The Christmas Cottage

by

Sarah Morgan

Will this Christmas finally bring comfort and joy?

A PAINFUL SECRET

Imogen loves her job as an events organiser, and her colleagues are in awe of her. But Imogen isn’t the person she pretends to be, and she’s hiding painful truths about her past. But as long as she can keep on top of her work, Imogen can put everything else to one side.

AN ACT OF KINDNESS

And then Imogen makes a catastrophic mistake at work, and finally realises it's time to reset. When her favourite client, Dorothy, invites her to spend Christmas with her and her family, in her cottage in the Cotswolds, it sounds like the perfect way for Imogen to take stock.

FINDING HAPPINESS AT CHRISTMAS

Imogen soon settles into idyllic cottage life, especially with the prospect of a new romance on the horizon … but when long-buried secrets and unwanted faces from the past resurface, Imogen’s new peace is threatened. Will Imogen end up alone this Christmas, or can she find it in her heart to forgive and move on?

REVIEW

Imogen is an Events Organiser and is brilliant at her job, but her problem is that she can't say no. She works all hours of the day and night (even over Christmas) and this is because she has no family to celebrate the festive season with. Or so she thought. Her mother only wants to know her when she wants something (usually money) and she has told her that her family didn't want to know her when she got pregnant with Imogen. 

With Imogen taking on far too much work, mistakes are bound to happen and that is when her boss tells her she has to take the month of December off to rest. Imogen has no idea what she is going to do, when her favourite client, Dorothy offers a cottage on her estate to stay in for Christmas.

Miles is the local vet and a very good friend of Dorothy's and when Imogen meets him and his newly acquired dog Ralph, all sorts of thoughts go through her head, but when family secrets are unfolded during her stay, Imogen finds it tough to deal with all the thoughts and emotions it brings and her first thought is to fun back to London instead of facing up to things. 

I loved this book and all of the characters in it (except for Tina, Imogen's mother!). It was such a warm, Christmassy uplifting read which I devoured in just a few days. I have already passed this book on! Just what I needed to read on these grey, dark days of winter. 

 This Christmas

by

Emma Heatherington

Two strangers. One double-booked cottage. This Christmas will be one to remember. . .

Rose used to love Christmas - until the year everything changed. She hasn't been home to visit her family for the holidays since.

Charlie is facing his first Christmas alone. It may be the most wonderful time of the year for some, but not for him. Not this year.

In search of comfort and seclusion, Rose escapes to a cottage in rural Donegal to hunker down for the festive season by herself.

But when Charlie opens the door to Seaview Cottage, the two strangers realise that their holiday rental has been double-booked.

They both expected to spend this Christmas alone. But their lives could be changed forever if they agree to spend it together. . .

REVIEW

Christmas is coming round again and Rose still can't face all the festivities, so decides to rent her cousin's cottage so that she can be alone to get through as best she can. When her car breaks down on the way, she is offered help by a kind stranger, but being the independent woman she is, she declines and gets the car going again and makes it to the cottage. 

Charlie is also hoping to be alone for Christmas. It is the first year without his Daughter Rebecca, who has moved with her mother to Tenerife and so he and his dog Max rent a cottage to get away from it all for the festivities (you can see where this is going!).

When Rose meets Charlie at Seaview Cottage, it dawns on them both that they have been double booked. Rose soon realises that Charlie is the stranger who tried to help her with her car and so things don't really go too well at first as Rose has her dog George and Charlie has Max and the cottage only has one bedroom! What are they going to do?

Rose' car has to go to the garage and it doesn't look like it will be fixed this side of Christmas, Charlie makes a plan that they spend the festivities together, but with certain house rules! If they stick to them, then it will be bearable for them to get through Christmas without too much trouble! But of course, the best laid plans always go pear shaped! 

This isn't just a story of boy meets girl and they end up together. This is a story of love, loss and all of the emotions that Christmas brings with loved ones lost and families that are estranged. It really pulls at your heart strings. 

This is the first book I have read by this author and I can't wait to read her new Christmas book! It really was a page turner and the characters are fabulous and you are routing for them every step of the way. A lovely festive read that I finished in just a few days. 

 A Skye Full of Stars

by

Sue Moorcroft

Review by

Julie Williams

Under the winter stars, anything is possible…

Ezzie Wynter can’t wait for Christmas on the beautiful Isle of Skye. Her island home sparkles at this time of year thanks to the snow-capped mountains and frosty winter walks, topped off with family gatherings with those she loves the most.

But her peaceful Christmas idyll is upended when she hears that the Larson family – the owners of Rothach Hall – are flying in from Sweden for the festivities. As Manager of their grand Scottish manor house, Ezzie suddenly has decorations to hang, food to source and itineraries to organise.

Life only becomes more difficult when Mats Larson turns up. The owners’ handsome, self-assured son is used to doing things his own way – and he is only another headache to add to her overflowing list.

Yet when unexpected visitors arrive looking for Ezzie, nothing else matters as she is left questioning everything she ever knew about herself. But amidst the Christmas chaos, she might also discover that, when all is lost, it’s sometimes those we least expect who come to our aid…

REVIEW

I loved this 2nd instalment of the Skye sisters trilogy, although it is perfect as a standalone, you would be missing out on the lives of Ezzie, Valentina and Thea and their connection with Rochach Hall on the Isle of Skye.

This book centres on Ezzie Wynter's life where she has just been promoted to Manager of the Hall, which is owned by a Swedish family who arrive to spend a traditional Scottish Christmas. Ezzie feels the pressure that the family bring, along with the day-to-day running of the Hall. 

She is thrown a curve ball when her birth parents pay a surprise visit disrupting her life. A secret from long ago, hidden from her eldest sister Valentina, resurfaces and is revealed but not taken well.

This story is packed with emotion. I was caught up with the gorgeous scenery and the magic of Christmas as the Swedish family’s children delight and excitement shone every day.

My thanks to Net Galley and Avon for the digital advanced copy. I can’t wait for the next and final instalment which will be Valentina’s story.

 Estella's Revenge

by

Barbara Havelock

Raised in the darkness of Satis House where the clocks never tick, the beautiful Estella is bred to hate men and to keep her heart cold as the grave. She knows she doesn’t feel things quite like other people do but is this just the result of her strange upbringing? As she watches the brutal treatment of women around her, hatred hardens into a core of vengeance and when she finds herself married to the abusive Drummle, she is forced to make a deadly choice: should she embrace the darkness within her and exact her revenge? A gripping Gothic read, perfect for fans of Stacey Halls, Eve Chase and Jessie Burton. 

Review

Most of us know the story of Miss Havisham from the novel Great Expectations. She is jilted on her wedding day by her fiancé Evarard Compeyson and from the moment she received the letter saying he wasn't coming, she stopped all the clocks in her great house and it was as if time stood still. She stayed in her wedding dress and the wedding breakfast was still on the table, for many, many years. 

Miss Havisham adopted a baby and named her Estella and this book tells her story. 

As Estella grows up, Miss Havisham is determined to make sure that she breaks men's hearts, just like hers was broken all those years ago. When a young boy is brought in to the house by the name of Pip to befriend Estella, she is nothing short of foul to him, but there is a spark between them, but Estella just cannot let her guard down.

Estella goes to Paris to finish her education and has a lady's maid by the name of        Yvette. They become friends, but even this relationship is doomed and Estella drives her away.

When Estella comes back from Paris, she meets Bentley Drummle who she sees as a challenge and when he asks her to marry him, she tells him it will be a strictly business arrangement. 

Once married, this arrangement doesn't last long and Estella is in fear for her life and so runs back to Miss Havisham, but knows it will only be a matter of time before Bentley finds her and heaven knows what the consequences will be...

I cannot tell you how much I loved this book. I devoured it in just a few days and at the end of each chapter, it just left me wanting more and more. 

The characters were fabulous (even if you hated some of them!) and the description to detail in this book is nothing short of amazing. 

This book is definitely my book of the year and I wouldn't be surprised if it became a modern classic. Superb writing by the author. 

About the Author

Barbara Havelocke (Copperthwaite) is an international bestselling author, whose psychological thrillers have topped Amazon and Kobo. Her writing career started in journalism, interviewing the real victims of crime - and the perpetrators. Barbara lives in Birmingham. 

 The House at Ocean's End

by

Faith Hogan

** COVER REVEAL **

I'm delighted to share the cover reveal for The House at Ocean's End by Faith Hogan and a snippet for you. It's published on 5.6.25. 

I can't wait to read this one as I love this author's writing. 

Ocean's End might just be as far away as you can run from your worries, but can you ever outrun your secrets?

Constance is in her ninth decade, looking back on a life filled with laughter and loss, tragedy and triumph. It is time to take stock, make plans and right the wrongs from her past that have always haunted her.

Heather arrives on the island to bury her mother. Already adrift, with her business sold, her divorce finalised and her flat recently transferred to new owners, time on the island may be the perfect opportunity to change the course of her future.

Ros has managed to slip into the perfect job, the perfect cottage and friends that feel like family. However, when the stitches of her life begin to unravel, she must find a way to hold onto the things that have become most dear to her.

Ocean’s End is a faded art deco house by the sea, equal parts sanctuary and inspiration – now, Constance, Heather and Ros must come together to save not just the house, but each other, before time runs out.

 Home Again for Christmas

by

Emily Stone

Lexie is always on the move, but there is one constant in her life - her ' wish jar ' ; the childhood tradition from home that she couldn't leave behind. When Lexie's estranged dad dies, she is shocked to learn that she has inherited half of his travel company in Bath. Her dad's will stipulates that she must work with Theo, her handsome but bad tempered business partner, for  a year. Once the year is over, Lexie intends to leave. But a work trip to sizzling Spain reveals a chemistry between Lexie and Theo that is impossible to deny. Will Lexie find a reason to stay in one place? Will she discover the secret her father kept from her and finally learn the meaning of home?

Review

Lexie loves working abroad, especially in the ski resorts in the winter, but when her father dies and she is summoned to the reading of her father's will, she is shocked to learn that she has inherited half of her father's travel company. The stipulation in the will states that Lexie has to keep the company for a year before even thinking about selling it. The other half of the company is left to her father's friend and colleague, Theo, who is not too pleased to have to share the company he has worked so hard to keep going over the last 5 years.

Lexie and Theo get off on the wrong foot and Lexie cannot wait for the year to be up so that she can sell the company and move on, but when they both go on a work trip to Madrid, there is definitely a chemistry between them which Lexie tries her hardest to deny.

When Lexie was a little girl, she made a wish jar which she would put all the wishes she wanted to come true. Theo finds the jar and asks her what she wished for and Lexie tells him that if she tells him a wish, he will have to answer a question! 

Whilst trying to make things work with the travel company and coming to terms with her grief, Lexie finds herself falling for Theo, but if she is going to sell the company eventually, what will that do to any future she might have with him? and the grief she is going through at the loss of her father both when he was alive and when he died as he had divorced her mother and remarried and had another daughter, Rachel, who is desperate to have a sisterly relationship with Lexie, but Lexie won't let people get close, because when she does, she feels they will leave her again. 

This book is full of great characters. Sometimes you want to bang Lexie and Theo's heads together, but you can understand why they both feel the way they do. It deals with the grief of a daughter and how she comes to terms with that and I really loved how the author dealt sympathetically with that. 

This is the first book I have read by this author and I loved it, so much so, that I have ordered another of her books to read over the festive season!

I couldn't put this book down and finished it within a few days and would thoroughly recommend it.

About the Author

Emily lives and works in Chepstow. She is the author of debut novel Always, in December and One Last Gift, her second successful novel. Always, in December was partly inspired by the death of her mother, when Emily was seven, and wanting to write something that reflected the fact that you carry this grief into adulthood, long after you supposedly move on from the event itself.

 The Love of My Afterlife

by

Kirsty Greenwood

If she wasn’t dead already, Delphie would be dying of embarrassment. She’s entered the afterlife wearing the sort of pyjamas you don’t want anyone to see and finds herself face-to-face with the most handsome man she’s ever encountered. And he’s smiling at her.

As they start to chat, everything else becomes background noise – until someone comes running out of a door, yelling something about a huge mistake, and sends the dreamy stranger back down to earth.

In a twist of fate, Delphie is offered a deal in which she can return to her previous life and reconnect with the mysterious man she’s sure is her soulmate.

The challenge? She only has ten days to find him.

Ten days to make him fall for her.

Oh, and he has no recollection of them ever having met…

REVIEW

After choking on a microwave burger, Delphie finds she has entered the afterlife. Apart from being devastated by finding out she is dead, she has to deal with Merrit, who is an afterlife advisor and helps all the new "deads" come to terms with their fate. A lover of romantic fiction, Merrit sees that Delphie is attracted to another newbie, but he is sent back to the living and Merrit sets Delphie a challenge - to find the handsome stranger and get him to kiss her within ten days back on earth, or she will be sent back to Evermore for all eternity...

When Delphie is sent back to earth, she sets out to find her "soul mate", but a series of events leaves time running out for her. She also has to deal with her neighbour Cooper who she is not sure whether she hates with a passion, or actually passionately fancies!

I loved this book and couldn't put it down. I read it on holiday and actually laughed out loud several times! It has it all, I was laughing one minute and had a tear in my eye the next. Great characters that I loved. Would thoroughly recommend this book.