Cover Image: A Country Escape

A Country Escape

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Member Reviews

It was fairly enjoyable and moved at a fair speed. The plot kept me involved enough at I stayed up to finish it. But really? The plot has more holes than a Swiss cheese! There will be spoilers if I explain fully but I just couldn't suspend disbelief enough to get past the glaring inconsistences.

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This is a wonderful book - one of the best ones by the author. I love the setting: rural Englad with a close-knit community. There is a romantic storyline of course. Or rather two - both very enjoyable with very loveable people. I loved the characters in the book. IThere are wonderful women in the story, young and old, and most of the men are good match to them.
The storyline has the additional bonus of excitement created by the scoundrel in the story: Roy the Australian cousin. Right until the end we can't be 100% sure that the story will have a happy ending. But ib the end we can heave a sigh of relief of course. I do recommend this book to everyone with all my heart. You are going to have some really enjoyable time with it.

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I love Katie Fforde, nd have been eagerly awaiting this book. So pleased Net Galley provided it for me! It started of a bit slow, but that may partly have been that I’d read the first chapter in her last book. I got past that, then couldn’t put it down. Katie Fforde does it again, a feel good story, with a slight twist, and an e citing ending, that kep me guessing right up until the end. I loved it!

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I’m a big fan of Katie Fforde and I am pleased to say her latest novel did not disappoint, it is full of heart with characters you care about. A great read from the queen of women’s fiction. If you’re a fan of this genre, you don’t want to miss this - it’s a light but big hearted read.

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I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy of this book. I especially enjoyed it as I live in Bristol not far from the Cotswolds where this book is set. Indeed one of my grandfather's sisters married a farmer and made butter and cream in her Cotswold dairy. It was a fine read for a cold winter's evening with a handsome hero and a villain to hiss at..

Twenty-seven year old Fran who has been working as a chef in London has a year to prove to a distant relative that she is a fit person to inherit a Cotswold dairy farm and that she can make it pay. She is helped in this by her best friend Issy who just happens to be a grass expert and her handsome rich neighbour. Anthony. Pure escapism.

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What a wonderful warm hug of a story, I felt completely at home reading this book right from the first pages and really didn't want it to end, as the characters were so lovely.

It is such a shame that I'm not a fan of cheese, as I think this book is even better for those that can't live without cheese, as it is one of the main features of book. I have learnt far more about dairy farming and the making of soft cheese than I ever thought possible. This is just one in a long line of professions that I feel I know a lot better after reading a book by Katie Fforde.



There are two potential heirs for Hill Top Farm, but its Fran who responds to the letter and agrees to live at the farm for a year and try to make it profitable in order to gain the inheritance as and when Mrs Flowers does pass away. I loved Frans regular visits to Amy Flowers, and it was clear she came to care for the old lady a great deal.

Being a chef Fran's solutions to how to make more money from a dairy farm involved food, but none of her plans would ever come to anything without a large injection of cash.

There are some adorable scenes involving baby animals, and even if Fran isn't a native farmer she does clearly care about animals, although I'm not sure she will ever love the cows. She does love the views on the farm, and I loved seeing her determination to turn the farm around, along with her best friend.

Easily one of my favourite books by this always talented author, I loved every second of A Country Escape and it almost made me want to leave London in order to become a farmer myself.

Thank you to Cornerstone Digital and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

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I always love Katie Fforde's books and I could put this one down until I finished it, so read this in two days (very quick for me!) I really liked following Fran's story of running her distant relatives farm to see and to see if she would inherit. You knew that the Roy character was likely to come unstuck and his arrogance that him being a male relative that was all that was required! Glad that everything worked out in the end, for all of the characters involved.

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Post shall be up on my blog 22/02 thecosiestcorner.blogspot.com

This is the first novel I've ever read by Katie Fforde (and have plenty more on my TBR pile!) and I must say that I was really enjoying it. I loved the setting so much and really enjoyed that it started in the country and I felt as though the story got started straight away and was really easy to read.

The story follows main character Fran, who gets a letter from a distant relative asking her to come and trial running the farm. If she manages to make the farm earn money and does so for a year, then Amy (her relative) will think about handing over the farm to Fran. Of course, Fran feels out of her depth with this, but she soon decides to give it a go and she quits her job and moves out to the country.

Best friend Issi is by her side when she moves in to the cute little cottage and they soon set about making the cottage more liveable and better looking. The setting itself is idyllic and I loved it. These type of books always make me want to quit my own job and start running a farm! But I think I'd be more like Fran and not know where to even start!

When the truck that takes the milk lets Fran know that they can't come due to the farms broken track, Fran realises that this is where the farm is going wrong. Tig (the one who helps with the cows) says to just chuck the milk away but Fran has other ideas. As she was a chef before she came down to help Amy, she decides to make cheese with the surplus milk. And honestly, some parts of it left my mouth watering!

I really enjoyed reading this story and getting to know all of the characters. I really loved Issi and found myself relating to Fran and her struggles. I was a bit dubious of Anthony to begin with but it still made a lovely story! Overall, a lovely romantic novel which you will lose yourself in. Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for a chance to read this novel, which I have reviewed honestly.

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What a gorgeous book. I always look forward to a new Katie Fforde book and this one didn't disappoint.

With an idyllic setting and characters that you are genuinely rooting for, I loved getting immersed in the lovely story of Fran, Antony, Isi, Trig and not forgetting Amy.

This was just the type of book that you can pick up and immediately get lost in - I did!

A lovely story with equally lovely characters, I'm already looking forward to the next.

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When Fran receives a letter from a very distant relative of hers asking her to come and look after her farm for her and if she does well she may inherit it. Fran.takes a chance and moves and tries to save the farm despite it having debts. Can she make a go of it? Having trained as a chef she tries using surplus milk to make cheese. I don’t know about cheese making but it seems to be very well researched and interesting. At some points my mouth was watering with the descriptions of the cheeses. A great read perfect for Mother’s Day.

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