Practically Perfect

Katie Fforde

Dec 2010 · Random House

About this ebook

Is home really where the heart is? A wonderfully romantic novel from the No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling author of Wedding Season, A Wedding in Provence and One Enchanted Evening.

'The queen of uplifting, feel good romance' AJ Pearce
'Top-drawer romantic escapism' Daily Mail
'Delicious - gorgeous humour and the lightest of touches' Sunday Times
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Anna has risked everything to buy and renovate a beautiful cottage.

The outside is perfect, but inside all is chaos: with a ladder for a staircase, no downstairs flooring, candles the only form of lighting and a sleeping bag and camping mat for a bed, Anna's soon wondering whether she's bitten off more than she can chew.

Her neighbour Chloe comes to the rescue, providing tea, wine and sympathy. But just as Anna's starting to believe she's found the perfect idyll, good-looking but impossible Rob Hunter arrives on the scene, putting up more obstacles than the Grand National.

Can Anna have it all? A dream house and the perfect man?
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The whole world loves Katie Fforde's work ...

'Modern-day Austen. Great fun' Red
'Warm, brilliant and full of love' Heat
'Effortlessly lovable, warm and fun' Closer
'Curl up on the sofa with this book and dream... delightful' The Lady
'Deliciously enjoyable' Woman and Home
'Uplifting and delightful' Hot Brands Cool Places

Ratings and reviews

Three and a half stars. Slightly dated classic Katie Forde romance. Anna has bought a dilapidated end of terrace worker's cottage in the Cotswolds with the intention of doing it up and selling it, and also showcasing her interior design credentials (cue rather dated references to the TV series Changing Rooms). She quickly makes friends with the woman in the cottage next door with an absentee husband (travelling for work) and three small children. Her new BFF also saddles her with a rescue greyhound rather against Anna's better judgement which leads to a run-in with the local representative of the greyhound rescue centre who is less than impressed by Anna's dog-handling skills. Rob, aka B*stard Dog Man (as Anna calls him), also turns out to work for the listed buildings department and Anna finds out her lovely cottage is listed, which means no new wide staircase and no French windows. So Rob is now rechristened B*stard House and Dog Man. But aside from his officiousness about Anna's house and dog, Rob is actually very helpful. Anna hasn't told anyone but one of the reasons she moved to the village was because the man she has been in love with years, Max, is originally from the area and his mother lives in the village. Max was a guest lecturer on Anna's university course and they had a moment at the end of year dance, but Anna threw his number away in a moment of madness and has been regretting it ever since. Now a college reunion beckons and Anna has the chance to see Max again. So here we are set up for the classic love triangle, the sophisticated London architect that got away versus the well-meaning but bossy B*stard House and Dog Man. The only problem was, I found both men pretty obnoxious, they both treated Anna like a fluffy little girl who didn't know a thing and told her what to do with monotonous regularity. Overall, I liked it but I didn't love it, I also thought Anna was a bit wet TBH.

Fun and easy read good detail on doing up houses part of story.

About the author

Katie Fforde lives in the beautiful Cotswold countryside with her family, and is a true country girl at heart. Each of her books explores a different profession or background and her research has helped her bring these to life. She’s been a porter in an auction house, tried her hand at pottery, refurbished furniture, delved behind the scenes of a dating website, and she's even been on a Ray Mears survival course. She loves being a writer; to her there isn’t a more satisfying and pleasing thing to do. She particularly enjoys writing love stories. She believes falling in love is the best thing in the world, and she wants all her characters to experience it, and her readers to share their stories.

To find out more about Katie Fforde step into her world at www.katiefforde.com, visit her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter @KatieFforde.