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Wild Designs by Katie Fforde
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Wild Designs

$17.96

Retail price: $19.95

Discount: 9%

This title is not eligible for purchase with membership credits. Why?

Narrator Vanessa Benjamin

This audiobook uses AI narration.

We’re taking steps to make sure AI narration is transparent.

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Length 11 hours 31 minutes
Language English
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Althea Farraday, a thirty-eight-year-old divorced mother of three, has a teenage son who's a Buddhist, a hypercritical sister who knows how to push all her buttons, a job on the endangered species list, and a love life to match. Just as she's settling in to a comfortable level of chaos, a near-perfect man enters her life. Equipped to steal her heart and help turn her passion for designing gardens into a new career, Patrick Donahugh may be too good to be true.

Amid wild roses, California poppies, scarlet flax, sweet rocket, love-in-a-mist, and of course, plenty of dirt, Wild Designs is a refreshingly honest and funny read that celebrates the almost-ready-to-bloom aspect of all of our lives.

Katie Fforde is the author of romance novels are set in modern-day England. She lives in Stroud, Gloucestershire, England with her husband, some of her three children,and many pets. Recently her old hobbies of ironing and housework have given way to singing, Flamenco dancing, and husky racing. She claims this keeps her fit.

Vanessa Benjamin (a.k.a. Roe Kendall) is a native of the British Isles. Some twenty-five years ago she moved to the United States with her family and set down roots in Maryland. She graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London, receiving their silver medal as well as the Sir Emile Littler and Caryl Brahms awards. Benjamin has performed on stage in the Washington, DC, area for several years and at many venues and has performed at the Kennedy Center as Mrs. Schubert in the long-running show Shear Madness. An accomplished actress and narrator, she has recorded over two hundred books. Her work as a freelance voice-over artist and narrator has led her in many interesting directions, from technical government materials to eighteenth-century romance novels to hotel advertising, but narrating books is what she really enjoys. “I really love playing all the parts when I narrate a book. It’s an adventure, a challenge, and above all I feel that I learn something new with each book I read. I do a lot of reading for the Library of Congress’ Blind and Physically Handicapped program, and it is so rewarding for me especially when I get a letter from a patron; it’s a great service for the listener.”

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In celebration of Independent Bookstore Day, shop our limited-time sale on bestselling audiobooks from April 22nd-28th. Don’t miss out—purchases support your local bookstore!

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Reviews

“A delight…Althea copes with single-mom tribulations with such grace and wit that you wish she could move in next door.”

“Old-fashioned romance of the best sort…funny, comforting.”

“A modern Cinderella tale about a good-hearted, underappreciated supermom in her late thirties…This British bestselling author has delivered a pocketful of posy.”

“A delicious romantic romp...As pretty a piece of wish fulfillment as can be imagined; enchanting withal.”

“Vanessa Benjamin is a wonderful narrator; her Althea is a struggling working mom with a grand sense of humor. Benjamin’s interpretation of Patrick Donahugh cleverly portrays a witty gentleman desperately trying to win Althea’s heart. Overall, Benjamin presents a full cast of British characters with forethought and color.”

“This is a Cinderella story that says even if you’re forty with three messy kids, you can find happiness with a millionaire Prince Charming...Althea’s adventures in attaining her heart’s desires—Patrick, a new place to live, a greenhouse, and a career—make for a delightful romp through the English Cotswolds. Throw in a smarmy ex-husband, a controlling mother, a sister just like mom, and a new niece and the story becomes even more spicy. There are a few Briticisms to puzzle out, but that just adds to the fun. An essential purchase.”

“Exhibits a spirited sense of humor, a light touch, and a real sense of how families work…Cleverly, endearingly, realistically rendered.”

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Celebrate indie bookstores with our limited-time sale! Shop the sale