This novel marks a return to comfortable territory for Fiona Walker and there is much that her faithful readers will love here; in many ways, Walker seems to have her eye on taking over the reins from Jilly Cooper as a writer of warm and witty rural tales.

The story is set in two small neighbouring villages in the beautiful English countryside and features a large cast of appealing characters whose lives interweave because of their involvement in rural life (hunting and horse-riding take central stage). At the centre of the story is the village stud farm and a woman, Ronnie Ledwell, who abandoned her husband and small children to run off with her lover many years prior to the events of the novel. When her father dies, leaving the stud farm to an uncertain future, it is up to Ronnie to face the family and places she left behind in order to make amends.

Although the main focus of the novel is the stud farm, there are many sub-plots as Walker also features the stories of Petra, a middle-aged village mum dealing with her SMC (Safe Married Crush); Carly, a young woman struggling with her war veteran husband; Kit, a theatre director managing his bereavement; and Pip, a slightly odd housekeeper at the stud farm and general busybody. As with Walker's other books, the characters are quirky and interesting, but still realistic, and there is real humour to be found in the everyday life that she presents.

Although I found the book quite cosy and familiar in places (exactly what I'd expect from a Fiona Walker novel), there was also tragedy interwoven into the stories. Intense grief, hidden family secrets and painful truths all feature heavily, something I personally didn't wholly love. I felt that the resolution wasn't as satisfying as in some of Walker's previous novels in that some of the strands of the story felt unfinished. I did wonder if this was the start of a series of books, in which case the stories may be resolved elsewhere, but it wasn't evident. I also found the horse-riding references a bit overdone and confusing in places as I'm not a horsey person myself!

Overall, there's much to love here for Fiona Walker's fans, although it doesn't reach the heady heights of 'French Relations' and 'Well Groomed' or some of the other classics in my view. Great if you love horses and like big slices of jolly country life served with a side of sadness.