5* review - Appleby Farm by Cathy Bramley

Buy HERE from Amazon.co.uk

Freya Moorcroft has wild red hair, mischievous green eyes, a warm smile and a heart of gold. She’s been happy working at the café round the corner from Ivy Lane allotments and her romance with her new boyfriend is going well, she thinks, but a part of her still misses the beautiful rolling hills of her Cumbrian childhood home: Appleby Farm.

Then a phone call out of the blue and a desperate plea for help change everything…

The farm is in financial trouble, and it’s taking its toll on the aunt and uncle who raised Freya. Heading home to lend a hand, Freya quickly learns that things are worse than she first thought. As she summons up all her creativity and determination to turn things around, Freya is surprised as her own dreams for the future begin to take shape.

Love makes the world go round, according to Freya. Not money. But will saving Appleby Farm and following her heart come at a price?

How I love Cathy Bramley, and how pleased I was to realise that some of my favourite Ivy Lane characters would be popping up in Appleby Farm, and that it was centered around Freya Moorcroft who we had met in the latter half of Ivy Lane.

Freya works in the cafe around the corner from the Ivy Lane allotments, it's just a cover job, as much of Freya's employment seems to be. She feels that she has never really settled anywhere, even though she is now in a relationship with Charlie which she thought was going swimmingly until he breaks it to her that it's just 'a bit of fun' and seems quite unwilling to introduce her to his young son.

When she receives a phone call from her Auntie Sue saying that her Uncle Arthur has had an accident while driving his tractor she is devastated. She jumps on the next train to be with them and help out while her uncle is laid up. When she arrives there she feels guilty that her aunt and uncle have aged considerably, she realises this is due to the fact that she has not visited anywhere near as much as she should have in the past few years.

While she is there she feels the comfort of home, as she has always looked upon the farm as, and wonders whether there is anything really to return back to Kingsfield for.
As she contemplates her decision she uncovers a troubling secret and a catastrophe that puts the future of Appleby Farm in jeopardy.

Freya puts her thinking cap on to try and save her childhood home and the family who virtually raised her, she draws on every resource she can, until she can go no further and has to take the leap of contacting her parents who she has always vowed never to go cap in hand to, but when needs must...

Family tensions run high, especially when Freya's (vile) brother appears on the scene and threatens all the hard work that Freya has achieved, but the rekindled friendship with her childhood bestie Harry proves just the tonic that Freya needs.

I adored watching bubbly Freya return to her childhood home and her lovely Aunty Sue and Uncle Arthur, and watching her character develop from the lost soul she seemed to be in the very beginning - or even further back for those who have read Ivy Lane where she first featured working in the cafe. 

Appleby Farm is beautifully touching and vibrant, all told with Cathy's wonderful, warm sense of humour. I loved the family ethos at Appleby Farm, how fences are mended (physically and metaphorically) and how Tilly Parker (Ivy Lane) celebrated her beautiful wedding at Freya's beautiful vintage tearooms which was described so perfectly I felt I was a guest looking on, with obligatory tears in my eyes.

A perfect feel-good read!

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Appleby Farm: Where The Heart Is - Cathy Bramley 5* review

Buy HERE from Amazon.co.uk

Life is a whirlwind of hard work and fun at Appleby Farm, just the way Freya likes it. As her plans for the vintage tea rooms come together, the old timber barn is filled with a merry jumble of teacups and the smell of Auntie Sue’s freshly baked scones.

After a visit from Tilly Parker, Freya is beginning to feel like she’s finally found her home. And a surprise birthday treat makes Freya wonder – has love has been under her nose this whole time?

As the grand opening of the tea rooms arrives, the pressure is on – especially with greedy property developers sniffing around. Then a secret request poses a new challenge, but it might just be the answer to Freya’s prayers…

Appleby Farm is an irresistibly charming novel told in four parts – following the adventures of Freya Moorcroft in love, friendship and a spot of farming. Where The Heart Is is part three. It features some friendly faces who appeared in Cathy's bestselling series, Ivy Lane, but it can be read and enjoyed as a standalone story.

Each part of Appleby Farm contains 10 chapters.

As pleased as I was to see the third part of Appleby Farm drop into my Kindle, I was equally as dismayed as this is the penultimate part! I am loving this series by Cathy Bramley so very much, the thought of not visiting Freya and co again makes me want to rush off to the Lake District and take up farming.

Anyway, the third installment of Appleby Farm is equally as delightful as the previous two, Freya has found her feet in the world of farming, well, as much as she can in a short space of time, and the plans for the Appleby Farm Vintage Tearooms are coming along splendidly. Part three sees her renewed friendship with childhood friend, Harry, blossom and he proves an invaluable ally at just the right moment.

Freya's relationship with her parents also seems to be looking up, but unfortunately her unpleasant brother Julian makes his entrance in this installment and Freya now has her work cut out to keep Appleby Farm out of the hands of greedy property developers just as things are looking up.

As always, adore Cathy's writing and knack of drawing the reader right into the heart of the story and characters. The way she describes the Appleby Farm Vintage Tearooms is just amazing, I can see the shelves stacked with vintage china and smell Aunty Sue's delicious homemade cakes, this is definitely somewhere I'd love to visit! 

Ten chapters is a short yet wonderfully pleasant read and I can't wait for the paperback version to be published in August, just in time for my birthday!!

Appleby Farm Part Two - A Family Affair by Cathy Bramley - 5* review

Appleby Farm Part Two on Amazon.co.uk

It’s impossible not to feel cheerful at Appleby Farm, so Freya is putting her doubts about her love life to the back of her mind for now.

But when she discovers the truth about its financial troubles, Freya has to face up to reality: they might lose the farm. There’s only one person she can ask for help, and it’s the last thing she wants to do… Can a trip to Paris change the farm’s fortunes?

As Appleby Farm’s fate hangs in the balance, Freya is surprised as her own dreams for the future take shape. But who will be at her side as her dreams become reality?

Appleby Farm is an irresistibly charming novel told in four parts – following the adventures of Freya Moorcroft in love, friendship and a spot of farming. A Family Affair is part two. It features some friendly faces who appeared in Cathy's bestselling series, Ivy Lane, but it can be read and enjoyed as a standalone story.

Each part of Appleby Farm contains 10 chapters.

Getting back into the familiarity of Appleby Farm didn't take a second, and I was pleased to find Freya back at the farm she loved, with her equally beloved aunt and uncle.
Remembering that she rushed back to be with her uncle that had suffered a heart attack, we find all is relatively well with Uncle Arthur although he is still ill in hospital, but it's the farm that is suffering worse health, albeit financially, as Freya remembers the red reminder bill that she saw.

Freya puts her thinking cap on and draws on every resource she can, until she can go no further and has to take the leap of contacting her parents who she has always vowed never to go cap in hand to, but when needs must...she makes a trip to Paris to see them even though she doesn't have the best of relationships with them. The scenes with her mother are touching and give away a lot of background story as to why she grew up on the farm with Aunty Sue taking the mothering role.

She just seems to be making a dent in the debts and getting Appleby Farm on the up when another disaster strikes, which could be last straw for Appleby Farm, even with the new workforce she has managed to get in place. 

Another really lovely story, beautifully researched as ever and plenty of cliffhangers to keep the reader guessing until part three - although I really with there were to be ten parts, not just four. I am already enjoying this series even more than Ivy Lane (which I adored) and cannot wait for the next installment. 

Another...

Here's my review of  Appleby Farm Part One 5*