‘A Village Vacancy is a tour de force of beautiful, funny and emotional storytelling’ Fay Keenan
From the bestselling author of A Village Affair comes a laugh out loud new Westenbury tale…
As the Yorkshire village of Westenbury mourns the loss of one of their own, the women can’t help but contemplate who will fill the vacancy in one handsome widower’s life…
Grace Stevens has decided … handsome widower’s life…
Grace Stevens has decided it’s time to move on without her husband. He’s off gallivanting around Devon in search of a new life, and good riddance. It’s time to go back to teaching, so Grace returns to Little Acorns and takes on an unruly class of pre-teens.
As she deals with disasters in – and out of – the classroom including an accidental dalliance with her most troublesome pupil’s dad, helping track down a drug ring and keeping up with her closest girlfriends, Grace begins to wonder more and more about the sparkle in David’s eyes and the sparking chemistry between them.
Could Grace be the one to fill this village vacancy?
Praise for Julie Houston:
‘A warm, funny story of sisters and the secrets they keep’ Sheila O’Flanagan
‘Warm, funny and well written, with a page-turning plot, this book has everything! I loved it!’ Katie Fforde
‘Julie Houston at her best – heartfelt and hilarious’ Sandy Barker
‘Laugh-out-loud hilarious and heartwarming!’ Mandy Baggot
‘This book is an absolute gigglefest with characters you’ll fall in love with!’ Katie Ginger
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I loved this book and want to know what happens next in the lives of these unique and wonderful characters. You really should read the earlier books about Grace and Harriet first, but this is the one I enjoyed most. I would say how wonderfully it ended, but would not want to spoil it for any reader.
Julie Houston must write another book about Grace and Harriet, please.
This book was good it wasn’t bad, I only gave 3.5 stars because as many have stated it was all over the place and I was having a hard time at all times identifying who was who or what was going on, many times I was laughing by myself because I was completely lost with so many situations and characters.
This is the story of Grace who decided to start a new life and to move on without her hubby, moving to Little Acorns to teach a few crazy teens that are determined to make her life a little more adventurous no matter how she tries otherwise her life because even more challenged with these brats
A Village Vacancy will keep you glued to your hair and will make your heart laugh so much, it is funny and irreverent and Grace is also kind of all over the place so that will make this story even more worth reading.
The feelings that I got while reading this funny book was, warm and pleasant as everybody knew everybody so that made it more real and more little villa, small-town vibe. Another amazing and wonderful reason to read this book was the friendship between the women was beautiful and awesome, not many we can share the bond they had and it was so enjoyable Harriet, Juno, and everybody.
A Village Vacancy was lighthearted, funny, irreverent, and very cozy for this winter and time.
Such a lovely read that surprised me on so many counts! If you’re looking for a fun read with many memorable characters, who each have complex stories you can really get your teeth into, this one is most definitely for you.
I really enjoyed this book for so many reasons, and it was such a hilarious read at times. My spirits were instantly lifted, but I was also gripped because of all the unexpected twists you simply don’t expect with a book of this nature! It’s clear the author is a natural born storyteller and seems to entertain her audience with ease. The only thing I was a little lost in was just the amount of characters there is to keep track of, but I think I’d feel much better about this if I read more of Julie’s works. Off to Amazon I go! Brilliantly entertaining, and if this doesn’t make you want a trip to beautiful Yorkshire, I don’t know what will!
My first read from this author, but definitely won’t be the last – enjoyable, memorable and humourous in equal measure.
Who ever said village life was dull?
Coz let me tell me you, there is never a dull moment in Westenbury. That’s for sure! *snorts* It’s ALL going on here.
This was one of those books that had me snorting with laughter one minute, reaching for my metaphorical cushion the next (it’s a common occurrence for me to get embarrassed on a character’s behalf. You, too?), then reaching for my stash of tissues (Well, it wouldn’t be me if I didn’t cry at least once whilst reading *shrugs*.), and repeat!
Whaaa?
Oohhh.
Hold your horses! I’m getting to that bit *rolls eyes*.
So impatient.
*wags finger* Zip it! I can hear you all muttering ‘pot meet kettle’.
Of course, it goes without saying that I wanted to slap certain characters upside the head (or give them a cuff in their lug as my mum would say!).
Oy, I was in fear for my blood pressure on several occasions but it’s all part of the fun, lol.
Not only was this my first visit to Westenbury but also my first Julie Houston read. A Village Vacancy may centre around Grace Stevens, however there are a whole host of colourful characters and side stories to immerse yourself in.
Thanks heavens for the cast of characters at the start of the book because I can admit to referring to it on several occasions as it took me a chapter or two to get my head around them all including the personal connections. The geek that I am (what did I say about zipping it?) would love this ‘Who’s who’ to be turned into a family/friend tree or flow chart (or is this a step too far?).
*coughs*
Moving swiftly on…
What can I say? Books are the best kind of therapy, aren’t they? A Village Vacancy was just what I needed to escape reality for a few hours. Drama, giggles, romance, and a touch of ‘Where did this come from?’ (I was channelling my best Miss Marple impression at one point). All the intricacies of life!
I hope to get to return to Westenbury soon.
Good plot points but weaknesses too
3.5-4stars
I found this novel difficult to rate because there were parts of the story I really liked, especially Grace’s and Juno’s romantic dilemmas and the subplot about worries that drugs are infiltrating village life. Some of the children, like Grace’s Pietronella, Juno’s Tilda and Harriet’s Thea are cute, very distinct characters that liven things up. On the other hand, Grace’s mother’s appearances just made me roll my eyes thanks to her griping and unhelpful attitude. Most of the men in the novel have undesirable character traits that sharply contrast with paragon David Henderson: handsome, wealthy, now single, generous, great with children and almost too perfect!
But, yes but, there are so many characters popping in and out to keep track of and the scenes with group gatherings, like the funeral in the very beginning of the book, are just too confusing. I had never read any of Houston’s other stories about the people of this small English village and dumping a new reader in the midst of dozens of characters and village gossip did not work for me at all. I was considering abandoning the story but instead I just skipped ahead and found much easier going. That’s comparatively easier because these characters have such complicated relationships I almost needed a diagram to keep them straight.
As to the ending, it was abrupt and really did not seem complete. I felt a bit cheated that the dramatic final scene was so short.
I am of two minds about whether I would seek out more books in this series to read. I think I might now that I am familiar with the characters and interested in how their families get on.
Thanks to publishers Aria and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.
After wading through the almost 20 different character names in the first chapter, I lost all impetus to read the rest of the book. I made it to the end of the second chapter but could not continue. This book was not for me.
I received an ARC from Netgalley. This is my unbiased review.