A Springtime Affair by Katie Fforde

Blurb

"It’s the season of new beginnings for Helena and Gilly.

Gilly runs her own B&B business from her much-loved family home, which she doesn’t want to part with – at any price.

But that's before she meets handsome estate agent Leo, and soon she begins to wonder whether selling up might not be such a bad idea after all.

Meanwhile Gilly's daughter Helena has a budding romance of her own. A talented weaver, she's becoming very close to her new landlord, Jago, who's offered to help her at an upcoming craft fair.

It’s what friends do, and they are just friends. Aren’t they?

With spring in full bloom, Helena and Gilly begin to ask themselves the same question:

Might their new loves lead to happily ever after?"

Hardcover, 448 pages
Published February 20th 2020 by Century
With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

My Review

This is an enjoyable story about a warm relationship between mother and daughter, both finding new love.

Gilly is in her 50s and divorced with two grown-up children. She's happy with her life running a B&B until her son Martin makes her question whether she should give it up and sell her property so that she can give money to her children to help them along in life. Although she definitely isn't keen on living in a granny-annexe, understandably so when she's only in her 50's! She meets Leo who starts to sweep her off her feet, but she begins to question the reasons behind his appearance in her life. Meanwhile her accountant William is quietly in the background offering her sound advice and offering to take her gliding.

Helena is a strong independent woman on her late twenties making a career from weaving and is not interested in men, until she meets Jago. I enjoyed reading their relationship as it was mutually supportive until some questions about Jago's past arise. I have to confess I have no idea how to pronounce the name 'Jago' so I think I said it differently in my head every time I read it!

I found some parts of the relationships between the men and women in the story problematic, and while some were intentionally made so by the author I had misgivings that some of these tropes are still being used and some aspects of the attitudes held by the men were troublesome and weren't resolved by the end of the book.

This was an enjoyable, light hearted read, I give this book 2 out of 5.

The Author

Catherine Rose Gordon-Cumming was born 27 September 1952 in England, UK, the daughter of Shirley Barbara Laub and Michael Willoughby Gordon-Cumming. Her grandfather was Sir William Gordon-Cumming. Her sister is fellow writer Jane Gordon-Cumming. Katie married Desmond Fforde, cousin of the also writer Jasper Fforde. She has three children: Guy, Francis and Briony and didn't start writing until after the birth of her third child. She has previously worked both as a cleaning lady and in a health food cafe.

Published since 1995, her romance novels are set in modern-day England. Katie lives in Stroud, Gloucestershire, England with her husband, some of her three children and many pets. Recently her old hobbies of ironing and housework have given way to singing, Flamenco dancing and husky racing. She claims this keeps her fit. The writers she likes herself is also in the romantic genre, like Kate Saunders.

Author description taken from Goodreads.