Stevie‘s review of Wooing the Farmer (Axedale, Book 3) by Jenny Frame
Contemporary Lesbian Romance published by Bold Strokes Books 12 Mar 19
I’ve had a few disappointments recently from later novels in series that I’ve initially enjoyed, including the other series I’ve been following by this author. Having said that, I enjoyed the second book in this trilogy even more than I did the first, and I was keen to see who Quade would end up with, so I grabbed the third of the Axedale books with more excitement than trepidation.
Sam McQuade, Quade to her friends, has recently been appointed assistant farm manager on the Axedale estate, taking on the role in addition to her existing duties on the farm she inherited from her aunt and uncle, where she lives with only her dog for company. Now that Quade’s best friends in Axedale, the Reverend Bridget and Countess Harry, have settled down with their respective partners, she is feeling her own single status to be rather a burden, but despairs of finding anyone suitable locally. Her attention is soon captivated, however, by a visitor to the village: a city girl in fancy clothes and a fancy sports car, and with a fancy dog in her handbag.
Penelope Huntingdon-Stewart has fled her pampered life in London because she feels stifled by her well-meaning family, who are keen to see that she doesn’t repeat the episode in which she suffered an epileptic fit on live TV. Penny has lived with epilepsy her entire life and managed to build up a successful food blog with no help from her parents or her trust fund, and with none of her fans aware of her disability, until her business partner persuaded her to forego her usual recording techniques in order to better build Penny’s brand. Now Penny is starting over with a new theme for her blog, the country kitchen, and still aiming to one day move from the internet to the networks.
Penny’s eye is quickly caught by Quade and their dogs make friends too, although Penny has to overcome her fears of the countryside’s presumed threats to her companion as well as her belief that Quade’s methods of growing vegetables are a far cry from her clean-food ethics.
I loved the way Quade is able to break down Penny’s misconceptions, while Penny also persuades Quade to sample her cooking and a little of her life away from the estate. Quade is wonderfully understanding of both Penny’s epilepsy and of the fears it has instilled in her of trusting anyone enough to allow them fully into her life – and her bedroom. It was also a treat to catch up again with the characters from the previous books, and also with Harry’s stepdaughter, and to see how life had changed for all of them since our previous visits to the village.
I wasn’t quite as charmed by this book as I was by the previous one, but it was still a delight, and I’m a little sad at the thought that there seem to be no more lesbians in Axedale who are in need of their own happy endings.
Grade: B
Summary:
Penelope Huntingdon-Stewart, highly successful clean-eating food vlogger and owner of the website Penny’s Kitchen, is looking for a new direction for her brand. At least that’s what she tells herself when she retreats to Axedale to record a new web series and write a cookbook. That sounds so much better than damage control after her only live, on-screen interview ends in an oh-so-public epileptic seizure.
Farmer Sam McQuade is immediately attracted to Penelope, but the ultra femme and high maintenance city girl seems way out of her league. When Penelope struggles to get her health on track, Quade insists on being her knight in shining armor, much to Penelope’s displeasure. Quade is annoyingly good-looking, not to mention kindhearted, and falling for her would be so easy. If only it didn’t force Penelope to face the secrets she’s hidden from everyone. Can love alone bring a complex city girl and a simple rural farmer together?
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
