Katie Fforde’s books just keep getting better and better. I loved this one so much that I also downloaded the Audible version to listen to whilst gardening. A bonus of a book: two romances, one for a mother and the other for her daughter. A range of interesting and likeable characters and an intriguing storyline. Perfect springtime reading.

Katie Fford's books have kept me company through much of my adult life, from the end of university, marriage, kids, and now, as we live in this surreal world of COVID-19.
I was smitten with the story of Helena and her 'not romantic at all' relationship with her evil, about to evict her, landlord, Jago, as well as the tale of Gilly, Helena's mother, who has side away from love after her divorce.
Needless to say, there's definitely a happy ending, with a few wrong 'uns thrown in, along the way.
I love how Fford writes in a way that makes the reader lose themselves in the story, forgetting reality while being immersed in her lovely stories.
Definitely a great feel-good romance!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Again, Katie Fforde doesn’t disappoint. A weaver, a builder, parents, divorce, boyfriends, girlfriends, food, houses. All mixed together in a charming story that I can read and reread again and again. A perfect summer time read.

Just what you need on a sunny day in lockdown!!

Gilly runs a successful B&B in her family home. Divorced and single.
Helena is her daughter. She is also single and runs a weaving business but is shortly to be homeless.
Martin is her son. Married with a daughter but wants her to sell her business and let them buy a larger house with a Granny Annexe.

Gilly is not ready for that though. Can Mother and daughter change their lives and find happiness?

Just to clarify that my library is in a primary school and Is the only reason I wouldn’t purchase it.

I am a huge Katie Fforde fan and find her books pure escapism. Gently told, with relatable characters and moments, I find myself lost in their stories. I like the lack of swearing and violence and feel as though I could picture every part of the story through her brilliant descriptions.

I will be buying this for my mum who is also a massive fan.

Helena and her mum have an excellent relationship and are both on the cusp of new relationships. We move through the story as the two women learn more and more about themselves, their strengths and their new partners. Of course, there are hiccups along the way, the course of true love never did run smooth, but happily there is an ending to satisfy those dreamers!

Loved it!

I totally enjoyed this book by Katie Fforde. I like the plot and her writing style. Will definitely be checking out other books written by her in the future.

I have only just received this book, but have since listened to it on Audible. I am a huge fan of Katie Fforde, and this book did not disappoint. I love the descriptive way she used to explain everything along the way, giving me a great picture in my head of the farms and the area. I loved the characters, and couldn't stop listening. Another great read, loved it.

Katie Fforde is a great writer but I have not been all together impressed with recent books. In this one, she steps back up to the plate and offers an interesting and complex story of two women - a mother and daughter dealing with love and family and responsibility.

I thoroughly disliked Gilly's son and his wife - what an utterly selfish pair!! Helene and Jago were a lovely couple and I liked their journey to a happy ending. Gilly and William were a much better pairing than Gilly and Leo. Katie's books are a real comfort read and so I highly recommend this story.

I received an ARC from Netgalley. 3 stars.

Wow Katie Fforde has done it again and I'm so incredibly grateful. Thanks to netgalley for the copy but I must admit that I bought it for my mum for mother's day and sneakily borrowed it as soon as it left her hands.
This book literally has everything I need right now, including so much shortbread. I am craving it a bit now.
I adored the story of Helena and Jago, it began with rescuing a kitten, so what more can I say. Her mother Gilly is also absolutely gorgeous and that's before I get onto the aunts. Honestly the characters are so charming and loveable, as always with Katie Fforde's novels.
Suffice it to say, this book is utterly delightful and the perfect antidote to these dark times. Thank you so much.

This is an enjoyable story about a warm relationship between mother and daughter, both finding new love.

Gilly is in her 50s and divorced with two grown-up children. She's happy with her life running a B&B until her son Martin makes her question whether she should give it up and sell her property so that she can give money to her children to help them along in life. Although she definitely isn't keen on living in a granny-annexe, understandably so when she's only in her 50's! She meets Leo who starts to sweep her off her feet, but she begins to question the reasons behind his appearance in her life. Meanwhile her accountant William is quietly in the background offering her sound advice and offering to take her gliding.

Helena is a strong independent woman on her late twenties making a career from weaving and is not interested in men, until she meets Jago. I enjoyed reading their relationship as it was mutually supportive until some questions about Jago's past arise. I have to confess I have no idea how to pronounce the name 'Jago' so I think I said it differently in my head every time I read it!

I found some parts of the relationships between the men and women in the story problematic, and while some were intentionally made so by the author I had misgivings that some of these tropes are still being used and some aspects of the attitudes held by the men were troublesome and weren't resolved by the end of the book.

This was an enjoyable, light hearted read, I give this book 2 out of 5.

I'd not read anything by this author before, so I was intriged - and she is definitely one I will be seeking out. I'm always slightly nervous of books that are described as 'charming', but actually there is no better word - enjoyable without being trite, and really well written.

A Springtime Affair, published on February 20th 2020, is British author Katie Fforde’s 30th novel. A quick Google search of her suggests that she writes fluffy romance novels: her book covers are delicate drawings of women surrounded by colorful backdrops and their titles include words such as affair, love, proposal and wedding. However, A Springtime Affair – and I believe the rest of the author’s books are the same way – is a lot more than a romantic beach read. It’s a book that takes advantage of its romantic appeal to approach heavy topics (that are quite common in real life) which are rarely addressed in commercial fiction.
After a messy divorce, Gilly turned the house where she raised her two children into a bed and breakfast that she now manages completely on her own. Her daughter Helena is a talented weaver who lives in a tiny apartment where she also runs her own business, just like her mother. They’re both used to not depending on anyone, but suddenly they each have a new man in their lives. Real estate agent Leo is very interested in showing Gilly the world, and he wants to convince her to sell the house she loves to help Helena’s brother buy a mansion. And Jago, Helena’s landlord, needs her to find a new place, but he doesn’t want her to be without a weaving studio for her loom. Who are these men who are endangering their homes and their feelings?
Katie Fforde came up with two very different protagonists and she able to give them distinct voices that are age-appropriate (they are a twenty-something woman and a fifty-something woman). In spite of their differences, they’re both strong and confident women who share a beautiful relationship. They’re objectively good people, but they’re still complex and imperfect characters. They are capable of unleashing, as Helena put it, their inner bitches.
By creating mother-daughter main characters, the author inevitably explores family dynamics. But she did so in a unique and unexpected way. I’d say the main theme of this novel is the matter of how much of their own lives parents should give up in favor of their adult children. Should a grown child’s needs be more important than your own? Where do you draw the line? When is your child abusing and manipulating you?
The arrogance with which some children treat their parents is also displayed: they believe their parents owe them everything they want and they think they have a right to all their belongings and time. Besides, what kind of relationship do we have with our parents, and how much attention do we give them once we’ve grown up? How do we treat those who’ve always taken care of us? Gilly’s son tells her “Mum! I am your son! You shouldn’t expect compliments!”, but shouldn’t children also make sure their parents feel appreciated? How many of us truly understand that a parent is a person just like everyone else, someone with needs and insecurities?
A Springtime Affair also has a strong feminist side. The author made sure to expose the way many men try to manipulate and diminish women by undermining their problems and obligations, as if a woman’s life could be rearranged according to a man’s wants. A woman’s independence and achievements are something that Katie Fforde values a lot. A woman’s work is important and valuable. We’re not just mothers, and we’re definitely not just grannies who should stay home taking care of the kids. And, besides its feminist aspect, this book is also gay-friendly. Gilly says the following about Jago: “Could he be gay? It wouldn’t be a thing that was wrong with him of course but it did make him unsuitable for Helena.” This 67-year-old author of heterosexual romance novels is not homophobic, so no one has an excuse.
This book also approaches issues such as:
• the insecurity that comes along with being a creative professional like Helena is. A sentence that describes that feeling really well is: “Like many creative people Helena suffered badly from ‘fear of being caught out’, as if she was someone who didn’t know what they were doing, like any old amateur creative.”
• the way older people handle a new romantic relationship and what is socially acceptable for them to do. Is it wrong to look like a young and in love couple when you’re not young anymore?
• the positive and negative aspects of and innate talent you can’t turn off. Helena is a recognizer. She recognizes faces, even if she’s only seen them for a moment, partially or from a funny angle, and she’s unable to forget a face. This talent affects the book’s plot.
The ending felt a bit rushed and didn’t completely agree with the characters’ personalities up until that point, but, as a whole, A Springtime Affair is a light read that’s also intricate and very funny (here’s an example: “Darling, if I feel lonely, I’ll just go on Kinder and find a new man. Or is Kinder what I read books on?”). The author only places commas where they are absolutely needed, and this form of minimalist is quite refreshing and makes for a very smooth reading experience. You can count on Katie Fforde to not write long and boring paragraphs that are just one sentence and about fifty commas. This smoothness, along with these very well-developed characters, gives you the feeling that you could keep reading about their lives forever without getting bored.

Random House UK gifted me a digital galley of A Springtime Affair in exchange for an honest review.

A Springtime Affair is a sweet and charming story about second chances and daring to love again. Helena has six months to find a new home and studio. Her Mum Gilly, finding her feet after a bitter divorce is contending with her son and wife trying to manipulate her into selling her B & B and injecting cash into their dream home. Both are far from thinking about finding love. But, love finds you when you're least expecting it as this tale will show.

When B&B owner Gilly is approached by her son to sell up and invest in a mansion for his family to live in she has had enough of his bullying ways and will do what ever it takes to keep her home. Especially when a charming man turns out to be not charming after all.

Gilly’s daughter Helena is having home troubles too, her studio lease has only a few months left then the owner will be renovating it and turning it into low cost family accommodation. Upon meeting her landlord and falling in love with him, she finds something out that could potentially damage their relationship.

Another feel good love story by Katie Fforde. You always know what you are going to get when you read one of her novels, romance, likeable characters and a happy ever after.

Katie Fforde should be prescribed when you’re feeling down there is nothing better than her books they are just like a warm comforting hug, we can all do with that at the moment.

Helena is about to be evicted from her workshop by Jago then they meet in unusual circumstances and forge an unlikely friendship . I particularly liked Helena’s relationship with her mothers and how there stories are all woven together. A particularly good idea for Mother’s Day.

A lovely story of a mother and daughter and their new romances.

Katie Fforde always writes such lovely stories but with people who seem real and can be related to by the reader.

In “A Springtime Affair” we meet Gilly, a 50 something divorced lady, who is enjoying her life running a successful bed and breakfast business. She is recovering well from her messy divorce and dealing with the problems of her two children, Martin and Helena.

Martin is married to the health-obsessive Cressida with a five year old daughter, Ismene. They are both desperate to climb the social ladder and decide it would be a good idea for Gilly to sell her beloved business and use the money to buy her son and daughter-in-law a huge house with a granny annexe where Gilly can look after her granddaughter. To that end they introduce her to Leo Simmons, a handsome and seemingly rich businessman, who will help with this move. Gilly is bowled over by his charm but is he really who he seems?

Gilly is much closer to her single daughter, Helena, who is a weaver and struggling to improve her business and is so busy she has no time or inclination to find love. She is renting a room belonging to a cottage being renovated by Jago Pengelly and when they meet during a rescue of a kitten, they both are adamant that they do not want a relationship. They therefore decide to become each other’s plus one in a purely platonic way.

Helena has one other talent which is to be able to remember a face even if she has seen it only once and fleetingly. She is therefore horrified when, on meeting Leo, she recognises him as a man who had nearly killed Gilly and herself many years before in a hit and run type accident. Should she tell her mother and ruin her new happiness?

Fortunately for Helena, Gilly has another good friend, her accountant, William Davis, a solid, honest man who loves gliding and has always been in love with Gilly.

The scene is set for the two relationships of both the mother and the daughter to flourish and Ms Fforde is so good at describing everyday events that you feel you are part of the story. Even though the outcome is fairly obvious from early on in the book. It was a lovely story to read.

Sometimes it is lovely to just sit back and enjoy a book that is easy to read and tells a good story. This is such a book and I really enjoyed it. Thank you Katie Fforde.

Dexter

Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of the book to review

I love all of Katie Fforde’s books and this one was no exception. It had all the elements I love hobbies, baking, family relationships and romance.
It was such a lovely book to read that I read it very quickly in fact I read it in a day as I wanted to find out how it ends and, of course it ends on a happy note which is always good.
I always look forward to reading her books and was pleased when this one came through. There are a few I haven’t read but I will be catching up on these in the future.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Katie Fforde says on her website "Relax and Unwind" with her books; I certainly did with this one! A delightful story of mum Gilly and daughter Helena, both at different stages of their busy lives and not looking for love but both found in unusual circumstances. The story has a handsome suave villian but also good guys. Family dramas as well as coming together.

A lovely story for a spring weekend, relaxing in the garden with a cupa or glass of wine - enjoy!

A nice easy light read. .I''m sure we all recognise some of the family dynamics in play, the disapproving sibling in the son, and the daughter who hasn't really grown away from her mum. Some unpleasantness where Gilly's son and his wife try to interfere in the course of Gilly's life through the awful Leo, and we see Gilly and Helena come into their own and set the course of their lives as they want. Happy occasions and some amazing cooking!! #netgalley #springttimeaffair

I've always enjoyed a Katie Fforde and this one was no exception.
As always some lovely characters that you are rooting for. Some of the romantic relationships did seem to move along at quite a pace though!

An enjoyable light read.

Thank you to Netgalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.