Re-read of a book I haven't read in ages. Some of the references are kind of dated, and very British, but it's a fun satire. ( )

A pleasant enough read as chic lit goes, a little dated now in some of the habits of modern life. ( )

This one just didn't do it for me.

Two London couples pick the same small village as their get-away-from-it-all destination. Largely unlikeable or clueless characters and an author who is inordinately pleased with her "inside" jokes drag everything down. ( )

Oh I've got another great chick lit title for your beach bag! Wendy Holden was an author new to me but one I will be reading again for sure. In Farm Fatale, Rosie has her heart set on moving to the country from London, England. Her boyfriend Mark only says yes after his newspaper agrees to let him write a column about the goings on in Eight Mile Bottom - the village they move to. Their little cottage needs some work and there are some issues with the neighbours, but Rosie is determined to make it work.

Also moving into Eight Mile Bottom are Samantha and her husband Guy. Samantha saw a magazine spread about a country estate and decided she should have one too. With more money than common sense, they end up buying a local manor house.

But not everything is coming up rosy in the country.....

Holden has created a wonderfully warm, funny, lovable character in Rosie. She's real and is the kind of person I'd like to have as a friend. Her search for love and happiness is one we can all identify with. Who hasn't dreamed of escaping to the country?

But it was the character of Samantha that had me laughing out loud. She is just so blatantly over the top, it's hilarious. The details of the designer (Basia) who redoes her London house are priceless.

"...at the vase, more than a meter square, which Basia had placed in the center of a coffee table the size of a double bed. Vase fascism, Samantha had hotly retorted, is a central tenet of Basia's design philosophy. She wanted to challenge the fact that I filled the same vases in the same place with the same flowers every week."
I also really enjoyed Samantha's daydreams - she writes the copy for the magazine articles she envisions herself in. Holden perfectly captures and delightfully skewers every glossy magazine layout you've ever read.

The supporting cast of characters are no less engaging. I particularly enjoyed the local pub owner - his dialogue was quite witty, as were his various tee shirt logos.

There's lots of misunderstandings, missed cues, romantic entanglements and untangling along with the search for greener pastures. A light-hearted read chock full of witty dialogue and fun! ( )

Rosie convinces her boyfriend Mark that they should move to the country where they will both be able to work from home and just be able to get out of the big city and live a less hectic life. She finds a cottage in Eight Mile Bottom, somewhere in England. What ensues is a very funny story about what happens when several couples relocate to the countryside. Rosie is an artist, Mark is a writer. Another couple are Guy and Samantha. Samantha is an actress and her main focus is, well, herself. Eight Mile Bottom is a quiet small town with a variety of quirky characters. Duffy is the postman who just walks into the residents homes with their mail and offers advice and gossip. Matt is the reclusive rock star that everyone speculates about but Rosie befriends him at Samantha's party. Guy has a daughter Iseult who despises her stepmom. Then there is Jack, the farmer who allows Rosie to paint his sheep for her illustrations. Rosie's and Mark's next door neighbors are Mrs. Womersley who is Jacks aunt. So needless to say it is a tight knit community and everyone knows about everyone else. I found Farm Fatale to be a funny, witty and just plain fun book to read.. ( )