Blog Tour: A New Life in Amsterdam by Helga Jensen

 

Sandy is feeling a bit lost in life. Her ex husband has moved back to Australia and started a new life, and now her daughter has done the same thing. Sandy tends to make herself feel better with impulse buys. Her house is stuffed with items and clothes that she just had to have but they after the initial buzz when she purchases them, they don't really bring her any joy.

When she makes the biggest online impulse buy of them all, a houseboat on a canal in Amsterdam, it is a chance for a new adventure, a new start. Amsterdam was a place that she visited years before with her friend and loved, and so it almost feels like a dream to be able to live there.  The houseboat needs a lot of work inside and out, and before long Sandy finds herself immersed in life in Amsterdam, mainly thanks to her friendly and very attractive neighbour, Abe, and the real estate agent who sold her the boat.

I did enjoy all the sights and sounds of Amsterdam, especially when Sandy's former neighbour Debbie came to visit. 

It would be totally cool to be able to stay on a houseboat in the middle of Amsterdam and be right in the city. I don't know that I would want to have to do all the renovations, although my husband does love a project so it could be right up his alley.

In some ways this book felt a bit surface level to me. Whilst her shopaholic tendencies were important in setting up the story, they were just glossed over that, almost like the problem was solved as soon as she moved into the houseboat. If there's one thing that I do know from having moved countries and states it is that the one constant is you, and so your problems do tend to go with you.

My brother in law and his family live in the Netherlands, not too far from Amsterdam, so the likelihood is quite high that I will visit there again. I am slowly collecting a few ideas for places I would like to visit when next we go there. For example, from Melissa Ashley's The Naturalist of Amsterdam I found out about Hortus Botanicus, the oldest botanical gardens in the world. If I could only choose one place to visit from this book it would be the Amsterdam Boekenmarkt - the book market.

I did also find myself going down the rabbit hole looking at felted animals. They look so cute!

Helga Jensen writes the kind of books I love to read right now. They feature older characters making a new start in amazing places. I look forward to reading more from her! Oh, and how lovely is this cover!

I am sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted at The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews. Thanks to the publisher, Rachel's Random Resources and Netgalley for the review copy.

Rating 3.5/5

About the book

A New Life in Amsterdam

Could down-sizing her life mean up-sizing her dreams?

Since her daughter grew up and left home, Sandy has found herself filling her house with things - impulse purchases that she just has to have but that quickly lose their sheen. Why would she need an expensive set of copper pans when she has no one to cook for?

Realising that her shopping habit is out of control, she asks herself: can she de-clutter, downsize and start a new life?

She has always wanted to live on a barge, and she reasons that there is no way she would have room for random purchases on a boat. Taking the bravest decision of her life, Sandy buys and refurbishes a barge in the beautiful city of Amsterdam.

Relishing her independence, she is not looking for love, but as the nights draw in and the leaves start to fall from the trees, she finds herself drawn to cafe owner and expert hot chocolate maker Abe.

Is she willing to take a second chance on finding the one?

Purchase Link - https://geni.us/k2IyNBF

About the Author 

Helga Jensen is an internationally award-winning British/Danish best selling author and journalist. Her debut novel was a winning entry in the 2017 Montegrappa First Fiction competition at Dubai’s Emirates Literary Festival. Her debut was also a contender for the coveted 2021 Joan Hessayon Award for new writers. Helga's best selling novel, Fly me to Paris, was a finalist for the 2024 Popular Romantic Fiction Award. In 2025, her novel, A Christmas in Prague, was also a finalist for the Popular Romantic Fiction Award.



Helga holds a BA Hons in English Literature and Creative Writing, along with a Creative Writing MA from Bath Spa University. She is currently finishing a Creative Writing PhD.



Social Media Links –

Twitter - @HelgajensenF

Instagram - @Helgajensenauthor

Facebook - @Helgajensenfordeauthor