Book Review: A Rural Affair by Catherine Alliott

Newly widowed Poppy Shilling should be feeling distraught at the death of her husband, Phil. But, instead, she can't help feeling relieved. No longer will she have to endure Phil's iron fist ruling over her and their two young children, or his unfortunate penchant for lycra cycling wear.

What's more, when a secret is revealed after his death, Poppy's memories of their life together are turned upside down.

Freed from the shackles of her loveless marriage, Poppy is determined not to make the same mistakes again. Fully embracing village life, she becomes the object of the local menfolk's affections- from Bob, the resident odd ball, to Luke, the sexy church organist. But it's just her luck that the one man who catches her eye can't seem to let go of his glamorous ex wife...

Will Poppy have the courage to follow her heart and refuse to settle for second best? It's time for a new beginning, and a chance to discover what real love feels like...

I've not yet read a Catherine Alliott novel, but I was looking forward to trying her new novel A Rural Affair. I was really put off by the cover at first - it really isn't inspiring and I don't think opens up the book to a wide age demographic, but I was willing to give it a go anyway. The idea of a wife being somewhat relieved at the death of her husband was quite interesting, and I wondered how Alliott would approach the issue and continue Poppy's story. At 464 pages, it isn't a short novel and I did find it hard going at times, I do felt it could have been a bit shorter with some scenes being easily cut, but I carried on nonetheless and ploughed through the book as best I could.

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