** Blog Tour ** Widows on the Wine Path- Julia Jarman

I’m pleased to be one of today’s stops on the opening day of the blog tour for ‘Widows on the Wine Path.’

Viv, Janet and Zelda know all about facing the wobbly first year of becoming a widow as their friendship was forged when they ran away from the same dreary support group. Forming instead the much more lively widows’ wine club – The Muscateers – they welcome new member Libby with open arms.

Libby feels lost without Jim, her husband of more than thirty years, but the warmth, friendship and fun the women wrap her up in inspires her to begin to look to the future. When a solo trip to the theatre brings a blast from the past back into her life, things are looking up.

But as cravat-wearing, smooth-talking Monty Charles sweeps Libby off her feet, the women of the Muscateers smell a rat. They know only too well that the first year of widowhood is prime for making mistakes, and they’re determined to protect their friend. And as Monty soon finds out to his cost, never underestimate a Widow on the Wine Path…

Julia Jarman is back with her latest big-hearted tale of love and laughter, friendship and finding your feet. Perfect for all fans of Judy Leigh, Maddie Please and Cathy Kelly.

Purchase Link – https://mybook.to/winepathsocial

Author Bio –

Julia Jarman has written over a hundred books for children, and is now turning her hand to uplifting, golden years women’s fiction. Drawing on her own experience of bereavement, female friendship and late-life dating, The Widows’ Wine Club will be published by Boldwood in June 2023.

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Bookbub profile: Julia Jarman Books – BookBub

Review-

While this is a sequel to The Widows’ Wine Club, it can equally be read as a stand-alone.

The Muscateers are back again, this time with a new member Libby, who having lost her husband Jim, finds herself embarking on a new romance with a blast from her past after a chance encounter at the theatre.

What follows is a tale that is in part frustrating, part humorous but also heartwarming as a group of friends rally round to support someone in a time of crisis.

Libby is the central character in this one, although founder members of the Wine Club play their part. It’s easy to empathise with her predicament when, lonely and seeking security, Libby allows Monty to infiltrate her life.

As the plot develops, his manipulative and controlling behaviour evoked a strong sense of annoyance in me and while I felt Libby was naive at times, I could also understand her desire to believe the best of him.

I loved Nikos’ fervent desire to protect her, as well as the succulent descriptions of the food and wine on offer at The Olive Branch. It was also interesting to read the differing perspectives of Zelda, Janet and Viv as events occurred.

I found it hard to take to Eleanor’s character, especially in light of her attempt to blackmail Libby into conforming to her wishes and could see how this only added to Libby’s confusion, especially given her motto of ‘family first’.

Overall, I felt this was an easy read despite the sometimes difficult content and found myself racing through it to discover what would happen next.

With thanks to the author, Rachel at Random Resources and Boldwood Books for the opportunity to participate in the tour.

Further stops can be found here: