Set in 1964, OEE follows the adventures of 22-year-old Meg as she sets off to help her mother run a small hotel in Dorset. This is definitely a good bit of escapism for the spring and would also make a perfect holiday read. I first met Meg when I read A Wedding in the Country. She was one of a group of three young women who attended a London cookery school aimed at teaching the culinary arts to young ladies. Having already followed the stories of the other two in the previous books in this loose series, I was delighted to learn more about Meg.

2023: WINNERS ANNOUNCED RNA ROMANTIC NOVEL AWARDS 2023: WINNERS ANNOUNCED

Without a doubt, Meg is definitely the one who was destined for a future in food. Creating beautiful dishes at the cookery school, she also appeared in A Wedding in Provence with a showstopper cake that proved to be far superior to anything that a local pâtissier could produce.Meg longs to be a professional cook, but in 1964 the idea of a female chef running a kitchen is considered ridiculous. Undaunted, she has plans to travel to France and work on her already impressive skills to chase her dream of becoming a pastry chef. Marrying her husband Desmond Fforde, the cousin of famous writer Jasper Fforde, in 1972, she then had three children; Briony, Francis and Guy. It was only after her third child was born that she begun her career as a writer, whilst using her married name to write under. Living in Stroud in Gloucestershire, she takes an active part in the local community where she sings in the choir there, whilst undertaking a variety of other activities.

One Enchanted Evening - Penguin Books UK

If you're looking for a novel that will take you on an enchanting journey, look no further than Katie Fforde’s One Enchanted Evening. This book follows on from two previous books set in the 1960s and vividly brings to life the beauty of Nightingale Woods Hotel in Dorset. In this review, we'll follow Meg's journey and learn why this book is must-read. The hotel is charming, a place I'd love to stay at with its welcoming and homely feel and beautiful location. Meg goes to France for a while too and I enjoyed her time working in a restaurant there. But what really sold this book to me was the romance, the spark between Meg and Justin, and the way their relationship develops throughout the book made my heart sing. It was just so sweet and lovely to watch their burgeoning feelings for each other grow. I think this is one of the best Katie Fforde romances I have read for a while. The 1960s setting, and his ambivalent feelings towards his father, totally explains Justin's attitude to Meg and her mother, yet it is also quite clear to the reader fairly early on that Justin is also quite smitten by Meg and finds any excuse to visit the hotel. Sure you have to suspend disbelief a little bit to think that a coat of paint, a bunch of flowers, and a few new cushion covers will miraculous make the hotel more inviting, but much is made of the homely (in the good sense) atmosphere, more of a home-from-home than a hotel, somewhere the aristocracy can stay while attending social events in the area. One Enchanted evening is everything you need in a novel when the weather outside demands you snuggle under a blanket with a good book.'When Meg's mother, Louise, called and asked for help, Meg couldn't refuse. Louise was working at a beautiful Georgian hotel set in the equally beautiful Nightingale Woods in sleepy Dorset. The hotel owner had died and one of his his sons, Andrew, who Louise had more than a passing acquaintance with, had gone to France to sort out his estate, Meg was to take over the kitchen, she didn't know if she was up to this but the hotel didn't have many g Published since 1995, her romance novels are set in modern-day England. She is the founder of the "Katie Fforde Bursary" for writers who have yet to secure a publishing contract. Katie was elected the twenty-fifteenth Chairman (2009-2011) of the Romantic Novelists' Association. She is delighted to have been chosen as Chair of the Romantic Novelists' Association and says, "Catherine Jones was a wonderful chair and she's a very tough act to follow. However, I've been a member of the RNA for more years than I can actually remember and will have its very best interests at the core of everything I do." One Enchanted Evening is a literary hug that filled me with a comforting warmth and made me crave for more.' What I thoroughly loved about this story was the twist though, especially as it involved my favourite character. It added a little bit of mystery to the book, and it wove beautifully through the romance without seeming like a side quest.