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It's Time to Let Me Go

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‘You’re doing what? You can’t go away on your own, Mum. Not at your age!’ It was ‘Not at your age’ that made Audrey decide that she was going away, even if it was the last-damned-thing-she-ever-did. She was a widow, not dead. Life must go on!

Olive has spent the last fifty years married to George, who has made it his life’s work to control every aspect of her day. What they ate. What she wore. Whom she spent time with. So, when her mother leaves her an inheritance, Olive seizes the chance to book her dream holiday. Will she be able to lay some memories to rest or does George have other ideas?

Lucinda, mother of teens, has lost her way since her ex cheated on her. It’s not so much Netflix and chill as Netflix and Sauvignon Blanc. Her loving, despairing widowed father persuades her to take a trip with him to Croatia, where he holidayed with her mother. With no better offers on the table, she reluctantly agrees to go.

As Audrey, Olive and Lucinda begin their holiday in beautiful Cavtat, one person’s misfortune begins to benefit them all. And as they become the most unlikely of friends, they realise that you are never too old to seize the day, to live life to the full and to make memories to last a lifetime.

311 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 27, 2023

4 people want to read

About the author

Cheryl Waters

5 books16 followers
Born in London, Cheryl grew up in Cheshire. Cheryl married Phil in 1991 and that same year they moved to Scotland where they both worked in Edinburgh & grew a family of two children. In 2011, with the young adults off at University, Cheryl’s dream of living in France became a reality.

Renovating an early 19th-century farmhouse, in 2014 Cheryl & Phil made the permanent move to the Creuse region of southwest France, opening their B&B.

Whilst Cheryl had talked of writing a novel for many years, between the demands of full-time work and all that comes with a young family, there never seemed to be the time.

Moving to France brought the opportunity of a (slightly) quieter lifestyle, and then Coronavirus arrived, pausing the world, halting the B&B and delivering long stretches of precious free time! So, one such time- led day, Cheryl typed an opening sentence into the computer. After eighteen months of writing, re-writing, and learning how to publish later the debut novel; “In My Mother’s Footsteps” was ready.

What was originally a dream to simply write a book “one day” had become a tangible result. Cheryl has now just completed her third novel. If you would like to contact Cheryl, she would love to hear from you. www.facebook.com/cherylwaterswrites

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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
Profile Image for Anne.
2,178 reviews
June 1, 2023
A sunny afternoon in my garden, and this was a book that entirely engaged me from its opening pages – read in a single sitting, and when I finished I felt I’d been on a holiday of my own and made new friends who I was reluctant to leave behind. What an absolutely lovely read!

I really identified with Audrey, a widow having found the bravery to travel on holiday on her own at 77 – and to Cavtat in Croatia, the same hotel where she’d spent so many happy summers with her husband, meeting up with other couples who always chose the same weeks. There was so much I recognised about her airport and flight experience – the effort involved in ordering a cup of tea (thank goodness for Jack’s intervention – he’s a doctor, on his way to stay with his parents and work in the resort), the sense of pride in managing the boarding pass on her phone. Determined to make the most of her stay – but understandably worried about doing everything alone – she’s really delighted to find a familiar face in Samuel, also now widowed, and on holiday with his daughter Lucinda who was badly in need of an escape from her car crash of a life. And then there’s Olive – trapped in a desperately unhappy marriage for the last fifty years, using an inheritance from her mother to revisit a place that has many memories from her younger life, both happy and sad.

The author takes the time to build the individuals’ back stories, to bring them to life and make them real – and then we share their holiday experience, with a touch of drama, new friendships and a romance or two. The synopsis mentions “one person’s misfortune” – and I won’t spoil the story for anyone by saying more, but I thought it was quite wonderfully handled, with a particular authenticity to the complexity of the emotions involved. And that’s what I particularly loved about this book – every individual is so carefully drawn, a very real person who you grow to really care about.

The setting is so perfectly drawn too – I felt I was really there, sharing the ice creams and drinks and meals, along with a day trip to Dubrovnik where there’s another touch of unexpected misfortune for one of the characters. Emotionally, it’s all absolutely spot on – I really felt their joy in the new relationships, but also their moments of uncertainty, grief or pain. But there’s plenty of gentle humour too, with the whole narrative quite perfectly balanced. And running through it all, there’s the intriguing and slowly revealed story of Olive’s past – beautifully done, and its conclusion immensely satisfying.

I really loved this one – a complete holiday experience between its pages, individuals I really took to my heart, second chances aplenty, filled with warmth, and a central storyline that really kept the pages turning. A summer read I think so many readers – especially those of a certain age, like me – would very much enjoy, and an author I’d really like to read again.
Profile Image for Sarah Kingsnorth.
455 reviews14 followers
June 4, 2023
It’s Time To Let Me Go - Cheryl Waters.

Cheryl Waters is a new author to me. I loved the premise of #It’sTimeToLetMeGo and I couldn’t wait to read it.

Audrey, Olive and Lucinda are all more mature women. And life has kicked them all in one way or another.
For their own reasons, they all find themselves in Cavtat in Croatia.
Cheryl Waters takes these three woman and delivers them to the reader as believable and well developed characters. She did a fantastic job of building a detailed back story for each woman. It felt like I knew them well and liked them all.

The setting is beautifully described. The sights, the sounds, the food - I’m totally sold on Croatia.

This book is an epic story, of three women all on their own journey but briefly walking their path together.
There is real depth to this story and it has plenty going on to keep the reader engaged.

#It’sTimeToLetMeGo is a wonderful read. It’s full of friendship, a little romance and it champions the women who have lost themselves along the way. And proves that it is never too late.

An absolute must for your summer reading list.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️



Profile Image for Emma book blogger  Fitzgerald.
618 reviews22 followers
June 10, 2023
Thank you @rararesources and @cheryl_writes for letting me be part of this tour and reviewing this book. What a beautiful read. I was so sad the book had to end I felt like the characters were family. Audrey, Sam, Olive and Lucinda. The story is set in Cavtat which sounds beautiful and the story is told by Audry, Olive and. Lucinda about their time aboard. It's time to let go is about friendship, loss. Love and happiness. The story pulled out my heartstrings especially Olive's story she goes throughout. I absolutely adored this book and was lost in the character's journeys. The ending was brilliant and this would make a great summer read. The story is written beautifully and this is the first book I have read by Cheryl Waters, I will be looking out for her others. Awesome read 5 stars.
560 reviews7 followers
May 20, 2023
What a great book about a group of strangers who meet at the airport and all end up staying at the same hotel in Croatia. Each of the main characters has a reason for going there, from Samuel and his daughter Lucinda, James the doctor, Audrey and Olive. I found each of these characters interesting and thought that there was just the right amount of backstory for each one. The one who I really felt for was Olive and I kept my fingers crossed that all would work out for her. There was a bit of everything, dealing with grief, romance and an unhappy marriage. I also really liked that there was an update at the end so you know how it all turned out.
Profile Image for Leanne.
2,114 reviews42 followers
June 5, 2023
I read this beauty in one sitting because I became so immersed that it wouldn't let me go. Audrey, Olive and Lucinda are strangers who find themselves on the same holiday and through unexpected events become close friends. I loved the characters in this and the plot makes you feel like you are on holiday but at the same time each characters drama is slowly revealed. I know I have read a lot of books that have made me laugh and cry but none as much as this one did. The story is quite sad but told with such grace and humour that you can't help but chuckle. It's Time to Let Me Go is a definite stand out for me and I know it will definitely be up there with my Top books of 2023.
2 reviews
August 11, 2023
Another heart warming story!

I liked this book as an easy to read multiple holiday romance. The characters are individualized by their separate chapters so the stories follow a logical order and each character is portrayed in detail. They follow a familiar pattern and in this ideal world predictably all ends well. I am looking forward to a future story with more devious characters and an unpredictable ending
Profile Image for mrsljgibbs.
827 reviews32 followers
June 5, 2023
I would firstly just like to say a big thank you to Rachel’s Random Resources who very kindly forwarded me an arc copy of this book, for my kindle, in return for my honest review.

Words and feelings are only fleeting, memories last a lifetime…

All due to unforeseen circumstances, Audrey, Olive and Lucinda holiday in beautiful Cavtat, Croatia and one person’s misfortune begins to benefit them all, making them the most unlikely of friends. They then realise that you are never too old to seize the day, to live life to the full and to make memories last a lifetime.

This was a lovely story and a great way to have a bit of armchair travelling and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough to find out what was going to happen next…….
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews

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