Practically Perfect: The feel-good escapist romcom from the Sunday Times bestselling author

Three and a half stars. Slightly dated classic Katie Forde romance. Anna has bought a dilapidated end of terrace worker's cottage in the Cotswolds with the intention of doing it up and selling it, and also showcasing her interior design credentials (cue rather dated references to the TV series Changing Rooms). She quickly makes friends with the woman in the cottage next door with an absentee husband (travelling for work) and three small children. Her new BFF also saddles her with a rescue greyhound rather against Anna's better judgement which leads to a run-in with the local representative of the greyhound rescue centre who is less than impressed by Anna's dog-handling skills. Rob, aka B*stard Dog Man (as Anna calls him), also turns out to work for the listed buildings department and Anna finds out her lovely cottage is listed, which means no new wide staircase and no French windows. So Rob is now rechristened B*stard House and Dog Man. But aside from his officiousness about Anna's house and dog, Rob is actually very helpful. Anna hasn't told anyone but one of the reasons she moved to the village was because the man she has been in love with years, Max, is originally from the area and his mother lives in the village. Max was a guest lecturer on Anna's university course and they had a moment at the end of year dance, but Anna threw his number away in a moment of madness and has been regretting it ever since. Now a college reunion beckons and Anna has the chance to see Max again. So here we are set up for the classic love triangle, the sophisticated London architect that got away versus the well-meaning but bossy B*stard House and Dog Man. The only problem was, I found both men pretty obnoxious, they both treated Anna like a fluffy little girl who didn't know a thing and told her what to do with monotonous regularity. Overall, I liked it but I didn't love it, I also thought Anna was a bit wet TBH.

Fun and easy read good detail on doing up houses part of story.