At nearly ninety, retired nature writer Hattie Bloom prefers the company of birds to people, but when a fall lands her in a nursing home she struggles to cope with the loss of independence and privacy. From the confines of her ‘room with a view’ – of the car park! – she dreams of escape.

Fellow ‘inmate’, the gregarious, would-be comedian Walter Clements also plans on returning home as soon as he is fit and able to take charge of his mobility scooter.

When Hattie and Walter officially meet at The Night Owls, a clandestine club run by Sister Bronwyn and her dog, Queenie, they seem at odds. But when Sister Bronwyn is dismissed over her unconventional approach to aged care, they must join forces – and very slowly, an unlikely, unexpected friendship begins to grow.

My Thoughts:

I am so glad I had the opportunity to read this warm and light hearted read. This story put a smile on my face and I even had a few chuckles too. Hattie and Walter are in their late 80’s and live in the Nursing home, they meet at ‘Night Owls’ where they get up to all sorts of things in the middle of the night when they cannot sleep. I have not read any books that are set in a care home and I found it sad but uplifting to read about their lives. Some of what they get up to is very amusing though and reminded me of my grandparents. We see a friendship emerge between Hattie and Walter which was lovely to see and they plan to escape from the Nursing home. There are some right characters that bring this book to life. I would love to read more about them.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review. Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton for sending me a ARC copy.

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