Guest Review: Christmas Surprises at Mermaids Point by Sarah Bennett

Christmas is a time for love, laughter, families and friends, and in Mermaids Point, everyone is getting ready for the festive season.

For Nerissa and Tom, this will be their first Christmas as a couple, but making sure they have time for each other, whilst blending their families, will take some careful planning. What festive traditions will they make their own?

Laurie and Jake are flat out running Laurie’s seafront café, packaging up orders of mince pies, sausage rolls and other delectable Christmas goodies, as well as finding time for Jake’s journalism.  But when Jake’s mum offers them an unexpected gift, their plans are turned upside down.

Alex can’t help but be charmed by beautiful and talented Ivy, but he’s still recovering from his ex-wife’s betrayal and has a secret life he’s not ready to share with anyone yet. But as the Christmas spirit starts weaving its magic, Alex may find himself ready for love sooner than he imagines.

For Andrew, nothing is more important than family. As friends and family gather beneath his roof it's a time for reflection about what the future might hold.

As far as Nick is concerned, pop sensation Aurora Storm is the ‘one that got away’. After they shared a brief holiday fling, he has been thinking about her ever since. Is Christmas the perfect time to finally reach out to her, or is love at first sight just in fairy-tales?

Review: This novella is the third part in the Mermaids Point series from this author. The books in the series are set in a small seaside town of the same name and feature mainly recurring characters. They are, however, all standalone reads. I enjoyed the first two books in the series and found this one, like them, a quick and absorbing story. As the title suggests, the story is set in the run up to Christmas, and I looked forward to discovering how the season was celebrated in Mermaids Point. I must mention the book’s gorgeous cover - such a lovely illustration of the town all decked out for a snowy celebration. 

The story sees the characters readers of the previous books will recognise preparing for the festive season. Cafe owner Laurie is up to her eyes in orders for mince pies. Her journalist boyfriend Jake is busy writing his novel. Laurie’s parents are looking forward to hosting friends and family for the big day but wondering what the future will look like when their children leave home. Laurie’s brother Nick is thinking about the girl he shared some magical time with over the summer and wondering what she is doing now. The town’s doctor, Tom, and partner Nerissa are preparing for their first Christmas together, while Tom’s brother Alex is visiting, taking a break from the big city, writing and the attentions of his ex-wife. Alex is also hoping to reconnect with local girl Ivy, who has her own worries and hopes for the future.

This was a short, but nonetheless enjoyable, visit to Mermaids Point to catch up with familiar characters and what is going on in their lives as they look forward to Christmas. A wealth of topics are included within the pages of this book and there was promise of exciting future developments for some of the characters that I look forward to discovering in future parts of the series. Once again, I found myself wishing that the town was real; I can imagine standing on the seafront, breathing in the salty air and enjoying the Christmas sights and smells. I can certainly recommend this short book to readers of this series as well as those new to the town. I was glad to find that there will be more books about Mermaids Point and its residents next year; I’ll be on the lookout for those. 

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