Book Review - A Cottage in the Country by Linn B Halton - #HIReadathon

Amazon UK

Title: A Cottage in the Country

Author: Linn B Halton

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Harper Impulse

Publication Date: 16th July 2015

Rating: 4 Stars

What do you do when your best friend has an affair with your husband of twenty-five years? The father of your two children and the person you trusted with your heart?

Well, you pack your bags, grab half of the equity in the house you've both lovingly restored and run away to an idyllic little cottage in the country.

Only, it’s not quite so idyllic when

1) the survey comes back to reveal ‘rustic charm’ actually means rundown.

2) The heavens decide to open on moving day and the rain just keeps on coming.

Maddie Brooks grits her teeth and hires the highly recommended 'man who can', ex-soldier, Lewis Hart. As he rips out the very shabby, and decidedly not-so-chic kitchen, reality sets in. Not only is he the most abrupt person she's ever met, but the man is a Neanderthal!

As the flood waters rise, and the village is cut off, everything that could possibly go wrong, does.

Hitting the big five-o is the final straw. No presents, family or friends—just infuriating Lewis, who can’t leave because the flood has now cut off his exit. How on earth is she going to get through this and put her life back together?

Can Maddie Brooks become that ‘fifty-and-fabulous’ woman of her dreams?

I will freely admit that the two alternative gorgeous covers are what drew me to this book originally. They looked amazing, and really inviting to this lovely cottage. And once  you get inside the book you are not disappointed. 

Maddie falls in love at first sight, with Ash Cottage, which she is looking to buy, as her divorce has finally come through. She is a cash buyer and hopes to move quickly so makes an immediate offer on the house, "sold as seen". She also fails to request a survey. 

I loved this impetuousness of Maddie, as she is clearly a woman who knows what she wants and isn't afraid to go after it, regardless of the consequences.  

Due to various circumstances, the move is delayed quite a bit, and she eventually moves in a week before Christmas. She has strict budget and has organised every last bit of this move to within an inch of its life. What she can't organise however is the weather. Pretty much from the moment she moves in there is non stop rain, and it isn't long before she discovers the village she has moved to is a flood risk, although her new cottage is up on a hill. 

As the rain and water level rises, she ends up stranded in the cottage with contractor, Lewis Hart, otherwise known as "the Man who Can". He is a whizz of a workman, but his attitude leaves something to be desired. And just what is he hiding. 

Although 90% of the story is based around Maddie's point of view, which is nice enough, what is really interesting is the occasional chapter from Lewis' point of view. He definitely has a different take on most situations, and at times I couldn't even work out if even liked him. However I found I was rooting for him more than any other interest Maddie may have acquired, 

For the first half of the book, I found it read like a comedy of disasters as one thing went wrong after another, which was very funny. And then the second half changed things a bit and it felt more character driven, with more of them being present, as well as the stranding.

I loved reading A Cottage in the Country, it touches on a serious issue of flooding in rural areas, as well as being a generally entertaining story and a gentle romance.  I found it to be a great story that kept me interested from start to finish, 

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Impulse for this review copy. This was my honest opinion. 

Amazon UK