Guest Review: Christmas at Lilac Cottage by Holly Martin

Welcome to the charming seaside town of White Cliff Bay, where Christmas is magical and love is in the air…

Penny Meadows loves her home – a cosy cottage decorated with pretty twinkling fairy lights and stunning views over the town of White Cliff Bay. She also loves her job as an ice-carver, creating breathtaking sculptures. Yet her personal life seems frozen. 

When Henry and daughter Daisy arrive at the cottage to rent the annex, Penny is determined to make them feel welcome. But while Daisy is friendly, Henry seems guarded. 

As Penny gets to know Henry, she realises there is more to him than meets the eye. And the connection between them is too strong to ignore… 

While the spirit of the season sprinkles its magic over the seaside town and preparations for the ice sculpting competition and Christmas eve ball are in full swing, can Penny melt the ice and allow love in her heart? And will this finally be the perfect Christmas she’s been dreaming of? 

What a lovely seasonal tale this is - the subtitle says it all. Holly Martin shows what a wonderful story-teller she is in this book with wonderful descriptions of settings and people on every page. I was instantly drawn into the world of the heroine of the story and found it a difficult one to put down. 

The central character is Penny, the owner of Lilac Cottage, so prettily illustrated on the book's cover. The 'cottage' itself sounds a great deal bigger than its name suggests, with its special areas to cater for Penny's ice sculpting business and its annex which is big enough to rent out as a home to another couple. That pair, Henry and Daisy, are the other main characters in the story. The small seaside town of White Cliff Bay, in which the story is set, sounds a lovely place to live. Everybody knows everybody else's business, but in the best possible way. There is a real sense of community that comes over well in Holly's writing. We see them all pulling together in times of need. 

While this is mainly a romance, there is also plenty of drama and a bit of humour in the story. It had me laughing out loud one minute and sitting on the edge of my seat the next. In the end it left me with a happy smile on my face.  I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a romance with a Christmassy feel. I'm looking forward to reading more about happenings in White Cliff Bay.