Paradise Fields

by Katie Fforde

It's not as if Nel Innes doesn't have enough on her plate already: keeping track of her unnervingly beautiful teenage daughter, sorting out a house full of animals, and organizing a farmers' market in the picturesque Paradise Fields. But when her old friend Sir Gerald dies and his son has no intention of preserving the Fields, Nel takes up arms - determined to fight for the meadow and the market she loves.

Genres: Chick Lit, Romance, Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Womens Fiction, British Literature

422 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Catherine Rose Gordon-Cumming was born 27 September 1952 in England, UK, the daughter of Shirley Barbara Laub and Michael Willoughby Gordon-Cumming. Her grandfather was Sir William Gordon-Cumming. Her sister is fellow writer Jane Gordon-Cumming. Katie married Desmond Fforde, cousin of the also writer Jasper Fforde. She has three children: Guy, Francis and Briony and didn't start writing until after the birth of her third child. She has previously worked both as a cleaning lady and in a health food cafe.

Published since 1995, her romance novels are set in modern-day England. She is the founder of the "Katie Fforde Bursary" for writers who have yet to secure a publishing contract. Katie was elected the twenty-fifteenth Chairman (2009-2011) of the Romantic Novelists' Association. She is delighted to have been chosen as Chair of the Romantic Novelists' Association and says, "Catherine Jones was a wonderful chair and she's a very tough act to follow. However, I've been a member of the RNA for more years than I can actually remember and will have its very best interests at the core of everything I do."

Katie lives in Stroud, Gloucestershire, England with her husband, some of her three children and many pets. Recently her old hobbies of ironing and housework have given way to singing, Flamenco dancing and husky racing. She claims this keeps her fit. The writers she likes herself is also in the romantic genre, like Kate Saunders.

Reviews

[Juliana Graham · Rating 1 out of 5]

Another one where half stars would be handy - a 1.5 here as it's not as bad as Queen Camilla but not good enough to warrant an OK.

My first Katie Fforde book and my overall feeling towards it is that it is SO dull. The main character is about 42 as far as I can tell but seems to have the characteristics of an 80 year old e.g. she is too old to send a text message and at one point is resigning herself to a life of solitude with her grandchildren who haven't even been born yet(???). If I behave like that in the next 5 years or so someone please tell me to get my act together and stop behaving like a pensioner.

She is constantly complaining about how fat she is (even though she clearly isn't) and generally irritating the hell out of the reader! The plot revolves around saving a hospice, which leads nicely to interminable committee meetings which go on for pages and pages but are also DULL.

There is a handsome young love interest (around a year younger than the woman as far as I can tell, which of course makes him unobtainable) who likes her, she likes him and yet she is constantly vile to him. This is because she believes that the occasion that she bumped into him whilst stalking her daughter in a night club in London (‘cos London is really small and you’re likely to bump into people you know like that, especially when neither of you actually LIVE in London) was in fact a cunning ruse to seduce her to stop her from protesting about the hospice plans as he is a solicitor for one of the interested parties. What???

With characters so uninspiring and plots so far fetched, I sadly won't be rushing to read any more Katie Fforde books. I may give her another go as many people really like her and she has written many books but I was sorely disappointed with this effort.

[Abigail Archer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me get some things straight: I'm a romantasy, action, thriller, mystery girl, and I love books that are action-packed. I also love a slow-burn romance. I need a good plot and engaging characters to pull me into a book and keep me hooked until the end. I bought this book a long time ago—maybe even years—and it’s been sitting on my bookshelf. I finally picked it up just a day ago.

I normally don’t read pure romance books on their own, but I’m not going to complain.

This book follows a widow, Nel. She’s insecure for multiple reasons:

1. Her age (even though she’s only 40)


2. Her weight (she believes she’s fat when others don’t think so)


3. Apparently she's not pretty.



I find her character annoying yet understandable. The MMC was very well written. Although the plot wasn’t much, it did carry me through the book. The author has a very simple and clear writing style. I normally love books set in winter (not going to lie—this was the reason I picked it up in the first place).

Overall, this book was “fine” for me. The characters didn’t make me laugh or giggle, but I also didn’t feel the urge to put it on my “wish I didn’t waste my time” list.

This book is good for a light read, and overall I’m giving it 3 stars. 🌟

[Ririn Aziz · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Yes! Managed to finish this before the year is up! :-P

The first half was good. Fast paced and the story flowed smoothly. But after that, the story was a bit dragging and it was quite a task for me to reach the end. I was very unhappy with Nel's assumptions and the way she just jump to her own conclusions, which she reasoned with what she wanted to believe. Hmm...Fortunately, Jake was what the hero should be, so all's turned out as it should be :-)

[Veerle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Normaal zorgt Katie fforde wel voor een gezellig leesmomentje: ietwat voorspelbaar, maar wel fijn. Deze keer viel het echter tegen: vrij langdradig, onnodig complex op sommige vlakken, om van enkele onlogische zaken nog maar te zwijgen. Uitgelezen, maar zonder veel animo.

[Debby Aron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ik vond het een eerder lange intro.. eens je in het verhaal zit, lees je het graag verder!

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy read but it didn’t quite have the page turning quality needed for a 4 star read.
The story is fundamentally about the fight to save a childrens’ hospice from being bulldozed to accommodate a new housing estate. So in a way, a good vs evil story.
The story meandered for the most part and then concluded quite quickly.
Not a bad read but not up to some I’ve read by the author.

[Melda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Arggh! I hate the heroine! I detest her to the extent that I have to put the book down occasionally and calm myself down. How did the author manage to create an as moronic character as Nel is? I mean if the author chose divorced or widowed women over forty (as if forty is an old age!) who didn't have sex for the last ten years and think themselves as way past their prime as her target audience, and is trying to convince them otherwise, she is not doing a very good job of it. It goes like, but I am over forty and I am a size 14, and I am over forty, who would possibly think me attractive, and did I mention I am over forty, and I need a man for odd repair jobs around the house, so I should settle for a man who I absolutely have no feelings for but, you know, he is the only one available. SO irritating! I mean, I know, even before I am half way through, she will realize at the end she is making a big mistake and end up with the handsome, young solicitor and they will live happily ever after. Yet, such an insecure woman so much so that she sounds completely deluded about her arguments to self depreciate, does not deserve her own book. Now, I will just hang in there and finish the book cause I kind of liked the plot.

[Teresa Damron-Coupe · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book started off very well. I could relate to the heroine over 40, battling weight issues, cellulite, and teenagers (including a bossy daughter) but then that was the end. Her indecisiveness coupled with extremely low self-esteem and the fact that she continually droned on and on and on and on and on and on and on about did my head in!

This could have been easily a 4 star book if the heroine had been a bit stronger instead of constantly putting herself down and focused more on the sub-characters (Fleur's personal life & what was really going on in London) a little more and been more positive. A final chapter for "after" would have also been nice to tie up some of the loose ends that were left.

The negativity dripped off the pages and left me very depressed reading the book. I persevered and after 3 weeks (yes, I can usually finish a book in 2 days) and have finally reading the last chapter. I usually enjoy Katie's books and now I find myself grabbing a happy book to read and "lift" my spirits...

[Ilse · Rating 4 out of 5]

ik heb dit boek met veel plezier gelezen, net zoals haar andere boeken.

En toch miste dit boek net dat tikkeltje extra, maar daar kan ik mijn vinger niet opleggen? ik vermoed dat er op het einde van het boek gewoon even teveel tegelijk aan de hand is, waardoor het allemaal net iets ingewikkelder is dan wat ik van haar gewoon ben.

ik las dit boek opnieuw als een kus met kerstmis
en dit keer miste ik niets in het boek en was het gewoon een erg fijn boek om te lezen
zo zie je maar dat de tijd waarin je een boek leest een rol kan spelen

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Katie Fforde is always a good read. This book, in particular, is especially enjoyable for me as the female protagonist is a woman over 40 years of age. So many books out there are about 20-something women looking for love after having had their hearts broken "often". Somewhat hard to relate to as they've not gone through the same things/experiences as a mature woman, i.e. me.

This one was a re-read and it's still enjoyable. I love books set in the UK/Ireland!

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always, Katie Fforde's characters are mature. I don't mean mature in years, but they're written maturely - they're well-rounded, three-dimensional and real with multiple facets. For an over-forty reader, I loved the heroine's point of view. Just have to say though, that I found the ending a bit too abrupt. Was expecting another chapter at the end. But, it was a good ending.

[Doreen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very rare for me to give one star but this book was so very predictable and tedious. I had the audio book and found myself shouting out loud at Nel for being such a blithering idiot when she kept coming to daft conclusions. The dialogue was terribly dated at times and really don't know how I managed to soldier on to the end.

[Sarah Amin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing was elementary, not lovely and flowy like Hester browne's. The plot was a bit predictable, but overall, I enjoyed it. I'm going to try at least one more from this author before making an official verdict on her books.

[Gemma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Predictable ending. Drawn out book and boring. About paradise fields being sold to make a new hospice - woman tries to stop it and falls in love with the solicitor who’s trying to push for the development

[mrs m hawtin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read quite a few now, last ones expensive for the same sort of story line. Why are the women so pathetic? Will she won't she ? Can't have a relationship until the children ( well teenagers with their own lives ) leave home.

[Bhavya · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75
It was a good book, actually better than I expected, so yeah!

[Aileen Chapman]

I loved this one.

[Jayne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not one of Katie's best books.

[Helena Hill · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually love Katie Fford’s books but this one missed the mark for me. Main character was VERY irritating!

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nel, widowed for several years, is a busy lady in her home of the Cotswolds. She moved there shortly after her husband died and it was the perfect place for raising the children and immersing herself in village life. Her passion is the children’s hospice and she devotes much of her time raising money and planning events to help those seriously ill children have a little pleasure in their lives.

Paradise Fields, promised to the hospice by her good friend Sir Gerald, is the perfect place for the farmers’ market for locals to sell their wares and to raise money and awareness of the local hospice. She is in a comfortable (safe? boring?) relationship with a local realtor, Simon. Her two sons are at university and her daughter is nearly there. She owns her own home and has her dear friend, Viv, to advise (nag?) her about her very unexciting but predictable life.

Nel’s life gets turned upside down when she receives a kiss from a stranger at the farmers’ market. Of course, she was selling mistletoe; so that would surely explain it. But the stranger keeps coming in and out of her life at the oddest times and that is how she finds out that her beloved Paradise Fields is being taken over by Sir Gerald’s son and his flashy American wife and their plans do not include anything that would benefit the children’s hospice.

A battle, led by Nel and supported by Viv and the rest of the villagers begin. It seems that the battle will involve the stranger, who is now introduced as Jake, and not in a good way. Nel would like to think that Jake is on the side of the village, but so many incidents make it clear that he is not. Nel fights up to the eleventh hour when it looks as though she has finally run out of time and money to save her beloved Paradise Fields.

Some laugh out loud moments kept this book moving. Nel goes into things head and heart first and doesn't always have Plan A or Plan B. Her devotion and determination plus her "situations" kept the book fast paced. What I really liked most was that, unlike so many of Fforde's books, her main character was not a young going on thirty something, but an older woman trying to be independent and to make a difference in her community. And, well, she does just that...with a little help from her friend(s).

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmm, een 2,5. Het was een oke boek, moest mezelf er even toe zetten om er verder in te lezen. Ik vond de hoofdpersoon niet zo leuk, waardoor ik me soms wat geïrriteerd voelde. Katie Ffjorde heeft leukere boeken geschreven.

Samenvatting, spoiler.
Nell is weduwe en 'samen' met Simon. Wanneer ze op de markt staat wordt ze gekust door Jake, waar ze vlinders van in haar buik krijgt en niet meer van af komt. Op een dag wordt er de mededeling gedaan dat er een belangrijk stukje land verkocht is en op gebouwd gaat worden. En, misschien nog wel erger, wordt het verpleeghuis gesloopt. Hier probeert Nell, samen met haar vriendinnen/dorpbewoners, er alles aan te doen om dit tegen te houden. Tijdens de vergadering komt ze er achter dat Jake de tegenpartij helpt. Ondanks dat heeft Jake het beste met haar voor en wil hij graag meer van Nell, maar zij durft haar gevoelens niet te uiten. Ook blijkt dat Simon helemaal niet te vertrouwen is..

[Tara · Rating 2 out of 5]

The plot had promise but was overshadowed by unlikeable characters and a predictable romance, it was an effort to finish. The main character is incredibly irritating. Under the pretence of being caring and noble, she cheats on her (admittedly boring) boyfriend throughout the book (not a spoiler - it's clear from the outset/description), using him to her advantage. She's in her early 40s, but you'd think she was in her 70s the amount of time it's mentioned she thinks she's "past it" and fat (mentioned multiple times each chapter). Found it quite tiresome.

[Paula Nichols · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another easy read from Katie Fforde! Ok, so the scenarios are a little far fetched, and the women seem to be excellent at anything they turn their attentions to, but still it is a good story. The characters are well written and your invested time and emotions are not wasted. It is a holiday read (but most of this genre are to be fair) but one of the better ones. Along with Jenny Colgan, Fforde has mastered this genre and gives you exactly what you want in a well written way.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paradise Fields is the perfect book for readers growing tired of the romance protagonist with the perfect body and "curves in all the right places". It was so refreshing to have a character that had an average body. Nel is an easy character to like and it was fun watching her grow in confidence as the story went on. I also really liked that she didn't get over all her insecurities right away but also accepted that she was lovable just the way she was.

[Sabe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beetje ouderwets, ook al is het een boek uit 2003. Het ergert me behoorlijk dat de ‘oude (ergens begin 40!) en dikke’ Nel zichzelf continu ‘sletterig’ vindt. Is misschien de Nederlandse vertaling die hier de plank misslaat? Daarnaast zitten er wat gaten en onlogische zaken in het verhaal. Prima vakantievoer waar je niet al teveel over hoeft na te denken, zeker geen meesterwerk of een boek dat ik aanraad.

[XOXO reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75/5. Honestly I like the vision for the book, I just wish we got more romance scenes between Jake and Nel, because I found myself getting bored at some parts. However it was a nice read and you someone might just prefer it more then I did so I’d say to give it a try. Not a fan of Simon he’s a douchebag. I love her children and Vivian is like the best, best friend lol :) I do love how she’s older then him because in more books it’s the other way around it was nice to read about.

[Sari · Rating 4 out of 5]

I discovered novels by Katie Fforde on the new books shelves of our local library many years ago. I loved them then, and I still enjoy their romantic, somewhat comedic plots. Recently, I decided to catch up on those that I had not yet read. Paradise Fields is not my favorite, but I absolutely loved the ending.

[Sophia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like Nel, but I find it so hard to get that she is just 40. My mom is 20 years older and don't act near her. She has an victorian view on sexuality, makeup and clothes for starters. But other then that she thinks more like a 200 year old I can really relate XD Also I suddenly feel like I need to go to another farmers market XD

[Katrina Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I discovered this book on the shelf at my Egyptian hotel while I'm on holiday, and it was the only English book there - so I decided to give it a go. Truthfully this book took me a little bit to get into, however, once I was a few chapters in I began to enjoy it. I love a bit of romance in a book, so Nel & Jake kept me wanting to read on!

[Mom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfect Hallmark Channel rom-com movie and an enjoyable quick read. Nel, a widow with college age children encounters a sexy solicitor who is representing a young couple that are trying to build on the fields used for a fund-raising market for the village hospice. Plot is as expected but fun to watch unfold.