Thursday, September 26, 2013

Kate's Progress - Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

Kate is fed up with life in London. She works in PR & shares a flat with two girlfriends but her love life is going nowhere. Her last two relationships have been disastrous & heartbreaking & she wants a change. When her grandmother decides to give her granddaughters their inheritance now so she can have the fun of seeing what they do with it, Kate is thrilled. She plans the Cinderella Project - putting her London life on hold for six months & buying a country cottage to renovate & sell.

Kate finds the perfect property in Bursford near Taunton where she'd spent holidays with her grandparents when she was at school. Little's Cottage is rundown & neglected but the price is right & Kate has served as a willing helper to her builder father & thought she could do most of the work herself. She doesn't realise that she's stepped right into the middle of a family feud by buying the cottage which is part of the estate owned by the Blackmores. Ed & Jack Blackmore are working to keep the family estate going without much help from their flighty stepmother Camilla. Camilla has a life interest in the estate as their father has died & she sold the cottage to Kate to finance her shopping sprees. Ed is immediately hostile to Kate although charming playboy Jack is more willing to get to know her.

Kate enjoys getting to know the locals including her neighbours Kay & Darren & the locals at the pub. Jack is only too willing to take Kate out & distract her from her work but she finds herself drawn to silent, brooding Ed who works in London during the week & will do anything to keep the estate together. She also becomes friends with Jocasta, Ed & Jack's much younger half-sister & becomes involved with Camilla's circle of friends. London begins to seems very far away & as Kate becomes more involved with the Blackmores & the local community, she wonders if she really wants to sell the cottage when the renovations are finished.

Kate's Progress is a charming novel with an attractive heroine, two potential heroes & an involving plot. Kate's country idyll isn't without a snake or two in the grass. One person at least isn't happy to see her in the cottage & leaves anonymous messages to frighten her away. Then there's Addison, a gorgeous American who seems very close to Ed & is obviously a part of his London life that he's kept private. This is a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

8 comments:

  1. I've never read anything by Harrod-Eagles but it sounds like this might be a fun place to start.

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    1. I've been reading C H-E for years. She also writes a mystery series (Bill Slider) that I really love as well as stand alone romances like Kate's Progress & a mammoth historical family saga (Dynasty) that started in the 1400s & is now up to the 1920s. Always well-written & involving.

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  2. I've read every Bill Slider police procedural novel written by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles except maybe the very latest one but it was only recently I realized she wrote other things (including a whole series of historical novels). This one sounds like something I might like, Lyn.

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    1. It's a lovely light read but I always enjoy her books.

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  3. I've only read some of the Bill Slider mysteries and was unaware of this book. Is there any connection? Is this a "straight novel" or a mystery, or...?

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    1. No, there's no connection between Bill Slider & this novel. KP is a standalone romantic novel.

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  4. I must read this latest one. I still reread The Kirov Trilogy, Anna, Fleur and Emma. Just love them and she is a good historical researcher. This series is very enjoyable and engrossing.

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    1. I loved the Kirov books. I've always been interested in Russian history & C H-E is a terrific writer. Her Slider mysteries are my favourites though.

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