The Afternoon Tea Club By Jane Gilley

”The Afternoon Tea Club’ is the latest book by Jane Gilley.

Marjorie, Stacy, Raymond and Dora each hold a different story to their chest – lost loves, abandoned dreams, crippling self-confidence issues, and simply feeling invisible. For each of them, the thought of letting those stories out is almost as terrifying as letting strangers in, and that makes for a very lonely life indeed. But when these four strangers who have struggled to “fit in” end up on the same table for an event at their local community centre, little do they know that their lives are about to be entwined and changed forever because of an Afternoon Tea club. Cue an unexpected journey of self-discovery, some unlikely new companions, and plenty of tea and biscuits along the way…

With a simply stunning cover, this book was an enjoyable read about new friendships and the hardship of loneliness. We meet various different people at different stages in life who have all been impacted by isolation whether that’s through family difficulties or a bereavement and how they find it hard to settle back into society.

We meet Stacy, the youngest of the group who’s let her little cat family consume her life so when she has a nasty accident, she decides to turn her life around and make an effort and get to know humans instead of her kitties. Raymond is at a loss after losing his wife, Dora’s heir to a family fortune but is unhappy and alone, Majorie lives with her daughter and has found herself to have turned into quite a cynical person, after years of abuse from her dead husband she’s struggling to interact with people.

The story is seen through the narratives of the characters and really hones in how loneliness and sadness can have a profound impact on people, affecting them in different ways. But with the introduction of ‘The Afternoon Tea Club’ we see, confidence and new relationships blossom and this really does make for tender and heart-warming storytelling.

Charming from the first page, this book is a sweetheart of a story from the very beginning. With relatable characters and situations, injected with humour and warmth, ‘The Afternoon Tea Club’ is a lovely story about the value of friendship.

You can ‘The Afternoon Tea Club’ from Amazon.