3.5 stars

As always from Katie Fforde, endearing characters facing life challenges with a romantic complication. Fran is a trained chef, but is contacted by an aging relative with a proposition: if she takes over a family farm and makes a success out of it in a year, she will inherit.

Fran decides against all logic to give it a try. She and her friend Issi set out and find a herd of rare cattle with long-established bloodlines and some pristine, never-been-plowed fields. Her relative, a distant cousin, is in a care facility and is a no-nonsense, brusque woman, long-widowed with no children, who would prefer to leave the farm to a male relative.

The only other relation, a greedy and unpleasant Australian who would like the cousin to die so he can sell the land to developers, soon shows up and problems ensue. Fran grows to genuinely love both the farm and her aging family member.

This novel is awfully sweet, and both Fran and her love interest are almost too good to be true. But the setting is interesting and if you need something pleasant with a happy ending, this might be just the ticket. Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Fran's life was in London, until she received a letter from a distant relative, Amy. It would be a challenge, something she had never done, but she decided to accept the challenge. As she moved to the country, there was a lot to learn, and she wasn't even sure if she was afraid of cows or not. The people there were supportive, and she had to make the farm profitable.
She learned a lot about herself, she was willing to learn new things, and used the internet to sometimes guide her. You don't know what you are capable of until you are put to the test. She said all I can do is the best I can do and see what happens. That is what we find out reading the story.
Another distant relative shows up, determined to inherit the farm. It did change a lot of things, and I saw the other relative was so different from Fran. They both were challenged and they did things differently. I tried to reserve judgement, but did find I was rooting for one.
Amy did pass away, and we find out who inherits the farm, what she wrote in the will, and the insight this woman really had.
I received an ARC from Bookouture through NetGalley. When put to the test, we do find out who we really are and that comes through in this story.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book. It was a fun, light quick read.

A Country Escape is an easy enjoyable read. When a distant aunt makes Fran a chef the offer to look after her farm for a year rent free and if Fran does a good job she will inherit everything when the aunt dies. It’s an offer Fran can’t refuse as it’s always been a dream of hers to live in the countryside and have animals.
When she arrives at the farm it’s in quite a state but with the help and advice off Tig the dairy herd manager and the rich very handsome neighbour Anthony she throws her all into the farm.
With a cast of great characters and a descriptive storyline this is a lovely read. The addition of a very shady character adds much to the mix.
My thanks to net galley and publisher for the opportunity to review this book honestly.

Meet Fran who has just left her job in London for the chance to inherit a farm with absolutely no farming experience and a fear of cows. This is the set up of "A Country Escape" and what a country escape you go on in this book! I absolutely loved all the descriptions of Fran's attempts to make cheese from her cow's milk. This book made me go out and buy more cheese when I went shopping because I could not resist having some cheese and crackers while reading.
A good book leaves you wanting to read more about the characters and this book certainly does that. I just wish I could have spent a bit more time with Fran and Antony and the puppies! I loved the developing relationship between Tig and Issi, but I was waiting for more of a resolution to the Roy and Megan storyline. If there was anything wrong with the book, it's that it ended too fast. I wanted to have that finality of the Roy storyline and find out really what Megan was up to the whole book.
All in all, this was a fantastic book that will either make you schedule a trip to the English countryside or find you squirreled away in your grocery store's dairy section. Make sure when you read this, you have an ample supply of cheese.

Again a feel good book by Katie Fforde . One to curl up with on a rainy day.
Similar to most of her stories romance is always central to the plot but it is easy reading .
A few typos that need rectified but other than that it was enjoyable .

Katie Fforde is in a small class of writers for me that include authors like Erica James and Marian Keyes. These are writers that I absolutely know that I can count on for that relaxing and entertaining read. the kind that I crave when life is difficult.

This time, readers meet Fran. She has worked as a chef in London but has always dreamed of living on a farm. Well, since this is fiction, her wish is granted. A distant relative has moved to assisted living and wants the farm and, most especially her cows, to remain in the family. All that Fran has to do is prove her worth…easy? Maybe not.

Aunt (by courtesy) Amy is tough and has expectations. She warns Fran away from Antony whom Amy thinks wants to buy her land. The problem is that Antony has been so very nice and helpful to Fran. Is he the good guy that he seems? Will there be the happy ending that Fforde generally gives to her readers.

Enjoy spending time with Fran, her herdsman and her close friend. Watch as she holds dinner parties and makes cheese, all in the hope of keeping the farm. Will she?

When you crave predictable but in the best possible way, read a Katie Fforde novel. You cannot go wrong.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookcouture for this title. All opinions are my own.

I could not put this book down, every free moment I had to pick it up again. Katie Fforde is becoming one of my favourite authors. All the characters were relatable and warm.

This was a sweet romance set in the English Countryside. Fran a chef from London is contacted by a distant relative to inherit her farm if she can stay a year and make a go of it. You go through all of Fran’s struggles and happy times as she tries to make a go of the farm. Enjoyable book.

"An utterly gorgeous and escapist rural romance, set on a perfectly-imperfect small farm in the beautiful English Cotswolds, that fans of Robyn Carr, Carolyn Brown and Susan Mallery will fall in love with.

When Fran Duke was a little girl, she dreamt that one day she’d get to move to a beautiful farm, keeping animals and living the rural dream. Now it looks like her dream might come true...

Because her Aunt Amy, who Fran has never even met, has made her an offer she can’t refuse. Fran can live on her dairy farm for a year rent-free and, if she is able to turn the farm’s fortunes around - and keep it out of the hands of the dastardly neighbor Antony Arlingham - she gets to stay and live there forever.

Fran feels excited for the challenge. Right up until the moment she walks up the muddy path to the tumbledown little farm and realises it’s in a state of total disrepair. Not only that, but she’s more than a little scared of the cows themselves. But, rolling up her sleeves, she thinks it’s nothing that she can’t overcome.

But then she crosses paths with Antony... And as she takes in the tall, dark, handsome stranger with eyes that seem to flicker with gold, she knows she’s in trouble. Has she found herself a country escape, or will she end up running away?"

I love that Katie Fforde's books are getting well priced Kindle releases in the US. It used to be so hard to get her books stateside!

3.5/5 stars.

For years I read every new book Katie Fforde wrote, and for some reason I stopped. Reading A Country Escape was like coming home for me.

I loved the strong women in the book; Fran, the city girl who has a chance to take over her distant relation's dairy farm, is loyal and dedicated to making the farm work, even though she knows nothing about cows or farming. Amy, the distant relation living the rest of her days in a care home, has made a go of farming even though she was a woman living in a man's world when she took over the farm. Issi is everything you'd want in a best friend; someone who will drop everything to come help you.

The romance was fine; Anthony was a good man, but I didn't find the chemistry all that convincing.

Overall I enjoyed escaping to the English countryside for a couple of days! And I will most definitely be catching up on the Katie Fforde books I have missed over the years.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Having a tough day? Settle down with “A Country Escape,” and escape into the Cotswolds. City girl goes to help run a farm that she may inherit. She knows nothing about dairy farming and how to make her relative’s farm profitable. And it turns out that she is afraid of the cows. It is a good thing that her best friend has moved in to help. Enter the handsome and wealthy neighbor who comes to the rescue so many times. Add a crass long-lost Australian man who also may inherit, and CHEESE. Lots of cheese. And newborn puppies.

This was my first Katie Fforde novel, and it will not be my last.

Thank you NetGalley, Katie Fforde and Bookouture for the ARC of A Country Escape. This is my personal review.
Fran had a dream her entire life- she wanted to own a farm. She saw in her dream life a farm in a gorgeous rural area filled with all her animals she hoped to own. One day this dream was to come true for her when an aunt she had never met handed her the dream. All she must do is live on the farm and make it wat it once was by living there rent free and then the farm would be hers. This was her dream but her reality when she got to the farm a much different. The path to her owning the farm had its bumps but also a lot of joy was to be found.
This was a fun book to read. I liked the characters and the story line. It was an easy read and gave me a few hours of relaxed fun enjoyable reading.

Have you ever wanted to own a farm? Well Fran has been given the opportunity, that being a distant relation. Amy is now in a home and has designated Fran as the person to eventually inherit her farm. A year's probation should do the trick as to whether or not Fran will actually inherit said farm. Is there a closer relation that could indeed inherit the farm? And what about her neighbor, Antony, who would like the land? This is a comfortable and heartwarming story, as I expected it to be...written by Katie Fforde always gives her best. My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A picturesque Cotswolds dairy farm, cheese making, engaging side characters (minus the horrid Roy), romance, and a ‘who will inherit?’ dilemma — all part of Katie Fforde’s charming book. It’s been years since I read any chick lit and I enjoyed her writing in the past. A bit predictable with an obligatory happy ending, but a light, escapist read, especially recommended for Anglophiles and foodies.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

An adorable, feel-good book, Katie Fforde's A Country Escape is the story of Fran Duke, a chef from London who moves to a dairy farm. Even though she has no farm experience, Fran promises Amy Flowers, her distant cousin who is the owner of the farm, that she will make the farm profitable within a year in the hopes she will inherit it. Along with her friends and newly met acquaintances, Fran desperately wants to do what is best for the farm and to make Amy proud. Everything is going great until Roy, another distant cousin, shows up to claim the farm. What a great read – I just couldn't put this treasure of a book down!

This is yet another touching and endearing novel by Ms. Fforde. The characters are well developed with careful crafting. Fran stands to inherit a dairy farm from a distantly related relative. If she can turn the farm around, she will be the new owner. The owner, Amy, doesn’t seem too charmed by Fran. Then there’s Roy the blowhard also distant relative who is vying for the farm with dollar signs in his eyes. Fran deals with it all graciously, helped by her friend, Issa, the herdsman, Tig, and the forbidden fruit, Anthony.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is an absolute must read, I struggled to put it down. We meet Fran who is given a chance to inherit her aunt Amy's farm, but there are many stumbling blocks to deal with first. Her aunt, who is still alive & moved into a care home, tasks Fran with trying to get the failing farm back on its feet within a year in order to inherit it. Throw into the mix a neighbour who has his sights on the farmland & relative that turns up out of the blue having also been given the chance to take on the farm, but at first didn't appear interested. A wonderfully written & highly enjoyable read.

If you enjoy Katie Fforde's book, you will enjoy A Country Escape. A plucky heroine and initially adversarial hero take on saving a distant relatives farm. Its a lovely romp in the countryside with the side characters you always come to love in a Fforde book.

I have just discovered this author and this is the second book I have read by her, sweet story, hard to put down. can't wait to read more by her.