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A Perfect Year?
1990s England. Ali and Caroline are neighbours but not friends in leafy Upley Rising. Ali battles with money troubles and multiple children while Caroline has rock star connections and always gets what she wants. Then there’s respectable Robert, the third neighbour, whose life takes an unexpected turn.
Every December Ali, Caroline and Robert write up their year’s news into cheery round robin newsletters for everyone they know. What a wonderful year it’s been: Charles has been promoted twice, Max is the school orchestra’s top tuba player and Clementine’s child modelling career progression is meteoric. But what about the longstanding local murder mystery? Or the strange goings on at Upley Rising’s 300 year-old summer festival?
Whose letters can you really believe?
Every December Ali, Caroline and Robert write up their year’s news into cheery round robin newsletters for everyone they know. What a wonderful year it’s been: Charles has been promoted twice, Max is the school orchestra’s top tuba player and Clementine’s child modelling career progression is meteoric. But what about the longstanding local murder mystery? Or the strange goings on at Upley Rising’s 300 year-old summer festival?
Whose letters can you really believe?
308 pages, Paperback
Published October 17, 2024
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31 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 20, 2025
What a wonderful debut novel from Ruth Foster! Foster uses the Annual Christmas Family Newsletter as the way she tells of 20 years of life in Upland Rising in England. A magnificent idea and you quickly get to know who's who and what's what in this town as she follows 3 families. The wealthy posh family who are snobbish and full of themselves, the poor artist and librarian family who are always on the verge of poverty and yet have 5 children (including 2 sets of twins). And finally a lawyer who moves back to Upland Rising to care for his mother who is suffering from diminished capacity, as well as his autistic brother. And they all live within one block of each other, some right across the street from each other. I mean this is one great read, as we sift through hidden meanings and family secrets we get to use our own judgement as to who is telling the truth in these yearly missives.
I was extremely impressed by the amount of details in the book as not only do we have these fictional families but Foster intersperses historical events. The one chapter that deals with the Queens Jubilee is hilarious as all 3 families have direct interaction for the first time.
This is a solid 4.5**** and I only wish the book had not ended in 2007, but maybe, just maybe, Ruth Foster will have a 2nd novel that will continue this wonderful saga!!!! Kudos Ruth!!!!!
I was extremely impressed by the amount of details in the book as not only do we have these fictional families but Foster intersperses historical events. The one chapter that deals with the Queens Jubilee is hilarious as all 3 families have direct interaction for the first time.
This is a solid 4.5**** and I only wish the book had not ended in 2007, but maybe, just maybe, Ruth Foster will have a 2nd novel that will continue this wonderful saga!!!! Kudos Ruth!!!!!
May 16, 2025
What a fabulous way to tell a story. A perfect year is told via End of year holiday letters from multiple characters. Facing the highs and lows of the community they live in, worklife friendships and family dramas. We get to read about it all.
Character wise I think they were all fairly relatable however I really didn't like Caroline very much something about her really just grated my soul lol so much so I loved when her daughter Clem sabotaged the wellness festival. Haha!
I loved how much depth each letter had to it as we followed their individual journeys. Kudos to them for writing such lengthy letters, lol. It's all emails or texts these days, so I definitely enjoyed that aspect.
This is a book that will have you rolling your eyes one minute and then gasping the next in between laughing or bordering on outrage. I highly recommend that this one get added to your shelves.
Thank you to InstaBookTours and Ruth Foster for a copy of the book and readalong opportunity.
Character wise I think they were all fairly relatable however I really didn't like Caroline very much something about her really just grated my soul lol so much so I loved when her daughter Clem sabotaged the wellness festival. Haha!
I loved how much depth each letter had to it as we followed their individual journeys. Kudos to them for writing such lengthy letters, lol. It's all emails or texts these days, so I definitely enjoyed that aspect.
This is a book that will have you rolling your eyes one minute and then gasping the next in between laughing or bordering on outrage. I highly recommend that this one get added to your shelves.
Thank you to InstaBookTours and Ruth Foster for a copy of the book and readalong opportunity.
February 22, 2025
This book will scratch your Brit comedy itch - the kind that usually has you parked in front of BritBox, tea in hand, nodding appreciatively at the familiar chaos of village life. But here, instead of sitting slack-jawed in front of a screen, you get to soak up the sharp wit and quiet absurdities at your own pace. The characters are just as exasperating, the mishaps just as inevitable, and the humour just as wry - only this time, it’s all on the page.
Told through hilariously unreliable round-robin Christmas letters, this epistolary novel unpacks the carefully curated chaos of three neighboring families in a 1990s English village. Ali’s household is a whirlwind of kids and financial catastrophes, Caroline’s oozes glamour (and $4000 face creams), and Robert’s quiet respectability hides more than he lets on. Behind the cheery updates lurk feuds, mysteries, and the unsettling events of the village’s pagan summer festival.
At first, one of the character’s voices felt so intentionally smug and self-righteous, I found the contrivance distracting. But once settled in, I started to enjoy the sheer audacity of it. By the end of the book, I was properly invested and surprised when the last letter concluded so abruptly. I expect by the time it’s published [THANK YOU NetGalley for the ARC] we’ll see an epilogue.
Told through hilariously unreliable round-robin Christmas letters, this epistolary novel unpacks the carefully curated chaos of three neighboring families in a 1990s English village. Ali’s household is a whirlwind of kids and financial catastrophes, Caroline’s oozes glamour (and $4000 face creams), and Robert’s quiet respectability hides more than he lets on. Behind the cheery updates lurk feuds, mysteries, and the unsettling events of the village’s pagan summer festival.
At first, one of the character’s voices felt so intentionally smug and self-righteous, I found the contrivance distracting. But once settled in, I started to enjoy the sheer audacity of it. By the end of the book, I was properly invested and surprised when the last letter concluded so abruptly. I expect by the time it’s published [THANK YOU NetGalley for the ARC] we’ll see an epilogue.
March 3, 2025
A Perfect Year by Ruth Foster is an intriguing novel told in end of the year holiday letters from multiple perspectives. We get to see multiple perspectives of these neighbors’ interactions throughout the years and how their lives develop.
Overall, this was an interesting format. I felt it took a bit to draw me into this story. It took me a while to get invested in the story, but by the end, I was drawn into the neighbors’ drama. I also didn’t really like any of the characters; however, that doesn’t keep a story from being enjoyable!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for access to an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
Overall, this was an interesting format. I felt it took a bit to draw me into this story. It took me a while to get invested in the story, but by the end, I was drawn into the neighbors’ drama. I also didn’t really like any of the characters; however, that doesn’t keep a story from being enjoyable!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for access to an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
June 1, 2025
The story:
Every year, certain residents of Paradise Road send out their annual Christmas letters to family and friends. From momentous life changes to the intricacies of the village (town, borough?) hierarchy in Upley Rising (not to mention a decades old mystery of a local murderer), Caroline, Ali and Robert share their news with their nearest and dearest. But reading between the lines, are they all telling the whole truth?
My thoughts:
I was excited to read “A Perfect Year?” by Ruth Foster, as I love books written in the form of letters or diary entries (from “The Diary of a Provincial Lady” to Janice Hallet’s great novels). This story is presented in the form of annual Christmas letters, spanning many years (from 1998 to 2007) in the lives of three families.
While each of our main correspondents – the snobbish and entitled Caroline, the chaotic Ali and the gentle Robert – are neighbours, they are not friends (I doubt they receive each other’s letters!).
The awful Caroline is hilarious, and definitely not one to cross – if you do, you can expect to hear from her lawyer, whether you install a loft conversion she doesn’t like or object to her own magnificent rear extension. Ali is also very funny (although more intentionally so), with her self-deprecating letters describing her ever-increasing family as they roll from one catastrophe to the next. Robert is a very endearing character, living a quietly kind life with his brother in the family home, with interests spanning choral singing and model trains.
Of course, being neighbours, their letters often narrate the same events, and this was my favourite feature of the book – the wild discrepancies between the accounts!
Between them all, we get a sense of the day-to-day lives of these characters through the years, and the ups and downs that form their ‘perfect years’. This was a great read that I found genuinely funny, and would definitely recommend if you’re looking for something fun to read with characters you really end up loving.
Every year, certain residents of Paradise Road send out their annual Christmas letters to family and friends. From momentous life changes to the intricacies of the village (town, borough?) hierarchy in Upley Rising (not to mention a decades old mystery of a local murderer), Caroline, Ali and Robert share their news with their nearest and dearest. But reading between the lines, are they all telling the whole truth?
My thoughts:
I was excited to read “A Perfect Year?” by Ruth Foster, as I love books written in the form of letters or diary entries (from “The Diary of a Provincial Lady” to Janice Hallet’s great novels). This story is presented in the form of annual Christmas letters, spanning many years (from 1998 to 2007) in the lives of three families.
While each of our main correspondents – the snobbish and entitled Caroline, the chaotic Ali and the gentle Robert – are neighbours, they are not friends (I doubt they receive each other’s letters!).
The awful Caroline is hilarious, and definitely not one to cross – if you do, you can expect to hear from her lawyer, whether you install a loft conversion she doesn’t like or object to her own magnificent rear extension. Ali is also very funny (although more intentionally so), with her self-deprecating letters describing her ever-increasing family as they roll from one catastrophe to the next. Robert is a very endearing character, living a quietly kind life with his brother in the family home, with interests spanning choral singing and model trains.
Of course, being neighbours, their letters often narrate the same events, and this was my favourite feature of the book – the wild discrepancies between the accounts!
Between them all, we get a sense of the day-to-day lives of these characters through the years, and the ups and downs that form their ‘perfect years’. This was a great read that I found genuinely funny, and would definitely recommend if you’re looking for something fun to read with characters you really end up loving.
July 22, 2025
I read this one whilst on holiday in Rhodes last month and it was the perfect sun bed companion. It's an easy, entertaining read, well written with humour and style.
I've always been fond of stories told in the form of letters and Ruth Foster does this particularly well. I have never written or sent a Christmas Round Robin letter, but have received a few over the years. I've always found the whole concept of updating people about your family, once a year, quite strange. I think it is similar to those people who insist on showing you all 276 of their holiday photos!
The three characters; Ali, Caroline and Robert, all live in the same area but they don't associate with one another, they are completely different in their family set up, their outlook and their social standing. However, because they live near each other, they all relate stories about the same things in their letters and it is fascinating to see the differing points of view of each writer.
This is a novel for those of us who are nosey! Those of us who are interested in ordinary people and their lives. The characters are great and the writing really flows so well. I enjoyed this and would recommend.
I've always been fond of stories told in the form of letters and Ruth Foster does this particularly well. I have never written or sent a Christmas Round Robin letter, but have received a few over the years. I've always found the whole concept of updating people about your family, once a year, quite strange. I think it is similar to those people who insist on showing you all 276 of their holiday photos!
The three characters; Ali, Caroline and Robert, all live in the same area but they don't associate with one another, they are completely different in their family set up, their outlook and their social standing. However, because they live near each other, they all relate stories about the same things in their letters and it is fascinating to see the differing points of view of each writer.
This is a novel for those of us who are nosey! Those of us who are interested in ordinary people and their lives. The characters are great and the writing really flows so well. I enjoyed this and would recommend.
May 22, 2025
3.5🌟
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A big thank you once again to @ruthfosterauthor and @instabooktours for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! I was most drawn to this book by the writing style, the story is told through 3 different perspectives, all through holiday letters they send to their family and friends. You can piece together the story yourself and it’s so interesting seeing how different families view different events. Straight off the bat I adored Ali and her hectic mum life, as a mum to two wild tiny ones I loved her honesty! And of course, any good book isn’t without a villain and Caroline is that person we’ve all met before, thinks they’re above everyone else and doesn’t understand anything negative said about them. These characters are all so well written despite being presented to us in a series of letters and it brought back so much nostalgia for me of round robin letters from my childhood, so much so that I think I might restart the tradition this year!
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A big thank you once again to @ruthfosterauthor and @instabooktours for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! I was most drawn to this book by the writing style, the story is told through 3 different perspectives, all through holiday letters they send to their family and friends. You can piece together the story yourself and it’s so interesting seeing how different families view different events. Straight off the bat I adored Ali and her hectic mum life, as a mum to two wild tiny ones I loved her honesty! And of course, any good book isn’t without a villain and Caroline is that person we’ve all met before, thinks they’re above everyone else and doesn’t understand anything negative said about them. These characters are all so well written despite being presented to us in a series of letters and it brought back so much nostalgia for me of round robin letters from my childhood, so much so that I think I might restart the tradition this year!
March 22, 2025
A Perfect Year by Ruth Foster tells the story of three families living in the same neighbourhood over many decades, through their holiday letters. Robert, Alison and Caroline (and their families) each write an annual Christmas letter and we get to see multiple perspectives of these neighbors’ interactions throughout the years and how their lives develop.
The format was really interesting. I generally enjoy epistolary books so this was right up my alley. It did take me a while to get into the story and remember that there were three families writing and not just two. By the end, I was quite invested in their stories! I did feel like the characters were a bit one-dimensional and there wasn't a lot of character growth but it was still an enjoyable read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
The format was really interesting. I generally enjoy epistolary books so this was right up my alley. It did take me a while to get into the story and remember that there were three families writing and not just two. By the end, I was quite invested in their stories! I did feel like the characters were a bit one-dimensional and there wasn't a lot of character growth but it was still an enjoyable read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
May 22, 2025
Without a doubt, one of the most entertaining novels I've read this year!
Ali, Caroline and Robert are neighbours in leafy Upley Rising but there the similarities end. They differ in their families, finances and outlook in life. However, each of them write an annual 'Round Robin' Christmas newsletter, with their highs and lows of the previous twelve months - and how their opinions differ, even on the same subjects! And then there's the mystery of a local murder . . .
Such a terrific read! I've experienced every emotion reading this novel, often giggling away to myself (much to my husband's amusement). Not only a stunning debut but also a fabulously enjoyable book which I have no hesitation in recommending and giving all five glowing stars.
Ali, Caroline and Robert are neighbours in leafy Upley Rising but there the similarities end. They differ in their families, finances and outlook in life. However, each of them write an annual 'Round Robin' Christmas newsletter, with their highs and lows of the previous twelve months - and how their opinions differ, even on the same subjects! And then there's the mystery of a local murder . . .
Such a terrific read! I've experienced every emotion reading this novel, often giggling away to myself (much to my husband's amusement). Not only a stunning debut but also a fabulously enjoyable book which I have no hesitation in recommending and giving all five glowing stars.
January 28, 2025
I have thoroughly enjoyed Ruth's book. Such an interesting a different take to a non-fiction book structure. We have laugh, gasped, got intrigued, rolled eyes, empathise and outraged... Highly recommend it. PS: Humphreys is still my fav one.
May 31, 2025
Having been the recipient of "Round Robins" at Christmas and knowing the hilarity and exaggeration that they can generate, I was drawn to this Readalong, and it didn't disappoint. There were loads of places where I "snorted" with amusement at the antics and situations that the characters found themselves in.
The characters and their stories were very relatable. Like Ali and Ant, I have twins and the stories about the twins brought back vivid memories from resting (ha, ha) after a cesarean, the twins working as a team for their antics and explorations or combing nit infested hair " not an option unless we wanted a nightly visit from the police to investigate the screams!"
My favourite character has to be Caroline because she is so awful! Totally self-centered and absorbed, pushing aside, sometimes quite literally, with sharp elbows and stilettos, others and things that get in her social climbing and aspirational quest. She will always "come up smiling" despite any negativity in her life.
I loved reading about life in Upley Rising through the eyes of Ali, Caroline, and Robert and could definitely see a sequel and continuation of their "Round Robins" in another book!
The characters and their stories were very relatable. Like Ali and Ant, I have twins and the stories about the twins brought back vivid memories from resting (ha, ha) after a cesarean, the twins working as a team for their antics and explorations or combing nit infested hair " not an option unless we wanted a nightly visit from the police to investigate the screams!"
My favourite character has to be Caroline because she is so awful! Totally self-centered and absorbed, pushing aside, sometimes quite literally, with sharp elbows and stilettos, others and things that get in her social climbing and aspirational quest. She will always "come up smiling" despite any negativity in her life.
I loved reading about life in Upley Rising through the eyes of Ali, Caroline, and Robert and could definitely see a sequel and continuation of their "Round Robins" in another book!
June 2, 2025
First off, I really enjoyed the quirky way this book has been presented. The story is told through ‘round robin’ style newsletters from three very different families living on the same street.
The characters felt so real. The author has fantastically captured 1990s England and the everyday struggles, joys, and mishaps of family life.
Of course, the updates are trying to look as positive as possible, especially from Caroline, who on the surface seems to lead the perfect life. But, through snippets we get from the different members of each household and their take on the neighbours, we get a very different story.
I found it a very enjoyable read. It was comical at times, engaging and even nostalgic. Especially those end of millennium entries! I found the characters likeable and realistic and found myself loving being wrapped up in their story.
The characters felt so real. The author has fantastically captured 1990s England and the everyday struggles, joys, and mishaps of family life.
Of course, the updates are trying to look as positive as possible, especially from Caroline, who on the surface seems to lead the perfect life. But, through snippets we get from the different members of each household and their take on the neighbours, we get a very different story.
I found it a very enjoyable read. It was comical at times, engaging and even nostalgic. Especially those end of millennium entries! I found the characters likeable and realistic and found myself loving being wrapped up in their story.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews