I am someone living in semi rural area so farms and farm shops are right up my street.
I really enjoyed this book about the authors life as a farmers wife so after reading so much about Jeremy Clarkson and his farm I was interested to read from the female point of view, As I have sadly learnt farming pays so little thanks to supermarkets, weather and generally having to venture into new projects to make money.
What I found difficult to understand was her anxiety during Sars Covid-19 as I worked throughout this time and felt more at peace as everything was more simple so this gave me a good insight into someone else who was as busy as I was.
The author writes about her experience of working in a corporate world and wanting to do something different - something I did but not quite the same - I left the firefighting of the NHS and work in an Academy now.

Loved the stories of lambing and other animal tales and found quite amusing ( rather like James Herriots All Creatures Great and Small)

Hopefully those who want cheap food will realise just what goes into farming in the 21st centuary and that despite the cost of living crisis people will support local farmers and growers.

Recommended read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

One day, Sally decides to leave her urban life with her office job and her high heels in order to become a farmer but then she discovers that the rural life is not only fresh air and wandering around the farm easy peasy while admiring the landscape. In reality, being a farmer is so much harder than it seems and it could be really stressful most of the time.

This was such a cozy read that made you discover the true life at a farm. I enjoyed reading this book while listening to its audio from Netgalley. Sally's rural life has a lot of ups and downs with some struggles mostly financial ones that the family has to undergo but, at the same time, it has its charm and funny moments that Sally wouldn't trade for all the world. For her, there is nothing greater than living this life.

From the risk of losing all your animals to the visit of the royal family to an invasion of rats, Sally's life at the farm will always be so eventful.

A very interesting, honest, raw and open book about living on a farm. There's the ups and downs emotionally and physically with all it entails.
A book I really enjoyed.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this arc in return for a honest review.

This is the second volume of Sally Unwin's autobiography. This volume covers the pandemic and how it affected Sally and her family. Sally writes honestly about her mental health issues - the difficulties she faces and her strategies for dealing with them. Therefore this is a more thought-provoking read than the first volume.

Thank you to NetGalley for this copy. This is a really good book, kept me entertained throughout and I would thoroughly recommend to all.

A great story about living on the farm. A very easy to read book, very similar to the Yorkshire shepherdess, light hearted which will appeal to the whole family.

What a wonderful journey Sally Urwin has taken me on! I loved the honesty and freshness of Sally’s story, a real life sea change from city girl to working on a farm, what a dream!
Sally decides to take a chance with farmer Steve, they embrace their learning experience together,
A brilliant story describing someone prepared to take a chance and grow a
new chapter of her life. A heartwarming story unfolds, new adventures are shared and Sally is loving her life on the land with Steve! Well worth the read!

Thank you to the publisher, NetGalley and especially Sally Urwin for sharing her life story, well done!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book! Nice combination of tears and chuckles while reading this one. Tells the story of how she came to a life on a farm, and how that life turns out. After I finished this, I started following the author on Instagram, just so I can see the animals!

An interesting, honest, and entertaining memoir about living on a farm. There's the fun part and there's the hard part about economics.
I liked the style of writing and how the author never sugarcoated anything.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I really enjoyed this entertaining but also refreshingly honest memoir of life as a farmers wife. I loved the stories of rats mingling with wedding guests, badly behaved coach parties, blasphemous waitresses and nappy wearing lambs. But found the sobering realities of financial hardship, depression and virus outbreaks just as interesting. I'm also always inspired by stories of creative entrepreneurship and so found the different diversification projects Sally took on such as weddings, glamping, beer-brewing, tours, tea shops, etc totally fascinating. Whilst a memoir, chapters follow a theme rather than strictly chronological order and it reads more like fiction due to Sally's wonderful storytelling. I'll definitely be checking out Sally's socials now.....

This was a cute memoir. I mean, it wasn’t all cute… some of the stories were really sad and it definitely seems like farm life would be very hard. I enjoyed the different tales about taking care of sheep and lambing and how they expanded. The book was easy to read and I looked forward to reading it every night.

I love to read the memoirs of ordinary people whose lives are very different from mine. I especially enjoy reading books about farming. Sally Urwin's book "What the Flock!" is just the kind of book I like. This is non-fiction, but reads like a novel due to Urwin's wonderful writing style.

Urwin pulls no punches; as happy as she is on her family farm, and as many joyful stories she relates, she also shows the many hardships involved in contemporary agriculture. I live in an agricultural state with family farms fast going out of business, and what is plaguing British farms also holds true for American ones.

"What the Flock!" is a book I am so glad to have read, and like all good memoirs makes me wish I could spend a month there. Except for the getting up early and hard work part, naturally. Do yourself a favor and read this book. I can give no higher recommendation.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC

Sally Urwin, was a city girl, working in a high pressure job, and the day came when she had a break-down in the women's room. She met a man, Steve, who was a farmer. She decided to move in with Steve and see what happens. It wasn't what she thought it was, but between her and Steve, they learned and worked the farm. Over time, they had to think outside the box in order to keep the farm operational.
Sally is honest in her journey, from the corporate world to life on the farm, from what she was expecting to the reality she found. It wasn't easy, but they found a way. It isn't the life for me, but I loved reading the book, and experiencing the life she was living. There were many adventures and misadventures, there are unexpected surprises that came into their lives, it is the life they have, and how they made it work, and love the life they have.
The book flowed smoothly, it wasn't focused on one aspect but the journey that she was on. That made it a great read.
I received an ARC from Thread Books through NetGalley.

Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read this book.
I loved the easy style and the conversational manner. Very in the style of James Herriot. Just loved the book and am off to find Sally's first offering ! Thank you.

This was so entertaining and easy to read. I love books like these as they are so interesting. All the stories about life on the farm lambing and caring for the flock as well as the family sounded idyllic but, hard work. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

This book was perfect. I loved the honest and wholesome look at life the author provides. It is at some times funny and sometimes sad. However the whole tone of the book is like talking to a friend.

This was so funny and yet so informative and educational. I really enjoyed listening to it over the course of my day. As a current small homesteader, I learned a lot and related to her stories.
Sally tells of her life in the corporate world and how unfulfilled it left her. She decides to try a dating app and ends up meeting Steve, a sheep farmer who takes her to his farm on their first date and one of the lambs gives birth while they’re on their date and Sally realizes this is the kind of life she’d rather have. As they grow more serious in their relationships and eventually get married, they go through different stages with their animals and farming and Sally tells the ups and downs honestly and with lots of humor. She doesn’t sugarcoat how tough the life is, physically or monetarily, but she also points out how rewarding it can be. I love that she took in and cared for the lambs and pigs that were deemed not good enough and gave them fun names and nursed them to health.
I was not aware of her social media presence but I am a follower now because I can’t wait to see what her life is like on a daily basis.
Thanks to Thread Publishing and NetGalley for this audiobook arc in exchange for my review.

This was a lovely read.A city girl marries a farmer and shares the joys the difficulty of life on a farm.The life she and her family live on a daily basis is hard work but the author cherishes her life and I really enjoyed getting to know them and learning about their day today life.#netgalley #whattheflock,

Being a country girl I love any non-fiction based in the countryside and What The Flock is one of the best I’ve read in it’s genre. Sally writes candidly and with great warmth and humour. I loved reading about her life, animals, family, and neighbours, I am also hoping another instalment follows soon.

I don’t know any animal lover that won’t enjoy this book. I’ve only recently started reading more real-life tales about caring for animals, and this one hits all the right internal experiences. I related to the female farmer talking about her struggles with the corporate world, and I dreamed along with her that I might be capable of farming and loving on animals all day. Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of struggle here; I cried over the losses that can come with farm life and I anxiously hoped everything would work out when things got hard. This is actually the second book I’ve read with mention of the COVID pandemic, and I’ve found a memoir including this period actually serves as an interesting and entertaining look at how each unique family handled all its challenges. The anecdotes of balancing farm animals, family, and neighbors will keep you entertained, and I’m going to keep rooting for this family to secure their farm’s future.