Not Quite Nice
By Celia Imrie
3/5
()
Unavailable in your country
Unavailable in your country
About this ebook
'A funny, spirited read' - Daily Mail
'A hugely enjoyable romp of a novel' - Katie Fforde
'Utterly delicious in every way' - Joanna Lumley
___________________
Theresa is desperate for a change. Forced into early retirement and fed up with babysitting her bossy daughter's obnoxious children, she sells her house and moves to the picture-perfect town of Bellevue-sur-Mer, just outside Nice.
Once the hideaway of artists and writers, it is now home to the odd rock icon and Hollywood movie star, and, as Theresa soon discovers, a close-knit set of expats. There's Carol, the glamorous American and her doting husband David; the British TV star Sally; the ferocious Sian and her wayward Australian poet husband; the sharply witty Zoe with her strangely youthful face and penchant for white wine – and the suave Brian who catches Theresa's eye…
As Theresa settles to the gentle rhythm of seaside life she embraces her new-found friendships and freedom. However, life is never quite as simple as it seems and as skeletons start to fall out of several closets, Theresa begins to wonder if life on the French Riviera is quite as nice as it first appeared…
___________________
Praise for the Nice series…
'Her work has definite joie de vivre' - Wendy Holden, Daily Mail
'Hugely enjoyable' - Katie Fforde
'Utterly delicious' - Joanna Lumley
'Warm, light-hearted, fast-paced' - Joanne Harris
'Hugely entertaining' - Julian Fellowes
'Such a charming romp' - Fern Britton
'A shaft of early summer sunshine' - Daily Mail
'A delicious piece of entertainment' - The Times
Celia Imrie
Celia Imrie is an Olivier Award-winning and Screen Actors Guild-nominated actress. She is known for her film roles in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Calendar Girls, Nanny McPhee, Bridget Jones, Absolutely Fabulous, Finding Your Feet, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again and Good Grief. She is currently filming in the Netflix series The Diplomat. Celia Imrie is also the author of her autobiography, The Happy Hoofer, and the top ten Sunday Times bestselling novels in the Nice Trilogy – Not Quite Nice, Nice Work (If You Can Get It) and A Nice Cup of Tea - Sail Away and Orphans of the Storm. www.celiaimrie.info @CeliaImrie
Read more from Celia Imrie
Nice Work (If You Can Get It) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Orphans of the Storm Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sail Away Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Nice Series Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Not Quite Nice
Related ebooks
The Nice Series Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVictoire: My Mother's Mother Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Offer She Can't Refuse Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTime to Go Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTangled Tapestry Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Man in the Picture: A Ghost Story Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Runaway Governess Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsQueens, Harlots and Halos Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Cornish Secret Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTycoon's Unexpected Caribbean Fling: Get swept away with this sparkling summer romance! Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAuto da Fay: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mail Order Bride Camille: Silver River Brides, #2 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Death at the Deep End Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Forgotten Garden: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mount Royal, Volume 3 of 3 A Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVishHaya (The Serendib Saga) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBlue Water Blue Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAlphabet Weekends: Love on the Road from A to Z Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Miss Bracegirdle & Other Stories: "It was curious that the young man was almost precisely as he had pictured him" Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Widows' Gallery Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Night They Stormed Eureka Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Short Stories A-Z Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGirl Least Likely To: 30 years of fashion, fasting and Fleet Street Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Masterpiece of Nature Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMidnight Whispers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Indomitable Miss Lacey Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bracing Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Palace Beautiful: A Story for Girls Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Vignettes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOne Year After You: THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Romance For You
It Starts with Us: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Buzz Books 2023: Spring/Summer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Confess: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Heart Bones: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hopeless Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ugly Love: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Before We Were Strangers: A Love Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All Your Perfects: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Favorite Half-Night Stand Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5November 9: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Maybe Not: A Novella Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Erotic Fantasies Anthology Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Wuthering Heights Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Chased by Moonlight Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bossy: An Erotic Workplace Diary Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Without Merit: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Maybe Now: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Something Borrowed: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rosie Effect: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dating You / Hating You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stone Heart Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finding Perfect: A Novella Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Roomies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Swear on This Life: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Second Glance: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wish You Were Here: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tess of the d'Urbervilles Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Songs of Love and Death: All-Original Tales of Star-Crossed Love Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Under the Roses Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Related categories
Reviews for Not Quite Nice
30 ratings4 reviews
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5A very s-l-o-w start as the main character moves to the south of France and becomes a member of the ‘gang’ of retired middle-class ex-pats. My heart drooped as recipes were included. An ensemble cast, including a pantomime villain of a daughter. Ended up gathering pace and a plot, but not enough for me to want to delve into the future goings-on of the aged ‘gang’.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Theresa has lost her job and on impulse decides to "retire" to Southern France. She finds a lovely flat with a view of the harbor in Bellevue-Sur-Mer, a small village near Nice, where she meets a group of ex-pats, mostly British, who befriend her. But not all is perfect in paradise. A series of burglaries and a couple of vicious muggings have people on edge. Not to mention the family difficulties each of them has - cheating spouses, ungrateful children, dwindling funds, alcoholism, etc. In her debut novel, Imrie has given us a sort of “coming of old age” story. I loved Theresa, though I wanted to shake her a few times when she put up with bad treatment by her ungrateful, selfish daughter and her bratty grandchildren. Still, this is a woman who has always done her best and who is slowly but surely realizing that she deserves some pleasure in life. The cast of supporting characters was marvelous as well: the smooth and attentive Brian; Sally a former British TV star; Americans Carol and David; “dragon lady” Sian and her philandering Aussie husband Ted; the witty, seemingly never aging octogenarian Zoe; compliant Faith and her pushy son Alfie who insists she needs a mansion rather than the small flat she’d prefer; and gay couple Benjamin and William. I thought it was an enjoyable, fast novel. Perfect for a vacation read. The bad guys get what’s coming to them, and everyone learns a lesson or two. It’s not exactly a happily-ever-after ending, but it gives me hope for the future of these characters. There are two more books in the series (thus far), and I look forward to reading them.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I like to people watch and reading this was like an indulgent afternoon doing just that! Celia Imrie's first novel and being a successful British actress, it read like the script for a Saturday afternoon movie. You don't have to think too deeply or concentrate too hard on the plot. It rolls along easily and at times a little predictably but there are a few surprises along the way and it's easy to pick which character Celia would play!! A good book to take to the park or the beach or on a plane.....or to read while in lockdown.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This feels like Best Exotic Marigold Hotel meets Agatha Christie. That's not a bad thing.