and her Niece, it was a really beautiful relationship.

May 6th: As always in Shari’s novels, female friendship and women supporting women are core themes. Which relationships did you enjoy or connect with most?
May 6th: Val is a recurring character in many of Shari’s books. Shari has said that Val was inspired by her late grandmothers, and writing Val is the author’s way of honouring those women and the others of that generation. Which of the characters would you like to see again in a future novel and why?

I found a strong connection with the portrayal of female friendships in Shari's novels, especially with Alice's relationships. Val, a character inspired by Shari's grandmothers, adds depth to the stories. I hope to see more of these characters in future novels. #SharisNovels #FemaleFriendship #WomenSupportingWomen #CharacterDevelopment #FutureNovels

Review
I thoroughly enjoyed getting acquainted with all four characters in this book and found myself unable to put it down during this long weekend. The story revolves around Alice, Rory, Val, and Sophie. What really stood out to me was the common thread that ties them all together - Val's unfortunate loss of her rings, which sets off a chain of events leading to a deep connection among them. The multiple points of view offered in the narrative allow readers to empathize with each character in unique ways. I particularly loved the dynamic between Val, Carly, and Carol, as well as the positive portrayal of social media and its helpful impact. Overall, this novel is a heartwarming and uplifting read that is sure to bring a smile to your face.

#uplifting #onelongweekend #SharisNovels #FemaleFriendship #WomenSupportingWomen #CharacterDevelopment #FutureNovels #boldwoodbooks

Shari Low always manages to craft a story that weaves wonderful characters and engaging storylines that all intertwine seamlessly. I always look forward to her books and this was no exception.
Four people-Val, Rory, Alice and Sophie-four very difficult situations in their lives-missing valuables, broken marriage, lost love and public humiliation are all on the cards in this story for these characters and yet the author manages to make you want to be friends with all of them.
Set mainly is Glasgow and taking place, you guessed it, over the span of three days, this is yet another great heart wrenching read by Ms Low. The closeness of the friends, the devastation of losing precious valuables, the good side of social media and idea of never giving up hope. This book was roughly based on an even in the authors life and it was a pleasure for me to read. Definitely recommend this and all the other books in her “One” series.
Thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

Shari Low books are incredibly special! It happens nearly every time, when I am reading a Shari Low book and someone asks me what I am reading, I get so excited that I end up giving them a full recap of the story or at least as far as I have gotten and why the book is so amazing and basically why I need to stop telling them about it and just go back to reading it. It happened with this book too and of course I sent my friend all the links for buying this book as soon as I was done telling her about it. I can't wait to spread the word!

One Long Weekend is really just that, one long weekend where we mainly follow Val's story, she tells her's in first person, but it is also Sophie's story and Alice and her son Rory, but slightly less so, so those are told in third person. Val is a BIG character. I have met her many times before and always thought she was larger than life, but her light seems to have been dimmed since losing her husband. I still loved her and wished I had a Val in my life. She has such big heart and can easily make others laugh, even now, she is still a joy to be around. Both Sophie and Rory were sweet characters so it was easy to care about them and root for them. I loved how Val, Carol & Carly welcomed Sophie into their fold and later also Alice. I definitely went through all sorts of emotions reading this book and stayed up way past my bedtime.

A wonderful story with the normal mixture of characters all individually personalized and interesting. Some of the characters have appeared in previous books but thet can all be read as standalone. Personally I have loved following their lives through the different novels.
Laughter, tears, love and friendship are all the ingredients that this talented author puts into her books. One of my favourite contemporary authors of this genre. Always feel like I have travelled the journey with them.
Highly recommended read. I cannot wait to read her next book.
Please make sure you read the note from author at start and end of the book. It’s what inspired Shari Low to write this wonderful book and which I really liked.

WOW – Shari keeps outdoing herself, One Long Weekend is wonderful, sad, and inspiring. It has you gasping, laughing, hoping, wishing, and getting annoyed.
The 4 main characters are amazing. Val, Sophie, Rory and Alice. Sophie looking for a lost love - (I have done similar), Rory rebuilding his life and finally growing a spine negotiating a contract, his mum Alice doing much the same, his waste of space father really is a waste of space, then there is poor Val, grieving, on a trip to see her ‘nieces’ ends up losing her 4 treasured rings. Somehow Shari puts them all in Glasgow and their lives change forever. Brilliant!! You can’t put the book down, it’s such a page turner. The audible is fabulous too, one can only hope that a reader out there has Shari’s lost items and returns them in a way that fiction makes life happen. A 5 Star must read novel.

I love this author's believable characters, immersive emotion and serendipitous twist, which make this so engaging to read. I like the inspiration for this story, which is full of heart and draws the reader into the centre of the characters' lives. Val is struggling with her grief, and her supportive family want to show they care. When she loses something precious on a trip to London, it leads to a fatalistic return to Glasgow and some surprising connections. The story has various viewpoints and allows the reader to be involved in the emotion and the mystery. I love the dynamic between Val and Carly and Carol, the positive use of social media and the uplifting yet realistic outcomes of the story. It's a heartwarming, poignant read full of emotion, surprises, and life-changing events.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

Reading One Long Weekend by Sherry Lowe it’s like gossiping with family we get to see those characters we love in every now and then someone shows up and you’re like oh it’s been so long since I’ve seen them. It gives you such an awesome feeling in this book it focuses on Aunt Val. She is still trying to get over the loss of her beloved dawn when the book starts after a sleepless night she is rushing to get to the airport because she was going to visit Carly and Caro in London. In her haste she puts four rings that are sentimental in her pocketbook but because she doesn’t secure the compartment by the time she reaches London she cannot find them anywhere. When Val says she has to go back to find her rings Carly and Caro seeing the state she is in goes with her back to Scotland. While this is happening a girl named Sophie who landed in Scotland is aunt Val was exiting uses the same crabby cab driver and finds her rings and a gold hairbrush in the foot well but while arguing as to what to do with the rings with the rude cab driver, he slumps in his seat they wreck and Sophie is knocked out. Somewhere else in London earlier that morning Alice gets home from her job cleaning a local school and just wants five minutes of peace from her abusive husband Larry and thankfully he is soon called to work as they’re shorthanded. When Lowery leaves, she sits in their tiny garden and thinks about her son Rory who she misses so much and doesn’t know that somewhere else in Scotland he is being told by his wife Juliet she wants a divorce. These four stories that seem independent from each other will come together and True to Sherry Lowe’s fantastic writing style some of them will become friends but the biggest question of all is will Aunt Val get her rings back. I always think of Sherry Lowe’s books like thrillers with happy endings and a dash of romance I love her books so much and love to see those from previous books make cameos I think Sherry Lowe does Scotland Credit and is a great ambassador for that country. Either way I totally love her books and can’t wait to read more from one of my favorite authors. I want to thank Boldwood books for my free Ark copy via Net Galley. Please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Some are lost, Some are found.

As Val struggles with her grief after losing her husband her loved ones invite her to stay but things just turn from bad to worse as she misplaces her most prized possessions on her journey. Friends and strangers try to reunite her with them as they all face their own personal troubles.

I was so excited when I got approved for this book by @netgalley and rightly so. I’ve adored all the books I’ve read by this author and it was such a treat to revisit some of the characters. An author I’d always recommend and how apt I read this over a long weekend!

I have read and enjoyed several of Shari's books now. I still have a few books to go before I can truly say that I have read everything that she has released. I hope to have achieved this before Christmas. I read the synopsis of 'One Long Weekend' and it certainly sounded like the sort of book I have come to expect from Shari- an emotional but ultimately uplifting story. Well it was certainly that and so much more. I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'One Long Weekend' but more about that in a bit.

As with all of Shari's books, I was drawn to 'One Long Weekend' by the fact that I saw Shari's name on the cover of a book that I knew I hadn't read yet. AS soon as I started reading the story itself that was it for me. I knew that I wouldn't be doing anything other than reading for the rest of the afternoon as I knew that I wouldn't be able to put the book down. I must be psychic because that's exactly what happened. My Kindle wasn't exactly glued to my hand but it might as well have been because it travelled everywhere with me. I couldn't bear to miss a single second of the story. Part of the reason why I enjoyed reading the book so much has to do with the four main characters. I warmed to them from the start and it didn't take me long to consider them as being friends of mine rather than being characters in a book. It was interesting to learn how the characters met each other and how their stories interlinked in some way. I had my own suspicions as to what was going to happen and I had to keep reading to see if things panned out in the way in which I thought that it would. This was one of those books that proved to be addictive reading and the story stayed with me whether I had my Kindle in my hand or not. The more of the book that I read, the more I wanted to read and the quicker the pages seemed to turn. I was so wrapped up in the story and in the lives of the characters that I didn't realise just how quickly the time was passing and the speed with which I was getting through the story. All too quickly I reached the end of 'One Long Weekend' and I had to say goodbye to the characters. I found 'One Long Weekend' to be the true definition of an unputdownable, page turner of a read with lots of life, love and laughs aplenty. It's an ultimately uplifting story.

'One Long Weekend' is superbly written but then I have come to expect nothing less from Shari Low. Shari has an easy going writing style that is easy to get used to and easy to get along with. In fact reading one of Shari's books often feels more like a chat between friends rather than reading a book. Shari certainly knows how to grab the reader's attention and draw them into what proves to be one hell of a story and then some. Shari certainly cares about her characters and this shines through in the very vivid and realistic way in which she describes them. She makes her characters seem just as real as you and I. I found that I was so in tune with the characters that I went through all the emotions that the different characters were going through. I always find that the sign of a good book is when I find myself 'living' the story as if it was real and interact with the characters as if they can hear me. Well that's exactly what happened with 'One Long Weekend'. I love the way in which Shari makes the reader feel as though they are part of the story and at the heart of the action. That's how I felt anyway.

In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'One Long Weekend' and I would recommend it to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Shari's work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

One of the best things about being invited on blog tours has been discovering authors new to me, and Shari Low is the perfect example, this being a hattrick of her books this year.

This book unusually starts with a Note from Shari… which explains the inspiration being the story, and it made me love meet even more. Almost as good is the next section On This Journey You’ll Meet… with a summary of the key characters, very useful for my old brain!

I’ll not repeat the blurb swipe, just know that this book is gorgeous. Shari Low crafts her characters so beautifully that you can almost see and hear them, and she very cleverly intertwines their stories (even bringing favourite characters from her previous books).

There’s tough stuff and heartbreak in this book, but there’s also fun and humour and it’s gorgeous.

Every time I read a Shari Low book, I want to read more. Highly recommended!

Thanks to Rachels Random Resources Boldwoodbooks for the opportunity to read this early copy.

I have read and loved lots of great Shari Low books so when I saw this one was coming out I jumped on it!

In One Long Weekend, we meet five women, Val, a recent widow grieving the loss of her husband, Carol and Carly, Val's adult nieces, Alice, the unhappy wife of a former MP who was wrapped up in a scandal, and Sophie, a young woman who has experienced the loss of her mother, has grown and grieved, and is now ready to give love a shot. When Val loses four precious rings in a cab on the way to visit her nieces, the women are brought together in the search. Alice's son Rory is also one of the main characters and the story alternates between his, Alice's, Sophie's and Val's POVs.

As with many of Shari's books, the story takes place over a short period of time, this time one long weekend, which keeps the story moving at a fun and fast paced. The book as a whole was really well done and totally what I was expecting and anticipating as a Shari Low book. I love the way that strangers are brought together and that it really celebrates the idea of strong, independent women, but also that there is a benefit in connecting with each other and supporting other strong women. You don't need to ask me twice, I would absolutely recommend this book and look forward to reading Low's next one!

Thanks to Netgalley and Boldwood for giving me the chance to read and review this book.