Review: Pink Wellies and Flat Caps

Synopsis
Alice Lane has everything; a wonderful fiancé, a responsible job and a lovely flat in Chelsea, but after she has a bra fitting her life goes tits up. Homeless, and with just a sparkling engagement ring as a memory of her previous life Alice accepts a live-in farm manager s job and discovers that things actually can get worse. Come with Alice as she makes her hilarious career change and struggles to cope with her moody employer, Edward. But can Alice turn her back on romance and resist the dashing Dominic or will the past come back to surprise her?

Review

 "Only a man could drop a bombshell on you while you're sitting in a fitting room with your tits hanging out."

I'm in two mind about this book. Firstly Pink Wellies and Flat Caps is a fantastic read by a author who understand British humor. She takes us on Alice's journey which is filled with heartbreak and new beginnings. Her portrayal of a resilient character who faces challenges but ultimately becomes a champion in her own fairy tale is superb. For this reason I loved the book.

However Alice is also a very confusing and at time a very annoying character. She's intelligent yet these accumulated brain cells fail to work once she's in the Countryside. Because the book is written in the first person, her mannerism and  snobbish nature did irritate me beyond belief. . There's something about Alice that failed to resonate with me. Perhaps because she makes a fuss over many things like her supermarket preferences (queue the Lidle v Waitrose debate) or perhaps like most Chick Lit characters, she becomes a caricature incapable of translating into reality or I simply  failed to relate to her. I failed to understand how an intelligent woman could fail so miserably in the country. Yet I was in awe of her resilience.

There's no doubt that this is a good bedtime read and that Lynda Renham is talented. It's just that for me all the characters needs more development for example the ex-fiance is villain with no face, he needed more life and soul. The best villains are those we understand yet we still loathe them. I didn't understand him therefore I couldn't fully hate him. I'm still in two minds about this book. At times this was a brilliant read but other times I could feel my brain start to fry. There's something about Lynda Renham though that will makes me want to pink up her other books. But Pink Wellies and Flat Caps didn't entertain me fully.