Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Thursdays in the Park

Author: Hilary Boyd

Narrator: Joanna David

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-17-15

Publisher: Quercus

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Jeanie is on the brink of turning 60, and the man she's been married to for more than half of her life has suddenly abandoned the marital bed. When Jeanie's husband, George, retreats from his conjugal duties, she is deeply hurt and very confused: Has she done something wrong? Is he in love with someone else? Her pained bewilderment turns to anger as he remains unable, or unwilling, to provide answers.

The bright spot of Jeanie's week is Thursday, the day she takes her granddaughter to the park. There, one day, she meets Ray - age appropriate, kind hearted, easygoing, and downright sexy. In short, he is everything that George is not. As her relationship with Ray begins to blossom and she begins to think that her life might hold in store a bold second act, she begins to wonder if she has the courage to take a step off the precipice of routine and duty and into the swirling winds of romance.

Critic Reviews:

"A warm and well-written case for love affairs in later life." (Daily Telegraph)

"A must read." (AARP)

"A sincere tale of late-in-life love.... Boyd's delicate rendering of Jeanie's interior grounds the novel, and readers will root for her to finally get her own.... A poignant love story featuring refreshing characters in their 60s." (Kirkus Reviews)

Members Reviews:

Poignant and Frustrating

Thursdays In the Park is a well written and remarkable debut novel. H. Boyd does a great job of highlighting issues of marriage, family, the effects of abuse, individual happiness and love, while developing the poignant story of Jeanie, Ray and George.

While this reader was pulling for a happier, fuller life for Jeanie, I felt very frustrated with her reluctance to stand up for herself when bullied and manipulated by her self-absorbed husband, George. This may have been due to her strict upbringing by an autocratic father and a mother who went along with his dictates. Of course, trying to decide whether to leave a marriage after 32 years, at the age of 60, would not be an easy choice for any woman to make.

Studies tell us that the abused often become abusers, themselves. George's treatment of Jeanie, while not physical, was, none-the-less, abusive. Granted, his own abuse as a young boy may have fed the need for total control but it is no excuse in the long run.

The relationship between Jeanie and Ray was totally understandable and believable. It was nice to see an older couple taking center stage for a change and being romantic and sexy as well.

I certainly enjoyed reading this novel and would not hesitate to recommend to others with a rating of 41/2 stars.

Oh Jeannie

It was easy reading and I looked forward to reading more as I began the book. That said, I thought Jeannie was overly sensitive about turning 60 -- my gosh 60 is the new 40 for heaven sake. Maybe not so in UK? And after 10, count 'em 10 whole years of no love making, I would have thought if it were so important to her that she would have done something about it in the beginning not wait a decade. What even bugged me more was the controlling nature of her husband. It seemed he was well off financially and that was supposed to dictate how she would live and retire on HIS schedule. I liked him less for that than giving up sex. Their communication was really nonexistent. Guess that is not that rare.