One Enchanted Evening: From the #1 bestselling author of uplifting feel-good fiction

Product Information

This time, the focus is on Meg as she agrees to support her mother with caretaking a Dorset hotel in the owner’s absence. Despite having a confirmed opportunity to experience a professional kitchen in a French restaurant, Meg takes control of the hotel’s kitchen even though the owner’s son views her through misogynistic eyes. There is clearly no love lost between Meg and the rather pompous Justin, and tempers become frayed as he continually undermines her skills. Meg falls in love with the hotel, despite the fact it needs some work doing on it, none of the rooms have bathrooms, the decor is dated. But it’s not long before Meg starts having ideas as to what they can do to get more visitors, because close by is a hotel with much more updated facilities. Can they keep the hotel running or will it have to be sold? Then there is Meg and Justin could there be another romance or not? Enter Justin, the son of the hotel owner and professional chef… you see where I’m going with this?!! Total enemies-to-lovers vibes *nods* All the elements that make up a classic Katie Fforde novel are here. I always read her new books when they come out, though over the years some have not been as memorable as others. In fact, this is the first book of hers in recent years that reminds me of her early novels which I have read many times over. Justin and Meg may clash in the kitchen, but their chemistry is strong and there is enough interaction for their relationship to be credible. When she gets a call from her mother asking for her help, she puts her plans on hold to help out in the kitchens of the shabby, but delightful country house hotel, Nightingale Woods. In the absence of the hotel's part owner Andrew, Meg's mother Louise has been left in charge, but things are not going well in the catering department. Just as Meg arrives, the chef who has caused all the trouble walks out, and she suddenly finds herself running a kitchen sooner than she has anticipated. However, Meg is always up for a challenge, and despite the scary prospect of an impending gala dinner, she gets down to work.

First of all, thank you to Net Galley and the publishers, Random House, for an advanced copy of this book. 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. Catherine Rose Gordon-Cumming was born 27 September 1952 in England, U Meg had my heart from Chapter One. The world is in the midst of social change where women fought for equal rights and pay, and our Meg is a girl with a plan. She is doing all she can to make her dreams of becoming a professional cook a reality. Not easy in a male dominated world. Yet, woe betide anyone who gets in her way… If you like foodie novels, then this one is a sweet treat. A lot of the scenes are set around food, which makes perfect sense since the two main characters are chefs.

Disclaimer

One Enchanted Evening is a literary hug that filled me with a comforting warmth and made me crave for more .' This really is a problem for me because it could have been mentioned that it was Book 3 in a series, even though it could and should be a standalone story – and the story does stand up very well by itself. Or it would if it didn't fall down on the number of characters. 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. This novel makes you through several love story's and there is some well build friendship circle and her family and that of Justin's family.

This is 1966 and a pivotal point in history when life is gradually opening up with new opportunities for women. Meg comes across attitudes to her working in a professional kitchen that seem alien to us now. In some ways women’s lives have changed a lot for the better, but then again there is always room for improvement. This is the first time I've ever read anything by Katie Fforde, although I am of course familiar with the name and the kind of books she writes.

Meg and Justin are a brilliant couple, I loved how now matter how hard he tried he couldn’t not love her, not help but appreciated her cooking and admit she was excellent at what she did. Louise and Andrew were a lovely couple too, the mother daughter relationship was written really well, especially with the age difference not huge. Then Justin, the son of the hotel owner, appears, determined to take over the running of the kitchen. Nevertheless, for a good-vibe book, it maintains the tone quite well. Like cozy cup of tea that keeps one warm on a rainy day. Alexander ,'we all loved it at the time , now it seems desperately gloomy and and needs repair and decoration.'.

Step into the world of Katie Fforde where love, romance and the happiest of happy endings are just around the corner. The new novel by the number one bestselling author and queen of feel-good romance. The last few chapters seemed a bit unedited. They chopped around with oddments of text that I think should have gone somewhere else, and they felt a bit rushed. But my biggest bugbear was the number of characters in the story, and particularly when another boatload turned up for the finale/closing image. One Enchanted Evening is set in the 1960s, I did love the descriptions of Nightingale Woods hotel in the beautiful countryside of Dorset. The hotel was brought to life perfectly and I had no trouble imagining myself staying there in one of the charming rooms. Katie Fforde is excellent at creating worlds. Meg goes to help her mother, Louise, at the hotel. It follows the ups and downs that running a country hotel entails. They desperately want to improve the hotel by adding en-suite bathrooms and improving the decoration. The owner of the hotel has recently passed away and the son’s of the owner are trying to find a mysterious third beneficiary of the hotel. Justin is a moody, handsome chef who happens to be the son of one of the sons. 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.

Complete this captcha to connect to Foyles

Me8g and mother find the deeds. Should they even tell Justin or Andrew? Who does she really know as real' where you pining for geography 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." The romance bit was also frustrating because I'm not such a fan of witholding information til the very end, so I didn't appreciate that we actually confirmed from Justin that he WAS with Laura, already quite near the end. Even with his feelings, it was always other people who spoke for him. I'm not a fan of that at all. because he was so silent about things, not clarifying his actions, I felt so confused for Meg.

Meg is a very talented cook who is planned to stage under a chef in France to be trained. She travels to Dorset to lend a hand when disaster strikes in the hotel her mother works for. But just before the important banquet, the owner's son, Justin shows up to take over the kitchen.

Select a format:

Will their differences be a recipe for disaster, or will they prove to have all the ingredients for a happy ever after? I loved this book so much that I devoured it in a day and a half. The characters were very well rounded and you instantly become invested in the storyline, the characters, and the beautiful old hotel.' Katie Fforde does an excellent job of painting beautiful descriptions of scenery throughout the story - readers will feel like they're right there with Meg whether she is in the delightful Dorset countryside or the rolling hills of Provence. Everything is going rather well, with the Nightingale Woods' team pulling together like a little family, until the arrival of Andrew's son Justin, who has very firm ideas about what should be happening at the hotel while his father is away. Justin has divided loyalties, and he sees little prospect of a future for Nightingale Woods, but Meg has fallen in love with this little corner of rural heaven. She is sure that this could be just the place for guests who would appreciate its charms, if only a few careful improvements could be arranged. This might be more of a challenge than Meg anticipated, but she is not ready to give up the fight... Some characters were only mentioned in passing and then given a name, as though for the sake of giving them a name (Clover?). One walk-on who didn't say anything was randomly named Ted, and then we had Edward/Teddy mentioned later on who was a completely different but far more important person. At the end someone called Patsy suddenly featured quite importantly. Who is Patsy?