Wild Designs : A Novel By The Author Of Stately Pursuits

Rating:
Summary: satisfying read
Review: A thoroughly satisfying introduction to an author I intend to read further. Shades of Joanna Trollope in Fford's astute depictions of real families' ups and downs.

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Summary: Lovely book!!!!
Review: excellent holiday read, it can be read in a single day! I've read it three times so far, it's one of those books that you don't want to end! If you're a woman; read this book!

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Summary: Very enjoyable read.
Review: Great reading for a slow rainy day. Full of really likeable characters and light romance.

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Summary: Charming light romance with some untraditional twists
Review: Having enjoyed "Stately Pursuits," I wasn't disappointed with "Wild Designs." That the heroine has some "unromantic" traits from a traditional standpoint -- she is slightly older, divorced, with 3 teenaged kids, no job and major money woes -- only made the story more enjoyable. Occasionally the British slang escaped me (e.g. what does it mean to be "Pommish"?) and I thought Althea did altogether too much sighing and bursting into tears when people left the room (the constant self-denial for the sake of the children routine made her a bit too martyrish) but overall a fun, funny, enjoyable book for those who are sick of Oprah-book-club angst.

Rating:
Summary: Quick and Delightful to Read
Review: I finished this book in a day. It was entertaining and amusing, not requiring a lot of deep thought. I thought Fforde did a fairly good job of character development even if the plot was a tad predictable
I liked the way the family was presented with all of its faults: the disagreements, the messiness, the lack of planned meals. This was very realistic. I also liked the way Althea met her financial problems head-on and made the best of things.
The only false note was the way Althea treated Patrick....there were too many times when she decided to let him go and pushed him out of her life.
But overall, this was an enjoyable way to spend a day of reading.

Rating:
Summary: Not Bad, but Life Skills is Better
Review: I found this Katie Fforde to be the second best of her works, full of enjoyable details about gardening in England and the Chelsea Flower Show, all expressed in Fforde's delightful, slangy modern British diction. Unfortunately, one soon tires of Fforde's self-centered and in this case unnecessarily martyered female characters and wonders why the men they keep pushing away come back for more. This results in predictable endings as well because one knows from the start that the women will come to their senses in the end and marry.

Rating:
Summary: Not particulary interesting
Review: I wasn't sure what to expect being that this was my first novel about the modern England. I guess I just am left feeling let-down. I was not drawn into the story at all. In fact, I found the plot a little too predicitible. I also felt that Althea worried too much about her kids for almost half of the book. No real person worries that much and pushes off the man as many times as she did. I couldn't quite understand why Patrick kept coming back to her. It is a good book to read if you just want something for here and there, but don't waste your time if you want to get into the book and the characters. I found myself having to put the book down because I was feeling "bogged" down with reading it. I did finish the book, which does say that it has some redeaming qualities, but there are not many.

Rating:
Summary: The Best of Katie Fforde
Review: I've read all of Katie Fforde's books and Wild Designs is the best yet. I guess I identify more with Althea. She may be pushing 40 and devoted to her kids, but she still has a wonderful sense of humor and is such a "real" person. Fforde writes with such wit and gentle concern for people, you really come to care about the characters. The love story between Patrick and Althea seems genuine and you come away believing that they will live happily every after. The supporting characters are, as always with Fforde, strong and really make the book. Is this deep, heavy literature? No. But it's not all fluff either, and Fforde truly writes well.

Rating:
Summary: Happy ending but tedious and too tidy
Review: INSPIRING. I LOOKED FORWARD TO DRIVING IN MY CAR SO THAT I COULD LISTEN TO THIS AWESOME STORY. IT MADE ME SAD AND HAPPY AT THE SAME TIME. I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT TO ANYONE THAT IS ABLE TO SPEND SOME TIME LISTENING TO THEIR AUDIOBOOKS BECAUSE YOU WON'T WANT TO STOP LISTENING.

Rating:
Summary: WILD DESIGNS
Review: INSPIRING. I LOOKED FORWARD TO DRIVING IN MY CAR SO THAT I COULD LISTEN TO THIS AWESOME STORY. IT MADE ME SAD AND HAPPY AT THE SAME TIME. I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT TO ANYONE THAT IS ABLE TO SPEND SOME TIME LISTENING TO THEIR AUDIOBOOKS BECAUSE YOU WON'T WANT TO STOP LISTENING.