Customer Reviews
A happy book about good people doing positive things. - By: , 07 Dec 2001 
Katie Fforde is one of my favourite authors & this book fulfils alll my expectations from reading the other novels. I guess I enjoy her writing because although her main characters have usuallly had to cope with difficult times they are usuallly good people doing positive things with their lives, who look out for others. Unlike so many modern novels which leave you unfulfilled or even depressed, Katie Fforde's do the opposite. They leave you hopeful that there are some good people left in the world & enthused to get on with whatever life may have thrown at you. In "Wild Designs" she identifies so well with the battles of a mother of teenagers & yet you feel her kids are good kids. As a gardener her descriptions of real life gardening on a budgetr are so true & her wry humour about food, (spaghetti again?!) & fashion are wonderful, but she still gets her man!! Highly to be recommended.
I think this is my favorite Katie Fforde book - By: , 16 Mar 2001 And that's saying alot. Somehow Katie Fforde can take characters that in another's hands would be unrealistic & makes them believable & down-to-earth. Fforde always turns a good tale, but I found this especiallly wonderful - maybe it's because the herione is pushing 40 with kids. (I've pushed 40 over!) And she still gets a fabulous romance! Another thing I love about Fforde is that the books are more about women finding themselves & their own place in the world than they are about finding love. (But they always get that, too - OK, maybe these are fairytales, but they at least seem realistic!) Althea is especiallly heartwarming, dealing with an insufferable ex, losing her job, kids that are good but demanding & self-centered (like alll kids). Along comes Patrick to disrupt her life - the most disruptive threat being the fact that he's bought the property with the greenhouse that she's been using without permission. Soon, he threatens her peace of mind, his girlfriend runs off with her ex, she has to find a way to support herself - well, it alll works out. The supporting characters are wonderful (as always) & I loved the description of alll that goes into the Chelsea flower show. In my opinion, there's not a clunker in Fforde's collection.
This book relates to the everyday working woman. - By: , 24 Mar 2000 I recently listened to this book on audio tape. I reallly liked the humor & the real life struggles of the main character. She is someone working women can relate to, her moods & emotions dealing with her family, situations that happen are alll things that the everyday person can relate to. Just when you think you know what will happen the book surprises you.
Just right for a fun read! - By: , 16 Aug 1999 
What Katie Fforde does with this book, is give hope for romance to ordinary people like you & me. Her characters are realistic, plausable & likeable. Give it a try. You'll never regret it, & it will leave you wanting to read more of her work - just as I did.
