Hello Hello
How are we all today? All well I hope. Another book review for you today, with work this past week or so I'm a little behind and I must admit I do still have about 4 chapters left to finish before the weekend. Apologies to all, that work has held me back on finishing this on time.
BLURB
Welcome to Thornwaite, a quaint village tucked up in England’s beautiful but rainy Lake District… where homecomings happen and surprises are in store for the four Holley sisters…
Anna Holley, the third of four sisters, has always felt a little bit forgotten. A family tragedy when she was a child had her retreating deep into shyness, and social anxiety kept her on the fringes of the cozy chaos of the busy vicarage.
After several years away from home, Anna returns for Christmas... and an important announcement from her father. As much as she once loved the village, coming back is hard and puts Anna's social capabilities to the test.
Avoiding her sisters’ bossy questions, she heads out to the local pub one night, and meets a handsome stranger nursing a pint. Somehow, unburdened by expectations, Simon seems like the perfect person to spill all her secrets to—including a hopeless, long-held crush on her sister’s boyfriend. Confident she’ll never see him again, Anna returns home… only to discover the next day that Simon is actually her father’s new curate!
Anna is beyond mortified, but Simon won’t let her retreat into her usual shyness—and for once Anna is forced to confront the past, and all the fears and feelings she’d tried so long to hide. But with his own heartache that needs to heal, can Simon help Anna to make this the most magical Christmas either of them have known?
REVIEW
As usual, lets start off with the cover, how can you not love this cover, it reminds me of a Christmas card, and gets you into the festive spirit.
I'm actually a bit of a bah-humbug, I'm not really a Christmassy person but I do love a good Christmas book or movie and this little gem does not disappoint. It's full of family reunions, drama, and romance. It's the perfect winter chick-lit book for you to read in front of the fire with a cuppa.
As I have said with other books, I do love when you can relate to a character that you are reading about, it makes them feel more real, and Kate managed to do just that. I can relate to Anna and some of her struggles, which made me like her all the more. She has secrets just like us all, and feels uncomfortable being under everyones watchful eyes.
I love her relationship with Simon, it's not your usual boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, they live happily ever after, there is a lot more depth to both the characters and they seem to bring out the best in each other.
Kate is a wonderful writer and I hope to hear more from these sisters and their escapades. Anyone looking for a Christmas read on a rainy day, pick yourself up a copy of this, I guarantee you won't be disappointed.
AUTHOR
Kate is the USA Today-bsetselling author of over 60 books of women's fiction and romance. She is the author of the Hartley-by-the-Sea series, set in England's Lake District and published by Penguin. She is also, under the name Katharine Swartz, the author of the Tales from Goswell books, a series of time-slip novels set in the village of Goswell. She also writes for Harlequin Presents.
She likes to read romance, mystery, the occasional straight historical and angsty women's fiction; she particularly enjoys reading about well-drawn characters and avoids high-concept plots.
Having lived in both New York City and a tiny village on the windswept northwest coast of England, she now resides in a market town in Wales with her husband, five children, and an overly affectionate Golden Retriever.
GIVEAWAY
The prizes for this giveaway are a copy of A Cotswold Christmas and a £10 Amazon giftcard. The giveaway is International.
Are you a fan of Kate? I'd love to hear your thoughts on her new book.
HAYLEY
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