Book Review: Simply You by Maggie Wild

Four Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

A bicycle ride through the English Countryside, a charming Bed and Breakfast, and a Farmer who will sing to his chickens.  This is all you really need to know to find this book in your to-be-read stack.  

Publishers Blub:  Sarah Tildon thinks she’s found the perfect man. But after her overbearing future mother-in-law insists her quiet country wedding become a high-society shindig, she sets out on a two-week ride to rethink her plans. Stranded when her bicycle is stolen in a picturesque hamlet, she’s touched by the kindness of a handsome young farmer who comes to her rescue.

The big city failed Michael Marsden’s ample ambitions. After his fiance cheats on him, he turns his back on the hustle and bustle and takes on a farm to prove he can lead a self-sufficient life. And taken by surprise when a charming outsider helps sing his hens into laying, he realizes his newfound Eden is missing its Eve.

My Take: This book took me on a fun journey through the English countryside.  I enjoyed the setting very much.  I especially liked Micheal, the farmer who left a busy, lucrative living in London to live sustainably, and simply on his parents land in the tiny village of Hope Valley.  His love of his farm, his family, his village, and even his chickens make him a very endearing character.  

Sarah was a bit more complicated.  I loved her adventurous spirit, but was disappointed with her lack of self awareness.  She obviously isn’t suited for, or in love with her fiance, but it takes her forever to figure it all out.  And I would have preferred for her to break off her engagement at least before getting involved with Michael.  I understand that life is messy, and we don’t always do things in the order that we should, and I can see why the author wrote her this way, but it just didn’t sit right with me.  

I still recommend this book, the scenery, the hero, and the delightful village characters are enough to make this a worthwhile read.

This review is based on NetGalley ARC provided in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion.