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3.36 AVERAGE
3.36 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Set in London in 1963, Lizzie has moved from the home counties to study on a cookery course to help her learn to be a good wife. I know that most women would cringe about this but this was of the time. Also a time of change where the sexual revolution is about to explode and wear women are becoming braver in self and making own choices.
Lizzie is discovering herself and loving London sharing a house with two girls she met on the course and a man who is hiding his sexuality as it is pre legalisation.
Lizzie has also met a man, not only is he engaged to the bossy Electra, he is also from the upper class and Lizzie has not ingratiated herself to his father with hr short hemline or her swinging short haircut,
There are echo's of this book and A Wedding in Provence and initially felt it was a bit 'samey' but the penny dropped that the two books are connected and made it just lovely.
Despite the books being connected, each can be read as a standalone. They are well written, warm, comforting and great escapism and most of all unforgivably romantic.
Ideal for readers of women's fiction and romance.
With thanks #NetGalley #AWeddingintheCounty and publishers Random House UK and Cornerstone, Century.
Lizzie is discovering herself and loving London sharing a house with two girls she met on the course and a man who is hiding his sexuality as it is pre legalisation.
Lizzie has also met a man, not only is he engaged to the bossy Electra, he is also from the upper class and Lizzie has not ingratiated herself to his father with hr short hemline or her swinging short haircut,
There are echo's of this book and A Wedding in Provence and initially felt it was a bit 'samey' but the penny dropped that the two books are connected and made it just lovely.
Despite the books being connected, each can be read as a standalone. They are well written, warm, comforting and great escapism and most of all unforgivably romantic.
Ideal for readers of women's fiction and romance.
With thanks #NetGalley #AWeddingintheCounty and publishers Random House UK and Cornerstone, Century.
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.
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.
I love Katie Fforde as a writter, I’ve read several already and own another 7…. And a wedding on the country did not disappoint; It was effortlessly loveable, warm and fun.
This is a perfect read for a rainy day in lockdown, snuggled in a blanket with a mug of tea or coffee by your side. It's romantic without veering into cheesy, and the romance almost takes second place to the wonderful female friendship group who take centre stage. And I loved that the book focused a lot on the friendships.
This book had all of the great characters, descriptions, love and rounded ending that you get with Katie’s books, but interestingly was set in the 1960s which made it a bit different. However, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and can’t wait for the next one.
This is a perfect read for a rainy day in lockdown, snuggled in a blanket with a mug of tea or coffee by your side. It's romantic without veering into cheesy, and the romance almost takes second place to the wonderful female friendship group who take centre stage. And I loved that the book focused a lot on the friendships.
This book had all of the great characters, descriptions, love and rounded ending that you get with Katie’s books, but interestingly was set in the 1960s which made it a bit different. However, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and can’t wait for the next one.
Not much to love, not much to hate. Quite boring, bland characters and a love story that never felt like one
Thanks to netgalley for the chance to read this book.
Lizzie arrives in London to complete a cooking school course. She meets and becomes friends with Alexandra, Meg and Vanessa. Lizzie s auntie tells her after a short while that she can’t live with her anymore and Alexandra asks Lizzie and Meg to move into her house in Belgravia with her friend David. Lizzie meets Hugo and falls in love however, Hugo is in a relationship with Electra. Lizzie wants to stay in London but her mom wants her to move back home and have the big wedding her has always planned for her. Will Lizzie move back home or will she stay on London.
Another brilliant book from Katie.
Lizzie arrives in London to complete a cooking school course. She meets and becomes friends with Alexandra, Meg and Vanessa. Lizzie s auntie tells her after a short while that she can’t live with her anymore and Alexandra asks Lizzie and Meg to move into her house in Belgravia with her friend David. Lizzie meets Hugo and falls in love however, Hugo is in a relationship with Electra. Lizzie wants to stay in London but her mom wants her to move back home and have the big wedding her has always planned for her. Will Lizzie move back home or will she stay on London.
Another brilliant book from Katie.
emotional
funny
hopeful
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
Spoilers Ahead:
Okay, so to tell you the truth, I really didn’t enjoy this book much at all. I really tried to get into it, and there were some promising parts, but there was just a lot I couldn’t get on board with.
Okay, so to tell you the truth, I really didn’t enjoy this book much at all. I really tried to get into it, and there were some promising parts, but there was just a lot I couldn’t get on board with.
We follow Lizzie as she’s on a cookery course, and she meets two friends, Alexandra and Meg. Lizzie’s mother doesn’t want her to go to London, but Lizzie finds she really enjoys it, and so moves in with Alexandra, and Meg and Clover, Meg’s dog, joins too. She lives with her brother, David, who is into antiques and dealership, just like Alexandra is.
Before Lizzie moved into Alexandra’s, she was hunting for houses, and met an attractive guy at the flat. It was awful, so she didn’t buy it. She was disappointed that she wouldn’t see him again, only to find out that he was related to Vanessa, a girl on their cookery course. Hugo is Vanessa’s brother. When she sees him at a dinner party, she is shocked, especially when she finds he’s dating a downright distasteful woman, Electra. She doesn’t tell anyone about her crush, though.
When she meets Vanessa’s parents, they are shocked by her. They think her clothes are too short that it’s indecent, and they’re horrible to her. As Vanessa throws a party, which is taken over by Electra following her recent engagement to Hugo, Lizzie decides she can’t stand to be there anymore, and so tries to escape. She wants to go to the train station, so tries to take a boat and row it across to the station, but it sinks, and she starts to drown.
Only, luckily enough, Hugo saves her. They go to a nearby cabin to dry off, and they end up getting intimate. She doesn’t think anything of it, until she realises she’s missed her last two periods, so she goes to the doctors. Immediately, her doctor, who’s had her all of her childhood, is disgusted, and when he finds out she is, indeed, pregnant, he tells her parents.
They’re furious! As this is the 1960’s, they are worried about the shame that will bring on their family. Lizzie is upset, and goes to her friends. She decides to tell Hugo, even after she thought it was a bad idea, and then they decide to get married, to avoid the shame that would follow Lizzie if she decided to keep it and not marry.
Hugo’s parents are naturally very upset, he had already broken up with Electra, and left his law job, and now this. He was being threatened with being cut off, but he didn’t care. They get the wedding sorted out, and, eventually, everyone is happy with the arrangement. His father goes to see Hugo urgently, the day of the wedding, and Lizzie needs to know if it’s because he wants to pay Hugo to call off the wedding. Lizzie has loved him since first sight, and doesn’t know how he feels. Luckily, he confirms his love for her, and they marry, and everyone is happy.
This book took me so long to finish, because I just wasn’t getting into it. Firstly, David being gay was mentioned so much throughout the plot that it started to seem like it was only there to diversify the cast. They made it his entire personality, which I thought was very unfair on him, as he’s an excellent character, in my opinion. It’s disappointing, because the inclusion of the diversity was nice, but it felt like it was only there to tick a box, and not enough research was done doing it. It has the same energy as ‘I have a gay friend, so I’m an ally’, you know?
Second of all, the romance itself was a bit weird. It was like ‘I’ve seen this guy once but I’m in love with him, and then she was gonna tell him she liked him even though he was engaged? I just didn’t really feel that they had a connection, especially not that early on. There was more time focused on the plot than actually developing a good relationship, and that works for some books but it doesn’t really in this book. If I’m honest, most of the characters have a questionable personality, and I didn’t like any of them as much as I wanted to, which is a shame, because that possibly might have made the book a lot more enjoyable for me.
The pacing was truly not very well thought out either. They placed the wedding in the last chapter, and we didn’t get any indication of their relationship after their marriage. Everything just felt very rushed towards the end, which is a bit annoying as we spent most of the book focusing on the plot instead of developing the romance between Lizzie and Hugo.
I read a lot of Katie Fforde when I was younger, but now being older and able to analyse stuff, I realise that maybe I’ve outgrown her work a little bit.