Wild Designs

“A Cinderella story that says even if you’re 40 with three messy kids, you can find happiness with a millionaire Prince Charming . . . a delightful romp.” —Library Journal

Althea Farraday is a thirty-eight-year-old divorced mother of three who’s got 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-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 our lives.

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

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

“[A] delicious romantic romp . . . As pretty a piece of wish fulfillment as can be imagined; enchanting withal.” —Booklist (starred review)

“British writer Fforde returns, this time exhibiting a spirited sense of humor, a light touch, and a real sense of how families work.” —Kirkus Reviews