Review: Summer at Skylark Farm by Heidi Swain

For everyone dreaming of escaping to the country, fall in love this summer at Skylark Farm...

Amber is a city girl at heart. So when her boyfriend Jake Somerville suggests they move to the countryside to help out at his family farm, she doesn't quite know how to react. But work has been hectic and she needs a break so she decides to grasp the opportunity and make the best of it.

Dreaming of organic orchards, paddling in streams and frolicking in fields, Amber packs up her things and moves to Skylark Farm. But life is not quite how she imagined - it's cold and dirty and the farm buildings are dilapidated and crumbling.

But Amber is determined to make the best of it and throws herself into farm life. But can she really fit in here? And can she and Jake stay together when they are so different?

A story of love in the countryside from the author of the bestselling The Cherry Tree Café. Perfect for Escape to the Countrydreamers, Cath Kidston fans and Country Living addicts!

I was really looking forward to reading this second offering from Heidi Swain, having thoroughly enjoyed her debut novel, The Cherry Tree Cafe. I was hoping to find the same good standard in this book as there was in the first, and I wasn't disappointed. I found it an easy read that pulled me in from page one and kept me engaged throughout. 

The main characters in the story are Amber and her boyfriend Jake. They are both working for the same company, but while Amber is finding herself practically on call for her boss and enjoying the challenges of the job, Jake has his heart being pulled more and more to the family farm and his elderly Auntie Annie, who is struggling with the farm and her health. Things come to a head and they both move to Skylark Farm to help out. They meet up with some lovely people in the village of Wynbridge, where the farm is located. These include Jemma and Lizzie from the Cherry Tree Cafe; it was great to meet up with them again. Life on a farm is very different for city girl Amber, and there is a quite a bit of humour as we see her coping with tasks she never thought she would have to deal with. I was really cheering for her though as she turned her back on the life she knew and just simply got on with whatever she was faced with, even Jake's ex, Holly - now she really was a nasty piece of work!

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a thoroughly good read. It makes a lovely follow up to The Cherry Tree Cafe, although you don't have to have read that before this of course. It would be a good one to stow away in your holiday luggage.