A tiny house on wheels, a hot neighbor and a new life in the country…
… what could possibly go wrong?! Having hit the grand ol’ age of 36, Nina decides it’s time to start afresh. She wants a mortgage-free life in an eco-friendly home, organic, locally-grown veggies and to find the perfect guy to start a family with.
Easy-peasy, right?
But life in the New Zealand bush is not quite what she expected. What with aggressive hippy neighbors who keep calling her out for not being ‘green’ enough, to disturbingly handsome neighbors who stumble upon her in the most awkward of situations (emptying out your chemical toilet anyone?), Nina’s got plenty of adjustments to do if she’s to settle into her new life. Work, life, love and all those other big questions that vex us are tackled in this humorous and thought-provoking book, which will stay with you long after you reach the end.
Enni Amanda is a Finnish–New Zealand rom-com author who writes warm, funny love stories with real-life bite.
She immigrated from Finland to New Zealand in 2006 and promptly fell in love with the scenery, the people, and the strange thrill of not having to defrost a car every morning. After years spent studying filmmaking, running a film festival, and zig-zagging between two countries that really should be closer together, she discovered screenwriting, which eventually led to writing books (a slippery slope).
These days she lives in the Waikato (close to the rolling hills of the Shire), raising two energetic boys, designing things, and writing books while heroically avoiding housework.
I'm so happy I got the opportunity to read this one! The characters were relatable, the pacing was strong and steady, and I had so many moments of, "OMG! Jay! Come on!!" and "Oh, Nina!!" The supporting characters, like La La and Alice, made me smile. It was also fascinating to read about the different aspects of making a life for yourself in a tiny house and wheels. I really enjoyed experiencing that with Nina.
A Tiny House on Wheels is a unique and fresh romance that just might make you want to give it all up and move out to the middle of nowhere...but only if you have a neighbor like Jay!
This was a fun story about a woman starting over in life. She gave up on the life in the city with her day job. Now she is starting over in the country with her tiny house. She plans on living debt free, growing her own vegetables, and living a clean organic life. She also wants to find a man to have a family with. She is very concerned with having healthy children. This story shows that it can be very difficult to change your lifestyle. The unexpected always happens. But it was so fun to watch her and the men in her life sort things out. I could totally understand some if the misconceptions between Jay and Nina. And the "losers" she came across. I kept thinking, "Yeah. People like this really do exist." I do recommend this for a fun romantic story.
Enjoyable book with likable characters. Stayed up till 3am to finish as I kept wanting to know what was going to happen next. There was a bit too much miscommunication between them though. Really happy that there was an Epilogue
This book has now been professionally proofread. Apologies to anyone who had to witness the typos in the earlier version. I appreciate your support and tolerance. 😊
I was fortunate to be a beta reader for this book before publication. I loved it and I'm so pleased to see it in print. It is a quick read with a sweet story; it puts me in mind of a Jojo Moyes novel. The characters are well drawn and the New Zealand setting is a big plus. Enni is a talented writer and I hope to read many more of her books.
I really enjoyed this wonderful novel. Of course you knew it would resolve itself into a perfect ending, but there were several other problems that needed tending. I really liked the character development, the plot, just everything. It was very realistic because sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for......
Enjoyed this book. Its not a typical perfect girl meets perfect guy story, but about what goes on between insecure people who like each other with a warm tone to it. It also wonderfully portrays the NZ locale and the "going green" culture. The ending feels quite fast but an amazing read nevertheless.
A cute book of Nina and her new tiny house. A job left and a new location to live. Organic minded, she hopes to grow her own food and survive. Friend La La comes to visit. New neighbor, Jay, is quite the guy. Will she learn to survive her new life?
2.5 stars Entertaining and easy to read but a bit cliché and suuuuper predictable. Liked the tiny house setting and some scenes (poo incident anyone?) but it all felt a bit rushed at the end.
I adored every minute of this book, from beginning to end this story had me enthralled.
Nina was a character that I really came to care about. She is brave, funny and far too forgiving for her own good (especially when it came to Earth - I could not believe the audacity of that woman). But she is also someone who wants a family, a home, and somewhere to belong. Her actions however come across as a little detrimental to her hopes and dreams. Her little house in the middle of nowhere may give her the freedom of not having to pay rent or a mortgage, but it also means there are not that many available men where she lives. There is of course her neighbour, Jay, but surely a man like him would never be interested in a woman like her?
Jay is so adorable. He is a hardworking man who appears to radiate confidence but is really very shy. The love story between Jay and Nina is a very slow burn. Neither can guess what the other is thinking and neither is brave enough to ask!
This story is filled with friendship, love and humour but there are also some more serious issues which I thought the author dealt with in a very sensitive way.
All in all, I thought the story was beautifully written and so compelling that I read it in one sitting. I will certainly be looking out for more books by this very talented author.
This was a typical chick lit, romance book which was an enjoyable read. Easy and light hearted. Great for a holiday read. That said, I only gave it 3 stars as it needs a good proof read! The constant mistakes were really irritating. I can't understand how it was ever published with so many errors. Get yourself a good proof reader Ms Amanda.
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A sweet, funny romance set in rural New Zealand.
Nina is 36, single, and running out of time to start a family. She quits her advertising job, and moves into a small coastal town, in a tiny house on wheels. Surely, the laid back country life with organic veggies will turn back the clock for her. Now, she only has to find the right guy–and it can’t be her odd, new neighbour who doesn’t want kids. No matter how hot he is. This time, Nina is determined to follow the plan, not her heart.
Jay is used to solitary life. After his father’s death, he tries to keep the farm running, even if he’s more comfortable with the veggies than people. But who needs social skills? In the backside of Raglan, nothing ever happens. Until a cute, Finnish blonde moves into the neighbouring lot, in a ridiculous tiny house. Can Jay work out his issues and take a chance on the most exotic thing that’s ever walked into his life?
Work, life, love and all those other big questions that vex us are are tackled in this humorous and thought-provoking book, which will stay with you long after you reach the end.
This is a wonderful, heartwarming book. It will make you laugh and it will make you root for Nina to make the right choices.
Nina is thirty six, painfully aware that she is running out of time. She wants a husband and a baby and she has a plan that she is now ready to execute. She buys a tiny house on wheels, quits her job, and moves to a small town. She will raise her own food, capture rain water, and be self-sufficient. And she will find a husband. On her very first day, she meets Jake. He is quiet but he helps her manuever her house into the perfect place. She quickly puts him in the "no" column for baby daddy and is still looking. But she slowly learns how little she knows about love and self-sufficiency.
I really loved this book. It is funny and so right. No one can really be self-sufficient. People need people. And love creeps in where you least expect it.
I highly recommend this book. I think you will love it as much as I do.
This book sat in my library for a year before I decided to read it.
🍊Graphic designer Nina has decided to move to a rural area of New Zealand, living in her tiny house on wheels and living off the land. It’s never as easy as it looks on paper.
🍊First problem is when her house can’t get towed into the place it’s meant to be. Next door neighbour farmer Jay thankfully has his tractor ready to help the blonde Finnish woman who soon has him intrigued, even if he can’t picture that she could ever be interested in him.
✏️I first read one of Enni Amanda’s stories a few years ago, and loved her writing and experiencing life in New Zealand through her own Finnish eyes. I have had this one from her backlist on my Kindle for a while and finally got around to reading. The energy between Nina and Jay was adorable, and I was really cheering them on, this is a very slow burn but with several funny and endearing moments shared. I could just picture the setting and this couple so easily. A fun read ❤️
This is a fun read. It follows the mishaps Nina faces as she tries to uproot her life and move to a tiny house in a small plot of land to live organically. The misadventures that follow are the perfect example of the best laid plans. It is also a truthful retelling of the nitty-gritty of life and the issues one faces when trying to jump into something new. The cast of supporting characters is also very strong and adds a fun element to the story. Jay's (the protagonist) mom is an especially charming character. The author has captured the small town life perfectly. What makes this even better is that the entire story is not just about the main characters. The story arcs of many characters develop along the storyline, making for a good all-round read. However, it is not cluttered and the story unfolds neatly and nicely.
All in all, this is is a good story to read with well-written characters and a well-written storyline.
I couldn't finish this one. I'm not sure how many people would find a self conscious, paranoid health nut relatable, whose biggest problem in life is if she's ever going to find a man. I can't really deal with shy people in real life, and I'm not interested in their thoughts at all. I can't read books with weak main characters, with best friends who force them to live their life. I don't know people like this in real life, I have no idea, how this became such a cliché....
Those who like this kind of setting will enjoy this book, but those of you who prefer a decisive, strong female lead, don't even try this book.
This was a lighthearted and enjoyable read. Nina and Jay are well-fleshed out characters with their own quirks and insecurities which, in the best tradition of romances, keep them apart until they are finally brought together. I absolutely loved the setting. I've always fancied living in a tiny house in a field. While it's not practical for me I can still live vicariously through books where others do it. The rural setting of Raglan in New Zealand is about as grass roots kiwi-culture as it gets, and it was entertaining to read how someone from a different country sees us 😉
A Tiny House on Wheels by Enni Amanda is a sweet romance set in Raglan, New Zealand. Nina gives up her city job and moves to a tiny house in the country, where she meets her anti-social neighbour, Jay. They forge a friendship against a series of misunderstandings. But can they get past their misconceptions and turn their friendship into something more? With a fabulous cast of support characters – BFF La La, Jay’s mother, Jay’s charming brother, Nina’s ex-crush, and her online date – this is an easy beach read that will leave you with a warm glow.
I read the first 30 sample pages and decided to download the rest since the main lady was a Finn. I was happily surprised that the rest was a real relationship story and not the regular “hot sex” description pages after pages. The plot moved little slow and the LaLa side story seemed not very fitting or convincing. However, the hesitations and non-showing of emotions between the main couple seemed quite real.
Absolutely loved reading this novel. Nina escapes the rat race after her office crush doesn't appear too keen. She buys a block of land and transports a tiny house onto it but it's left in her gateway so her neighbour Jay moves it to where she wants and so starts a wonderful friendship. Lot of kiwiana. Feelgood romance and friendships .
This is my first book by this author and it did not disappoint! Loved Jay! To me, he reminded me of a modern Mr.Darcy and there's nothing wrong with that 😍 The confusion and mistaken assumptions made by both him and Nina were perfect. Lots of emotions including tons of humor me hooting with laughter at 1am but also other situations that pulled at one's heart, such a fun read.
A slow burn romance set it rural New Zealand. If your interested in living off the grid and like a clean, romance then this is for you. Just remember, it’s a slow burn romance!
Loved how easy to read this was and how likeable the main characters were. I’m not usually a fan of books set in New Zealand but this one really sucked me in and I loved all of the familiar references. I’m excited to read her next book!
Nina is brave and tries to have confidence in buying a tiny house and moving to the countryside. What an enjoyable story about a quirky sweet woman and her stony quiet neighbor.
Took a little while to get into, (I think this is one of Enni’s earlier books) but once I warmed up to it so glad I stuck with it. Loved Jay and Nina’s slow burn story. And who couldn’t love Chloe and Alice 🥰