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Thursday 24 October 2024

Guest Review: 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: I always enjoy a Christmas book by Sarah Morgan. The reader is presented with all the essential elements of a story set at Christmas on top of the usual high quality narrative from this author. This book has a very attractive cover depicting a snowy country scene indicative of the setting for this story.

Individual chapters of this book are voiced by one of three female characters. Imogen is an events planner living in London. She is highly skilled at her job and works hard to provide clients with their often exacting requirements. She has had a difficult past and is hiding the reality of her life outside work from her colleagues by inventing a fictitious existence. However, it is becoming difficult to keep up the pretence. Dorothy, Imogen’s favourite client, lives on a large estate in the Cotswolds, where she looks after animals in need of a home. Sara is Dorothy’s daughter, who lives near her mother with her husband and two young daughters. When overstretched Imogen eventually makes a dreadful mistake at work, she is given leave from her job and is grateful when Dorothy offers her use of a luxurious cottage on the estate over the Christmas period. She is soon enjoying spending time with the family and with the handsome local vet, Miles. That is when a secret that Dorothy and Sara have been keeping from Imogen comes to light. The implications of what they have been hiding are enormous for Imogen and she is thankful for support from Miles. Can she forgive the others or will she go running back to her life in London?

This was such a good story, containing a wide range of elements that had me hooked from start to finish. There is drama throughout the book and so many secrets, including one massive one that had me gasping with its enormity. To balance out all the drama, there is a gentle romance, a family Christmas with all the trimmings, a beautiful setting and some well-developed characters. Imogen was such a workaholic that I feared for her health, especially with pressures put on her outside work as well. Thank goodness for Miles; he was just what she needed to get her through. Although Dorothy and Sara were both strong characters, I’m not sure that I liked the way in which they behaved. I think this is another triumph for Sarah Morgan and a festive book that would make a welcome addition to anybody’s Christmas stocking.

To order your copy now, just click here!

Friday 18 October 2024

Guest Review: A Recipe for Christmas by Jo Thomas

Take one woman longing for the perfect Christmas . . .

All Clara has ever wanted is Christmas surrounded by loved ones, full of warmth and delicious food. So when her new boyfriend asks her to move to Switzerland, she can't help but say yes! After all, what could be more perfect than Christmas in the Alps?

Add a dash of surprise

She quickly signs up for a tempting chocolate-making class, but it turns out to be chocolate-making bootcamp! And her boyfriend isn't all he seemed either . . .

And enjoy a magical festive treat!

Despite it all, Clara begins to make friends - including the aloof yet intriguing Gabriel. With all of the ingredients at her fingertips, will she finally be able to whisk up her Christmas dream?



Review; Jo Thomas is one of my go-to authors; I know when she releases a new book I am assured of a story that will have me transported to an interesting location while enjoying lots of lovely local dishes. For this year’s Christmas book, Jo is taking readers off to Switzerland. What could be more perfect than a festive trip to the snowy alps combined with lots of chocolate?

The story centres on chocolate-loving Clara, who has shocked her two best friends by announcing that she has left her position as HR manager and, what’s more, is moving to Switzerland with her very new boyfriend as he begins a new job there. Her plan is to enrol on a chocolate-making course that runs for six weeks up to Christmas. Clara has spent years celebrating Christmas on her own and is dreaming of a different experience this year with her boyfriend in their Swiss home surrounded by all the trappings of the season. The reality is somewhat different as neither the course nor the boyfriend is what she expected. However, Clara does her best to make the most of the situation. She finds friends amongst the others on the course and surprisingly becomes close to gruff tutor Gabriel. It looks as though that perfect family-style could be in her future after all.

I absolutely loved this book. It has so much going for it, with marvellous mountain scenery, a host of interesting characters, romance and a mouthwatering selection of food, with chocolate front and centre. Definitely a story for foodies and chocolate addicts, with a lovely Christmassy feel throughout. I feel as though I learnt a lot about the chocolate making processes. Even hot chocolate was very different from what we are used to drinking from our usual coffee shops. I loved the main characters in the story. Clara was somebody with great determination to turn her life around and I admired the way in which she fought to achieve her goals. She was slightly misguided in putting her faith in someone she had just met, but fortunately that worked out in the end. I was attracted to Gabriel right away, although he was a little moody at times. Thanks to the author for including a selection of recipes, sweet and savoury, at the end of the book; I might just give some a try.

To order your copy now, just click here!