Tomorrow Starts Today

by Jessica Redland

Join Yvonne, Paulette, Veronica, Milly, and Laughlin along with others who gather for the Cake & Craft Club held every Wednesday at the Willowdale Village Hall at 2-4 p.m. It’s open to all regardless of hobby interest or skill level. Yvonne is a widow with no family or friends—just a African Grey Parrot, Trevor, and a secret she has never shared with anyone. She is at a dead end when she sees a notification in the local paper for this group and decides to take a risk. The members of the Cake & Craft Club welcome her with open arms and extend to her the same kindness they need as well.

Despite the problems each one of the characters has with dysfunctional families and other stumbling blocks, Tomorrow Starts Today is a story filled with hope and kindness. Part of the positivity comes from the generous nature of the characters and part comes from 19 year old Saffy, Paulette’s granddaughter. She is living temporarily with Paulette after dropping out of college after the first term. Her parents are upset with her, but the creative and artistic young lady has tried to explain that she needs some time to figure out what she wants to do. Saffy has a hobby of journaling and she shares her ideas and philosophies with the group, stimulating many of them to examine their own lives and effect changes they have been hesitant to make. 

The story is full of active and former romances as most of the characters are retired or approaching that age. Some are wondering if there is only one destined soulmate per person or if they are too old to be involved in romance. Some have had traumatic events that keep them from reaching out to others and some have used those traumatic events to spur them into being good listeners and sounding boards for others in pain.

“Tomorrow Starts Today” is a good title for this book. Yvonne and her friends discover through journaling and goal setting how to find their futures and act on a plan. With Saffy’s artistic flair, the projects become a cross between journaling and scrapbooking complete with washi tape, stickers, and ribbons.

I enjoyed the camaraderie, the journey to trusting others, and the gradual disclosure of Yvonne’s family mysteries. I highly recommend it.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Rating: 5/5

Category: Fiction, Romance, Women’s Fiction

Notes: 1. Clean

    2. # 5 in the Escape to the Lakes series. I have read the other books in this series, and I reread my reviews and the publisher summaries to refresh my memory on the characters and events in previous books in the series. That search was actually not necessary. Although there are some minor crossover references to other books, this book is an enjoyable standalone—plot and characters are complete in Tomorrow Starts Today.

Publication:  January 8, 2026—Boldwood Books

Memorable Lines:

Me! I was stopping me. It was that little voice in my head that told me that when you started spending time with people, you had to talk to them about more than the weather and everyday life. You needed to exchange stories about the past and that was where things became tricky.

“Families should be there to heal each other—not to be the ones causing the wounds.” Absolutely that, but life was rarely that straightforward.

That was the appropriate point for hugs and, as I squeezed Veronica tightly, I marveled at how long I’d gone without physical human contact and how powerful and restorative it could be.