Milly Johnson

Same Time, Next Week

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by Milly Johnson

Timewise, I can never be too far from a Milly Johnson book. I’ve been re-reading them sporadically on Audible while waiting for a new one by her. This time, I ended up reading this new title at the same time as I was listening to an old favorite, The Woman in the Middle. Unfortunately the main heroine of the older book bore a great similarity to one of the main characters in this one in personality as well as her challenges and journey. So every time I returned to this one after listening to the other, I had to get my thoughts together and reset, so to speak. It wasn’t too difficult as “Middle” had only one main story to Same Time, Next Week’s fairly equally distributed stories of five women’s paths to love and inner growth.

Same Time… follows the lives of women who start out at, or soon reach, very low points in their lives. How they find their ways to happiness, success, and their just deserts is the very familiar foundation to any reader of Milly Johnson. It didn’t break too much new ground, that’s for sure. And I am more than fine with that. With Milly, it’s not the plot, but the writing, humor, and the way she makes you care about her characters. And you can’t beat the way she always makes sure the good guys triumph and the bad guys get what they deserve. With Milly, due rewards and punishments are super-sized. And that’s a good thing, because she really puts her characters through the gauntlet at the hands of their tormentors. When the character you grow to care about suffers, you suffer along with them. The fact that you know revenge and justice are coming for all makes it all worth it.

In this one, I would say the two main characters are Amanda and Mel. Amanda is in her 50s and suffering mightily from the symptoms of menopause. Milly gives us a play by play on this stage of life, and it’s not pretty. For those who have yet to go through this, I hope your experience does not mirror Amanda’s. Take hope that her experience is not a universal one. Some sail through with just a few blips. She is faithfully and lovingly taking care of her elderly mother who does not appreciate her and has never really loved her. On the other hand, she worships her worthless and immoral son, Bradley, who only cares about what he can get out of her and is eagerly anticipating his inheritance. The elderly, those that care for them, and their struggles, is an issue that Milly has tackled before. This one is more harrowing and heartbreaking than usual.

Mel has been married, she thinks happily, to Steve for 30 years. He goes to a highschool reunion and starts having an affair with a woman he meets there. My first question was why Mel didn’t go with him, but it is never even mentioned as a consideration. Perhaps school reunions are different in the U.K. It’s not a good idea not to accompany your spouse to a high school reunion, in my view. If Mel had gone with Steve, none of her story would have happened, and that would have been a bad thing. Bad for the reader, and, as it turns out, bad for Mel. Because life without Steve teaches her that she was not so happy in her marriage after all.

Astrid, Sky, and Erin round out the quintet of women who, through the friendship group that Amanda starts, become friends and supporters of each other through their trials and tribulations. The group meets in the newly opened Ray’s Diner, a new business in Spring Hill Square, a little center that has made a number of appearances in previous books. Sky is in her late twenties and haunted by a false accusation that her father was a serial killer. It ruined his life and keeps raising its ugly head. Her sweet and gentle nature is also being taken advantage of by her landlord from hell who moved in on her and is a creepy pervert to boot. This part of the story was very disturbing and I didn’t understand how this could have been allowed to happen. She is in love with her boss who is 20 years older and the ex-husband of…Erin. The two exes were and are great friends but were unhappy in their marriage. Erin is struggling with guilt and the death of the woman she left her ex, Bon, for. Astrid, who is a trans woman, played a prominent role in Afternoon Tea at The Sunflower Cafe and was also in The Mother of all Christmases., and The Queen of Wishful Thinking. She is struggling with the death of her husband and a lack of purpose. Astrid is a great character, a real “cracker,” pun intended. “Cracker” as in the British slang version, I hasten to add.

Once again, Milly expertly weaves a lot of threads together to fashion very entertaining and satisfying journeys of all her protagonists. And of course that includes finding love as well as their paths forward through grief of all sorts to the promise of happiness and fulfillment.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

The Happiest Ever After

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by Milly Johnson

This was a typical Milly Johnson and that’s more than OK with me. By typical I mean a nice woman or three who are not appreciated and put upon by their partner, their family, or their employer. Sometimes all three. Often they are even emotionally abused by a narcissist and they are totally under their thumb through most of the book. As the story proceeds they gradually see the light and the true character of the man they once loved. But often, and frustratingly, no action is taken until it’s last straw time. In the course of the book, she will find a good kind man who is truly worthy of their love. But the point is, we look forward to the heroine’s triumph and takedown of the abuser and it is usually massive and exceedingly satisfying. Much of this is true of the story of Polly Potter.

However, in this one, I was happy that Polly had her long-term boyfriend’s number from the beginning of the book. She had been too nice and too tolerant for too long, but she was done. She has been planning on leaving Chris but her plans have been delayed by her role in his sister’s renewal of her wedding vows. Meanwhile, Polly is also unhappy with her employer. She has been taken advantage of and discriminated against ever since the business solutions company she works for as a highly successful and talented consultant was sold. On the day before she plans to leave her boyfriend, she reaches the end of her rope with her boss and walks out. The next day, she follows through with her plan to leave Chris, but on her way to the seaside town she has run to she is mugged, hits her head, and loses her memory and her purse with all of her identification. I won’t mention all of the drama she has to go through on the “wedding” day but wow. I didn’t see that coming.

Anyway, she is taken in by Marielle, a kind and generous retired nurse and finds love with her son, a restaurant owner who is being sabotaged by a large chain restaurant that is moving into the neighborhood. As with all Milly Johnson books, there are plenty of side stories going on alongside our main character’s and as always, they doubled my pleasure in this book.
Even though this has suspense and tension as well as cheers and triumph, it didn’t reach quite the highs of some of her former books. After Polly puts her foot down at home and work, she leaves all that pain behind, and although she loses her memory everything is pretty much smooth sailing for her from there. And I was very happy that she did put her foot down. Sometimes Milly has gone a little too far in putting her long-suffering characters through the ringer. Of course, the upside of all that tension and frustration is the power of the catharsis when it comes. Although it was nice, I also was not as invested in the romance. Teddy was not as interesting as most of her heroes have been.

Milly excels in her characterizations. In this book she shows Polly/Sabrina’s goodness while still making her inner voice funny and likable. Her baddies are sometimes over the top, but I sure get a lot of pleasure in hating their guts. Polly’s boyfriend Chris was just a worm, but hoo-boy his sister Camay (!) was something else. Chris’s son Will was a love and definitely not a chip off the old block. Chris’s daughter Shauna was a teenage menace who did her best to undermine Polly at every turn. Her boss was a typical pig (“Polly put the kettle on”) but her pregnant officemate, Sheridan, was a welcome support and ally. And at the end, Marjorie, the scheming female head of HR was a force to be reckoned with. Luckily she’s a good guy. At her seaside haven, Polly meets the funny and quirky Flick, who is as smart as a whip, and one of the restaurant staff she works with as a temporary employee. Each of them is deftly drawn too. The baddie in this setting is the foolish and avaricious Cilla, Flick’s mother, and her kind protector, Marielle’s, cousin. Milly is pleased to offer some hope and redemption for her at the end thanks to Polly’s very much unsolicited words of wisdom.

No one does Karma like Milly Johnson. As always with Milly’s novels, the good are rewarded and the bad are punished, and in spectacular fashion. Absolutely nothing wrong with that, in my book.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Together, Again

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by Milly Johnson

In a way, this book returns us to Milly’s often-used foundation of three women whose lives intertwine and whose relationship supports one or more of them escaping from a desperate situation and the others finding happiness and fulfillment.

Three sisters born seven years apart meet at their family home upon the death of Eleanor, their mother. And I use that “mother” term loosely. Maybe I should instead say “the woman who gave birth to them.” The two older sisters (around 38 and 45)have only seen each other sporadically and perfunctorily. Neither has seen or heard from the youngest (31) for 15 years since she ran away at age 16. They hardly know each other and aren’t particularly fond of what they do know. Jolene, the oldest, is married to a very bad man and is very unhappy in her marriage. She is also a very successful romance novelist who seems to write the same type of books Milly herself does. Also, they are both on their 20th book. And I hope that’s all their lives have in common, but I suspect not.

Later, in bed, Annis didn’t go to sleep immediately but sat up reading one of Jolene’s books, the only one she hadn’t read. It was about a well-to-do woman who left an abusive husband and had to build up her life from scratch. Jolene wrote a lot about women in need of a renaissance and she wrote about them too well. Annis had met women like them in her own life, so she could sense the ring of truth in her stories and her characters.

Marsha is the owner of a thriving company and is very well-off. She is single and has never had a successful long-term relationship thanks to having unresolved issues from her girlhood platonic affair with the family priest. (It is funny that she apparently once went on a blind date with the same crazy loser that Juliet in An Autumn Crush did!-I love these little threads to her other books Milly always includes.) Annis is something of a mystery, except we know she has had a very rough life. At first homeless, hungry, and going from pillar to post, for the last 7 years she has at least been relatively safe and befriended by a somewhat mysterious group of women who work at a cocktail bar and maybe something else. She is very wise, thanks to her experiences, and is the catalyst for Jolene and Marsha to find their paths forward.

There are a lot of mysteries and questions that run through this book. Why did Annis run away at 16? Why did her parents apparently not try to find her? Why, even when most desperate, did she not ever try to make contact with her family? Especially her sisters? Why does Jolene stay with such a vile man? Exactly how vile is he? Why did Eleanor leave the bulk of her fortune to Annis of all people? What’s with Sally and her extreme reaction to reading “the letter” Eleanor entrusted her to deliver after her death? Eleanor’s letter is revealed bit by bit to the reader throughout the book. The answer to the first question is telegraphed pretty clearly before it is spelled out, others are revealed at various points, and some come only at the end.

Most of the questions and drama involve Annis and Jolene. The three sisters forge strong loving bonds with each other as the book progresses, and each of their lives and challenges are explored. Two of the three sisters are in hopeful romantic relationships by the end of the book. And the other finds freedom. So yes, it has much in common with many of Milly’s books, but it does forge some new ground. It has plenty of funny observations and commentary, but not as much comedy as many of her earlier books. A lot of comedy would be out of place in this one. It deals with some serious and disturbing issues and people. Usually, Milly’s villains are despicable human beings, but they fall short of being mentally ill. In this one, we have 3 really sick people and one that comes pretty darn close. I admire Milly for bravely breaking new ground and forging new paths with each novel, especially lately. But I also love that she is keeping true to many of the aspects that I love and that really work. It’s probably one of her best books, but it’s not a personal favorite. **Spoiler**

I wasn’t too enthralled with either romance. I just could not understand Jolene’s choices even given her childhood. It is certainly not the first time Milly has had a “wet lettuce” as one of her main characters, this one seemed to be less understandable. I felt that the reveal of her husband’s perfidy was a little handy. I would have preferred for her to break free without needing that extra impetus. Sally’s enlightenment seemed to come out of nowhere. I do miss the comedy and although the ending was satisfying, I didn’t find myself wanting to cheer.**End spoiler** 

 Oh well. No book is perfect, and my bar has probably become too high for Milly. I guess that’s on me.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

The Woman in the Middle

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By Milly Johnson

Shay had too much of a past history of being honourable, a good girl who flew under the radar so she wouldn’t upset any more applecarts, who stood in the shadows propping up those who wanted to stand in the sun.
But Mrs Nice Guy was having a day off today.

Milly has done it again! Shay is a wife and mother of two grown children and is in her mid-forties. She is also caring for her beloved mother who, though she lives alone, is in the mid-stages of Alzheimer’s. Shay goes to her house almost every day to do what needs to be done. Her father is in a coma in a care home and Shay visits him faithfully. There is something wrong with her marriage of 24 years. Although everything is OK on the surface, she and her husband have not had sex in months. Her feisty (too feisty)free spirit of a daughter keeps going back to a bad boyfriend and is struggling financially and career-wise. Her sweet and gentle son has given up his art and gotten himself engaged to a controlling older woman. And her sister is a selfish piece of….work.

Shay, who is a lovely woman both inside and out, is in the middle, trying to keep everyone around her afloat with no help from anyone. Yet, though she is put upon, she is not a doormat. (Yay!) She seems like a real person. Someone you could really know, and whose challenges many women will relate to. The reader realizes long before Shay does that her husband is a lost cause and is not worthy of her. We also know that there is a tragic secret in her past that changed the direction of her life and separated her from her first love: a love she still yearns for in unguarded moments. As her mother reaches the end, secrets are revealed which further turn her life upside down. Her marriage is irretrievably broken and Shay goes back to her childhood home to try to heal.

Milly’s style continues to move forward from the template that served her so well for years. Shay is a woman rising like a phoenix from a difficult situation. That is a familiar theme to her readership. But the story is more realistic and her writing is more thoughtful and leisurely. The book is funny and full of lovable and sympathetic characters as well as dastardly villains. Yes, there are moments of high drama and plenty of justice to be meted out, to be sure, but everything is more down-to-earth and not so extreme. There is wit and humor, but very little rambunctious comedy. There is eventually a sweet romance, but it is there only to complete Shay’s journey to a happy fulfilled life.

I love the old Milly-style, but I also love the more evolved Milly. Wherever she goes next, I am there.

**Addendum 04/05/2025** A few more thoughts upon re-reading this one on Audible. Milly’s portrayal of middle-aged Shay caring for her elderly dementia inflicted mother was so tender and sensitive. Shay is a paragon and a heroine. Her care and sacrifices for her and also her elderly father who is in a coma come not from duty but love. It was so heartwarming and inspiring. I wish I had read this before I found myself in a similar situation now over a decade ago.

I loved Courtney, her daughter, after she finally saw the light. Her little secondary romance was sweet. However her son, “Sonny,” and his struggle with his vile fiancé was too perplexing. I did appreciate that Milly featured a man abused and controlled by his female partner for a change. She has many times based her novels on women being made doormats by narcissistic men. I know in my head how constant abuse can affect one’s power. But in my heart, I just could not find any sympathy or respect for his decision to marry her with his eyes wide open to her lies and true evil nature. He had the love and support of many, but he stubbornly chose the weak path to avoid upset and conflict. It seemed very unrealistic but did result in a great climactic and delicious scene. “If any person here can show just cause why these two people should not be joined….”

Touch my son again, bitch and I’ll drop you where you stand,” said Shay….Get your hands off my boy or I’ll tell everyone in this church what a vile, nasty, violent, twisted, manipulative, abusive piece of shit you are,” threatened Shay, telling everyone in the church what a vile, nasty, violent, twisted, manipulative abusive piece of shit Karoline was.

As always, much of Milly’s humor stems from her hilarious and spot-on metaphors and similes. Here is one of my favorites: During the wedding, “…Her head spun so fast on her neck it was like watching a Richard Curtis version of The Exorcist

Milly’s endings are always great, leaving no comeuppance un-comeupped, and no plot line un-tied-up in a very satisfactory way. But this one had so much justice to dispense to so many people in so many ways, the wind up was more exceptional than usual.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

October 23, 2021

I Wish it Could be Christmas Everyday

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By Milly Johnson

I don’t want to get back to reality, said Robin inwardly. He felt protected here in this odd little inn. It was as if it was enchanted, like the Beast’s castle when Belle walked in and found all the luxury food waiting for her. He wouldn’t have been at all surprised if clocks and candelabras had started dancing around the room singing “Be Our Guest.”

In reading the description of this book and right up to about the 20% mark, I thought I knew where this one was going to go. It starts out as a fairly typical Milly Johnson. She really likes to have 3 stories going at once. In this one, 3 couples get lost during a terrible snowstorm two days before Christmas and end up together in a deserted but charming inn (Which is magical. Of course.) One couple, once passionately in love, is meeting to sign their divorce papers after years of acrimony. They are tired of fighting, have new partners, and just want to move on with their lives. Couple number two is the head of a large company who is accompanied by his unappreciated PA who has been in love with him for years. The last couple is a very happy gay couple who have been together for over 30 years.

I settled down to enjoy the journeys of at least several characters who had to learn, grow and break out of self-destructive patterns in order to find fulfillment and happiness. Of course, finding happiness would also mean finding true love with the obvious person as well. Well, all did not go according to plan. I am happy that Milly has grown out of her usual formula that all of or most of her early books incorporate, as delightful as most of them were. It became pretty obvious pretty early on, that the love stories were not going to follow the usual romantic comedy playbook. For one thing, Two halves of the prospective couples were so unlikable, almost toxic, that I was rooting for the people they would naturally be paired up with to run far and fast in the opposite direction. To make it more confusing, One of the prospective love interests was already in a very happy and healthy relationship albeit “off-screen”. So It was not predictable how all this was going to play out, romantically speaking.

Don’t worry. There are happy endings in this one and a love story or maybe two by the end. But it does not go how you think it would at the beginning. Turns are taken and there is some suspense up to the final climax. And that is a good thing. Once again Milly delivers a satisfying, touching, and amusing story. As always, it was very English. The title is based on a popular British Christmas song that is virtually unknown in the United States. And a dose of Jane Austen-love never hurts.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

June 21, 2021

The Magnificent Mrs. Mayhew

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By Milly Johnson

The girls here do not become nurses and social workers and shop assistants: they leave as soldiers, tough, adroit, capable, and fully aware that self must be preserved at all costs. Kindness is a weakness and it will be used against you.” Miss Palmer-Price saw Sophie’s eyes blink as if there was a massive surge of brain activity behind them. And she was right, because less than an hour ago Sophie had been sitting in Religious Education hearing evidence to the contrary. “But Jesus . . .”

Your inner strength and resilience will attract rich, powerful men, and I’m sure you’d want one of those, my dear; which girl wouldn’t? Trust me, love is no substitute for a private jet. Choose the most successful man you can find, put him first in your life, and scythe to the quick anyone who stands in your way. But power does corrupt itself, so occasionally that will involve self-sacrifice on your part. Emotion will be of little use to you at these times. Get used to controlling it, not it controlling you; and that discipline starts with leaving kindnesses to the devotees of the Dalai Lama. Thank you for listening.”

Well, I won’t add to the praises I have poured upon all of the previous books I have read by Milly Johnson for fear of being repetitive. I am very happy that this book and the previous book I have read by this stupendous writer, The Perfectly Imperfect Woman, have branched out from Milly’s usual tried and true formula (3 middle-class ordinary women friends in bad relationships, one a hopeless doormat, find their mojos and happy endings). In this one, we have a lovely young girl, Sophie Mayhew nee Caladine, from a cruel and cold family who has been turned into a Stepford wife. She is posh, rich, and famous. She breaks out of her virtual prison as the appendage of a rising politician and hides away in the one place she was happy in for one summer in her girlhood. She is embraced by the small village community, makes some wonderful friends, and finds love with the vicar. There is always some tension and suspense in the background because you know her uncaring family, her psychopath husband and his political machine are looking for her. Will they find her? Will she return to her former role as “Sophy the Trophy”? Or will she find her true self and be strong enough to resist the forces who want to use her and abuse her and find her happy ending?

Well, we know how it will all end. But the value is in the journey, not the destination. As usual, there is plenty of wit and comedy to spare as well as the touching, sad, and scary moments. Milly is a master at making the reader love and care about her protagonists and their fates. And her ebullient voice makes every page a treat. **5 out of 5 stars**

**Spoilers**
**Finished listen on Audible 10/16/25** Nothing to add really. Didn’t quite remember the details regarding the resolution. The confrontation at the end was very satisfying, though it took too long after she reclaimed her power in Yorkshire to see the light. I wish she had left because she wanted a new life, not because she got final proof that John lied to her about his cheating. She didn’t really need that confirmation. Also I would have liked to see some small rebellions first like her wearing one of her homemade dress creations to official occasions, or being open about her new friendship with her old friend Magda. It would have been fun to see how John and the family handled a “new” Sophie. But that is just some “what ifs…?” The romance was very back burner. Not even a kiss on the lips at the end! I missed it, because I really liked Eliot and would have liked to see him break out of that clerical pigeon hole.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

January 18, 2021

The Perfectly Imperfect Woman

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by Milly Johnson

Marnie opened up another bottle of wine as they messaged back and forth. Somehow the conversation segued from recipes for cheesecakes to recipes of disaster – i.e. Marnie’s life. Lubricated by fermented grapes, a dam burst inside her and out it all poured in a torrent. Everything…. And Marnie went past caring if the person she was typing to was a genuine elderly lady, a Daily Mail reporter or a serial killer called Darren.

As usual, Milly Johnson does not disappoint. In this one, Marnie Salt is an attractive, smart, ambitious woman who is also good and kind. She is greatly flawed, as is typical in Milly’s heroines, in that she makes very poor choices as far as her relationships with men and friends are concerned. She is epically embarrassed at work due to still another poor choice. She quits her job and moves to a small village, virtually owned by a new older friend she meets in a chat forum online, and finds her mojo and her happy ending. This is not a spoiler as all of Milly Johnson’s endings are super happy and satisfying. There is a little magic involved and more than one mystery. And Cheesecake! If you don’t like cheesecake, you might not like this book.

As Marnie repairs herself, the reader finds out more and more about her painful past and her destructive mother and sister. Milly really likes to pile on her heroines before she triumphantly resurrects them. But the gradual reveal of what Marnie had to endure as a child helps us to understand her so we can’t blame her.

What a vile family you have, dear. No wonder you have so much difficulty negotiating life. They’ve imprinted a faulty map in you. Totally understandable why you keep losing your way. I have the same map imprinted on me too. We have more in common than you could know.

I can’t help but think this is a book that might have a sequel at some future date. Or at least be revisited in a future book. Although the ending is very cathartic and answers many questions we have been teased with throughout the book, there are a few questions and mysteries left unexplained. Spoiler Alert  Is there a connection between Mrs. McMaid and Wychwell? Who were Marnie’s biological parents? Is she related to Lillian’s family in any way? why the resemblance between Marnie and a family portrait in the Manor House? Where is the baby’s body that was supposedly killed with the witch? Did it live? Will her terrible sister resurface and get her comeuppance? And most importantly, What is the Cheesecake’s secret ingredient? In looking at all the questions, I think the reader does know the answers, other than to the last question. Starting with, yes, there was a baby and yes it did live. End Spoiler

Marnie was a great character in a book of great characters. She is smart, successful, funny, and has a good heart. Although she frustrated me to start out with as far as her poor choice in men, I like that when she learned her lesson, she did not backslide into more poor choices, although she did have me worried a few times. She got more strong and powerful as the book went on without losing her kind and generous nature.

She wasn’t someone on a piece of elastic that could be dropped and picked up again when it suited. Nope, she wasn’t that Marnie now and the awareness that she wasn’t shocked her in a warm way. Could she be actually growing up at last? Thanks to a batty old lady who had seen her warts and all and still valued her as something precious? **5 out of 5 stars**

Rating: 5 out of 5.

January 4, 2021

The Queen of Wishful Thinking

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By Milly Johnson

Bonnie took them from him and felt a fizzy thrill zip around inside her. She’d done it. She’d actually done what she had wished she could do. These were not only keys for the doors of a little house, they were keys to a new life, a life without Stephen. Her freedom. She wouldn’t be going back to him, whatever he said, whatever he did. A Queen of Wishful Thinking would only ever move forwards.

I’m one of those idiots that didn’t think I’d be really happy without possessions.’ He locked eyes with a startled Gemma and went on in a voice that was raw with feeling, ‘But I was so wrong. Things don’t make you happy, people do. Which is why I am walking out of this door now and leaving.’…Look after yourself, Pat,’ said Lew. ‘I will. And you. Life’s too short to struggle on when you know you’re in the wrong place. See you around. Keep in touch with me. Please.’ And before Lew could say that of course he would, Patrick, like a hirsute Elvis, had left the building.

Milly Johnson has a great gift. She has a way of making the reader (me, at least) not just disliking or not approving of the adversaries of the sympathetic central characters but hating them with a passion. Usually, these are bad spouses and that is the case in The Queen of Wishful Thinking. It is the journey two nice people who are meant for each other but who have to lose their spouses from hell first. But it is also about a woman finding fulfillment in a career and life outside of any romance. It is set in the fascinating world of antiques-So much more interesting than ice cream shops or tea shops! And this world, both in and out of the antique “emporium”, is full of complex and fully rounded secondary characters both funny and sad.

Character development is another of Milly’s great gifts. In this one, Milly largely avoids writing our heroine, Bonnie, as a complete and utter victim. Yes, she is victimized and victimized horribly, but she is a woman with a plan. That said though, some of her decisions later in the book, were still very disappointing. I appreciate that the author tried to explain how Bonnie got herself in such untenable situations and was trying throughout the book to get herself out. That hasn’t always been the case with Milly Johnson and it often has tempted me to throw my Kindle across the room. If it had been a paper book, I probably would have!

Her hero, Lew, is also in a very unsatisfactory marriage. The reader understands much more than he does throughout much of the book how very unsatisfactory it is. Once he gets the whole picture, he acts with strength and decisiveness. It is such a relief when his wife is fully exposed and Lew sees the light.

So once again, I’ll add this novel to the long list of Milly Johnson home runs. Full of humor, tears, great interesting characters, loads of tension and suspense, and a fully realized happy ending to sigh over. Milly Johnson is not for the faint of heart, but The greater your storm, The brighter your rainbow. **5 out of 5 stars**

Rating: 5 out of 5.

August 20, 2020

Sunshine Over Wildflower Cottage

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by Milly Johnson

Geraldine seemed entranced by the moths, their wings flittering against the hot glass, drawn by the brightness which would burn them, yet they came back for more. ‘Look, they’re being hurt and can’t pull away. Pain becomes their oxygen.’

I really enjoyed the story of Viv and the mystery of why she was at Wildflower Cottage very much. The story is split between young Viv’s life and her friends at the small animal shelter, and her Mother, Stel, at home. There are also the stories of Stel’s friends, “The Spice Girls,” Caro, Lynn, Iris, and Gaynor.
Stel is the designated dumb doormat in this one. Although a wonderful mother and generous, warm-hearted person, She is needy and babyish when it comes to her daughter and especially men. Her entanglement with an evil abuser is totally avoidable every step of the way, so I didn’t have much sympathy for her.

“‘My mum is lovely,’ said Viv. ‘But where men are concerned, she has no sense at all. Luckily, she isn’t quite at the stage where she’s writing to serial killers in prison, though.’ She smiled and Geraldine chuckled softly. ‘She wants to be loved so much and so she believes everything men tell her, but she couldn’t spot a nice man if he had “nice man” tattooed on his face.’”

Because of that though, her story did not frustrate or cause me anxiety (much.) Gaynor was a bitter mean person pretty much all the way through, but I loved Lynn and Iris’s cheer-worthy tale, and Caro was awesome. It wasn’t one of Milly’s more hilarious novels, but I loved what humor there was. It kept me engaged and turning the pages eagerly anticipating the happy endings. **4 1/2stars out of 5**

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

June 2, 2020

Afternoon Tea at the Sunflower Café

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by Milly Johnson

‘That is amazing,’ laughed Connie. ‘You didn’t really ring up and make a false appointment though, did you?’ ‘Oh you have no idea how many hand grenades I’ve pulled the pins out of which are set to go off this week, Connie,’ said Della, noticing Connie’s sunflower picture on the wall out of the corner of her eye. Be like the Sunflower . . . She could give those giant plants lessons in bravery and boldness with what she’d implemented since Friday.

Another delicious dramedy from Milly Johnson. This one has her standard 3 women getting revenge against bad men formula, but it does deviate somewhat. There are cases of dumbdoormatitis, as is usual in a Milly Johnson, but none of the protagonists actually succumb to the disease in this story. One of the women’s triumphs is on a separate track than the other two but is no less cheer-worthy. Her fortunes meet with the others at the end (literally). Also, the romance is definitely on the light side. One of the women has a fairly significant one, but the other, as sweet as it was, is just tacked on, and the 3rd woman does not have one at all. The main bad guy’s impending doom is so relentless that I almost felt myself starting to pity him a bit. However, in a massive takedown, our heroine ticks off all of his bad acts and selfish decisions over the years and I was back on board. That said, I do like that in this book, she does give him some redeemability at the end.

One of the aspects I loved, and I have seen this in several of her books, is a hint of the supernatural: A house that is a great judge of character (and acts accordingly) and a couple of ghosts that come to rescue their loved one. Sunflowers are a symbol and theme throughout the book but the Tea at the Cafe part really has nothing to do with much at all which makes it a strange title.

When you pick up a Milly Johnson book, you pretty much know what you are going to get if you’ve read even one of her books. This does show a willingness to deviate from and toy with her usual tropes just a bit, and I loved it. I hope I see more of this growth in future books. But I won’t complain if her heroines remain kind, gentle, and good women who find their inner Boedicas by the end. **5 out 5 stars**

Rating: 5 out of 5.

April 19, 2020