Amber is a city girl at heart. So when her boyfriend Jake suggests they move to the countryside to help out at his family farm, she doesn't quite know how to react. But work has been hectic and she needs a break so she decides to grasp the opportunity and make the best of it.
Dreaming of organic orchards, paddling in streams and frolicking in fields, Amber packs up her things and moves to Skylark Farm. But life is not quite how she imagined - it's cold and dirty and the farm buildings are dilapidated and crumbling.
But Amber is determined to make the best of it and throws herself into farm life. But can she really fit in here? And can she and Jake stay together when they are so different?
When her boyfriend Jake decides that he's moving to the country to work on his aunt's farm, Amber has a tough decision to make whether to go with him or stay and take the exciting job opportunity that she has been offered and risk the chance of losing him. But after handing in her notice, she's given a counter offer of six months unpaid leave to try life on the farm before giving her final decision about the new job. Will she be running back to the city or will she stay on the farm, only time will tell...
No sooner do they arrive, Amber realises that she's like a duck out of water and has no idea what life living in the country is really like, it's not at all like the magazines portray especially when the farm is as rundown as Skylark Farm is. And an unfortunate incident with a boiling kettle on an aga makes her realise that she truly has no idea what is in store for her. But could a deeply hidden secret and the reappearance of someone from Jake's past jeopardise their future?
In no time at all, Amber is welcomed into the Wynbridge community and finds her footing and is able to come up with some great suggestions to turn fortunes around on the farm including hosting the annual May fair that was in danger of being cancelled once for all if a suitable space couldn't be found. Organising the fair gives Amber the opportunity to use her project and event management experience to great effect and by doing so, get to know many of the local community.
I loved how Jake's aunt Annie was there by Amber's side encouraging her every step of the way. Annie really was the motherly figure that we all need in our lives, offering her words of wisdom but without interfering too much and letting Amber and Jake work things out for themselves as the new generation on the farm.
What I love about reading books in a series, even though they're all standalone stories, is recognising characters that we've met previously and in this instance it's Lizzie and Jemma from The Cherry Tree Cafe. It's always great catching up with old friends to see how they're doing but at the same time meet new ones such as Jake's friends, Harriet, Jessica and her fiance Henry, who all instantly welcome Amber into the group and and it was great to see the support they gave one another when needed. I hope we meet them again at some point as well as Amber, Jake and Annie of course.
Summer at Skylark Farm is another gem of a read from Heidi Swain and I'm determined this year to catch up with the rest of the books in the Wynbridge series that are waiting for me on my Kindle.
No comments:
Post a Comment