Written by Fiona Gibson

An
engaging
read ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Published by	Boldwood Books 7th June 2025
Genre	Later in Life Romance, Women's Fiction
Pages	309
ASIN	B0DFXW6Z12
ISBN-10	1836172257
ISBN-13	978-1836172253

I missed getting a spot on the blog tour for The Woman Who Got Her Spark Back which starts today but was delighted to be offered the chance to read an advanced copy by the publisher, Boldwood Books.

I really enjoyed 'Tis The Damn Season and was excited to get started on Ms Gibson's latest novel.

Book cover for the novel The Woman Who Got Her Spark Back by Fiona Gibson

The blurb:

The Woman Who Got Her Spark Back

Is it ever too late to bloom?

Meet Celia. Life hasn’t worked out quite how she’d planned.

Since her son left for university, Celia has felt stuck at home – battling with her husband Geoff over control of the thermostat, and without the merest glint of a social life. Her only joy comes from the plants she nurtures in her makeshift plant hospital in their Glasgow flat.

Then three unexpected things happen:

She catches Geoff in bed with a secretary from his sausage factory (no pun intended).
Her high-flying best friend Amanda arrives on her doorstep without warning (but with a very large suitcase).
A tall handsome French teacher asks her to tend his daughter’s cactus back to health.

Suddenly, Celia finds her life in freefall, but she makes a decision: she won’t let this be the end of her. She’ll bring herself back to life, just like the plants she works her magic on. But just how do you change the habits of a lifetime?

Fiction Women's Fiction Later in Life Romance

My thoughts:

Having thoroughly enjoyed reading 'Tis The Damn Season last year, I was very excited to dive into more of the same.

Ms Gibson's writing style is engaging and her wit appeals greatly to my sense of humour.

While it took me a little time to get settled into this story, it was definitely worth it. There are several characters to be introduced and their relationships explained before the story really comes together.

The protagonist is Celia Bloom. Celia appears to have drifted into a marriage at a young age because circumstances had conspired against her. Years later, her husband, Geoff, has drifted out of the marriage and into an affair with his secretary. Celia had been unaware of his affair until she tries to do something nice for Geoff and catches the two of them together.

Celia is coming to terms with the affair when her best friend from childhood arrives completely out of the blue. Celia hasn't had much contact with Amanda since she married Geoff and while Amanda has her own reasons for dumping herself on Celia, she is a positive influence on Celia and helps her to reinvent herself.

This is a very relatable story of friendship, family, and coming back from the breakdown of a marriage.

The ending wraps with learning how Celia is progressing but does not tell us how Amanda, who has her own issues, is fairing beyond 'tackling her problems like Celia would'. But perhaps that's another story.

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