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 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?

Novels

Goodness Gracious Me

The One Saving Grace

Looking for Lucy

A Village Affair

Coming Home to Holly Close Farm

Sing Me A Secret

A Village Vacancy

Novella

An Off-Piste Christmas

Love, Life & Laughter!

This book has been shining out of my tbr list like a Belisha beacon, and I’ve grinned like an idiot as I got closer and closer – all with good reason!

With the death of one of their own, the women of Westenbury are all agog to wonder who’ll fill the vacancy she’s left behind. Life is busy, and more so for Grace Stevens as, with her marriage totally broken down, she returns to full time teaching whilst parenting her two young children on her own. As if that wasn’t enough to deal with, she has disharmony in the classroom, an upset parent to deal with, a drug ring to sort out as well as maintaining friendships and mourning her lack of a sex life!

Never a dull moment in this one; between personal and professional problems, the angst and joys of parenting and the absolute sheer fun packed into the pages I have relished each and every word. (I have also shuddered – I, too, am a scoleciphobic) On the serious side, I now understand what the county lines drug trade is all about (first clear and concise explanation I’ve come across) as well as appreciating all the extra work our teachers face, while on the fun side I have never stopped smiling, snorting and giggling as my bemused husband can confirm. This is the most wonderful series of stand-alone tales and I recommend them to anyone who likes their women’s fiction to be made up of love, life and laughter. Beautifully written and terrifically entertaining, this one easily earns all five shiny, sparkling stars.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley and to Vicky Joss for my spot on this tour; this is – as always – my honest, original and unbiased review.

Tags: family, humour, romance

• Format: ebook, paperback
• Size: 333 pages
• Publisher: Aria
• Publication Date: 22 October 2020
• Links: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53352047
  • https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Julie_Houston_A_Village_Vacancy?id=VHTeDwAAQBAJ
  • https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-village-vacancy-julie-houston/1137022616
  • https://apple.co/3432fK8
  • https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/a-village-vacancy
  • https://www.whsmith.co.uk/products/a-village-affair/julie-houston/paperback/9781838930639.html
  • https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B087JY3HCM

Author Bio

Julie Houston is the author of The One Saving Grace, Goodness, Grace and Me and Looking for Lucy, a Kindle top 100 general bestseller and a Kindle Number One bestseller. She is married with two teenage children and a mad cockerpoo and, like her heroine, lives in a West Yorkshire village. She is also a teacher and a magistrate.

Social Media

Website: juliehouston.co.uk

Twitter: @juliehouston2

Facebook: @JulieHoustonAuthor

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