I received a free copy of, Sweet Mercies by Anne Booth, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Sister Bridget is absolutely lovely, I can see why almost everyone is in love with her. Shes a great cook, bingo caller, Catholic, and friend. I d Fr. Hugh too, a lovely priest. A feel good Christmas read.3 s Joanne357 7

The Sisters of Saint Philomena are back to tell another lovely, feel-good story. If you’re looking for a dynamic, on the edge of your seat read, this is not it. What you will find if you pick up this book however is a very cosy, comforting story. I predicted the end to each sub plot - as I’m sure you will - but this doesn’t matter. It’s a tale of kindness and community and is a gentle, thoughtful read.

My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House UK for an ARC exchange for a honest 20232 s Gill260 7

All the characters are back from the first book in this series set at St Philomena’s convent. If you haven’t read the first book Small Miracles, you can easily read this one as a stand alone, and to be honest I thought the plot for this latest book was a bit faster paced and altogether more interesting.

At one time the nuns were teachers but with the convent getting ever smaller and with no one really wanting to give their lives up to the church, the nuns had to find a new way to save their dwindling sisterhood and now run a kind of guest house/hostel with Sister Bridget (also Mother Superior of two other nuns) as chief cook. They are still very much involved in the day to day running of the church as well, supporting the Priest.

In this book we meet up with Bridget’s sister Mary who still lives in Ireland. Mary and her rather overbearing husband, a successful property developer, form one of the story threads running through. Mary has spent most of her married life playing second fiddle to her husband, never managing to fulfill her own dreams of becoming a professional artist. He’s an all round unpleasant man, who believes he has always done right by his wife but that’s only because she’s fallen into line and always put his needs first.

Back at the Convent the spritely but somewhat curmudgeonly 90 year old Sister Cecelia has a bigger role to play in this second book when she becomes the reluctant adoptee of the Convent’s cat. A guest staying at the Convent’s new accommodation has taken a distinct dis to Sister Bridget. No one knows why, especially when you couldn’t meet a more kindly person. Though perhaps sometimes her desire to do all she can to help people can be seen by some as meddling.

I enjoyed this one much more than the last book. Though it does have many references to God and the Catholic faith, it can still be enjoyed by the less religious amongst us. There’s a gentle humour to it, but with some more serious matters covered. Always written with great sensitivity, I zipped through it, finding it an absorbing read. I was quite sorry to reach the end. It’s perhaps a little overly sweet at times but by the time I reached the end, it left me feeling that was time well spent on an enjoyable, wholesome read. If there’s to be a third book in this series, I would love to read it.1 Tilly Fitzgerald1,150 51

The absolutely perfect read when you’re looking for a big warm hug of a book
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