Rhys Bowen takes us all on an adventure in “Mrs. Endicott”s Splendid Adventure” From 1938 until the end of WWII in Europe, we tag along with Ellie Endicott and all of her unlikely friends. We get to experience betrayal, compassion, acceptance, courage, and love. This was another enjoyable read from one of my favorite authors. Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for approving my request.

A wonderful read!
This novel drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked until the end. The characters were vibrant and relatable, the writing was engaging, and the story had just the right balance of heart and humor. Highly recommend!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

And what a splendid adventure it turns out to be!

When Ellies husband asks for a divorce, moving on to a younger replacement, she no longer wishes to stay local. She wants to find herself elsewhere.

Mavis, her maid, suggest she sees a solicitor so that her husband doesn't take advantage of her. In which Ellie does and comes out decently. Ellie asks Mavis to come with her as her friend not her maid. Mavis is in an abusive relationship in which Ellis is afraid he may kill her one day.

Dora, the town grump with very strict expectations, is on her small list of those Ellie needs to let know she's leaving. Dora doesn't react as she thought she would. Instead, with failing health and no family ties to hold her down, she joins in the trip!

Along the way they pick up a "stray", Yvette. Mavis never trust Yvette as more secrets and lies come from her.

We follow these 4 through their adventure that lands them in a small town. Ellie has a peaked interest in a ruined villa after several days in the small village. The ladies end up renting the ruin. Here we follow their stories. From love to loss. From happy times through the hard times of WW II.

Thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I feel as if I can picture the small town and the villa clearly. A place I would love to visit!

Reading this book was like settling into a comfortable chair and losing yourself every time I opened the pages. Rhys Bowen transports one first to a tired marriage in England where Mrs Endicott is told in no uncertain terms, her husband wants a divorce. Left for a younger woman, Ellie Endicott pulls herself up by her shoelaces and begins an adventure that neither her nor her traveling companions would have imagined. I found myself rooting for Mrs Endicott and her friends in all the places she traveled and hoping she'd stay longer. This book expounds beautifully on how tiny fishing villages managed during the outbreak of WWII and the years that followed, with villagers befriending one another, depending on one another, working together. When a betrayal effects the entire village, Mrs. Endicott is forced to once again find her strength and carry on for those she's come to care about. Highly recommend this story. Thanks to Rhys Bowen for writing this, and to NetGalley for the ARC to enjoy and review.

What a delight! I thoroughly enjoyed MRS. ENDICOTT'S SPLENDID ADVENTURE. The characters are supremely entertaining, and I was cheering for Ellie as she begins her second act in life after receiving a terrible shock from her husband. Her travel plans are fun, and the small town where the car breaks down is charming and full of surprises. I do wish the novel was slightly shorter; it didn't need to be quite this long. However, that is a minor complaint all things considered. Somehow this novel manages to be both hysterically funny and tragically sad. Rest assured, this is not your typical wartime story. Bowen keeps things fresh and new. The theme of life as an adventure is beautifully conveyed. Rhys Bowen continues to impress!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance e-galley; all opinions in my review are 100% my own.

What an absorbing, beautiful novel! I was completely absorbed in the story and the mystery..The characters felt so real, and it was wonderful to enjoy a story of wimwomen being brave and having an adventure that ended up helping not only themselves but many others. Fantastic! And definitely a splendid adventure!

after 30 years of marriage Ellie's husband wants a divorce. she gets her housekeeper Mavis, and her friend Dora, and they go on a road trip. the car breaks down in a small fishing village Saint Benet, Ellie rents a house and starts her second act.

Rhys Bowen is just an amazing storyteller. This book flowed so well and made you care about every character. I was honestly sad when it ended.

I loved this novel! It was an incredible story with enchanting characters. The setting was the best part, it takes you away to paradise! A must read for historical fiction fans! Rhys Bowen creates another amazing world to escape into.

Mrs. Ellie Endicott is a proper, British, middle-aged wife in the decade prior to WWII. Her pompous banker husband blithely informs at breakfast one morning that he wants a divorce. It seems he has fallen for a younger woman. After her initial shock and anger, Ellie thinks this may be the best thing that ever happened to her.
After the papers are signed Ellie embarks on a trip to the south of France with two unlikely companions. She had always longed to travel but her husband refused. So, she and her two friends abscond with the Endicott Bentley and ferry across the Channel to begin their adventurous road trip.
Eventually the Bentley breaks down and they are forced to remain in a small seaside town while it is being repaired.
What follows is the most atypical World War II story you will ever read.
It is funny, it is sad, it is romantic, tragic, joyous, simple and complex. It embodies the thrill of the open road of life. Living life is an adventure once you open yourself to all the possibilities.

Usually, I love Rhys Bowen, but this one fell short. I felt it was quite boring at times- maybe because i couldnt relate to it? Hoping the next book is better!

Set in 1938, this delightful and heartwarming story follows three brave women who take a leap of faith and embark on an adventure of a lifetime. After recovering from the shocking announcement that her husband of 30 years wants a divorce to marry his much younger girlfriend, Ellie Endicott stands firm in her demand for a fair settlement. Once those details are finalized, Ellie decides to take a trip, inviting her friend and housekeeper, Mavis, along with another elderly friend from church.
At the last moment, rather than taking a train, Ellie opts to drive the Bentley, leaving a note for her soon-to-be ex-husband. As they travel from England to the South of France, they pick up an unexpected passenger—a young pregnant woman who appears to be homeless. When car trouble forces them to stop in Saint Benet, a charming fishing village, their journey takes an unforeseen turn. Their stay is prolonged while they await car parts, and by the time the Bentley is up and running again, they have fully immersed themselves in the local culture, making a variety of new friends.
The women move into an abandoned villa with the agreement that they will clean and repair it rent-free for three months, after which they will begin paying rent. As they settle in, lifelong secrets come to light alongside new love interests, but they also face complications and hardships as the war intensifies, bringing Hitler’s men closer to their small village.
The loveable characters are relatable and come alive on the page. I found it difficult to put this book down.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. All comments and opinions are my own.

I liked this book very much at the start, though I should have been warned early by the date that war was coming to Europe. The characters were intriguing and so was the setup, and I liked the larkiness of the splendid adventure.

When I realized that war was coming to the small Riviera town where Mrs. Endicott has landed, I started skimming forward. Just didn't expect all the ethical complications of wartime.

I have enjoyed Rhys Bowen's work in the past, but this book felt like two separate stories -the 'second act' story of Mrs. Endicott and her friends and then a story of WW2. The characters weren't fully believable due to being underwritten (I think). It appears that there was lack of focus on which kind of book this was going to be.

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Ellie has done it all for her family. She’s made a home, supported her husband’s career, and launched two handsome young men off into the world. So when her husband announced he wanted a divorce, she was awestruck. But after all she’d done for them, it was time to put herself first. So Ellie packed up the car, including two other ladies from their village, and headed off to find what she’d been missing in her life for decades. The question is, will the ladies find it before World War II breaks out?

Known for her best-selling mystery novels, Rhys Bowen is back this time with a historical fiction filled with hope and romance in Mrs. Endicott’s Splendid Adventure. Set just before and during the outbreak of World War II, Bowen explores the challenges women faced to lead rewarding and productive lives without supportive men, and then again with them. This book also explores those marginalized by society both now and then – autistic individuals and those in the LGBTQ+ community. Further, Bowen shows how even one small act of defiance can create a large impact and that every small contrition leads to much larger wins for the enemy. Above all, this is a book about the power of community and coming together to fight against a common enemy – something so important in the historical setting of the novel, and again in today’s environment.

I give Mrs. Endicott’s Splendid Adventure 4 out of 5 stars. I really loved the character of Ellie and how she was the shelter for so many misfit-type characters along the way. However, the beginning of the novel felt a bit forced – this usually meek woman suddenly stood up for herself with little prompting and these women who she barely knew suddenly thrust themselves into her adventure? Otherwise, this was a book that kept my attention throughout – I was invested from the time the ladies arrived in their new home to find out who capture Ellie’s heart and was not disappointed. I also appreciated the way Bowen wrote about the marriages of convenience that protected both the resident aliens and those in the LGBTQ+ community during that era – I believe these are still common in some areas and it was interesting to see them in practice here.

With discussions of war and physical violence, this book would be best directed to more mature audiences over 13. I would also recommend this book for historical fiction book clubs and romance book clubs alike! If you like Under the Tuscan Sun or Eat Pray Love, or even any of the many historical fiction and romance novels set during this era, you’ll love this book!

I chose Mrs. Endicott’s Splendid Adventure because of it’s cover. This one immediately caught my eye on Netgalley – the cover is absolutely gorgeous featuring the property that Ellie and the ladies live in after leaving England. That property becomes as much of a character in the book as any of them and has me daydreaming of a trip to the French coast to see villas like it with my own eyes!
Mrs. Endicott’s Splendid Adventure will release on August 5th. Preorder your copy today in our Bookshop.org store!

Absolutely splendid adventure with Mrs. Endicott! Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this novel. Ellie’s husband wants a divorce which sets her on the adventure of a lifetime to the south of France . The friendship between Ellie . Maeve and Dora was beautiful. Each woman had their own heartbreaks in life that led them down a path to freedom! Secretly I was rooting for her friend on the island to be her forever .

A 15+ year reader of Rhys's, I look forward to reading each of her new novels as I know they will always satisfy me. Mrs. Endicott's Splendid Adventure is her latest standalone novel, set immediately before and during WWII in the south of France. Three women - one a spinster, one a divorcee, and one leaving her abusive husband - set out on an adventure to get away from their small town in Surrey. Little do they know how they will fall in love with their new home. Mrs. Endicott's Splendid Adventure follows the three women as the war breaks out and life goes from blissful to difficult, and how they handle the wartime period. I already cannot wait for Rhys's next novel!

Set at the start and during World War Two,this story features a very mixed bunch of characters who are drawn together by happenstance. A splendid adventure indeed for Mrs Endicott.

Surrey, 1938: Ellie Endicott thought her marriage was fine – boring, perhaps, but after 30 years it wasn’t unexpected. When her husband announced at breakfast one morning that he was leaving her for a younger woman, she was, to say the least, gobsmacked.
When she discussed her options with her long-time maid turned good friend, Mavis Moss, she realized that this may be the best thing that has ever happened to her. She was soon on the way to the south of France in her husband’s treasured Bentley, accompanied by Mavis, fleeing her abusive husband, and Miss Dora Smith-Humphries, an elderly, cantankerous, formidable woman with a desire to return to a place where she had been happy one last time.
The trip was uneventful until the Bentley gave up the ghost one rainy night in the small French village of Saint-Benet. After a rocky start, they are welcomed, given food and drink and a place to stay while the local mechanic worked on their car.
The days turned into weeks, then months. Strangers became friends, friends became family.
Mrs. Endicott’s adventure is a charming, uplifting story, a tale of the strength of the human spirit and the value of love in all its forms. The characters come alive on the page, as does the beauty of the French coast.

I absolutely loved this charming story set in France before, during, and after WWII. It has substance and grit, and a touch of history. I was rooting for friends Ellie and Mavis to not only succeed, but thrive. You’ll have to read the story to find out how it ends. Highly recommended.