This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
You only have to look at the army of positive reviews on Amazon to know how popular Katie Fforde is as a writer. Having written somewhere in the region of 25 novels and copious short stories, she is, without a doubt, one of the great women’s fiction writers and it all comes down to delightful stories, beautiful locations and characters readers can relate to. This is the formula that, once again, proves successful in her latest offering, A Vintage Wedding.
In a small Cotswold country town, three girls – two of whom are making a fresh start – are looking for new beginnings, so they launch a new business, which sees them organising stylish and perfectly affordable weddings. They are so focused on other people’s romantic days and delightful love stories, however, that none of them realise their own love stories could be waiting just around the corner…
Okay, I’ll admit it, I am a sucker for a book set in a cute, chocolate-box village, possibly because I’ve recently moved to a village myself, with a lovely pub within walking distance and an equally lovely village community. Needless to say, I was instantly hooked by this book, but it wasn’t just about the setting for me as the three main characters – Beth, Lindy and Rachel – are all unique and totally likeable in their own ways. Beth has recently moved to the village and has been given the task of planning her sister Helena’s wedding whilst she jets off to sunnier climes. Beth is resourceful to say the least – “there’s nothing you can’t learn from YouTube” is her motto. We also meet Lindy, a busy single mother of two young boys and a talented seamstress. And finally, Rachel, a slightly OCD accountant who has recently moved to the village, and is a lover of all things white, tidy and organised.
After meeting at a ‘Save Our Village Hall’ get-together the girls form a friendship and, before they know it, they are combining their talents to create vintage weddings for brides who don’t have a large budget to blow on their big day. Their first task is to renovate the old, battered village hall ready for the wedding of local farmer’s daughter, April, in just a few short weeks. Before they know it they’re soon making wedding dresses, painting, icing cakes and building friendships as well as discovering talents they didn’t know they had.Whilst the girls are busying themselves with wedding planning they barely notice their own potential love interests appearing before their eyes and, though they are busy, each character must learn to make time for her own romance.
Everyone loves a wedding and as the girls prepare for Helena’s there is fun, drama and more than a little romance along the way. The lovely thing about Katie Fforde’s books is that she has just the right amount of fun, laughter, romance and likeable characters. A beautiful story set in a glorious location. A perfect read for spring.
8/10