Books of the chick-lit genre can be either a hit or miss with me. Unfortunately, "Escape to the Cotswolds" fell into the latter category.

I was very much attracted by the lovely cover and the description - I love escapism and makeover stories- but the narrative failed to draw me in. It was rolling over pleasantly enough and yet it did not make much impression. I guess, this was caused mostly by the tell-rather-than-show technique the author used.
It also did not help that the characters were superficial and underdeveloped. Sometimes names were mentioned without any information or description and then dropped for a long time, so when they shew up again I was bewildered, because I had no idea who/what they were.

It is good that the story is not exclusively about the relationship of the MC and her love interest, but at no point did I feel the slightest bit of chemistry between them and their romance seemed childish. Also apart from a few minor occurences, the plot is mainly plain sailing: whatever Holly wants, she gets almost right away without much struggle or anything really being at stake.

It is an easy read, but it was not for me.

A cute romance. Set in the rural Cotswolds of England the book was able to paint a picture of the small town. Enjoyed.

This is a lovely summery read - ideal to pack for your holidays.
After an upsetting discovery Holly goes to stay with her best friend in the Cotswolds. She has a bad first impression of the local vet- but soon discovers that he is fantastic with the local animals so he can't be that bad...........can he?
She falls in love with village life and her life dream of having her own studio and running classes begins to become a reality when she buys a house in the same village.
It sounds so blissful and you really want to find the local estate agent and find a pretty cottage of your own. Holly meets the locals and finds herself the object of desire with one- and has to find a way to deal with the thought of a new romance.
The book deals with lovely friendships, delightful village settings and the hint of a romance in the air. I love the Cotswolds and this book gives you a wonderful 'virtual' trip to the picturesque village. I will definately look out for more books by Natalie Kleinman.

DNF 36%
The dialogues felt too forced and unnatural, the overall story quite predictable and unable to pull me in.

Holly Hunter has reached breaking point when we enter the story of her life in London. Married to philandering Harry she has had enough, and finally finds the courage to walk away from her marriage to start again in the Cotswold village of Cuffingham. I was pleased to find that the author did not dwell on the detail of their divorce and chose to move on with Holly's new adventures which see her set up her own business selling her beautiful artwork and make lots of new friends. I did feel that fortune shone on Holly rather a lot throughout the book which at times made the story a little unbelievable although it's not all plain sailing.
As with many stories in this genre our main character becomes the centre of attention with the menfolk in her new home town, and after a few false starts and the introduction of an adorable puppy the local vet Adam becomes a big part of her life along with the estate agent and the antique dealer . We follow them through the ups and downs of village life over the ensuing months but despite there being quite a lot of events happening I never really felt properly involved. The story moves along quite quickly and I never really felt like I got under the skin of any of the characters as much as I would have liked, which I found rather disappointing.
The cover and description really attracted me to this book, however overall it didn’t quite hit the mark for me.
Many thanks to HQ digital for giving me the opportunity to read and review this title, I look forward to reading further work by this author in future

Unfortunately on this occasion I won't be leaving a review as this story isn't working for me.

Holly has decided to finally divorce her husband Harry after he cheated on her multiple times. She leaves London for the Cotswolds to stay with her best friend Emma and her family.

The descriptions of the village and surrounding area were wonderful! It was easy to imagine everything and made me want to visit to see the manors, shops, and the river.

My only difficulty with the book was that it was hard for me to get into it initially. There was a lot of time spent on Holly establishing her house and business. I understood this piece was necessary because she is starting her life over after the divorce, but occasionally I did think that part was a little too long. I really started to enjoy it more once those pieces were in place.

I liked Holly's friends and her back and forth with Adam, the local vet who she literally runs into the first time they meet. It was nice to see a group who support and care about​ each other so much.

A charming book set in the English Countryside, Escape to the Cotswolds was a fun read I would recommend.

Escape to the Cotswolds was, quite simply, awesome. I loved Holly the main character and not just because we share a first name. She does with her life what, I think, crosses so many peoples minds. Get out of a discouraging, depressing situation and get a "do-over". The fact that she adopts a puppy (and who can't love the name Tubs for a puppy?) only made her more loveable as a main character. Escape to the Cotswolds is a book that I would (and will) recommend very enthusiastically to all my romance reader friends and to my local libraries. I want everyone to read it and love the characters as much as I do!

This is a good book to read to escape into romance and a bit of silliness. Holly leaves London and her philandering husband to live on a small town in the Cotswolds near her best friend, Emma. As an artist, she sets up a studio, makes friends and develops friendships. Throughout the book, you know she will end up with Adam, but it is still a fun escapade.

A good snuggle up read. I loved the setting and the character Holly, especially her artistic endeavours and her lovely cottage. It was more like a mini soap than a chic lit romance, There were no romantic bits (as the happy couple didn't get together until the end It Included the obligatory tragedy inflicted on one of the main characters, but fortunately it didn't overwhelm the story. I thought Adam was a little dead beat but enjoyed Tubs and the other female characters. It is a book of strong characterful women and 'soggy' insignificant men. Overall a good read in a lovely setting

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. A very well written romance with a good plot, characters and a beautiful small town setting. I enjoyed this author's style of writing very much

A light British romance. I enjoyed the unique storyline. I only with the romantic relationship started a bit sooner in the story.

IT was the cover that drew me to this book but unfortunately I just couldn't really get into it

This is a delightful book. I enjoyed the story line and the descriptions about the Cotswolds.

What a wonderful romance. Not my normal type of romance but I simply loved it. Good overall writing. I have now found a new author.

When I first saw the cover of "Escape to the Cotswolds*", a novel by Natalie Kleinman which will be published on 21 June, it reminded me of a novel I enjoyed reading. It's similar to the cover of "Return to the Little French Guesthouse" by Helen Pollard. But, as they say: don't judge a book by its cover - and it really is true.

The cover is colourful, cosy looking and suggests a perfect read. But sadly, it was no perfect read at all. At least for me. I don't know how you feel about that book, but I can only speak for myself. The description sounds promising. But while reading Natalie Kleinman's novel, I couldn't feel this "connection" between me and the characters I feel most times when I'm reading. In my opinion, the characters weren't well developed. They were okay, but that was it. I couldn't see that Holly has feelings for Adam - or any men. She never really thinks about him and when she does, she tries to persuade herself for a short time that she has no interest and than she goes on with her life. Even when she and her friends learn who the art thief is, nobody seems shocked. Although Holly nearly slept with him! It's just like that: Oh, Gordon is the thief. Okay. *shrug* No hard feelings, no arguments and no word about the fact that he has stolen from Holly, too!

Then the conversations. They aren't really interesting or deep. On one point, the answer to a question doesn't match.

"(...) How is Gordon, do you know?" (...)
"No, we haven't quite decided what to do yet. Who should go, or not."

I didn't feel like home while reading that book, you know what I mean? This book is an advanced reader's copy and therefore I want to be honest. I'm really sorry that I have to give such a negative feedback but a review has to be honest, no matter if I got the book for free or not. Maybe you think differently about this book, but this is my opinion and I'm sorry to say that I didn't enjoy this book at all.

A very well written romance with a great plot, characters and a beautiful small town setting. I enjoyed this author's style of writing and will be reading more of her work. I highly recommend this book.

Holly Hunter is staring over in the Cotswolds, leaving her two-timing husband behind in the city. After the disaster that was her marriage, Holly has decided to concentrate on her gallery and the puppy who has unexpectedly wormed his way into her heart. Men are not in the cards for the recently heartbroken woman, but local vet Adam Whitney, has other plans. In such a small village, it’s hard to keep any secrets and even harder to stay away from the man who’s beginning to wear down her defenses. A charming story of small town life and a fresh start