Customer Reviews

Stately Pursuits

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

She comes up with the most enjoyable story lines, and then goes a step further, and keeps you in suspense quite to the end. I couldn't wait for the story to end, yet hated to have it end. I positively hate bodice ripper novels, and Ms.Fforde manages to move us through the necessary romance parts of the story with dignity and still, my heart went pitty-pat. The cast of characters are remarkable, yet it's your usual butinsky Mother, pushy know-it-all neighbor, brilliant, funny and slightly naughty new best friend and a couple of prospective guys all joining in to make our heroine, Hetty wish she NEVER agreed to "house-sit". So the old house gets a much needed polish, as does Hetty's heart. Excellent; I don't know if I enjoyed this or Fforde's "Wild Designs" as a favorite!

This book is vastly similar to Highland Fling, except that instead of a sweater company it's a falling down, ancient estate in Courtbridge. And instead of quaint small town Scotland, it's quaint small town England. And again Katie Fforde has a lovely way of describing the characters with just enough bad qualities that they seem real to the reader. This formula of the sweet female lead taking charge and bringing back to life a forgotten old thing and the grumbling, irritable yet somehow sexy male totally works for me! I loved it!!!

This time, Hetty Longden is nursing back to life a broken heart and housesitting for an uncle (who rivals the estate in age & is having vital surgery). She makes friends with all the disparate townspeople and takes up their cause of keeping the old crumbling estate going and prepares to show it. However, the uncle's closest and only heir, civil engineer Connor Barrabin, aka Conan the Barbarian to the townspeople, returns to see how things are going and he has other, more devious plans for the beloved old shack. The sparks that obviously will fly between Connor and Hetty are hot and tangible. The way things progress is quite predictable, with just a few surprises put in the way, but still a completely satisfying delight to witness either way.

Katie Fforde is good at creating down on their luck heroines that you can't help but sympathize with and cheer on, a side cast with fully developed personalities, and a smart and sexy "Alpha-male" to keep things just tantalizing enough that we are totally driven to turn every page without distraction.

This Was the first book I had ever read from Fforde. I was working in a bookstore at the time and glanced at the cover while dusting the shelves. Since then Katie Fforde has become one of my favorite authors of this genre. Hettie is timid and sweet, Conner definately lives up to his nickname "Conan the Barbarian". While you know immediately the outcome for these two from practically the moment you open the book. You'll enjoy their path getting there in a beat up (but beautiful) old car.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I found it thoroughly engrossing, and just darn right funny. It was cozy read, like curling up with a Mocha from Starbucks or listening to Chopin. The characters are vivid and likeable, and the old house is a worthy character unto itself. It is a must read for lovers of what I call "escapist" fiction.

No one hates these "bodice rippers," whether modern or period, more than I do. But Fforde's "Stately Pursuits" didn't read like one. It was funny and a terribly fast read. The English country village sports the usual pack of eccentrics, but they were people you wish you knew.

I couldn't put it down. I don't say that about many books, but, in this case, I just had to see how the novel would resolve itself. With stories like these, as Roger Ebert observed about a similar movie, you know where the stories going but, if it's done well, you enjoy the ride anyway. Here's one case where you'll enjoy the ride.

This is a pleasant, well written enough novel. It is also "Exhibit A" on how an Englishwoman writes a romance differently from an American woman. For one, it is so much quieter and drier than an American romance. It is set in a village of English eccentrics (is there any other kind?), which is intent on preserving local businesses. The heroine decides to help the village save the historical house she has been assigned to house-sit. While she and the villagers are busy making it ready for tourist house tours, enter the hero and heir to the house. He is Connor Barrabin, nicknamed Conan the Barbarian because he would like to sell the house to an amusement park. You'll have an enjoyable enough time with this novel but you will hardly be riveted to every page. I'm unsure if I want to read anymore of this author's work. I think I may personally require more gripping material. If you like light, dry English comedies, however, this may be just your...er...cup of tea.

What a dream it would be to help restore and live in an old country manor house in England...well at least for me. I love history, small quaint towns, and England, so this was a definite read for me. The town was quaint and with all the rather quirky but endearing characters. Hetty was certainly a likeable heroine,and the plot caught my interest. The one thing I did not like was the hero, Connor. He was just not appealing to me. For some reason, I kept picturing him as this bearded, gruffy looking man, not my opinion of the most sexy man. So while everything else was really good about this book, the romance just did not appeal to me. I found myself struggling through the final scenes knowing that somehow these two were going to end up together.
There were some really comical moments...especially holding a "secret" rummage sale (secret to no one BUT Connor). Also, when Hetty was driving Connors car. She could barely handle it on the road. I was crossing my fingers for her the whole way, but the way that she just decided to "borrow" it.
Definitely a likeable read. I gave it three stars because the romance between the hero and the heroine was not that appealing for me. However, it is another great read for Anglophiles who just love to devour novels set in a quaint English village.

Stately Pursuits begins with Hetty's boyfriend dumping her in an excrutiatingly embarassing way and then Hetty's mother pushes her into housesitting for a distant relative. Hetty is starting from zero in a country town, and what a cast of characters! Eligible men, pushy (but well-meaning) neighbors and the cooler-than-cool Caroline. Once Hetty arrives, she realizes her uncle's house needs a lot of work before it is opened to the public a few months from her arrival. The house renovations are a nice and not heavyhanded counterpoint to the renovations which occur in Hetty's life as she starts over with a new job as housesitter/renovator, new friends, and possible new romance. As Hetty makes the house her project, she unknowingly becomes the project of her new best friend Caroline and ...

The story has a hint of a fairy-tale quality, but Hetty is not the fairy-tale heroine who needs rescuing, thank you very much. There is just enough fairy-tale to lift this novel from being glum but still keep the story line believable in a 'this could really happen' way. This is a lovely story, and Fforde possesses an abundance of clear, insightful and snappy writing skills. Setting the story in the country is a nice change from the many other city-based Brit Chick novels. The sheer high quality of her writing reminds me of Marian Keyes. Stately Pursuits was a pleasure to read, and I've already ordered more of Fforde's novels. Highly recommended.

The Amazon search engine recommended this book to me, based on my previous purchases. I hate to give a compliment to a computer, but it was right on. Very cute book - not complex by any means, but a good story. The romance angle isn't sappy or unrealistically over the top, but you still find yourself liking all of the characters and caring about them. Hetty grows up and learns a lot about herself - as does Conner. He's so disagreeable, but you know that he's really a caring person. Ms Fforde has a way with humor and dialog. I'd recommend this book highly.

Whilst well-written, I found this to be somewhat too lightweight and lacking depth in its plot. I did like the characters and how they developed but felt that the story itself plodded along and that the romance between the main characters was perhaps a little too chaste for this day and age.