BOOK DESCRIPTION

‘I love this gorgeous book. Unflinching, stubborn, funny and moving, Veronica is an unlikely heroine who will sneak in and capture your heart’ Trisha Ashley

Veronica McCreedy is about to have the journey of a lifetime . . .

Veronica McCreedy lives in a mansion by the sea. She loves a nice cup of Darjeeling tea whilst watching a good wildlife documentary. And she’s never seen without her ruby-red lipstick.

Although these days Veronica is rarely seen by anyone because, at 85, her days are spent mostly at home, alone.

She can be found either collecting litter from the beach (‘people who litter the countryside should be shot’), trying to locate her glasses (‘someone must have moved them’) or shouting
instructions to her assistant, Eileen (‘Eileen, door!’).

Veronica doesn’t have family or friends nearby. Not that she knows about, anyway . . . And she has no idea where she’s going to leave her considerable wealth when she dies.

But today . . . today Veronica is going to make a decision that will change all of this.

BUY LINK:

Away with the Penguins

HERE ARE MY THOUGHTS AND REVIEW

Veronica’s mind, at nearly 86, isn’t what it use to be but she constantly assures herself that it is as sharp as it ever was. She lives in a rambling mansion and is extremely comfortable but she knows that she must start to make provisions of what will happen to her fortune after she dies. When she sees a random message on her mirror made with the colour of lipstick that she always carries with her, it intrigues her. Just one-word, Penguins. Then seeing a documentary with the renowned Robert Saddleworth about the demise of the penguins in Antarctica she feels she must do something about it. Of course, it isn’t the first time she has had this thought.

Veronica asks her assistant Eileen to look into how to find long lost family members in a last attempt to discover if she has any living relatives anywhere to leave her fortune to and a door opens for her that she had never thought possible.

Oh wow! just wow! I have been blown away with this story, from first meeting grumpy old Veronica to the gutsy lady that I found out about through the pages. Her past, her family and tragic war years, the terrible things that were taken from her control and the love she had known. Veronica’s life had been moulded from a young girl with cruelness but this lady would melt faster than any global warming could produce while she was away with the penguins.

There aren’t many characters in the story to remember, each group belonging to a certain era. There is one thing for sure, it is never too late to change. I laughed at so many chapters with a lady that knew all the tricks in the book of how to get her own way. Being old does have its benefits when you know how to play a situation. I am bursting with the characters and story that I really hope you go on to read as it gave me that feeling in my tummy of going over a bridge. I have whooped and cheered. Just fabulous!

I wish to thank the publisher for inviting me to read and review this book through NetGalley via an e-copy, which I have reviewed honestly.

HERE, IS A LITTLE ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Hazel Prior is the author of ELLIE AND THE HARP MAKER and (coming soon) AWAY WITH THE PENGUINS (UK title)/HOW THE PENGUINS SAVED VERONICA (US title). She is also a freelance harpist. She lives in Exmoor, in England, with her husband and a huge, ginger cat.

AUTHOR LINKS:

Twitter: @HazelPriorBooks

hazeltheharpist.co.uk