Mirka is not really a countryside kind of girl, but in moving to Sophie and Richard's house in the middle of nowhere, she's signed up for a lot more than she bargained for. This book had so much heart and such vivid descriptions that it often felt like I was sitting in the kitchen with one of Sophie's delicious meals in front of me. I'm quite keen on taxidermy, so it was good to learn a little more about it, particularly from Mirka's point of view.

Rural England: it's often filled with more quirky oddball characters per capita than the cities - alongside a mixture of deep conservatism, old money and fear of outsiders. Imagine moving to the countryside if you were an Eastern European immigrant and a lesbian? That's Mirka, and when making endless coffees at a central London Pret becomes too tedious, she accepts a job on Richard and Sophie's farm. He's a shit taxidermist and she hosts weddings on the family estate. They're messy, creative drunks who are desperate for a child, or at least something to shake up their small world. So Mirka makes the perfect distraction to life on the farm, even if not all the locals are quite so welcoming. This book was a surprising treat: quite a perceptive depiction of modern life in the British countryside viewed through the eyes of someone who is clearly an outsider, with a tension that sneaks up on you. A great holiday read.