#BookReview – Bonnie and Stan by Anna Stuart @annastuartbooks @orionbooks @Tr4cyF3nt0n #CompulsiveReaders #BonnieAndStan

Hello and welcome to my stop on the blog tour for ‘Bonnie and Stan’ by Anna Stuart. Thanks to Tracy Fenton of Compulsive Readers for the invite and to the publishers for copy via NetGalley. Before I share my review here’s what the book is all about:

“After 50 years together Stan still adores his wife… so why is he dating again?
Bonnie and Stan are soulmates. They met during the Swinging Sixties, to the soundtrack of The Beatles and the Merseybeat scene. Now they’ve grown up and grown old together, had children and grandchildren. They are finally building their dream home, when disaster strikes.
Stan is running out of time, and can’t bear the thought of leaving Bonnie alone. Alongside his teenage granddaughter Greya, he forms a plan to find Bonnie a new love of her life. And she must never find out…
Bonnie & Stan is a poignant, surprising love story set during the Swinging Sixties and the present day. Ultimately feel-good and full of emotion, Bonnie & Stan will make your heart sing.”

Available from: Hive – Amazon – Waterstones

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My Review

This was such a lovely read, set partly in the 1963 and present day with the story told from both Bonnie and Stan’s perspectives.

I loved both characters but enjoyed Bonnie’s 1963 story the most as I’ve always loved anything to do with the 60s. I loved reading about the Merseybeat scene and getting glimpses of The Beatles and Cilla Black in the famous Cavern Club. I really did feel I was back there when I was reading the chapters set in 1963.

Stan’s chapters in the present day were poignant, but also fun as he goes on secret ‘dates’ to find a new husband for his Bonnie. I loved the relationship Stan and Bonnie had, it was so refreshing to read about a long and happy marriage in a novel. The love they have for each other is wonderful and something I’d love to see more in fiction.

There were a few minor characters that really helped the story move along. Dave, Stan’s friend and colleague is a bit of a dinosaur when in comes to women, and it’s lovey to see his character develop along the way. Greya, Stan and Bonnie’s eco granddaughter who helps Stan with the whole ‘dating’ idea, is like a breathe of fresh air and right on point with her passion for the environment. And of course I can’t miss out Aunt Nancy and her wife Astrid and the Midsummer party!

I thoroughly enjoyed this one and cannot recommend it enough for lovers of contemporary fiction.

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About The Author

Anna wanted to be an author from the moment she could pick up a pen and was writing boarding-school novels behind the sofa by the age of nine. She made the early mistake of thinking she ought to get a ‘proper job’ and went into Factory Planning – a career that gave her some wonderful experiences, amazing friends and even a fantastic husband, but did not offer much creative scope. So when she stopped to have children she took the chance to start the ‘improper job’ of writing. During the baby years she wrote in those gaps provided by sleeps, playschools and obliging grandparents, publishing short stories and serials in all the women’s magazines. Her ultimate aim was to write longer fiction and several years ago she published a series of successful historical novels under the pseudonym Joanna Courtney. She will continue to publish under that name but is delighted, as Anna Stuart, to also be able to write Bonnie and Stan – a real-life romance set in both the present day and sixties Liverpool.