A gentle romantic storyline to lighten spirits in a dark time. Set in the 1960s Lizzie is dominated by her mother but in sending her to a cookery/ finishing school her mother unconsciously provides her with the wherewithal to create an escape route. A story of love conquers all.

I love Katie Fforde's books, they're like a big warm hug from a friend, and this one was no different. I loved that this was a departure from her usual work, being set in the 60s rather than the present day, and yet it still maintained all the things I'd expect froom her books: an assortment of endearing characters, wonderful friendship sand love.

A really good easy reading book. When Lizzie's mum sends her to a cooking school in London she soon makes friends and enjoys being away from home and the girls are soon loving sharing a house together. They are great characters and they all have different backgrounds ,when they get invited to a dinner party at Vanessa's elegant home things start to get interesting especially when Hugo her brother puts in an appearance. Things don't quite go according to plan for Lizzie after an incident with Hugo and what happens will change their lives forever. Loved the friendship between the girls whitch shone through the story and the writing was perfect. I loved it

Life is all about the friends you make and how you stick together. Katie Fforde has done it again with a wonderful book that combines romance with the power of female friendship. A wonderful book that will keep you enthralled from start to finish. Just the thing to cheer you up!

I am a fan of Katie's books and have read a number of them and whilst some naysayers might say that you always get the same story (I disagree) you do have a certainty with them. This book too me out of that certainty and rather than being set in the present day I was whisked back to 1963. I wasn't sure it would work - but it did, in abundance!

Lizzie has arrived in London to complete a course at a cookery school, not for a career in a kitchen, but for a career as a wife. There is not just cooking, by flower arranging, sewing skills and general skills on how to look after your husband to make sure he has the best in life. 

Lizzie has arrived in London in the Swinging Sixties which comes as rather a shock to her and her parents as it seems that this influence on this naïve middle class girl is going to change her life forever. 

When Lizzie teams up with Alexandra and Meg who live in a run down house in Belgravia with David, who has a rather avuncular role in their lives, she starts to see that life could be a lot better if she does not go along with her mother's plans. 

Enter Hugo, titled, a career in the law and rather handsome, he would be the ideal man to bring home for mother to approve of. Just one problem, Hugo also has his life planned out for him by his father. 

Will Lizzie and Hugo follow their hearts, or will they conform? 

I was transported back to the London of the Sixties, but what I was also transported back to were the emotions and roles of women then. As a woman in her mid forties, this makes for uncomfortable reading, to think that my life would have been mapped out as such - marriage, cooking good dinners, flower arranging and dressmaking. Thank goodness for women like Lizzie who stepped out of this role and made it possible for me to not follow that path - though there is nothing wrong with my cooking but my dressmaking could probably do with some work! 

That said it was a great world that Katie Fforde has created and I wanted to sit at the kitchen table in Belgravia as much as I wanted to escape to the little cottage in the country or be waited on at the big house! This was all part of the warmth of the story as much as the characters exploits. 

An excellent book and should be read by all young girls, in fact read by all women because in such a short time the world has changed beyond the one portrayed in this novel. A great look at the past as much as it is a reflection of women's roles in the world.

This book has been a perfect antidote to the current lockdown. Read in one day between Home School wrangling!! Once again Katie Fforde doesn’t disappoint. Lizzie has been sent to London by her snobby parents stay with her spinster aunt whilst she attends an elite cooking school. All in her mother’s plan to help her bag an eligible bachelor, and have the wedding her mother has been planning since the moment she gave birth to her.

However life doesn’t go to plan - Lizzie is a much stronger person than her mother bargained for - makes firm friends with some ladies on her course and finds herself living in a dilapidated mansion with new best friends and David an actor who mothers and looks out for all the girls.

This story is well written, gentle, evocative page Turner set in 1967 when expectations for young women were very different but about to change.

Loved this book, feel good read, with fun romance, and twists in it as well. I loved the characters, the fun the characters had and the story that developed between mother and daughter.

Katie Fforde does it again with this wonderful book.

It kept me sailing along in the '60s with great descriptions and characters.

Lizzie is a girl from the country who wants better for herself, so against her parent's wishes she moves to London, gets a modern haircut and clothes, and moves into her aunt's place in Chelsea then joins a cookery school to better her skills and meet people.

When her aunt's boyfriend makes a pass at her, her aunt becomes worried, and she is asked to move out.
She moves into one of the girl's houses she has made friends with in Belgravia which is run down and in need of repair but is stuffed to the rafters with loads of hidden treasures. Also living in the house is another girl from the cookery group and a gay man who I loved called David who is an actor.

All in all, a really nice easy book to read.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this pleasant book. xx

Lizzie ends up with two male admirers

Reading a Katie Fforde book is like sinking into a fluffy cloud with a good friend, I know its a strange analogy but one that works for me! Loved the characters and the story, everyone was individual and a bit different. A read that doesn't try to shock or be smutty, lovely!

Katie Fforde novels are always charming to read, and to lose yourself in. The characters are endearing, with plenty of bad guys to get cross at. A Wedding in the Country bears all the hallmarks of a classic Katie Fforde, with one important distinction. It's set entirely in the 60s, which adds a new twist to the whole will-they-won't-they scenario. There's no dating apps or social media to contend with, but there are conventions and expectations which add their own challenges.

A Wedding in the Country was a delight to read, and it definitely makes it on to my 'must read again' list for the future.

I haven't read a Katie Fforde book for awhile, so when I started this one and realised it was set in the 1960s, I was convinced we'd go forward in time at some point, but it didn't. I did like this story, but for me it lacked depth. There wasn't much in the way of a plot. I liked the main female protagonist, Lizzie, but I wanted to feel more emotion from her. Also, it would have been nice for her to have had more time in London with her friends. As it was I think she only had a couple of months. There wasn't much in the way of conflict and when there was it came in the form of parental disapproval. I can't help thinking the main plot point (I wont say what it was in case I spoil it for anyone) was a bit tired. As for Hugo, he was nice enough but we didn't see enough of him, or of him and Lizzie together. But there are plenty of good points. It's a light, easy-read. There's a happy ending. I loved the development of the friendship between Lizzie and her three London friends. With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Although I enjoyed reading this book, I'm going to be completely honest and admit that it's not my favourite by Katie Fforde. Set in the 60s where girls go to cookery school to learn to be good wife material. It's this setting where a group of girls meet & become friends & we follow their onward journey, in particular Lizzie. Its a slow burner of a story to start with but it certainly picks up speed & then I couldn't put it down.

I love Katie Fforde but this one was slightly off mark for me. The leading lady was so very young and naive, and the story was very quaint, it felt very old fashioned. I liked the friendship angle, but even this aspect hit every cliché.
It was a gentle read and I think it's going to be popular with people who remember the 60s, but I was a bit disappointed.

Lizzie has a life strictly controlled by her parents, she finds an escape moving to stay with her aunt in London to attend a cookery course to improve her marriage prospects, the paramount goal in her mothers life. She has been planning Lizzie's wedding since the day she was born. Lizzie uses the freedom afforded by this move to make friends and broaden her horizons. I found this story to be charming and fun just the sort of thing I needed, lovely.

This book was the exact tonic I needed during this particularly testing time.

The setting makes it stand out from other Katie Fforde books and benefits from it as the 60s adds such vibrancy to the book.

Warm abs cuddly romance to immerse yourself in.

Lizzie has her life mapped out for her by her mother - learn cooking to be able to become a good wife, marry a man of class who can provide for her.  Lizzie doesn't want the same as her mother, she wants to live her life a little first and make her own choices.

She moves to London for cookery school and gains independence, her eyes are opened go the world, she gains new friends and a man catches her eye.

Light, easy, engaging read.

A charming story of young girls coming of age in England during the swinging 60’s miniskirts and the fashions of Mary Quant. A country girl from the sticks arrives to joins the Debs and the like attending a domestic science finishing school. She is intimidated by the upper-class girls but finds two of her ilk to fall in with. A most well drawn likable character to spend time with to share with her scrapes and ups and down until as she finds her way to a perfect country wedding, a satisfying enjoyable read.

At first I was a little bit dissapointed that the book was not set in this century, but after reading a while it grabbed me and I was really eager to find out what would happen with the characters. It is a tipical romance novel with all the expected and unexpected obstacles on the way to true love, but Katie Fforde has a very gentle way of writing and makes you feel really close to the characters. A very pleasant read!

Never have I ever been so relieved to finally get to the end of a book! For a book that is supposedly set in the 60's, it felt more like it was set in the late 1800's. The dialogue was very strained and I really did not enjoy reading it at all.

When the opportunity to receive an ARC of this book was made available, I was thrilled. Katie has been in my list of favourite authors for years and I enjoy her style of writing.
A Wedding in the Country had a different feel to the usual offering from Katie; that’s not a negative comment, I found it rather refreshing.
Set in the 1960s, it follows a group of friends who come together at a London based cookery school. Aimed at training young women in the finer aspects of housekeeping, it is a blast from the past. Lizzie has been sent there by her parents as the want her to become a good prospect for a prospective husband.
We’re all aware, no doubt, of the hedonistic air that follows the decade of free love. Katie perfectly captures that essence as women started to see a life beyond that of a housewife. This story acts as a microscope as we examine the changes in how women perceive themselves and how they rebelled against being known as the fairer sex.
This is not a feminist piece, simply a look at the periphery of the era when women started to push back against how history suggested they should live their lives.
Everything that I have come to love about Katie’s books was there to see, the romance and the friendships were in fine form. It was simply a different approach to what I’ve seen before and would welcome more of the same. Katie, you nailed it!
I finished this book in one sitting; that’s not a challenge, it simply tells me how much I enjoyed reading it. Luckily, I started early so wasn’t up, once again, into the wee small hours.