For as long as Anna can remember she has avoided the countdown to Christmas, always taking ‘Girl Friday’ jobs where she is sure to be too busy to notice the fairy lights and festive feasting. Accepting a position of carer and companion at Wynthorpe Hall seems like the perfect hideout this year, situated in the expanse of the Fens Anna is assured by her new boss that this year will be a quiet affair.
When youngest son Jamie unexpectedly arrives home, Anna is thrown headlong into helping organise a full-blown country Christmas. A chore only marginally lightened by the new and improved view Jamie brings to the household. However, more is afoot then just coming home for a family Christmas, Jamie is faced with a life-changing decision that he feels obliged to accept.
One starry night the pair make a pact – Anna must help Jamie fall back in love with Wynthorpe Hall and in return he will make her fall back in love with Christmas. But will a Connelly Christmas prove too much for Anna, or can the waifs and strays at the Hall warm her heart for good?
What a joy it always is to head back to Wynbridge!
Swain’s ability to create such a vibrant setting filled with wonderfully heart-warming characters still surprises me with each new book. It takes great skill to make a reader believe in a character, let alone take them to heart like a dear friend, a skill that this author possesses in abundance.
The camaraderie between the Connelly’s and their much-extended family often had me chuckling to myself. There was a sadness at the heart of this story but the overall jovial feel of the season managed to keep the narrative from wandering into darker territory.
There is nothing tasking whatsoever about reading this novel, or any of its predecessors, the plot unfolds steadily and it is so easy to lose and immerse yourself in village life. Sometimes so much so that you lose a whole day of reality…which, let’s face it isn’t always a bad thing!