Coffee, Tea, The Caribbean and Me by Caroline James

About this book..

From Cumbria to the Caribbean…

Flying solo again in their middle years, can life really begin again for Jo and Hattie? Is there hope for the newly single baby boomers and can romance happen?

Continuing the Coffee Tea… series, join Jo and Hattie as they romp into their future and prove that anything is possible!

Coffee Tea The Caribbean & Me is a stand-alone read but also the sequel to Coffee Tea The Gypsy & Me which shot to #3 on Amazon and was E-Book of the week in The Sun Newspaper.

“A story about friendship and loss…is there hope for those of a certain age?”

‘The time to be happy is now…’ Jo remembers her late husband’s words but is struggling to face the lonely future that lies ahead. A heartbroken widow, Jo finds herself alone with ghostly memories at Kirkton House – a Cumbrian Manor that until recently, she ran as a thriving hotel. Her two sons have moved away, Jimmy to run a bar in Barbados, and Zach to London to pursue a career as a celebrity chef. Middle-age and widowhood loom frighteningly and Jo determines to sell up and start again, despite protestations from colourful friend, Hattie and erstwhile admirer Pete Parks.

Hattie convinces Jo to postpone any life-changing decisions by enjoying a Caribbean holiday but their holiday sets off a course of events that brings mayhem and madness to Jo and her family. Confused and anxious for her future, can life really begin again for Jo?

My review..

I haven’t read the first book about Jo and Hattie- Coffee, Tea, The Gypsy and Me-but when I was offered a review copy by Caroline James and saw that gorgeous cover and read the synopsis I knew it was a book I would enjoy. It can be read as a standalone as we are filled in at the beginning with what has happened in the years following that first book.

Jo is now a widow, her only companion is her friendly Labrador Meg as her son’s have also left the nest. Jimmy now runs a bar in the Caribbean and Zach is a Michelin star chef who is now being touted in London as the next big thing. Hattie is also on her own now that Maurice has been exposed as a serial philanderer and she is worried about Jo, who has decided to put Kirkton Manor, her country house hotel, up for sale. So she comes up with the idea of a holiday in Barbados to visit Jimmy and our fifty plus ladies leave Cumbria for a much hotter climate and much more besides!

This would have been an ideal holiday read for me as I just wanted to be sitting on a sunlounger somewhere with a cocktail in my hand like Jo and Hattie! As a lady of a similar age, I really took to the pair of friends especially Hattie who I loved for her healthy appetite for food and life! She really made me laugh with her confidence and attitude, without a care in the world about what others thought of her. Their adventures in Barbados introduced a whole host of fabulous characters although I wanted to shake Jo at times to make her realise what she had back at home-her business and a man who had loved her for a long time and was just waiting for her to realise what was under her nose the whole time!

This really is a feel good read and you can’t help but smile throughout the various situations Jo and Hattie find themselves in. It also showed an emotional side to a very real lifestyle change that can affect women in their fifties, those who have to rebuild their lives after divorce or death of a life partner. The holiday in the Caribbean is only part of this funny but sympathetic novel that helps Jo especially come to terms with the way her life has changed.

I will certainly be reading the follow up to this book Coffee, Tea, The Boomers and Me which promises more humour as we follow Jo and Hattie into the next exciting stage in their lives.

Available to buy from Amazon here

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