Portobello Book Blog

Kitty’s Countryside Dream is a delight from first page to last. Kitty is still grieving after her mother’s recent death when she learns she has inherited a farm and flat in the countryside from a grandmother she had believed to be already dead. Feeling she needs a fresh start she makes the decision to move into the flat and take up a role in the running of the farm. She soon finds that there is much more to farming than she had imagined and goes to bed exhausted each night from the hard work. She also discovers that she has a soft spot for the chickens on her farm after initially being rather wary of them. The secret to handling chickens seems to be to distract them with food!

I really enjoyed getting to know all the locals, alongside Kitty, as she begins to settle in and make new friends. She is hugely attracted to Tom who really oversees all the work on the farm but feels a bit conflicted as not only is he technically her employee, she also thinks he is attracted to her new friend Jeannie. There are so many misunderstandings between these three which make for some really funny situations and lots of jumping to the wrong conclusions!

Although this story seems to be just a light-hearted  and entertaining read to begin with, it soon deepens into a much more emotionally involving story when Kitty discovers a diary written by teenager Violet in 1960. She uncovers many long hidden family secrets and the discovery of an old photograph really shakes her world and everything she thought she knew about herself.

I was totally captivated by the lives of all the characters in this book and loved finding out all the unknown connections between so many of them. Christie Barlow has created a fantastic setting in the village and the farm and lovely characters who I’d love to  read more about. I finished this book with a big smile on my face at the heart-warming ending.

Thanks to Kim Nash at Bookouture for arranging a review copy of this book via Netgalley. Kitty’s Countryside Dream will be published as an e-book by Bookouture on 25th February 2016 and you can pre-order a copy here: Kitty’s Countryside Dream

Kitty’s Countryside Dream

New home. New life. New beginning. Love affairs can blossom in the most unlikely place. When Kitty inherits Bluebell Lodge from her grandmother, a farm in the beautiful Staffordshire countryside, it’s time for fresh air and a fresh start. Up to her elbows in chickens and ponies, Kitty soon realises there’s an awful lot to learn about farming. Still, at least the locals seem friendly, not least her handsome neighbour Tom…

But just as Kitty is beginning to find her feet, and the possibility of love, the discovery of a long-hidden diary, by a mysterious character called Violet changes everything. Who is Violet and what is her message for Kitty? As Kitty fills in the lost pieces of her family jigsaw and discovers some shocking revelations, will her countryside dream and blossoming relationship fall to pieces? When it comes to life in the country, nothing is ever quite as it seems …