Another wonderful book by Katie fforde. Just every time a new book comes out they keep getting better and better. This was book three in the collection of I wanted to call them enchanted reads. As in not sure what else to name the book series. However I love them all regardless. I really enjoyed this one. Meg had always been my favourite so it was really nice to learn more about her and discover her love story. I adored the other characters in the book to her mum, the other workers, the angry chef and of course catching up with all the other characters from the last books too. More from this series please.

One Enchanted Evening
by Katie Fforde
Publisher: Random House UK, Cornerstone, Century
Publication Date:2 Mar 2023 |
Genre:General Fiction (Adult) | Romance | Women's Fiction

Meg just filled in as a chef for the hotel her mam been managing after their head walked out drunk. Its a very homely sweet feel good book. The Pacing is very well written andit actually drags you into the story. Are you feeling better now I want to know what's happening with the hotel.

Andrew the owner of the hotel and his son Justin both visit within this book.

This is one of my books you can imagine yourself sitting and relaxing in a reading.

4/5 stars

I have always loved Katie’s books and one enchanted evening is no exception!
A beautiful enchanting tale of young love,set in idyllic Dorset in a charming shabby chic hotel!
Delicious enticing food and a real old fashioned feel good factor!
Quirky characters, friendships, romance both young and old and a nostalgic step back into the past!
A perfect read to immerse yourself in and to look back into a forgotten time!
Thank you netgalley for this early read! X

Typical Katie Ffordd storyline. Enjoyable but have enjoyed some of her others more. The end was predictable but some good scenes on the way.

A nice easy read, this one is set in the 1960s, where a woman’s place was very much still in the home, and Meg was coming up against all types of obstacles in her aim to become a chef. When her mother calls asking for her help,Meg rushes to help.

This is just what you expect from Katie Fforde, a well written, nicely paced story, with likeable characters, locations you’d definitely want to visit, and a nicely satisfying ending. Maybe one or two of the characters are a bit cliched - Vanessa’s mother for one, and there were no real surprises- just a good, solid bit of escapism, which always goes down well. 3 1/2 ⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I have read quite a number of Katie Fforde novels and have enjoyed them all, however, I cannot say the same about this one. It is hard to put my finger on the problem but I simply did not like the way it was written. The story did not flow as it should and the characters were too shallow for my liking. What could have been for, for me, a trip down memory Lane considering the era in which it was set, was instead a frustrating disappointment.

Katie Fforde never disappoints. This was a delightful read centred around a country house hotel in the 60's. Meg goes to help out her mother when the resident chef has a tantrum and walks out. What ensues is a catalogue of happy accidents, resulting in meeting disagreeable Justin from a rival hotel,a stint in the kitchen, a trip to France, discovering that an elderly resident turns out to be more than meets the eye and a glorious romance!
A thoroughly enjoyable read...and another triumph by Katie Fforde.
Highly recommend

One Enchanted Evening by Katie Fforde is an enchanting story full of old fashioned country homes in France and England. Meg is summoned by her mother who is working in a small hotel in Dorset and she needs her daughter who is a chef to help with the meals.. The chef has walked out and there is a yearly lunch to prepare for and cook.
Meg rises to the challenge and is soon making small but meaningful changes to the hotel, which is rather faded and run down..
The hotel is jointly owned by two brothers and the nephew is also working at the more modern hotel in the area, Justin is an experienced chef and is very patronising towards Meg, when they first meet. Time and events unfold and eventually the end of the season approaches and changes must be made.
A delightful book to sit and read over the Christmas winter break. A most enjoyable read.
Highly recommended

I have read a couple of Katie Fforde’s novels but not for sometime now. I was disappointed with this book as the style for me was slightly immature and the heroine rather naive. It struck me that this book was intended for an audience of romantics and lovers of cooking with a clear-cut storyline, neither of which are my preferred genre. It’s very easy reading, especially suited to chilly winter evenings and escaping the realities of life.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers Random House for this advance copy.

This is the third book set in the 1960s loosely based around a group of young middle-class women who attended a cookery class in London. As I've said in my reviews of the previous books in this 'series', the historical setting works well for Katie Fforde's genre of romance which almost always features an artistic, slightly virginal (ie either a virgin or only ever had one lover, possible a deceased husband) young woman, and a taciturn man who turns out to have been secretly in love with her all the time. Think a modern Emma and you won't go far wrong.

Meg has been interning in London restaurants and has managed to get some good experience, despite the endemic sexism of the time. Then her mother, who is the live-in housekeeper at a stately home turned hotel in Dorset begs her to come and help out. The owner has gone to France to try to settle his father's will, leaving her alone to manage the hotel. There is an annual dinner held at the hotel and the irascible chef has fired all the local staff, preferring to use agency staff instead, who have cancelled at the last minute. As soon as Meg arrives the chef also quits and leaves her totally in the lurch. With the assistance of some of the locals and a long-term resident of the hotel, Meg manages to make a good start on preparing the meal, substituting some of the former chef's packet ingredients for more season-appropriate fresh ingredients from the extensive kitchen gardens. But just when everything seems to be under control a very rude young man comes into the kitchen and starts throwing his weight around. It's Justin, the owner's son, a chef in his own right, who seems determined to find fault with everything Meg has done.

The hotel's owner and Meg's mother are involved romantically, but he and his brother are locked in battle over their father's will and the hotel may need to be sold, especially since it is losing money. Meg loves the old hotel, even if it is looking a bit shabby, but it is losing out to a modern hotel close by, which has a celebrity chef and a swimming pool, as well as en-suite bathrooms, so she will do whatever she can to reinvigorate the hotel and bring in new customers.

I think this is one of the best Katie Fforde romances I have read for a while. The 1960s setting, and his ambivalent feelings towards his father, totally explains Justin's attitude to Meg and her mother, yet it is also quite clear to the reader fairly early on that Justin is also quite smitten by Meg and finds any excuse to visit the hotel. Sure you have to suspend disbelief a little bit to think that a coat of paint, a bunch of flowers, and a few new cushion covers will miraculous make the hotel more inviting, but much is made of the homely (in the good sense) atmosphere, more of a home-from-home than a hotel, somewhere the aristocracy can stay while attending social events in the area.

Anyway, loved it.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Two words - disappointingly predictable. If you are looking for a well written, warm chicklit then this is the book for you. Luckily the 1960s setting was 'right up my street.'

Perfect for a beach/sunbed read.

Thanks to Net Galley and RandomHouse UK for the chance to read and review.

Meg is a professional chef but in 1966 its very micjmans world
Recieved a call from her mother and leave 'swing London'. Her mother who lives in Dorset running a smaMegll hotel and need help putting on a function.
When Meg arrives the hotel it seems to be stuck in the past (Meg's mother) but she loves a challenge and sets to work.

Justin son of hotel owner, turn up and wants to take control back in wants, too run kitchen. 🧑‍🍳. Himself
What do you think happen between this pair?
Sacked lots people, who have worked there for year's.
Andrew father owner hotel
Lunch for 50 people tomorrow is resh soup for a starter, icoordination chicken 🐔 and bread and butter for dessert?🍨 ?
Geoff, the old chef was a fan of agency staff and ordering in food. But 'how can you run a hotel without a love of food?' Says Meg. Vegetables still growing in hotels garden and what can get freshers
Mum got all staff sorted back in place for sorted 👍to back to both settling up the tables and serving the 50 people today. 😀
Meg has a Job offer in France but berms offered one in hotel 🛏 But can she leave all her long standing behind: Alexander and her partner Antoine, Lizzy and Vanessa all old friends also David and Russell want to put on

Alexander ,'we all loved it at the time , now it seems desperately gloomy and and needs repair and decoration.'.

Uncle Colin looking for deeds for hotel has depths to settle
Me8g and mother find the deeds. Should they even tell Justin or Andrew? Who does she really know as real' where you pining for geography

Shakespeare play 'A Midsummer Night Dream' in the garden of Nightingale Woods oak! Russell and David dream of setting a film here and have come to check it out.
Well and not offered a say

This novel makes you through several love story's and there is some well build friendship circle and her family and that of Justin's family.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me a complementary digital copy of this ebook in exchange for a honest review, all opinions are completely my own

KATIE FFORDE – ONE ENHANTED EVENING ****

I read this novel in advance of publication through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

To criticise a novel of Katie Fforde would be like kicking a puppy. She has legions of fans who adore her every word. I don’t. Her prose is littered with adverbs and adjectives and cliches which, for me, spoil a perfectly good story. She also has four female characters all whose names all begin with L. An aspiring author wouldn’t get away with such slapdash writing.

This, part of a series, concerns Meg, a rather naïve young chef in the making who meets a grumpy young chef who she first loathes and then falls in love with. In addition, there are a plethora of characters, both new and old, who inhabit the rather run-down hotel where she finds herself working, thanks to her mother’s romantic involvement with the owner. She also travels to France and stays with the characters from the last book.

What Katie Fforde does very successfully is create a world – in this case that of a small hotel – which comes to life with a beating heart and is fleshed out with great characters. For the duration of your read, you find yourself immersed into their world, and can’t wait to plunge back inside after you have had to put the book down.

Not one to kick puppies (I have two dogs who I adore) I’m not criticising the story: I just wish an editor with a stricter eye could have been involved to polish the prose and cut out all those pesky clichés and adverbs and adjectives which lower the overall quality.

A lovely feel good, romantic summery story. Perfect for a beach read or plane read on the way to your summer break. Also a god story for those who enjoy cooking. The 1960’s are captured well, written very much in language of the time.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Katie Fforde at her best. At first as I use to be a chef I did not like the attitude to woman in the kitchen but it worked for the story and the era it was set in..The hotel was lovely. Good to be back with favourite characters. The food descriptions are amazing. The mother and daughter relationship is lovely. You had the Second World War twist as well. I absolutely loved it

I think I have read pretty much all of Katie Fforde's books, and though this wasn't my favourite, it was still an easy read.
Set in the 60s, Meg is called to her mother's workplace to help out. It is a quaint hotel that is barely breathing, with the opening of a newer, more modern hotel nearby, complete with ensuite bathrooms and a highly-rated chef as the owner.
Meg hasn't got much professional training, but what she does have is passion, ideas and empathy, which endear her to the staff and guests alike.
Shame it doesn't seem to be the case for the owner's son, who firmly believes that women shouldn't be in charge of a professional kitchen at all.
Family politics, whimsical stories of the past, and a whole load of passion for this project make the tale a lovely read.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK for an ARC.

A light and cheerful read. Set in 1960’s Dorset, Meg is helping in a country house hotel. Meg’s mother is working in the hotel, and as Meg has experience as a chef, her mother has appealed for help in the hotel kitchen. The hotel , although a beautiful home set in spectacular grounds, has been in a downward spiral for a while and has been eclipsed by a more modern hotel in the nearby vicinity.Meg and the staff roll up their sleeves in efforts to bring this charming hotel up to date. Romance and friendship are in ample supply as well as help accomplishing many goals. Entertaining with likable characters, pure escapism.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this advance electronic copy.

Oh dear, this book really didn’t live up to my expectations at all. Although it was set in the 1960’s it felt at times more like the 1940’s. The writing style was very twee and rather old fashioned and the story very predictable.

Always good value from Katie Fforde, I think I have read everything she has written! This is a very sweet little tale set in the 60s, an era I well remember. No such thing as equality then. Meg takes over a kitchen in a small hotel, but finds that Justin believes he is by far the most important person .I did find that he seemed to change very quickly from being a pain in the neck to being very charming, but that's how the stroy goes..
Thank you to NetGalley for a chance to read and review this book. I enjoyed it, but I think she has written books that have deeper subjects.

One Enchanted Evening has Meg a trainee chef helping out her mother in a small Dorset hotel that is not doing too well. Set in 1964 we have the culinary delights of coronation chicken and pretty basic fayre. Enter Justin, son of the hotels owner and chef in a nearby large hotel who is horrified to find a woman chef in the kitchen, he tells Meg this pretty bluntly so not a great first meet.
As the story develops Meg proves herself not only in the kitchen but by her ideas to modernise the hotel and increase occupancy.
A nice enough story though I did at times become a little bored and to be honest didn’t feel any relationship develop between Justin and Meg, Meg suddenly decided she’d fallen in love with him and then Justin felt the same even after little interaction between them. That said this is my personal take on the story that is basically a light romance with quite a cast of characters.
My thanks to net galley and publisher for the opportunity to review this book honestly.