A Cotswold Family Life

Thank you to both NetGalley and Littlebrownbookgroupuk for my eARC of this book in exchange for my honest unbiased review.
I am already a huge fan of Clare Mackintosh’ writing and I certainly was not disappointed by her latest works. It is yet another piece of fabulous writing.
A story told through a year and life of one family. Be prepared for the unexpected- nothing is straight forward

After reading Clare’s previous 3 fiction novels I was intrigued to read this, a collection of her published columns about life as a family in the Cotswolds.
I read this in one sitting (though the format would obviously lend itself to reading on the go). The columns are collated across the year and finish with a big change headed for the family.
Would highly recommend.

Having read three of Clare Mackintosh’s novels, and enjoyed all of them greatly, I was keen to read her written memoirs of her family life in the Cotswolds. The book is in the main highly entertaining, provoking those ‘laugh out loud’ moments when reading alone, and leaves you with a great ‘feel good’ factor at the end. Mackintosh retells moments of many everyday incidents in life that many of us can relate to as we all try to juggle the copious demands of everyday life, such as the daily school run, running a home with three children, the constant demands of the school PTA as well as managing a job and finding time for oneself and husband. She has captured these moments with such wit and humour, often highlighting how farcical life can be at times. She reminisces of treasured family times, always with great love and fondness but also shares some moments which evoke great sadness. The memoirs are related to the twelve months of the calendar year, where she describes the seasonal changes and traditions that come with each new month, and how these relate to family times at various times of the year. Her vivid descriptions of seasonal changes in the Cotswolds remind you of how lucky we are in England to live in a country with such landscape and countryside, each season bringing its own unique element of natural beauty. Alongside such busy lives we can often overlook these, but Mackintosh takes the time to remind us of these continuous cycles of natural life, which, as a nation so obsessed with the weather, we would be so lost without. Through her observations of these changes and her humorous and witty recounts of her family life, you feel yourself being drawn in, sharing these times with a real sense of empathy, knowing how many of us have experienced such similar times in life, causing us to either laugh or cry with her. My thanks go to netgalley and Little Brown Books for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this, and I very much look forward to reading her next novel.

It's the first book I read by this author and it was a great discovery!
I loved the story told, engaging and entertaining, how they are organized and the style of writing.
This book made me wish I could move to the Cotswolds.
A very good book, I look forward to reading other books by this author.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK and Netgalley for this ARC

Such a joy to peek inside the four walls of Clare’s life: witty, poignant, relatable and perfectly captures the bitter-sweet of family life.

I really liked this memoir written by Clare MackIntosh. Clare used to write short stories for the Cotswold Life , where she shared stories about bringing up her young family in the Cotswolds. The book starts while Clare is still working in the police force. I really laughed out loud at some of the short stories, at others, my jaw dropped a bit. I liked the story about how she talked her husband into getting a few chickens, as in the long run, after a year, the chickens would earn there keep by saving them money as they wouldn't have to buy eggs anymore. But just how much did/didn't they earn by the end of the first year? You will have to read this lovely book to find out.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Little Brown Book Group UK and the author Clare Mackintosh for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.