SYNOPSIS:
In the snowy Highlands of Scotland, Suzanne McBride is dreaming of the perfect cozy Christmas. Her three adopted daughters are coming home for the holidays and she can’t wait to see them. But tensions are running high…
Workaholic Hannah knows she can’t avoid spending the holidays with her family two years in a row. But it’s not the weight of their expectations that’s panicking her—it’s the life-changing secret she’s hiding. Stay-at-home mom Beth is having a personal crisis. All she wants for Christmas is time to decide if she’s ready to return to work—seeing everyone was supposed to help her stress levels, not increase them! Posy isn’t sure she’s living her best life, but with her parents depending on her, making a change seems risky. But not as risky as falling for gorgeous new neighbor Luke…
As Suzanne’s dreams of the perfect McBride Christmas unravel, she must rely on the magic of the season to bring her daughters together. But will this new togetherness teach the sisters that their close-knit bond is strong enough to withstand anything—including a family Christmas?
REVIEW:
I loved this one!
Ms. Morgan has assembled one heck of a cast for this one–the three “Christmas” sisters: Hannah, Beth, and Posy; their three (actual and/or possible) significant others: Adam, Jason, and Luke; the sisters’ parents, Suzanne and Stewart; Beth and Jason’s girls, Melly and Ruby–together they all combined into a wonderful story that left me smiling and thinking cozy, Christmas-y thoughts about my own family 🙂
Ms. Morgan skillfully weaved all of their stories together, bringing everything to a heartwarming conclusion. At times I was almost as despairing as Suzanne–would a lack of communication and understanding keep the girls at arm’s length from each other forever? Even as I shook my head at them, seeing things from each woman’s POV (Suzanne, Hannah, Beth, and Posy’s) really helped make both their conflicts and the resolutions realistic and satisfying.
Though Christmas is the vehicle that brings the three sisters home to Scotland, the focus is really on relationships and healing rather than the holiday itself. Even though it ends on Christmas day, it’s definitely going to be the characters and the feelings they evoke that I’ll remember, not the snowstorm and fairy lights. I dare you to not find something in this story to identify with–honestly, between the parent/child relationships, the sibling relationships, and the significant other relationships, this story has something for everyone. I can’t wait to see what Ms. Morgan has in store for us next!
Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
ABOUT SARAH MORGAN:
USA TODAY bestselling author Sarah Morgan writes hot, happy, contemporary romance and women’s fiction, and her trademark humor and sensuality have gained her fans across the globe. Described as “a magician with words” by RT Book Reviews, she has sold more than eleven million copies of her books. She was nominated three years in succession for the prestigious RITA® Award from the Romance Writers of America and won the award three times: once in 2012 for Doukakis’s Apprentice, in 2013 for A Night of No Return and in 2017 for Miracle on 5th Avenue. She also won the RT Reviewers’ Choice Award in 2012 and has made numerous appearances intheir Top Pick slot. As a child, Sarah dreamed of being a writer, and although she took a few interesting detours along the way, she is now living that dream. Sarah lives near London, England, with her husband and children, and when she isn’t reading or writing, she loves being outdoors, preferably on vacation so she can forget thehouse needs tidying.