Christmas at Honeycombe Bay
Eloise Garrett thinks Christmas is overpriced, overhyped, and overrated, and without any family to share it with, she feels sad, lonely and isolated. The “season for giving” is just a constant reminder that she’s single, sixty(ish), and staring down retirement. But not this Christmas. Determined to avoid the most magical time of the year, Eloise decides to spend Christmas in Honeycombe Bay. Surely a seaside village in the middle of winter won’t be too festive?
Ever since his wife passed away, Bartholomew Knott hasn’t felt up to welcoming visitors to his guest house. With the prospect of another long, lonely winter, and having become more Scrooge than Santa over the years, Bart is dreading Christmas. However, when he’s contacted by someone who dislikes decking the halls just as much as he does, Bart has the brilliant idea of opening the guest house to people who want to escape all things festive.
Christmas isn’t easy to ignore, though, not even in off-season Honeycombe Bay. So when fate forces Bart to give shelter to a single mother and child whose holiday has been devastated by a terrible fire, Eloise finds herself playing Mrs. Claus to Bart’s Santa—dragging the house’s other guest, a heartbroken teacher looking for a break during the holidays, into the action as well. But holiday cheer isn’t the only thing sparking under the mistletoe. Will the guests at Honeycombe Bay realize that, sometimes, the best way to escape Christmas is to let it into your heart?
My Review:
Christmas at Honeycombe Bay is a sweet story about finding love and family in unexpected places. Eloise and Bart are strangers brought together because of their disinterest in anything festive during the holiday season. The author crafted wonderful characters. I really felt their dislike and bah humbuggery but also when their attitudes flipped the switch.
The author crafted a wonderful world and built a wonderful world. I enjoyed the writing style, pacing, and vivid imagery. The characters are written with depth, emotion, and realism.
I was provided with a copy of this book. This does not
affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. The opinions I have
expressed are my own.
My Rating:
- Small-town Christmas vibes
- Later-in-life romance
- Forced proximity
- Grumpy x sunshine
Meet the Author:
Lilac
Mills lives on a Welsh mountain with her very patient husband and incredibly
sweet dog, where she grows veggies (if the slugs don't get them), bakes (badly)
and loves making things out of glitter and glue (a mess, usually). She's been
an avid reader ever since she got her hands on a copy of Noddy Goes to Toytown
when she was five, and she once tried to read everything in her local library
starting with A and working her way through the alphabet. She loves long, hot
summer days in the garden, and cold winter ones snuggled in front of the fire,
but whatever the weather she's usually writing or thinking about writing, with
heartwarming romance and happy-ever-afters always on her mind.
Lilac
also writes under the pseudonyms Liz Davies and Etti Summers
Social Media Links – https://www.instagram.com/lilacmillsauthor/ https://www.lilacmills.com/books
