Title: The Country Escape
Author: Jane Lovering
Published on: 1 September 2020
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Set in the cozy coast of Dorset, The Country Escape is the story of second chances and warm friendships.
Katie has moved to a dilapidated cottage near the village of Steepleton on the Dorset Coast. A messy divorce has left a dent in Katie’s love life.
Poppy, Katie’s 14-year-old daughter is finding it difficult to adjust to the sleepy village life. From the hustle and bustle of London to a little village where hardly anything interesting happens, the mother and daughter pair are in for a surprise when they find a horse grazing their orchard. A few meters away is a caravan, parked with its owner nowhere to be seen.
Katie might have not been lucky in love and the finances are looking a little bleak but things are about to change. A film company wants to use Harvest Cottage to shoot a famous TV series. Meanwhile, Katie meets a new friend – Gabriel. Will their friendship change to something else? Only time will tell…
Let me start this reviewing by saying I have liked all the books of Jane Lovering I have read so far. Be it the writing or the romance with a dash of humor, Jane does it the best.
The Country Escape is a cozy and warm read with likeable characters. And yes, add a dash of humor to the mix. 🙂 Katie and Gabriel might seem like the opposite ends of a pole but they do have something in common. They both know what it means to be unloved. Gabriel’s vision is slowly failing and he doesn’t know how long he has until he might go completely blind. Meanwhile, Katie is still nursing the wounds of being cheated by her husband of fourteen years.
Poppy is like any other teenager – raging hormones. In the initial days of them moving in, the mother and daughter have petty fights over how London life was better (Poppy) and much more. Patrick, the horse, seems to the connection between Katie’s past and Poppy’s desire to learn horse riding. Mary, the caravan owner, is currently in the hospital after an episode of stroke. Until she’s recovered, her caravan sits idyll in Katie’s driveway and Katie has to feed Patrick(the horse).
The Country House is also about facing fears, opening our hearts up to those whom we love and warm friendships. I was so carried away by the charming setting and the characters, I did not want the story to end.
Speaking of ends, there is a huge surprise waiting for everybody as the story ends. And before the surprise is a splash of suspense.
Gorgeous setting, likeable and lovely characters, exceptional storytelling, heart-warming romance with a dash of humor, The Country Escape is a must-read book of this year. I surely think we could all do with a little bit of warm-hearted romantic reads during this pandemic. 🙂
Many thanks to the lovely Rachel for the blog tour invite.
The Book Decoder 
This sounds like a charming read. Glad you enjoyed it!
Yes, it is.🙂