Showing results by author "Katie Fforde" in All Categories

Take one aspiring cook, one judge, and a spoonful of romance...When Zoe Harper wins a coveted place in a televised cookery competition she's thrilled. It's a chance to cook her way to fame and fortune and the little delicatessen she's set her heart on. The first task has hardly begun when she finds herself with rather too much on her plate. Not only has she got to contend with the fiercely competitive and downright devious Cher, but she's fast developing an inconvenient crush on one of the judges - the truly delicious Gideon Irving.

Sarah Stratford is a wedding planner hiding a rather inconvenient truth - she doesn't believe in love. Or not for herself, anyway. But as the confetti flutters away on the June breeze of yet another successful wedding she somehow finds herself agreeing to organise two more, on the same day and only two months away. And whilst her celebrity bride is all sweetness and light, her own sister soon starts driving her mad with her high expectations but very limited budget.

Ellie Summers' life is unravelling. Finding herself pregnant, and her sexy but idle boyfriend Rick less than enthusiastic about parenthood, she needs a plan. Fast. Grace Soudley's life is also coming apart at the seams, her only security is the beautiful yet crumbling old house she was left by her godmother. But unless she can find a fortune, Luckenham House will disintegrate around her.

Lizzie has just arrived in London, determined to make the best of her new life. Her mother may be keen that she should have a nice wedding in the country to a suitable man chosen by her, and Lizzie may be going to cookery school to help her become a good wife...but she definitely wants to have some fun first. It's 1963, and London is beginning to swing as Lizzie cuts her hair, buys a new dress with a fashionably short hemline and moves in with two of her best friends, one of whom lives in a grand but run-down house in Belgravia that has plenty of room for a lodger.

Flora Stanza has sub-let her London life in a bid to join the family antiques business. Her knowledge of antiques extends only to the relics of information she has crammed from frantic daytime TV watching, but what she lacks in experience she makes up for in blind enthusiasm. So she is more than a little put off when she doesn't receive the warm country welcome she expected.

Late summer, 1963. Fresh from London and a recent cookery course, Alexandra has always loved a challenge. Which is why she now finds herself standing outside an imposing chateau in Provence. Waiting for her inside is three silent, rather hostile children who are to be her charges for the next month. They will soon be more friendly, she tells herself. All they need is some fun, good food and an English education. Far more of a challenge though is their father—an impossibly good-looking French count with whom she is rapidly falling in love.

Lorna is a talented gardener, and Philly is a plantswoman. Together they work in the grounds of a beautiful manor house in the Cotswolds. They enjoy their jobs and are surrounded by family and friends. But for them both, the door to true love remains resolutely closed. So when Lorna is introduced to Jack at a dinner party and Lucien catches Philly's eye at the local farmers market, it seems that dreams really can come true, and happy endings lie just around the corner.... But do they?

When your boyfriend calls you impulsive, what do you do? If you’re Jenny Porter, you dash off to Scotland determined to save a failing textile mill, of course. That’s how Jenny finds herself having awkward encounters with the abrasive but disconcertingly attractive Ross Grant. And then, just as things between Jenny and Ross develop into something more interesting, her boyfriend, Henry, arrives in Scotland. Should she do the sensible thing and follow Henry back to London? Or might her Highland adventure be more than just a fling?

Nel is the owner of a houseful of animals and the organiser of the farmer’s market in the picturesque Paradise Fields. She is always super-busy, but not so busy to want to preserve the meadow and market she loves when its owner dies. But who can she trust to help her save Paradise Fields? Her sensible boyfriend, Simon? Or Jake, the devilishly handsome man who kissed her under the mistletoe?

Anna, a newly qualified interior designer, has decided it's time to put her money and her expertise where her mouth is. She's risked everything on buying a tiny but adorable cottage so she can renovate it, sell it on and prove to her family that she can earn her own living. Outside, the chocolate-box cottage is perfect, but inside all is chaos: with a ladder for a staircase, no downstairs flooring, candles the only form of lighting and a sleeping bag and camping mat for a bed, Anna's soon wondering whether she's bitten off more than she can chew.

Gina and Sally Makepiece have inherited a stall in the French House - an antiques centre nestled in the heart of the English countryside. Gina is determined to drag the French House and its grumpy owner into the 21st century. Bearing all the attributes of a modern-day Mr Rochester, Matthew Ballinger is less than happy with the whirlwind that has arrived on his doorstep. The last thing either of them want is to fall in love. But will a trip to France change their minds?

When Jo's husband trades her in for a younger model, she suddenly finds herself living on a barge near the Thames. Used to being a kept woman, she soon realises she'll need more than a few culinary skills to keep herself afloat. Aware she was about to make a terrible mistake, Dora has fled from a huge wedding, her fiancé, her mother and a very critical village to come under Jo's protective wing. While offering mutual support, Dora gets a job where she has to row to work and Jo works out how to make a living.

A delicious Christmas feast of short stories from the Sunday Times number one best-selling author of A French Affair and The Perfect Match. Add some extra sparkle to your Christmas by joining Katie Fforde for a perfect romantic Christmas feast of short stories. Collected together for the first time and including one brand-new story. Make your Christmas wishes come true....

Allie is bored with her job and starting to wonder whether she even likes her boyfriend, Ryan. The high point in her day is passing a café on her walk home from work. It is the sort of place where she'd really like to work. Then one day she sees as advert on the door: assistant wanted. 

Zomer, 1963. Alexandra is net klaar met een kookcursus die ze in Londen volgde, en nu is ze op zoek naar een nieuwe uitdaging. Als er een vacature voor een inwonende oppas bij een -gezin in Frankrijk op haar pad komt lijkt dit precies wat ze nodig heeft. Ze besluit de kans te grijpen en voor ze het weet woont ze op een prachtig chateau in de Provence.

Verlang je naar de zon? Met Een tuin vol bloemen lijkt het altijd zomer! Een verborgen tuin op een Engels landgoed zorgt voor heel wat verwikkelingen voor de pijlen van Cupido doel treffen. Lorna en Philly zijn elkaars tegenpolen: Lorna is een verlegen vrouw die een nare scheiding achter de rug heeft en lijdt onder een onbeantwoorde liefde; Philly is een jonge spring-in-'t-veld met een onverwoestbaar goed humeur. Maar hun passie voor tuinieren zorgt voor een diepe band tussen de twee vrouwen.

Gilly is heel tevreden met haar leven: ze runt een succesvolle bed and breakfast in haar eigen huis en geen haar op haar hoofd die eraan denkt die prachtige plek op te geven. Maar dan ontmoet ze makelaar Leo, die niet alleen vriendelijk en behulpzaam is, maar ook nog eens verwarrend aantrekkelijk. Langzaam begint ze zich af te vragen of het wel zo erg zou zijn het roer van haar leven radicaal om te gooien. Gilly's volwassen dochter Helena heeft haar eigen beslommeringen. Haar bedrijfje als weefster komt goed van de grond nu haar prachtige stoffen steeds populairder worden.

Stürmische Liebe auf schottischer See. Emily, 35 Jahre alt und glücklicher Single, sieht sich in ihrem geliebten Job als Hebamme mit so vielen Problemen konfrontiert, dass ihr der Sinn nach einer Auszeit steht. Da kommt der Anruf ihrer Freundin Rebecca gerade richtig: Die Hochschwangere bittet Emily, die Betreuung der Feriengäste auf ihrem Kutter zu übernehmen und sie als Köchin zu vertreten. Für Emily klingt dieses Angebot nach der perfekten Abwechslung - was gibt es Schöneres, als die schottischen Kanäle entlangzuschippern?! Wäre nicht der attraktive Alasdair mit an Bord, der Emily den Kopf verdreht und sie vor die Entscheidung ihres Lebens stellt.

Sian ist mit ihrem kleinen Sohn aufs Land gezogen. Während sie mit Hingabe ihren Garten bepflanzt, lernt sie die fröhliche Fiona kennen, die ihr bald eine...

Die Londoner PR-Beraterin Gina hat nach ihrer letzten gescheiterten Beziehung der Männerwelt abgeschworen und ist zu ihrer Schwester aufs Land geflohen. Dort trifft sie auf den eigenbrötlerischen Antiquitätenhändler Matthew. Und erfährt, dass ihre kürzlich verstorbene Großtante ein Testament der besonderen Art aufgesetzt hat: Gemeinsam mit Matthew soll Gina einem Antiquitätenladen neuen Pfiff geben.