Member Reviews
Review of A Wedding in the Country
Really enjoyed this book. It had a great story line and interesting characters. Nice easy reading. Recommended
I do love Katie Fforde. You are guaranteed as soon as you pick up her books to be whisked away to a lovely romance. The only warning is they do all follow the same sort of plan and you could see the ending by about the end of chapter two. However as ever with Katie this is perfect indulgence reading.
A lovely escapist read! I really enjoyed reading a Katie Fforde book set in the 60s, it had a lovely sense of adventure and charm.
Easy to read and as enjoyable as ever from this author. A nice book to read to take you away from the difficult times at the moment. It was set in the sixties which did make it quite different and the book certainly evoked the feeling of the era.
1963. Lizzie leaves her sheltered country life and moves to London to take finishing classes, first staying with her aunt and then with friends in Pimlico. Then she meets Hugo, about to get engaged to the glamorous Electra. After a disastrous weekend at his country home, Lizzie discovers she’s pregnant and suddenly wedding plans are in full swing.
A Wedding in the Country is a gentle tale, echoing the staid values of London society,, where the girls learn cookery, French conversation and flower arranging, in preparation for married life. There are the usual elements - the snobbery of his parents as she’s from a poorer background, the secrets and misunderstandings, before everything comes together at the church.
Not going to blow your mind away, but a very enjoyable and entertaining read.
This was my first novel by Katie Fforde and I was not disappointed especially as it is not my usual genre. I enjoyed the escapism of reading the novel and of the feel of the swinging sixties.
I felt the story was very predictable, however I still very much enjoyed it and would recommend.
Another cracker of a read from Katie Fforde!
Total escapism and romance set in the swinging sixties and London. Lizzie or Elizabeth as her mother calls her, has left home briefly to attend a cookery school, to learn how to make canapés, sauces and food worthy of the dinner parties she will surely be throwing for her husband's business partners/clients. There Lizzie, meets other girls and becomes good friends with some, so much so, that rather than stay with an aunt (as determined by her mother & father), she moves into a rather grand house with them and they become really good pals.
When the course is over, Lizzie wants to stay in London and get a job and find love. Her mother has other ideas and only the best pedigree of gentleman will do, as she has been planning her only daughter's marriage almost since she was born.
But things take a different turn; Lizzie falls head over heels in love with Hugo, one of her new friends brother, but he is already spoken for by the rather abrasive and haughty Electra! The girls are invited to the ancestral home of Hugo for a rather grand dinner party and she learns that Hugo and Electra are expected to announce their engagement. Feeling that she can't bear to witness this, Lizzie leaves the party and attempts to get back to London, but things go wrong, she finds herself in the river, nearly drowning but is rescued by Hugo of all people. Or is it fate!?
Fate brings them together and rather than spoil what comes next, read this delightful story and go to a Wedding in the Country but who is the groom??
When you pick up a book with “wedding” in the title, you know its going to have elements of romance & probably a happy ending. In that respect, this book didn’t disappoint.
The story is set in 1963, the start of the “swinging sixties”, and centres around Lizzie (Elizabeth to her rather proper parents!) who has moved to London to attend a cookery school. Mummy would like to see her married to a “suitable young man” and has the wedding day already planned out! Lizzie is less keen on this idea, especially when she starts to see a side of life that she had never explored before, from a new haircut to a fashionable mini dress and new friends …
The storyline is very predictable with Lizzie falling for an eligible young man, who just happens to be involved with somebody else - but overall it’s a lovely gentle romance with no surprises but some lovely details & quirky characters. Fan of other books by Katie Fforde will enjoy it.
Disclosure: I received an advance reader copy of this book free via NetGalley. Whilst thanks go to the publisher for the opportunity to read it, all opinions are my own.
#AWeddingintheCountry #NetGalley
This was my first time reading a book set in the 1960s era in London. I enjoyed it but I really think it needed something more. Insta-love is not for me.
Katie is back with another beautifully written book. I have loved every book of Katie's that I have read and this one didnt disappoint either.
Set in the 1960s I pictured the girls to look like those characters from Call The Midwife and I fell in love with the friendship and bond that formed between these women.
Each of them knew what they wanted from life and being married off because that's what society dictates wasnt it. They wanted careers, to make something of themselves and if they married it was out of love.
I absolutely love Katie's ability to draw the reader in so they feel like they are there in the book, I've been on many journeys with Katies books and cant wait for more.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Heart warming read. Set in the 60s this was an engaging read if a tad slow to start off with. As ever a comforting read from this superb author. Enjoyable but a few unanswered questions. I’d love to see a sequel or a series maybe!
Thank you Netgalley
This was such a fun read. I enjoyed this book. I love Katie Fforde's type of writing. And this was just right up my alley.
Sweet and cute quick read.
3.5 stars for me.
I’m not sure this book is what I thought it would be, but saying that I did enjoy it. It’s a shame that we didn’t find out what happened at the wedding and afterwards but I am glad she got her happy ever after
I love Katie Fforde's writing and this one while the setting was different (less contemporary and more 60s) it was still just as satisfying. Great characters esp strong side characters too and a really nice story.
A lovely romantic story set in the 1960’s with a brilliant cast of characters. I especially loved David and Alexandra and thought they’d be a wonderful pair to share a house with. A fun, easy to read love story.
What a lovely story, I love Katie Fforde’s writing. It made a nice change for me to read about something pleasant I just kept wanting to keep reading and never end.
Set in London in 1963 three young ladies, Elizabeth (Lizzie but don’t let her mother hear you call her that!), Meg (Margaret) and Alexandra meet while taking a cooking course. They’re from different backgrounds but end up living together in Alexandra’s family’s home in Belgravia with her friend David who’s a gay actor. I wasn’t around in the 60’s so found it interesting to read how things we take for granted now were frowned upon back then. I loved David and have several friends who he reminded me of.
Both Hugo and Lizzie’s parents I did not like at all but I think that was intentional.
An enjoyable read. Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for the opportunity to read an advance copy in return for my honest review.
I discovered Katie’s books a few years ago on holiday, and I have enjoyed reading her uplifting books. This one is slightly different, as we headed back in time, to the Sixties to meet Lizzie, Meg and Alexandria.
I enjoyed reading about how Lizzie evolved from a very shy young girl into a wonderful friend and started to stand up for herself. The story is set in the era of when my mum was a teenager and makes me realise how different life was for teenagers then. I enjoyed my trip back in time and I’m happy to recommend this book.
A Wedding in the Country by Katie Fforde
Set in the 1960s, this is a story of finding new paths and love I enjoyed it
The characters are young and quite naive; as they tended to be then. Lizzie, the main character, starts to see alternatives to her Mother and Father's idea of her future life when she goes to London for a cookery course. I like Lizzie's character strong know what she wants I didn't really feel a great connection so of the characters, but I soon got hooked
Some parts seem a bit rushed I wanted to know more Although the book is called A Wedding in the Country, the actual wedding was hardly mentioned, which I thought was a shame. I want to know more about it and I have liked have read more about it all but I did enjoy
Synopsis:
Romance, friendship, joy and the possibility of happy endings: the heartwarming new novel by number one bestseller, Katie Fforde.
Lizzie has just arrived in London, determined to make the best of her new life.
Her mother may be keen that she should have a nice wedding in the country to a Suitable Man chosen by her. And Lizzie may be going to cookery school to help her become a Good Wife.
But she definitely wants to have some fun first.
It is 1963 and London is beginning to swing as Lizzie cuts her hair, buys a new dress with a fashionably short hemline, and moves in with two of her best friends, one of whom lives in a grand but rundown house in Belgravia which has plenty of room for a lodger.
Soon Lizzie's life is so exciting that she has forgotten all about her mother's marriage plans for her.
All she can think about is that the young man she is falling in love with appears to be engaged to someone else ...
Well. This is a tough one to write because I've loved some of Katie Fforde's previous books and for years I would always buy the latest paperback, but this just doesn't work. The last couple of books have had problems with the heroines not reading like women in their twenties, and I think this is an effort to try and combat that by moving the action to the 1960s. But the dialogue doesn't flow, and the characters feel flat. I had serious reservations about the way that David the flatmate was introduced, and then the plot was just a bit loopy. It's like a 1960s mash up of some of her previous modern plots. So disappointing, and I hate writing that. I'll go off and read Stately Pursuits again to take my mind off it.
Unfortunately, I really did not like this. It felt very old-fashioned and not in a good way and it was lacking Fforde's usual, country charm. I did like the characters but sadly the plot did not match their charm and it was a struggle to finish this.