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Life Skills

Have a romantic life-adventure with the Sunday Times bestselling author

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Life Skills

By: Katie Fforde
Narrated by: Jilly Bond
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A combination of overwork and jet-leg propel Julia Fairfax into becoming engaged to a golf-playing wine buff called Oscar. When she realises that she has fonder feelings for his adorable Labrador than for Oscar himself, she is forced to confront the fact that there is something drastically wrong. So, she ditches her fianc-, jacks in her job and decides to revolutionise her life.

Her new career as a cook on a pair of hotel boats is certainly a departure, and teaches her more about life than how to get a couple of narrow boats through a lock. But even afloat Julia's past catches up with her. Not only must she contend with the persistent Oscar (not to mention his frightful mother and her own mother's determined matchmaking), but also the arrival of her childhood enemy, the enigmatic Fergus Grindley.

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Always love to revisit this author's older works, this one's nostalgic for a time in the recent past, which I find very relatable. Canal boats, cooking and chaos, with fun, complex characters and a twist at the end to produce a satisfying happy conclusion. And the Katie Fforde/Jilly Bond combo working really well here. Lovely!

Vintage Katie Fforde

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Julia was sooo annoyingly miserable and hard work. I stuck with the book until the end but only because I had nothing else to listen to. Disappointing.

Not the best!

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I usually love Katie’s books but this was hard listening, it kept saying how many hours left and I was struggling through. The storyline was weak and dragged out and the main character Julia, well I wanted to smack her. A horrible woman.

Main character is hard to stomach

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I felt it was a bit slow to start but really enjoyed the characters and story line. grrrd in frustration as Julie's stubbornness and shed a happy tear at the end :)
Jolly also really brings the characters to life- and narrates it beautifully, as she always seems to :)

well narrated and interesting characters

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Ridiculously contrived story that felt like a scraping-the-barrel plot line used because every other conceivable romantic device has already been taken. Disappointing, given Katie fforde’s previous output. I’m afraid Jilly Bond is also a little too arch in her delivery throughout - her American sounds like Irish and all her male voices sound like old men, which doesn’t help..

Sadly unrealistic and far-fetched even for chick-lit

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