Charlotte and Me

Having seen her friends Charlie and Alice so settled and happy, Grace sets out to find the woman of her dreams and hopefully not nightmares. So she dips her toe into online dating, but finds that doing so in your 50s is a minefield. Modern day dating involves swiping left or right rather than meeting at the pub, so she's forced into guessing a womans character through a few words and hoping that they aren't a psycho, a ghoster or ending up in a situationship. Amongst her friends there are wedding ideas and future plans are being made. Alice is now a published author and her job as an archaeologist is flourishing. However Charlie is bored and looking for new challenges, with ambitions of a change in lifestyle, but can she escape her hedonistic past and properly settle down with the woman that she loves? This novel is a sequel to Charlotte and Me and brings the group of friends together for more twists and turns and a spot of historical intrigue.

This first novel by carol Leyland tells the story of lesbian academic Alice Hargreaves who finds herself alone, divorced and lost since the discovery of her wife's infidelity. She is a late in life lesbian having being married to Harry before coming out in her 30s, Smarting and scared after her first lesbian romance ended so badly, she begins anew, in a run-down house in York. During her house renovations, she discovers old love, romance and the possibility of future love with her striking, charming and helpful neighbour Charlie. Inspired by the historical lesbian love letters she discovers in a hidden metal box under the floorboards, Alice finds hope. Their secrets, revealed in their historic writings, mirror the love and loss in Alice's own life, and give her courage to move on.