I had never read anything by Katie Fforde before and was having real trouble in my local library trying to find something I thought I would enjoy reading. I saw this book and another book by her, Wedding Season on the recently returned shelf and decided to give them a go. What instantly attracted me was the cover, it was primarily purple with a cartoon design showing a gate and a hedge which I could only imagine belonged to a stately home. Reading the blurb I realised it was my sort of book-easy to read chick lit and promptly checked it out!

Stately Pursuits introduces us to Hetty, a very normal down to earth girl in a loving relationship. She is due to meet her boyfriend, Alistair at his country cottage similar to how they do every weekend. Imagine her dismay when as she arrives, he calls to her that he is in bed and when she climbs the stairs she discovers he is infact in bed with another woman! He tells her that there was no other way to tell her and he believed this was the easiest way. As I'm sure you can imagine, Hetty is absolutely furious and makes a swift exit, after ruining his antique linen and damaging his much loved Porsche!

Hetty then feels very much at a loose end and has no option but to go and stay with her mother, especially since Alistair was her boss in London. When she arrives at her parents she wants nothing but sympathy however her Mum already has a plan for her; she is to take care of an elderly relatives home whilst he is in hospital. Hetty is not keen on this option but soon realises that she cant stay with her parents forever and it is probably a good idea to go, even if its just to mend her broken heart. She understands she is not needed for long and that there is an heir to take over if her elderly relative, Samuel should unfortunately pass on.

As soon as Hetty arrives at Courtbridge House she immediately falls in love with the place, despite its old and dilapidated state it is truely beautiful and has a lot of character. Her mother has succeeded in telling the entire population of the village about Hetty's broken heart (much to her dismay!) so they are all keen to welcome her and look after her.

Shortly after Hettys arrival she comes across a letter addressed to Samuel demanding a large sum of money in reference to a loan. Hetty immediately panics as she, nor the estate has the money to pay for this. She sets about ways of making money for the house but her tracks are halted when the heir of the house, Samuels nephew Connor turns up and makes his feelings very clear-he wishes to turn the house into a theme park! Hetty is horrified and does all she can to save Courtbridge House, including opening to the public. Connor and Hettys relationship is rather rocky as they are complete opposites, however this changed over time and they soon realise they are far more similar than they would like to admit.

Throughout the book I found myself beginning to love Hetty more and more. She seemed so down to earth right from the beginning and the reader will find themselves really taking to her and wanting her to succeed in her goals and targets. The introduction of Connor made me feel for Hetty even more due to the abrupt and hostile manner he first showed towards her. However, I also found myself warming to Connor as he became less abrupt and more human like!

I found this book to be a very easy read and never needed to re-read anything in the fear that I'd missed any information. Although I enjoyed the book an awful lot I wouldn't say it was a gripping read and it took me a couple of weeks to get through it. The plot flowed well although there were a number of scenes in the book where you could easily guess what was going to happen next. I enjoyed reading a piece of chick lit where the main character had goals and aspirations for something she truly loved.

I would recommend this book for anyone looking for an easy read or interested in chick lit. It is 384 pages long and was published by Arrow Books. It is currently available from Amazon for £5.99 or from 1p used from Amazon Marketplace.