A sparkling festive romance that will warm your heart this Christmas.The week before Christmas, GP Zander Gillespie finds his festive plans in tatters. He’s supposed to be flying out to his parents’ chateau in Carcassonne with his high-maintenance girlfriend, Melissa. But she has other ideas. She wants to spend Christmas in London with her party friends – and he’s not invited.The prospect of … invited.
The prospect of facing his family, with their questions and their sympathy – not to mention the ‘I told you so-s’ – just isn’t an option. Instead, Zander decides to head to his holiday cottage in the quaint moorland village of Lytell Stangdale, where he intends to hide away with his faithful rescue Labrador Alf.
Eighty miles away, Livvie’s world has come crashing down. With plans to cook a romantic meal for her boyfriend, she heads home early and walks in on him in a compromising position with their neighbour. Fed-up of his lies and philandering ways, this is the final straw.
With her Christmas plans up in smoke, the thought of spending it with her parents and her smug, married sister with her pompous husband in tow, is enough to bring Livvie out in hives. So, when she fires up her laptop and finds the perfect little holiday cottage in Lytell Stangdale available to rent over the festive period, it seems the perfect solution. Or is it…?
Zander didn’t believe in love at first sight until he set eyes on Livvie.
Livvie had sworn off men until she met Zander.
The pair may be reluctant to give in to temptation, but fate seems to have other ideas…
Join Livvie and Zander – and all the usual characters – for a magical Christmas in Lytell Stangdale.
The perfect cosy read to snuggle up with this Christmas
What readers are saying about Eliza J Scott:
I love, love, love this series’ – The Writing Garnet
‘Highly recommended’ – Donna’s Book Blog
‘A perfectly crafted story filled with heart and soul that I couldn’t put down’ – Stacy is Reading
‘I absolutely loved it!’ – Stardust Book Review
The characters are funny and very real. I could conjure up the images of the people and places as if I was there – Wrong Side of Forty
If you love books about friendship, relationships within a gorgeous setting then this is a book, in fact it is a series that you should consider picking up – Me and My Books
This author truly is a talented story teller and I love her writing style – Jessica Belmont
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Favorite Quotes:
Zander struggled not to laugh at Mary who was dressed as Madonna complete with a pair of the largest conical breasts he’d ever seen… ‘They’re more like traffic cones.’ ‘Mind where you’re pointing them things, Mary, you’ll have someone’s eye out,’ Jimby said, chuckling. ‘Aye, they’re like a couple of nuclear weapons, Big M,’ said Camm.
‘And who’s this bonny lass here, then?’ Gerald asked, eyeing Livvie up and down. He reached into the pocket of his skin-tight leopard-print leggings and pulled out a pair of false teeth, popping them into his mouth with a rattle. Molly leaned in to Livvie. ‘And there was me thinking he was pleased to see me.’ Livvie did her best to suppress a giggle. ‘Ah, you can always tell when he spots a bonny lass; the teeth go straight in.’ Mary put her hands on her generous hips and rolled her eyes.
‘Granny Aggie.’ ‘Yep, it’s Granny bloody Aggie; up to her usual with the vicar.’ ‘Sounds ominous,’ said Zander. ‘You’ve no idea,’ said Jimby. ‘What’s she said now, Moll?’ Molly sighed. ‘You know how she’s been feeding that stray cat?’ ‘Yes.’ Rosie looked worried. ‘Oh, God, I think I know what’s coming next,’ said Violet. ‘Well, she’s only gone and sent Rev Nev a text telling him that she has a lovely pussy and asked him if he wants to go and stroke it. Told him it purrs if he does it gently.’… ‘Please tell me she’s done that in innocence.’ Molly snorted. ‘Like bugger she has; the wicked old bat knows exactly what she’s doing, pretends it’s innocent though.’
My Review:
This was a delightfully fun and deftly written book with a few absorbing and intriguing dashes of vile and villainous behaviors. The premise was entertaining, the storylines were humorous and impeccably well-crafted, and the nimble writing was easy to fall into yet cunningly perceptive, cleverly witty, and comically detailed. I wore a near-constant and gleeful smirk while reading and barked out a few chuckles and giggle-snorts as well. Eliza J. Scott has discovered the recipe for the secret sauce and has generously applied her savvy word magic throughout this divinely entertaining and effortless read.
Two city dwellers find themselves thrown together in a quaint and quirky little village inhabited by the most supremely odd yet uniquely appealing, thoughtful, humorous, and pleasantly beguiling residents. The extremely likable two main characters were strangers yet they were immediately comfortable with each other. They were both unexpectedly taking a last-minute separate holiday away from their own unpleasant and dissatisfactory relationships, which had reached their expiration date. A computer glitch and inclement weather found them sharing a holiday cottage as well as snow and ice adventures, village holiday fun, dispiriting and cringe-worthy ex moments, a precious rescued Labrador, an instant kinship and rapidly blossoming yet tacit attraction, and a hilarious 80’s theme party with an elderly woman dressed as the conically corseted Madonna. I may now be Ms. Scott’s most fervent and rabid fan for that diabolically clever scene alone.
I found treasure with several exciting new additions for my Brit Word List with aud mucker – old friend; nithered – very cold; and skew-whiff – crocked or twisted to one side.
A Christmas kiss is such a beautiful, charming and sweet tale.
It is part of a series but it could be read as a stand alone but at the end you will be so curious you will run to 1-click the previous books to know more about the Lytell Stangdale villagers.
Zander and Livvie live two different lives in two different cities,a doctor the first and a
saleswoman in a wedding dress shop the latter.When their plans for Christmas holidays are ruined by their partners they decided to run from their current lonely predicament and what’s better than spend few days in a lovely cottage in the Moors.
Fate made them meet, will they accept their destiny and choose to change their lives in order to be happier? Or will they say goodbye to each other at the end of the holidays?
This was the perfect book to start my Christmassy reads…I highly recommend it.