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The Unretirement
- Author
- Penny Mirren
- Narrator
- Deryn Edwards
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Publish Date
- 23 May 2024
- Run Time
- 10 hours 18 minutes
- Format
- x-book®
- Genre
- Family life fiction / Stories about family, Humorous fiction, Narrative theme: death, grief, loss, Narrative theme: identity / belonging, Family saga / generational saga fiction, Narrative theme: love / relationships, Narrative theme: coming of age, Contemporary lifestyle fiction, Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general
- Rating
- 5.0 (2 reviews)
What to expect
'Funny, uplifting and warm' Sunday Times bestselling author PHILLIPA ASHLEY
'Beautifully written, the characters leap from the page' Million-copy bestselling author SUE MOORCROFT
The Unretirement is an uplifting story about the joy of pursuing dreams at any age, full of warmth, heart and community spirit. –––––––––––––Meet foodie Maggie Lawford.
After spending her retirement travelling the world, she’s home again – and ready for a new adventure.
When Maggie’s daughter, Hannah, takes her to their favourite restaurant, Maggie is heartbroken to find the place empty. But the last straw comes when Maggie hears the chef is at his wit’s end – she can’t resist charging into the kitchen and taking matters into her own hands.
Never one to give up without a fight, Maggie resolves to save their beloved restaurant from failure, and it’s not long before she has a military-grade plan to turn the place around again. Finding herself back at work, all she’ll need is support from Hannah and her cheeky granddaughter, Alice, as well as a little help from her neighbours.
After all, Maggie’s golden days aren’t behind her just yet…
––––––––––––––––
AUTHORS LOVE THE UNRETIREMENT!
'A breath of fresh air… funny, uplifting and warm.' PHILLIPA ASHLEY
'An uplifting gem of a novel! Funny, heartwarming and hopeful!' KATE STOREY
'An uplifting celebration…a great big hug of a book.' JULIE MA
'Funny, fresh and gloriously inspiring. I feel joyous after finishing this book.' KATE GALLEY
'A likeable cast of characters, an engaging story and delicious food…a fun, involving read.' JANE LOVERING
'I loved Maggie from the first page and cheered her on through every chapter.' RUTH O'LEARY
READERS LOVE THE UNRETIREMENT:
‘A must-read for anyone hungry for heartwarming stories!’ ★★★★★
‘Maggie’s zest for life is contagious…’ ★★★★★
‘Warm, funny and heartwarming … I loved the diverse community of characters!’ ★★★★★
‘A delightful page turner that proves dreams know no age limit.’ ★★★★★
‘Maggie's resilience is as inspiring as her recipes are mouthwatering!’ ★★★★★
‘A delightful concoction of laughter, love, and the sweet taste of second chances.’ ★★★★★
Critics Review
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'What a lively and fresh voice Penny has. So funny too and really resonates with someone who never wants to retire or slow down! A breath of fresh air… funny, uplifting and warm.' –Sunday Times bestselling author PHILLIPA ASHLEY
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'Beautifully written, the characters leap from the page' – Million-copy bestselling author SUE MOORCROFT
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'An uplifting gem of a novel! Funny, heartwarming and hopeful, I devoured it in one weekend!' – KATE STOREY, author of The Memory Library
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'I devoured this heart-warming story. An uplifting celebration of the diversity and richness of the undiscovered relationships you didn’t even know you had in your own local community…a great big hug of a book.' – Richard and Judy Book Club author JULIE MA
See more reviews See fewer reviews
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'Funny, fresh and gloriously inspiring, Maggie shows us that it is never too late to embrace family, community and your own untapped talents. I feel joyous after finishing this book and hungry from all the delicious sounding food.' KATE GALLEY, author of The Second Chance Holiday Club
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'A likeable cast of characters, an engaging story and delicious food, all combining to make a fun, involving read.' JANE LOVERING, author of A Cottage Full of Secrets
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'Maggie is a wonderful character! I loved her from the first page and cheered her on through every chapter.' RUTH O'LEARY, author of The Weekend Break
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READERS LOVE THE UNRETIREMENT:
-
‘A must-read for anyone hungry for heartwarming stories!’ ★★★★★
-
‘Maggie’s zest for life is contagious…’ ★★★★★
-
‘Warm, funny and heartwarming … I loved the diverse community of characters!’ ★★★★★
-
‘A delightful page turner that proves dreams know no age limit.’ ★★★★★
-
‘Maggie's resilience is as inspiring as her recipes are mouthwatering!’ ★★★★★
-
‘A delightful concoction of laughter, love, and the sweet taste of second chances.’ ★★★★★
User Reviews
Book 5.0
Narration 5.0
-
5.0 5.0
Lovely book.
The story was believable and the characters were mostly likeable, with some of the horrible ones morphing into likeable ones like Darren. The chef would never be likeable.
What a contrast with my book club’s previous choice, Yellowface, where not a single person was likeable.
The story kept my interest throughout.
All the important characters had enough details to flesh them out.
It was good that despite Maggie unretiring, she found a happy balance between cooking which was hard work, teaching people who wanted to learn and keeping up with friends and family.
Hannah also found a way to get a good work life balance with a local job which allowed her to do pro bono work as well as the paid stuff.
Sev also found joy in running his parent's restaurant while they enjoyed exploring their adopted country.
Sorry some spoilers there.
I look forward to reading more of this author’s work.tishmck 2025-02-19
Details
- Author
- Penny Mirren
- Narrator
- Deryn Edwards
- Duration
- 10 hours 18 minutes
- Release Date
- 23 May 2024
- ISBN
- 9780008694180
- Format
- x-book®
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Genre
- Family life fiction / Stories about family, Humorous fiction, Narrative theme: death, grief, loss, Narrative theme: identity / belonging, Family saga / generational saga fiction, Narrative theme: love / relationships, Narrative theme: coming of age, Contemporary lifestyle fiction, Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general
- Rating
- 5.0(2 reviews)
- Narration
- 5.0(2 reviews)
Synopsis
'Funny, uplifting and warm' Sunday Times bestselling author PHILLIPA ASHLEY 'Beautifully written, the characters leap from the page' Million-copy bestselling author SUE MOORCROFT The Unretirement is an uplifting story about the joy of pursuing dreams at any age, full of warmth, heart and community spirit. ––––––––––––– Meet foodie Maggie Lawford. After spending her retirement travelling the world, she’s home again – and ready for a new adventure. When Maggie’s daughter, Hannah, takes her to their favourite restaurant, Maggie is heartbroken to find the place empty. But the last straw comes when Maggie hears the chef is at his wit’s end – she can’t resist charging into the kitchen and taking matters into her own hands. Never one to give up without a fight, Maggie resolves to save their beloved restaurant from failure, and it’s not long before she has a military-grade plan to turn the place around again. Finding herself back at work, all she’ll need is support from Hannah and her cheeky granddaughter, Alice, as well as a little help from her neighbours. After all, Maggie’s golden days aren’t behind her just yet… –––––––––––––––– AUTHORS LOVE THE UNRETIREMENT! 'A breath of fresh air… funny, uplifting and warm.' PHILLIPA ASHLEY 'An uplifting gem of a novel! Funny, heartwarming and hopeful!' KATE STOREY 'An uplifting celebration…a great big hug of a book.' JULIE MA 'Funny, fresh and gloriously inspiring. I feel joyous after finishing this book.' KATE GALLEY 'A likeable cast of characters, an engaging story and delicious food…a fun, involving read.' JANE LOVERING 'I loved Maggie from the first page and cheered her on through every chapter.' RUTH O'LEARY READERS LOVE THE UNRETIREMENT: ‘A must-read for anyone hungry for heartwarming stories!’ ★★★★★ ‘Maggie’s zest for life is contagious…’ ★★★★★ ‘Warm, funny and heartwarming … I loved the diverse community of characters!’ ★★★★★ ‘A delightful page turner that proves dreams know no age limit.’ ★★★★★ ‘Maggie's resilience is as inspiring as her recipes are mouthwatering!’ ★★★★★ ‘A delightful concoction of laughter, love, and the sweet taste of second chances.’ ★★★★★
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