Their husbands were gone, their families were grown, and the future stretched out before them like an unfulfilled promise...
Tired o... read full description
Tired o... read full description
reviews
Feb 03, 2012
Paula
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Ever wondered what life would be like if you one day packed up everything you ever knew and took a risk , something unknown and strange to you ?
For three best friends , all in their late fifties that's exactly what they did. Cici, Bridget and Lindsey have all had their fair share of troubles and triumphs but when Bridget's husband Jeff dies she is left wondering , is this is it ? What has she done with her life ?
Soon , the three friends are travelling and looking at houses in the m More...
For three best friends , all in their late fifties that's exactly what they did. Cici, Bridget and Lindsey have all had their fair share of troubles and triumphs but when Bridget's husband Jeff dies she is left wondering , is this is it ? What has she done with her life ?
Soon , the three friends are travelling and looking at houses in the m More...
Jan 30, 2012
Carolyn
rated it: 
As those who know me can attest, I am a house person. Love looking at them, imagining living in them, designing my dream one, and reading about them. A house can be a character in a book, have a personality, hide secrets, be an object of desire, a sheltering presence, a lurking evil. So I was drawn to this book because it is centered on three single women of a certain age buying and renovating a large well-constructed but dilapidated farm house in the Shenandoah Valley. I was a little skepti
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Mar 30, 2010
JoAnn/QuAppelle
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An Amazon reviewer said this is not "War and Peace" but it sure was totally enjoyable to read. I had never heard of this book or author until a friend who knows how I like to read about home renovation and cooking told me about it. I was hooked on the first page.
I loved the characters, their development, and the descriptions of all that these women did on the farm. I love how they met the challenges, many of which they had not expected to encounter. It is a story of resili More...
I loved the characters, their development, and the descriptions of all that these women did on the farm. I love how they met the challenges, many of which they had not expected to encounter. It is a story of resili More...
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Apr 12, 2009
Jackie
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First thing: I liked that this book was about 3 fifty-something women, not the typical young, slender, beautiful, redhaired / curly brunette / blonde that seems so prevalent. Aside from one physical description at the very beginning, the looks of these women aren't really mentioned.
The story is a familiar one, nothing remarkable, and pretty much formulaic.
That said, I really liked this book. The short author bio at the back of the book says she's written something lik More...
The story is a familiar one, nothing remarkable, and pretty much formulaic.
That said, I really liked this book. The short author bio at the back of the book says she's written something lik More...
Jul 06, 2011
Naomi
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As I was reading this book I kept thinking, "this is all kind of dopey"...the story of 3 women who through a variety of circumstances around mid life, end up selling everything, and purchasing an old farmhouse and attempting to restore it into a bed and breakfast. Their personalities and stories are revealed throughout the story, and the 3 women share a great friendship. Another trilogy that has sucked me in...when my daughter saw I had brought the second one home from the library, s
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Mar 20, 2009
Laura
rated it:
This book has a lot to recommend HOWEVER, is in strong need of a sequel. The basic plot is three women in their fifties throw caution to the wind, seel their suburban houses and go in together to restore a farm/mansion. I like this book a lot as far as the women drank wine on the porch everynight, they were best friends and very self-sufficient and they followed a crazy dream to see where it would take them.
What I was not happy about was how a ton of the book is about the women fixing More...
What I was not happy about was how a ton of the book is about the women fixing More...
Sep 03, 2011
Donna
rated it: 
I think I have found another book in the league with the Jan Karon Mitford books! This is the story of three friends who find themselves at a crossroads in their lives. One has just lost her husband in death, one has been divorced and a child off to college and one is a retiring school teacher. Best friends for years and ready for a change, they decide to purchase an old house in Virginia and undertake redoing it as they redo their lives as well. As they discover all the history and problems
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Aug 21, 2011
Blair
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Jul 03, 2011
Ami
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I don't use the word 'chick-lit' because I find it condescending and dismissive of books that women may like to read. (After all, there is no universal, slightly derogatory slang term for books that men might be drawn towards.) I may, occasionally, call a book "fluffy" if I feel it doesn't have much literary, educational, or mental weight to it, but I could call a story about women "fluffy" or a spy novel. Gender appeal doesn't play into it. And may I say for the record th
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Jul 29, 2011
Dyana
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I enjoyed this feel-good book; and at times smiled, giggled, and laughed out loud as I was reading it. Three women in their fifties from the Suburbs of Baltimore; Bridget (cook), Lindsey (artist), and Cici (handyman with tools) buy a run-down Victorian farmhouse in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. They under-estimated the amount they would need to renovate everything; because as we all know, one thing always leads to another major problem when renovating. They encounter disaster after disas
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Jun 01, 2009
Jen
rated it:
Not bad. I liked the idea behind the book--three women who find themselves middle-aged, single, and with means and few obligations buy a run-down farm together and spend a year fixing it up. And the plotline was written pretty well. Predictable, but a decent arc.
I do have some hangups with the way the author characterized her women, though, and the way she seemed to need to end each chapter with a trite quip. It's OK to let your reader just "get" some things without being to More...
I do have some hangups with the way the author characterized her women, though, and the way she seemed to need to end each chapter with a trite quip. It's OK to let your reader just "get" some things without being to More...
May 05, 2011
Kristie
rated it: 
So boring! I thought this book was over the top!
When three women decide to buy a house together they learn very early that things aren't as they seem. It reminded me of “The Money Pit” (great movie by the way!). The story takes us through the trials the three women go through trying to fix up the large house/farm they purchased and after awhile, or really page 138, I just rolled my eyes and skimmed. Everything you could think of goes wrong with the house and more. Ugh! It was annoying! More...
When three women decide to buy a house together they learn very early that things aren't as they seem. It reminded me of “The Money Pit” (great movie by the way!). The story takes us through the trials the three women go through trying to fix up the large house/farm they purchased and after awhile, or really page 138, I just rolled my eyes and skimmed. Everything you could think of goes wrong with the house and more. Ugh! It was annoying! More...
Sep 26, 2011
Sigrid
rated it:
Given to me by a co-worker, I was interested in discovering a new author. I was pleasantly surprised! The premise of the story is 3 middle-aged single women who are best friends and sell their homes and leave their suburban lives behind to invest in a large old home out in the middle of nowhere...somewhere in Virginia. The books is of their adventure...good and bad. The author had a way pulling you in with her descriptive narratives. It made me want to grab 2 great friends, sell everything I hav
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Sep 13, 2009
Nikki
rated it:
Although the descriptions of food, gardens and decorating sometimes made this book seem like Country Living magazine without the advertising, it was still quite enjoyable. The most unusual thing, and kudos to the author for it, is that the three heroines are all single (two long-divorced, one recently widowed) at the beginning of the book, and they are all still single at the end of the book. In between, they sell their houses in the Baltimore suburbs and buy a decrepit mansion/farm in Virginia,
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Oct 16, 2011
Jade
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Originally published at my blog Chasing Empty Pavements
I can't even begin to tell you how much I loved and enjoyed this book. This book goes right up there with The Help and Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I started reading it at work and could not put it down. I finished it in a 7 hr span. A Year on Ladybug Farm is about 3 close women who decide it's time to put their dreams to the test. They pool their money and resources together and buy a decrepit old house that th More...
I can't even begin to tell you how much I loved and enjoyed this book. This book goes right up there with The Help and Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I started reading it at work and could not put it down. I finished it in a 7 hr span. A Year on Ladybug Farm is about 3 close women who decide it's time to put their dreams to the test. They pool their money and resources together and buy a decrepit old house that th More...
Jan 30, 2010
Jan
rated it:
Such a fun book! I lived vicariously through these 3 friends who leave their suburban life and buy a 100 year old Victorian house with 16 acres of fruit trees, vines, barns...even sheep....attached. Out in the middle of No-Where, Virginia, these 3 friends grow and change like they never imagined they would. Through tears, laughter, anger and terror, they made it! Or did they?? Read it and find out :o)
GoodReads should add another selection to their "Date I finished this book More...
GoodReads should add another selection to their "Date I finished this book More...
Aug 03, 2011
Cheryl
rated it:
A very easy read revolving around three women in thier fiftys who go on vacation after the death of one of the friends husbands and decide to buy a farm. They sell thier homes and decide to embark on this new time in their lives pursuing their long forgotten dreams. Although all the predictible mishaps happen when they try to restore the farm I still enjoyed reading it. What I liked most was that these women were not pathetic. They were not seeking to find themselves. They already knew who they
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Aug 16, 2010
Anne
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I chose this book because it seemed like it would avoid the pitfalls of most stories about women (that they spend all of their time either worrying about how to get a man or worrying about how to keep a man). While the story of Bridget, Lindsey, and Cici moving from comfortable suburban Baltimore to the wilds of central Virginia and a 100+ year old farmhouse lived up to that book jacket promise, it wasn't all I had hoped. My major complaint is that our three main characters just sounded too mu
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Jan 12, 2012
Erica
rated it:
Loved it, loved it, loved it!!! Ok its not a gripping tale but oh so nice. Three middle-aged women who decide to change their lives and buy a huge run-down old house on a small farm and face all the events that this brings into their lives. They learn to let go of the unimportant things, focus on their attributes and let their adult children make their own decisions. It is a combination of outright fun and occasional pain for them all. Despite all the negative remarks from their friends, familie
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May 07, 2010
Dara
rated it:
LOVED THIS BOOK. I was a little skeptical when my friend suggested this book but I am soooo glad I bought it. I needed to read something refreshing and positive. This is a very light read and very easy to follow.
I was constantly picturing myself in my 50's hanging out on a farm with my bestest friends in the whole wide world. I absolutely adore my friends and would not be able to live life without them.
I found myself giggling out loud in some parts of the book and tha More...
I was constantly picturing myself in my 50's hanging out on a farm with my bestest friends in the whole wide world. I absolutely adore my friends and would not be able to live life without them.
I found myself giggling out loud in some parts of the book and tha More...
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Sep 17, 2009
i really really liked this book. i could relate to best friends getting together on a fun "project" - but i sure got tired reading about how hard they worked!!! made me feel so lazy just sitting there reading. liked
"damn right you'll take care of me, missy. when i'm old and sick and too tired to feed myself and too weak to dress myself, you'll do it for me just like i did for you. you'll tie my shoes and wipe the drool off my chin and change my diapers just like i did fo More...
"damn right you'll take care of me, missy. when i'm old and sick and too tired to feed myself and too weak to dress myself, you'll do it for me just like i did for you. you'll tie my shoes and wipe the drool off my chin and change my diapers just like i did fo More...
Jun 28, 2009
Robyn
rated it:
If you are looking for a solid novel with substance, this book isn't for you. It’s written in a formulaic structure with a predictable plot and equally unsurprising ending. It reads like a romance novel, and though I don’t know this for a fact, I suspect the author is a seasoned romance writer since the book jacket says she has written over eighty novels under her name and 5 other pseudonyms. If you are looking for a light, feel-good read about the strength and courage of middle-aged women an
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Aug 26, 2011
Nora
rated it:
This was a very relaxing and enjoyable read. I loved the concept that three women near retirement age decide to sell everything and embark on a new adventure. They throw away all their fears and took on the challenge of moving out of the city to a rural town, bought a historical farm and decided to renovate it and make it their new life. The courage it took for these women to leave their comfortable and predictable lives is extraordinary. Along the way they make new friends, discover a ghost and
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Jan 15, 2011
Karen
rated it:
There are things I loved about this book, mostly the idea of it. Three women moving somewhere totally new, trying out a different life, and sharing it with the ones closest to them. But other things, like the fact that I kept mixing up the women and that most of the other characters just seemed a little flat - were not as great. Also, the men in their lives were all quite forgettable - where were the good strong wonderful men? Sometimes too it seemed the simplest solution to their problems n
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Mar 27, 2009
Sheri
rated it:
Some books are just fun to read and this is one of them. You sit back and are grateful that you aren't one of these 3 ladies doing all this work to restore this old mansion they've taken on. And it is exhausting to read about the overwhelming amount of work to do to get this huge place in shape...but it is a fun book to read and they deserve every glass of wine they drink on the porch in the evenings!
You don't have to think about anything or figure any plot out, just read and enjoy it. More...
You don't have to think about anything or figure any plot out, just read and enjoy it. More...
Jan 30, 2012
Rowena
rated it:
At my reading core, I'm a romance reader but every now and again I like to read chick lit books. This isn't a chick lit but a women's fiction that surprised me with how much I enjoyed it. This book is so different from anything that I would have thought I'd like and there really isn't much to this story but I really did enjoy the story.
This story is about three women who have carved their lives in the suburbs and are now trying to make a go of it in the country. They bought a big spraw More...
This story is about three women who have carved their lives in the suburbs and are now trying to make a go of it in the country. They bought a big spraw More...
Dec 28, 2009
Judy
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I'm so tired of reading mysteries that have female leads who do something simply because their boyfriends/husbands/SO tell them not to. This book is about 3 women, in their 50's, who agree to buy a farm together. They get into a project that is way over their heads, but they have the support of each other. I find, more and more, that I enjoy reading books about the foraging of friendship among a group of women.
This book made me smile and laugh out loud. There is no intense conflict. More...
This book made me smile and laugh out loud. There is no intense conflict. More...
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Dec 30, 2010
Maicie
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Picked this up on a whim at the library. If "Hallmark" is a genre then this fits the bill nicely. I have to be in the mood to read this sort of book without a smirk on my face. I was in the mood.
Three 'older' (gd it...fifty is not old!) women risk everything to purchase an old farm house. Some silly mishaps, lots of bills and a Norman Rockwell-type setting add up to an okay, quick and syrupy-sweet read.
Recommend for those times when you need something cheerful
Three 'older' (gd it...fifty is not old!) women risk everything to purchase an old farm house. Some silly mishaps, lots of bills and a Norman Rockwell-type setting add up to an okay, quick and syrupy-sweet read.
Recommend for those times when you need something cheerful
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Dec 17, 2009
Judie
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I enjoyed this book which was about three friends whose families were grown making a life for themselves and doing what they wanted by purchasing an old house to renovate. Along the way they worked very hard, had their ups and downs, put up with their children "knowing best" for them, added a few people and animals to their life; and just in general, chose for themselves. Their dream became their reality, with all of the assets and liabilities of their choice. It was a good book.
Sep 28, 2011
Esther
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I truly enjoyed this book! I was afraid that this book was more a feel good girly women's type feministic book but it wasn't. Donna Ball really took some time in writing this book to be not typically "politically correct" but i think gave us a chance to grow with each of the main characters! I would reccomend it to all my girl friends as a good read. It not only gave me a better perspective but motivated me to be a better stronger person! Enjoy.
