Wickham Hall
Cathy Bramley
Rating: 5 stars
Amazon UK (K £3.99 / P £6.62)
Synopsis:
Seeking: Events Co-ordinator - highly organised, a good communicator with an ability to adapt to the unexpected ...
Holly has her life all planned out, she's pretty sure everything can be confined to a clipboard or a to-do list. A perfect candidate to plan events at Wickham Hall - the beautiful country manor that rests at the heart of the village. Holly has always felt an unusual kinship with the old house. It might just be the place where Holly can uncover the secrets of the past and find out who she truly is.
In the meantime, there's lots to plan at Wickham Hall; family weddings, summer festivals and Christmas grottos litter the calendar. But life and love can surprise you... Something Holly learns when sparks fly with her new boss Ben and it seems nothing can extinguish the flames of desire...
Life just isn't as easy to organise as an event at Wickham Hall (and even those don't always run smoothly...) Can Holly learn to let go, live in the moment and enjoy the unexpected?
After all, life is what happens when you're making plans...
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This is my favourite Cathy Bramley novel by far. I read this around this time last year and fell in love with the book completely. It was the book that made me wish I had Holly's job. A job in events. A job in Wickham Hall! I also loved reading it because it includes every season. A summer fete, firework night and of course Christmas grottos. I loved that it took you through a year at Wickham Hall and there was so much to learn in that year.
After reading The Lemon Tree Cafe (Cathy's newest novel), I desperately wanted to read another of her works (the only other one I haven't read being Conditional Love) but was drawn back to Wickham Hall to read for a second time. And I enjoyed every minute. Again. I enjoyed re-reading this novel because even though you enjoy it the first time round, you enjoy it even more the second time because you notice more. There are little details that you probably didn't notice the first time - but now you've read it for a second time, it gives you even more of an understanding of those characters and of those little bits of information.
I said it before in my first review (here), but Cathy Bramley's novels are so unique in their storylines and I really adore that. The jobs that the characters do, the relationships they have with their family etc are all so unique and I never fail to enjoy a Cathy Bramley book. Take Wickham Hall for example, before this book I hadn't related to a character as much, or even loved Chick Lit as much as I did when I finished it! Cathy has a brilliant way of engaging readers and making sure that they are constantly engaged throughout.
The story follows Holly, who has just been given her dream job at Wickham Hall as an assistant events co-ordinator, and she couldn't be happier. After losing her job a manner of weeks ago, Holly has been stuck at home whilst she desperately searches for a new one. When offered this role, Holly is ecstatic as things at home are getting a bit too much for her. The story is brilliantly written and easy to follow. Upon starting her new job, Holly is thrust into the world of daily events (whether that be a school trip or a garden tour) and she can't believe her luck. She's also happy when the Lord of the Manor's son, Ben, starts working in her office, as he gives Holly someone to talk to and it helps that he's good looking too...
The relationship between them blossoms as the year goes on and even more events take place at Wickham Hall. I think it's really lovely that this book is set over months at a time as this gives us a timeframe for what is going on between Ben and Holly and gives us time to get to know both of them very well. The story develops really well and there are parts of the story that leaves you hanging on to every word, desperate to read on and to find out the outcome. There's some twists and turns and it honestly leaves you not wanting to put the book down.
If you haven't already read this book, I throughly recommend giving it a go! You won't be disappointed.
The story follows Holly, who has just been given her dream job at Wickham Hall as an assistant events co-ordinator, and she couldn't be happier. After losing her job a manner of weeks ago, Holly has been stuck at home whilst she desperately searches for a new one. When offered this role, Holly is ecstatic as things at home are getting a bit too much for her. The story is brilliantly written and easy to follow. Upon starting her new job, Holly is thrust into the world of daily events (whether that be a school trip or a garden tour) and she can't believe her luck. She's also happy when the Lord of the Manor's son, Ben, starts working in her office, as he gives Holly someone to talk to and it helps that he's good looking too...
The relationship between them blossoms as the year goes on and even more events take place at Wickham Hall. I think it's really lovely that this book is set over months at a time as this gives us a timeframe for what is going on between Ben and Holly and gives us time to get to know both of them very well. The story develops really well and there are parts of the story that leaves you hanging on to every word, desperate to read on and to find out the outcome. There's some twists and turns and it honestly leaves you not wanting to put the book down.
If you haven't already read this book, I throughly recommend giving it a go! You won't be disappointed.
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