Book Review of ‘A Farmhouse in Tuscany’ by Victoria Springfield

I’ll start by stating clearly that I’m not normally a fan of romances, and don’t read a lot of them. However, I was in the mood for something light-hearted, love to visit Tuscany, and liked the sound of this title when it popped up on my NetGalley feed.

‘A Farmhouse in Tuscany’ is a lovely summer read, especially when you’re ‘enjoying’ the usual grey skies and showers that a British summer has to offer. In this novel, we meet Harriet, who is stressed out as a result of working too hard. A colleague persuades her to visit a yoga retreat in Tuscany for a short break, and she signs up without really knowing what she’s letting herself in for. In short, she finds herself horse-riding rather than doing yoga. The farmhouse is run my Donna and her friend, who whips up a huge amount of pasta and other Italian treats – not the best book to read if you’re on a diet, as it will certainly leave you hungry and craving carbs! We also meet Jess, a returning horse-enthusiast, and Donna’s son, Marco.

There are a number of romantic relationships in this novel, and I liked that they weren’t all characters in their early twenties. Donna’s estranged husband turns up, along with his writing students, which adds a little spice to the peaceful Tuscan setting. There’s a little mystery, a few complications, and rather a lot of horses – if you’re a rider, this is the romance for you!

I enjoyed reading this as an interesting bit of escapism. There’s some nice characterisation and enough plot of keep you reading. The only thing that disappointed me was that it failed to really evoke a feeling of being in Tuscany. Overall, this was a pleasant read.

‘A Farmhouse in Tuscany’ is currently available on Kindle for just 99p! You can download a copy here (and I’ll gain a small commission, at no extra cost to yourself, if you use my link. Thank you!)

Thank you to Orion Dash, NetGalley and Victoria Springfield for an ARC of this book in return for my honest review of ‘A Farmhouse in Tuscany‘.