All Isla wants for Christmas is to be left in peace, but in the Alps there’s potential for romance in every snowflake that falls…
It’s the week before Christmas and Isla McCoy has just received an unexpected gift: a letter announcing she is due a life-changing inheritance, but only if she’s willing to make peace with the father who abandoned her.
She has absolutely no intention of making amends, but who could resist an all-expenses-paid trip to the French resort of St Martin-de-Belleville?
There she meets smooth-talking Justin and nerdy glaciologist Sebastian; two very different men, with two very different agendas. Torn between her head and her heart, Isla finds herself utterly lost in a winter wonderland of her own feelings.
Surrounded by twinkling candles and roaring log-fires, Isla’s resolve finally begins to melt. But will she learn how to reconnect, not only with a whole new family, but with herself and her heart?
Review: This is book 2 in the Unforgettable Christmas series, following hard on the heels of book 1 (A Very Vintage Christmas). Although this story features as its main character someone mentioned in the previous book, it is perfectly possible to read each as a standalone. I very much enjoyed A Very Vintage Christmas, and looked forward to reading this second book. I have enjoyed all the books I have read from Tilly Tennant and would count her as one of my favourite authors.
The current story centres on the activities of Isla McCoy (best friend of Dodie, the central character in the first book) in the run-up to Christmas. Out of the blue, she has news that a little known relative has left her an inheritance. The catch is that to receive it she must make contact with the father who abandoned her and her mother when she was very young. However, the positive aspect of that is a trip to a French skiing resort where her father, Ian McCoy, now lives with his 'new' family. Unwillingly, and against her mother's wishes, Isla makes the trip just before Christmas and meets not only an extended family but also two very different but equally interesting men - distant relative Justin and visiting glaciologist Sebastian. Could romance be in the air?
I am a huge fan of festive stories, and I really enjoyed this one. It is a little different, with the heroine being transported off on an adventure just when she would normally be making Christmas preparations. It is a deliciously snowy tale as you would expect from its setting in the alpine resort of St Martin-de-Belleville. I found that I could easily picture the scene and would love to be staying in the guest house where Isla finds herself. I admired Isla as a character for her courage in setting off into the unknown as it were. Although I didn't think I would, as the story from the past emerged, I found myself liking her father and most of the family. Unexpectedly, I just couldn't warm to her mother, Glory, and revelations as the story progressed made it even more difficult.
I would recommend this book to fellow lovers of Christmas stories. It would be perfect for reading while curled up by the fire dreaming of a white Christmas.
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