Title: Christmas at Lilac Cottage
Author: Holly Martin
Series: White Cliff Bay #1
Heartwarming and utterly endearing; I found a keeper!
I would like to thank Holly Martin and Zaffre Publishing for allowing me to read this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Um, I think I just found a new favorite.
Penny Meadows is lonely. When she finds new tenants to stay in her annexe, she’s excited to make new friends with the married couple. She quickly discovers, however, that the pair is neither married nor a couple, and they might not be friendly. Henry Travis has moved to White Cliff Bay to take a new job at a furniture factory and also to live nearer his sister and her family. He’s hoping the move will be good for his daughter, Daisy, who harbors a deeply ingrained belief that she might not be worth keeping. Henry’s main focus, as always, is to disabuse her of this notion, and therefore he’s not looking for any kind of serious relationship with a woman. To his frustration, he’s attracted to his landlady the moment he meets her. How can he manage to have a relationship with Penny without alienating his daughter?
I absolutely loved this story. That doesn’t mean I don’t have problems with it—I can always find nitpicks—but I always try to cut authors some slack, because no one’s perfect, right?
This book was absolutely charming and heartwarming. There was an energy to it that drew me in, and even though it was refreshingly free of serial killers, guns, and government agents, those things that authors think they need to have to make their story irresistible, I could not stop reading. I became so invested in the plot, in the growing relationship between Henry and Penny—and Daisy!—that I simply couldn’t wait to see how it ended.
I have to share the irony that might have helped this book enchant me—I have an aunt named Penny, and she lost a daughter who was born with birth defects. She started a scholarship in Kelsey’s name and goes around to schools every year to talk about her experience. Most of the women in my family have experienced miscarriages, stillborns, and premees as well, so it was incredibly special for me to read this story about a woman named Penny who lost a child by miscarriage and went out of her way to raise money for research into those unfortunate circumstances.
The setting was nice. I’ve never been to a coast or a cove, much less one in England, but that didn’t matter. I was completely transported to White Cliff Bay, and it was fun to meet the townspeople and watch them interfere as members of a small community do. The sequence where the shop ladies were all getting Penny ready for her date was super funny, especially the scene at the drugstore. Or rather, the chemist.
I liked Daisy and believed she acted appropriately for a sixteen-year-old with abandonment issues. Henry swung between sweetly romantic as he courted Penny and absolutely frustrating when he let his temper get the better of him. There was one thing about him I found distracting—his supposed abhorrence for rudeness. It was mentioned repeatedly—actually, everyone was a bit too preoccupied with being polite. Maybe that’s an English thing that I can’t understand, but it seemed entirely—I don’t want to say hypocritical, that’s too harsh; we’ll go with ironic—that these people who wanted to be polite ended up being quite rude. Penny shouldn’t have made wild accusations when she found out how young Daisy was. Daisy sometimes had an insolent attitude, and Henry, the supposed rudeness nazi, jumped down Penny’s throat several times and toyed with her affections. But then, once the situation was sorted out and the stress alleviated, I think they all acted more level-headed, so it all might just have been circumstantial.
As for Penny—I loved her. I related to her so much that I wanted to just reach in, hug her, and say, “I know, honey. I know exactly.” There’s a page—92—that could pretty much be the story of my life. She’s explaining to Henry why she hasn’t been in any relationships for eight years, and why she doesn’t want to start anything with him now. She says that she can’t do casual because she goes into relationships with everything she has, all her heart and soul, and expects the same in return. And because he’s not looking for anything serious, he certainly isn’t going to want to put up with her insecurities and baggage. So could he please stop flirting with her and making her want something she can’t have?
Been there, done that.
As for the writing, it was great. Some of the prose might have been purple, but not in the least bit sickeningly. I have to acknowledge the patience it took to go back and forth with mixed signals and uncertainties, waiting for the characters to get their crap together. I wouldn’t have been able to do it, so kudos, Ms. Martin. However, there were a few things that bothered me. First, so many clauses were connected with commas when they should have been separate statements with periods. Mostly in dialogue. Drove me nuts. Second, and this had to be personal writing style—the long-winded explanations. Every character did it. At some point they’d be asked a question and would respond in a huge paragraph of over-sharing. In real life, I think people are more succinct, especially when it comes to private, sensitive matters. But no, these guys just put it all out there. There wasn’t anything wrong with it necessarily, it just seemed unrealistic to me.
This book was on the long side, but to its credit, it never dragged. However, looking back, I can spot areas where the fat could have been trimmed. The most glaring example is the scene where Penny dives into the bay to rescue the little boy. It was very dramatic and touching, but I can’t see where it gave anything to the overall plot. Sure, it affected Penny’s ice sculpture contest later on, but that wasn’t necessary, either. The story would have been just fine if the three of them had ice skated in peace, gone home, and Penny didn’t get first place at the contest.
Overall, I found this a wonderful novel. I will be looking into Ms. Martin and keeping my eye on her. Hopefully someday soon (when I can afford it) her work will join my keeper shelves. Highly recommended.
