Summer at Skylark Farm

Wynbridge #2

by Heidi Swain

Amber is a city girl at heart. So when her boyfriend Jake 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?

Genres: Romance, Chick Lit, Fiction, Contemporary, Audiobook, Summer Reads, Summer

300 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 2, 2016

About the author

Although passionate about writing from an early age, Heidi Swain gained a degree in Literature, flirted briefly with a newspaper career, married and had two children before she finally plucked up the courage to join a creative writing class and take her literary ambitions seriously.

A lover of Galaxy bars, vintage paraphernalia and the odd bottle of fizz, she now writes contemporary fiction and enjoys the company of a whole host of feisty female characters.

Heidi can be found at the keyboard at all hours of the day and night and quite often scribbling longhand in her car during her lunch break. She lives in stunning south Norfolk with her wonderful son and daughter and a mischievous cat called Storm.

Reviews

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 - "I have a proposition for you..." Stars.

This was the first book I have read by Heidi Swain, and on the whole it was a pretty decent introduction. I love an easy going romance/drama that is set in the country, and the author hit the nail on the head with that part of the story.

Amber upping sticks from the big city to move to Skylark Farm with her boyfriend Jake, had a bit of a Bridget Jones, hits the countryside feel about it initially, and more than a few snickers were to be found with some of the predicaments that she found herself in.

"I see good things on our horizon."

I loved the great cast of secondary characters as well, what with Harriet, and Jessica, as well as the whole reason Jake and Amber make the permanent move to the farm Aunt Annie. All these elements worked really well in the overall story, and of course you have the villains, and this is the main part that kind of took the sparkle out of the plot as a whole for me.

Usually I am the last one to work out who is the villain of a piece, but I knew who/what was going to happen pretty much from the get-go, this isn’t really what annoyed me though as the writing was engaging and the characters likeable enough to keep me reading on happily, what annoyed me was there was no real comeuppance for said villains at the end of the book, and everything was just sort of let’s just forgive and forget, and that didn’t really work for me, in relation to everything that had happened because of them.

Jake was another struggle for me if I am honest, in that he seemed to be a secondary character for much of the book, and when he did get involved in Amber's story as a whole, it was usually for detrimental reasons, I can’t say that I would willingly pack up my life and move to the countryside for the guy, their relationship seemed extremely lackluster in the scheme of things, and again his behavior towards her at the end of the book, which again produced no real repercussions just felt a bit of a cop-out after what Amber had dealt with throughout the story.

"I don’t want to see you pulled back into the life you had before."

I am all for happily ever afters in my chick-lit offerings, but the end of this one just let it down for me in that it seemed to run out of steam. I would happily read more from this author though as the base of the book was sound, I just felt the main characters were a little lacking at points.

ARC generously provided via Netgalley, in exchange for the above honest review.

[Jennifer (Jaye) · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Changes*

Meet Amber who has a very busy life and at work she is the one with all the contacts. It plays havoc with her personal life as she is called night or day. If you want last minute tickets be it a holiday at all the sought after locations, or whatever she knows someone who will make it happen.

One day she meets Jake, he is the brother of the office lothario Dan, where Dan is pristinely dressed etc Jake is disheveled yet makes it work and Amber falls for him. He usually works on a farm and he is at the office for a break. So after some time he asks her to move with him to the farm. In her her head she envisions country life magazine but it is far from what greets her. One thing she omits to tell Jake is that her boss not want to let her go and has given her 6 months to decide. Will it come back to haunt her?

As Amber gets used to life in the country she faces a blast from Jake’s past who will do anything to cause a wrench between them coupled with misunderstandings, disagreements and a life changing event it made for a great easy read. Will Amber & Jake be able to make it work

Some of the characters from book one “The Cherry Tree Cafe’ made an appearance and it was a lot of fun as I loved the characters even the difficult ones.

[Luise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hm, I'd say 3.5 stars for 'Summer at Skylark Farm'.

The relationship between Amber and her Prince Charming was often very unconvincing. Right in the beginning, for example, they didn't know some pretty fundamental stuff about each other despite being a couple for more than a year? With him prepared to just leave her like that out of the blue and without discussion to move to his aunt? Or later him believing the worst about her from untrustworthy people without a second of doubt? Where's your intimacy, trust or romance in your relationship? Just working on the last 3 pages isn't enough, I'm afraid.

The friendship and living-on-a-farm aspects, however, were a lot more enjoyable. Amber's new friends were really lovely.  Together with her new ventures on Skylark Farm they made an otherwise pretty nice story.

[Elaine - Splashes Into Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve another favourite author! I loved this book from start to finish and, needless to say, have no hesitation in highly recommending this! It is a delightful story of a workaholic city girl, Amber, who decides to change her whole lifestyle when her boyfriend suggests she move with him to Skylark Farm, the home of his aunt and a place he loved. His aunt is now getting older and struggling to cope, Jake has happy memories of childhood times spent there and has been visiting regularly to help her but now that’s not enough and he’s decided to live and work there, inviting Amber to join him. Amber gets all the country life magazines and reads up on everything but she finds her first encounters with the dogs terrifying, the water leaking from the ceiling is chinese water torture whilst she tries to sleep, a fox is after the chickens . . . no, things aren’t quite as rosy as she’d dreamed! Despite this she’s determined to help make the farm - and her relationship with Jake - succeed. However, when Jake’s ex-girlfriend returns, troubles soon follow!

This story is superbly written, with well developed characters who quickly seem like familiar friends (or enemies!). It has a warm, cosy, country feeling packed with people working together, reliable friendships, plenty of problems to be solved, mischief to be revealed, a wedding to be sorted and innovations to be made. It is a story of moving into an existing community, prepared to work with it but also being prepared to help it grown and develop through your own hard work. There are plenty of twist and turns as the story progresses to keep the reader enthralled and the ending is brilliant!

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summer at Skylark Farm is a lovely little feel good read about a young couple who swap life in the city for a farming life in the Fens. Stuffed full of summer with births and fetes as well as the need to make a run down farm viable, the book has oodles of romance with misunderstandings galore. I really enjoyed the characters who, on the whole, were very likeable and fun to read about. A smashing little read for when you just want to relax into a story that you don’t have to think too hard about. I received a review copy from the publisher via Netgalley.

[Alison Winter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this book and only disappointed to have finished it. Just when you think you know what's going to happen it changes and goes in an entirely new direction.

[Hannah Clarke (Love Books Actually) · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can find my reviews on my blog
http://lovebooksactually.blogspot.com...

My second book by Heidi Swain and what a fabulous feel good book this was. To start how beautiful is the cover, it really does capture what the book is all about. It was lovely to revisit another part of Wynbridge and to pop back to the Cherry Tree Café, catching up with Lizzie and Jemma, I am a huge fan of when authors include snippets of past characters, I always struggle to let them go after finishing a book!

I loved Amber, down to earth and quite simply the nicest character you could ever meet in a book. A City girl with a high flying career at her fingertips she decides to shake things up when her boyfriend Jake (hotttiieee) asks her to relocate to the countryside to help out on his family's farm. Swapping high heels for wellington boots Amber grabs farm life with both hands and with heaps of determination to make the best of it.

Home on the farm is cold, dirty and tougher than Amber had imagined, however the warm welcome from Jake's spinster Aunt Annie more than makes up for it. Annie, what a fun character she was! Annie is everything you imagine an aunt to be, warm, loving, feisty and fun.

Amber settles into farm life pretty quickly, rolling up her sleeves and getting on with the numerous jobs on the farm, making new friends and feeling part of the family however as we know nothing stays rosy in Wynbridge! Amber feels that Jake is keeping secrets, secrets she is sure that everyone else is in on apart from her and she is determined to find out the truth.

When the secrets are exposed threatening to ruin the loving home Amber has made for herself, will Jakes past break their relationship?

Heidi's books give you that warm fuzzy feeling and twice now I have finished her book with a massive smile on my face. This book has everything you need, a beautiful farm, family, friends, romance, a few twists and turns, cake competitions (yes please!) and lastly it features a chicken named Patricia! LOVE!

[Romanticamente Fantasy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elena81 - per RFS
.
Amber è una giovane donna in carriera. Una persona precisa, organizzata, sempre con il cellulare all’orecchio e l’agenda alla mano.

Jake è un uomo molto affascinante e con qualche scheletro nell’armadio. Grazie a suo fratello Dan inizia a lavorare nella stessa azienda di Amber e tra i due scocca la scintilla.

Lei sempre presa da mille decisioni in ambito lavorativo, sente la necessità di prendersi una pausa e staccare la spina.

Un giorno si ritrova davanti a due scelte che cambieranno inevitabilmente il corso della sua vita.

Dan, il suo capo, le proporrà di andare a dirigere una nuova filiale che verrà aperta a Dubai.

Jakele chiederà di seguirlo e di andare a vivere con lui e sua zia Annie in campagna, per la precisione a Wynbridge, alla fattoria Skylark.

Decisa a dare una svolta alla sua vita accetta la proposta del fidanzato e organizza tutto il trasferimento, ignara del fatto si innamorerà di quel luogo all’istante.

Amber si integrerà benissimo all’interno della cittadina, riuscirà addirittura a convincere zia Annie e Jake ad organizzare la tradizionale Fiera di Maggio nella loro proprietà.

La poveretta si troverà a dover affrontare i fantasmi del passato di Jake e ad avere a che fare con la cattiveria gratuita della sua ex fidanzata Holly, decisa a rientrare nel cuore del ragazzo.

Un bellissimo romanzo che ti trascinerà tra le sue pagine fino all’ultima riga, ricco di colpi di scena, in cui si percepisce sulla propria pelle il cambiamento che Amber ha apportato al suo stile di vita, all’impegno costante per non deludere nessuno e soprattutto che ti fa sentire tutto l’amore che Amber prova per il suo Jake anche nei piccoli gesti.

Per non parlare poi del bellissimo rapporto che riesce ad instaurare con zia Annie, con Jessica e Harriet, migliori amiche di Jake.

Insomma un bellissimo romanzo da leggere e conservare nel cuore.

[Vicky Sp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jake, dopo una cocente delusione d'amore, si trasferisce a Londra dove conosce e s'innamora di Amber, organizzatrice di eventi. Lei è una ragazza moderna, ama le comodità e gli abiti eleganti, la raffinatezza; adora il suo lavoro ma è stanca degli orari assurdi che deve fare. Quando Jake le chiede di trasferirsi con lui nella fattoria di famiglia per aiutarlo a risollevarne le sorti, accetta, seppur con riserva.
Il modo di approcciarsi alla vita di campagna, di svolgere i lavori domestici e di accettare la convivenza con gli animali, mi hanno fatto sorridere, perché raccontati in modo allegro e leggero. Una lettura brillante, dialoghi che non annoiano, descrizioni dettagliate e coinvolgenti mi hanno fatto amare questo libro. Amber si adatta bene alla vita nella fattoria e si fa amare dagli abitanti del posto, mostrando le sue notevoli capacità organizzative e di saper spaziare in più settori. L' antagonista le darà filo da torcere, insinuandosi nella sua vita in modo vile e a tradimento. Jake un bel personaggio, bello si ma uomo affidabile, onesto, rispettoso, amante della natura e della sua donna, che si spende per la fattoria come fosse un'entità da salvare.

[Prabhjot Kaur · Rating 2 out of 5]

Amber is a city girl through and through. She's been with her boyfriend Jake for about a year now. When Jake announces that he's moving to the country to help his Aunt, Annie, on her farm, Amber decides to move too, as she could use a break from her busy work life in the city. And a farm in the country sounds so relaxing and serene, but when Amber gets there, it's anything but. Amber is nothing if not hard-working, so she decides to come up with a plan and make the move to the country worth it.

I have read a few of Heidi Swain's books, and I have to say that I have largely been unimpressed. The female characters generally seem to be doormats, and the male characters seem to be jerks. This was no exception to this trope. Although this still fared better than my previous read from this author.

The story itself was a good one. A city girl escaping to the countryside and seeing if the laid-back country is more her rhythm. I mean, who hasn't dreamed of that at times? There were also some other lovely characters. I liked the writing too.

Amber was a lovely and easily likeable character. She was determined, understanding, kind, and hard-working. I loved Amber. The only thing that I didn't like about her was how she let Jake mistreat her and take advantage of her like that throughout. Throughout the whole book. Right from the beginning, when Jake casually and out of the blue announces that he's moving to the countryside without even talking about it with Amber. It was as if he was just going to leave her there until he suggested that she move with him, like she didn't have a whole life in the city. That, too, without offering any help at all to Amber. Amber had to do everything by herself to make the move. When Amber gets to the countryside, again, Jake offers no help to her. Despite knowing that Amber is a city person, she's never worked on a farm, but he leaves her to do everything by herself without showing her the ropes. In fact, he expected Amber to do everything, including his job, which Amber did without any hesitation, without any credit given to her, whilst being accused of so many nonsensical things. Amber was also the one who came up with all the ideas for the farm. Oh! I felt for Amber. I felt for Amber with every fibre of my being. Amber is also my favourite character, along with Ryan from Poppy's Recipe for Life, in all of Heidi Swain's books.

I hated Jake with a passion, as can be determined by my words above. He was supposedly the farm worker as he had been visiting the farm since he was a kid and knew how to work things. He'd leave early in the morning, leaving Amber to do everything, and would return late. Not once, he accomplished anything by himself. Not once. Meanwhile, he treated Amber like the unpaid labour, which she absolutely was. His reaction at the end was the last straw for me. I wish Amber had a backbone and didn't put up with all that, and had stood up to Jake. And hopefully, left Jake at the end, then I would have rated this higher.

Besides my hate for Jack and his actions, this was not a bad read. Much better than The Cherry Tree Café for sure. I loved the country vibe in this. I also loved Aunt Annie, Jessica, and Harriet.

I don't know why I keep coming back to Heidi Swain's books when I always end up disliking, even hating, how her FMCs are treated by their toxic and useless male love interests. I am trying to justify my decisions, but I think it's because the book covers are always beautiful, and the blurb always sounds wholesome. This book was going to be the deciding factor in my further reading from the author, and I still haven't been able to decide because I liked the setup in this, along with the main character, Amber, but I also know FMCs are generally pushovers in Heidi Swain's books. I wish it wouldn't be the case, but here we are.

2.5 stars

[Margo · Rating 2 out of 5]

More grovel needed at the end, too much OW.

[Melanie Mole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've just finished reading this lovely little gem of a book by Heidi Swain. I loved the characters from the start. The descriptions were so good that I could really imagine myself sitting there in the pub with them chatting over a bag of salted peanuts. I despised the antagonist and that was down to the excellent writing. As the story walked me firstly through their old lives, and then concentrated more on the farm, it was amazing to see how each of them grew in different ways. I so want to live on that farm! Thank you for another gem of a book Heidi.

[Gabrielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

After so many thrillers I decided to read a "gentle romance/drama"
This one did not disappoint, it definitely had a bit of romance and some drama. If you can call a chicken escaping from its coop and an ex girlfriend turning up to do a bit of stirring, drama.
Apart from some of the characters being a tad bit annoying, It was a nicely written, easy read.

[Lisa M · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely read - it's nice to lose yourself in one of Heidi's books and this one didn't disappoint. A genteel read about city girl moving to farm life although I'd have appreciated even more farm stories, in particular the introduction of pigs that was only really touched on.

[Bookworm Blogger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I seem to be continuing my Heidi Swain binge session and working my way through the Wynbridge series like there’s no tomorrow. What I’m enjoying about this series is that whilst each book focuses on a different family or main character you still get a cameo from old faces and see what has happened to them since the last book. It was great to see Lizzie, Gemma and Tom make an appearance from the Cherry Tree Cafe.

As always the village of Wynbridge was the cosiest of places and I instantly got swept up in the beautiful setting once more. Despite the fact that Skylark Farm was falling to pieces I loved the place and like Amber, could really see the potential it held. Whilst Amber was busying coming up with her own ideas I too found my mind drifting to what I would do if the place belonged to me. It’s safe to say that Skylark Farm wouldn’t be the same without the delightful Annie. She was a brilliant character with clever witty comments and a radar for liars. She went out of her way to help Amber settle in and she was without a doubt my favourite secondary character.

I have to hand it to Amber she threw herself into the new life at the farm and was eager to give this new life her best shot. She instantly seemed to fit in and I loved seeing her get on with the others in the village. I thought she handled a lot of the situations surrounding Holly very well. Jake was an absolute sweetie and a real heartthrob in this book. He obviously thought the world of Amber and the two of them made a great team.

Once again Heidi Swain has delivered another gem! This had all the lovely feels of Heidi’s other books complete with exceptional characters and a setting to melt your heart. With fantastic narration by Karen Cass this was the perfect listen, I just wish I didn’t have to leave Skylark Farm so soon.

[Sarah Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do not know how I have missed reading Summer at Skylark Farm by Heidi Swain as I have read all her other books. A mystery to me, so when I spotted it in The Works, I had to buy it.

It's a really good book, with great characters and a good plot line. Amber moves to the country to be with her boyfriend Joe. He is helping his Aunt run Skylark Farm and Amber, even though she is a city girl embraces the country life and helps to turn the farms fortunes around.

A great read, I again just could not put this book down. Would really recommend any of Heidi's books as they are just such good reads and I can't wait for her next book to come out.

[Lisa Willis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amber is a city girl at heart. She doesn't quite know how to react when Jake asks her to move to the countryside to his family farm.

I loved this story. Once again Heidi takes you through lots of emotions and the need to keep reading to find out what happens.

I really liked Amber's character and how she just got stuck into farm life and the friendships she made with others. When Jake's ex, Holly, turned up it did set alarm bells ringing for me. I just had a feeling that she couldn't be as nice as she was making out to be.

[Trish at Between My Lines · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartwarming, life affirming and full of characters that I want to see succeed. I adore the setting, along with the kindness and camaraderie in all the communities that Heidi Swain creates.


Love, love, love.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

.Amber becomes disillusioned with her high flying city job when she realises that she hasn't had a holiday in 3 years and the work/home life balance is just a dream. When her boyfriend Jake returns to his family farm to help out she decides to join him . She's determined to throw herself into rural life and orders floral wellies and country clothing. Initially she has some reservations to overcome but all the villagers fall in love with her and she is determined to make sure that she is as helpful as possible and makes the farm a success and help out the village traditions.

I absolutely loved all the characters and Skylark Farm sounded a wonderful place to be- once she'd worked her magic on it. The treasure trove in the attics sounded like a great place to rummage and relive memories. I also loved returning to Cherry Tree Cafe and the delicious cakes they sell.

It has a lovely community feel and loved the farm animals being strong characters so that you fall in love with them all. Jake's aunt is such a lovely feisty lady and she comes under Amber's spell, too.

This was such a great, warm and cosy read- I was so sad to have to say goodbye at the end and hope we'll join some of these characters again.

With many thanks to Simon and Schuster and Net Galley for the chance to read this book.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't love Heidi's debut so approached this one with caution as I was worried I would find myself not enjoying it as much as I hoped. However I needn't have been worried for Summer At Skylark Farm is a delight from beginning to end. The characters were great, the setting was lovely and there were a few moments that I didn't see coming which impressed.
A really lovely summery read!

[-BeautifullyBookish- · Rating 4 out of 5]

I normally steer clear of books where the main characters are already an established couple because I usually find them boring or lacking in romance but I am so glad I read this one. It was definitely not boring although it has a sort of relaxed feel to it. I would describe this book as a warm hug. There was romance and I loved the relationship between Amber and Jake. The secondary characters were great. I felt like I really got to know the characters and the setting well without any of the descriptions being too in depth. Overall I was pleasantly surprised by this one and I would definitely recommend it!

[Nicola Clough · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent read and many twist and turns and lovely to hear more about the cherry tree cafe as well. Amber is a city girl and her boyfriend suggests going to live in the country to help out on the farm and amber decides she needs a change in her life so goes to skylark farm can she settle in and be happy and make new friends or does her partners first girlfriend turn everything upside down for her. Very warming story.

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heidi Swain completely smashed it out of the park with this book! I adored every minute spent reading this.

I thought the relationship and chemistry between Amber and Jake was excellently played out, and the novel's plot development was evenly paced throughout. I did guess what was going to unfold fairly early on, but this didn't affect my enjoyment at all. If anything, it made me want to read on even more!

I only wish I could spend a summer at Skylark Farm!

[Carly · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great story that I didn’t want to end.

I loved the references to ‘The Darling Buds of May’, that’s how I envisioned the farm to look although the farm house I envisioned it as my great-gran’s old cottage, which brought back lovely memories of my childhood.

I absolutely couldn’t stand Holly from the moment she appeared in the story. She was like a sly Fox.
The rest of the characters were so likeable my favourite probably being dear old Annie.

I can’t wait to return to Wynbridge again soon.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve read all of Heidi’s books now and this was my least favourite. I loved Amber’s character and the day-to-day details on life on the farm but I really didn’t like Jake, I thought he was immature and moody, not what I was expecting in a feel-good chick-lit novel.

[Pauline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice easy read.

[Leona · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice easy reading story. Found it dragged a bit in places and quite predictable.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice, easy, comforting read. Switching lives from the fast lane to life in the country has never looked so good. A story full of love, friendship and how to change your life. This book cheered me up.

[Carole Hearn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heidi Swaine books are absolutely adorable and this certainly didn’t disappoint me. Lovely escape and feel good story which I highly recommend.

[Janice · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable easy read set in the East Anglian Fens. A few twists and turns kept me wanting to read on.
Catching up with Heidi Swain's books, and becoming one of my favourite authors for a relaxing read .