Title: Farm Fatale
Author: Wendy Holden
Genre: British Chick Lit
Republished by Sourcebooks July 2010
*Sent to me as an ARC from Sourcebooks*
There was a time when I couldn't get enough of British Chick Lit. Sadly, however I think my tastes have changed so much that I might have to break up with chick lit. When I saw this offered as an ARC from Sourcebooks, I jumped at the chance to review it. I must have started this book 3 times, only to put it down again. The last time I picked it up, I was determined to finish it. I made it until page 235 out of 400, and when she still hadn't met the guy she was going to end up with yet (I cheated and read the last page) I just couldn't force myself to read any more.
The fault of not being able to finish this book lies totally with me. The book is actually really well written, and weaves the stories of two very different couples who move from London and wind up living in the country side. Rosie is the lead narrator in the book, and she's really tired of living in London. She's tried everything she can think of to convince her boyfriend Mark to go with her, but he likes the city life. He likes until he is offered a chance to write his only column for the weekly newspaper he writes for. He feels like this is his big break, and his editor loved his idea of him writing about what it's like to move from London to the country since it's the currently in thing to do. Samantha is a wanna be D list actress who married into money. She wants to move to the country side to do research on a role that she's sure she'll get in a tv soap opera. When her husband, who she married for his money, has a heart attack, she sees this as the perfect opportunity to move to the country. She just happens to move to the same village as Rosie and Mark do.
Both couples move to the country in the first 80 pages of the book, and I felt like the author did a great job of describing the British countryside, and the different personalities of the locals who live in the village that Rosie and Samantha moved to. One would think after reading so many books that deal with world building, I would be ok with the long descriptions of what was going on. I wasn't. I got fed up mainly because there wasn't a whole lot of action going on. By the time the book started picking up it had already lost me. Sadly, I think that chick lit books and I are slowly parting ways.
If you are in the mood for a cute, funny contemporary romance then this might be what you are looking for.
Here are reviews by those who loved the book more then I did:
Curran Crush Meter: Low
Sigh Meter: Low
Barrons Hero Hotness Meter: Low
Ethan/Merit Sizzle Meter: Low
