Two years ago, Izzie Stock left London and moved to the
country with her husband, Marcus, and their two small
children. With her combat boots and trendy bohemian
attitude, Izzie is having a hard time fitting in with the
perfect private school mother set. Gorgeous newcomer Maddy
Hoare longs for the exquisite shopping that only the City
(London) can offer, but she's left behind urban chic and
come to the country to support her husband's technology
venture. The snobby mothers invite her to lunch when she
enrolls her children in exclusive day schools, but luckily
Maddy and Izzie meet there and bond over their contempt for
rural Ringford society. Their friendship deepens quickly
when Maddy's husband is killed in an automobile accident
and the lawyers reveal that her husband's business had
failed and Maddy has been left with nothing.
Izzie shows up at Maddy's house, unsure of how to help
since she and Maddy have little in common. When they find
an old journal from Maddy's great grandmother filled with
recipes for balms and creams and salves, Izzie sees an
opportunity for Maddy to distract herself from her grief.
After some success at a craft fair, Maddy contacts a friend
in the PR business who helps launch their business through
well-placed press releases and a strong earth-mother image.
Paysage Enchante is launched and soon Maddy and Izzie are
just as popular as their natural cosmetics, although both
women have to borrow flowing flowery skirts, stop smoking
and take a crash course on gardening to buoy their organic
representation in the media.
With success come complications. Izzie's marriage is on the
rocks, Maddy is neglecting her children and business
consultants are encouraging further expansion. According to
the financial newspapers, Izzie and Maddy's back-to-nature
philosophy may be affecting the entire cosmetics industry.
Of course, only Izzie and Maddy know that they're both City
girls at heart and are beginning to regret the day they
embraced their earthy disguises and said "GOODBYE, JIMMY
CHOO."
How could one person be as creative and observant as
Annie Sanders? Well, the secret is that two great
writers work together and publish under that name. Here
they've created a delightful look at motherhood, marriage
and finding strength in unlikely circumstances. Izzie is my
favorite character; how refreshing to find an attractive
women turning 40 in the midst of raising children, working
through marriage problems, forming wonderful friendships
and branching out into a new business. Maddy is an
inspiration; she grows up, works hard and doesn't lose
sight of the things that are most important to her, even if
fancy underwear, kitten heels and her lucky Prada handbag
still rank near the top of the list. This fun story goes
beyond chick-lit to provide smart women who are terrific
mothers, brave entrepreneurs and discerning shoppers.
Highly recommended!
Under normal circumstances, Izzie and Maddy would never
have met. Their lives are a million miles apart--Izzie is a
bohemian free-spirit, Maddy is Gucci-clad and wealthy. But
thanks to their respective husbands' careers, both have
been dumped into the English countryside. Thrown together
at a women's lunch, they become fast friends as they
discover a shared longing for the London streets they left
behind. When tragedy hits and Maddy's world collapses, they
have to make money fast. A chance discovery leads them to
launch a cosmetics company, and their success has
implications beyond their wildest imaginings...
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