Title:  Christmas at Lilac Cottage
Series:  White Cliff Bay #1
Author:  Holly Martin
Genre:  Contemporary Romance, Christmas Romance
Published:  September 25, 2015
Publisher:  Bookouture
My Rating:  5 stars
Source:  NetGalley
Cover Description:

Welcome to the charming seaside town of White Cliff Bay, where Christmas is magical and love is in the air…

Penny Meadows loves her home – a cosy cottage decorated with pretty twinkling fairy lights and stunning views over the town of White Cliff Bay. She also loves her job as an ice-carver, creating breathtaking sculptures. Yet her personal life seems frozen.

When Henry and daughter Daisy arrive at the cottage to rent the annex, Penny is determined to make them feel welcome. But while Daisy is friendly, Henry seems guarded.

As Penny gets to know Henry, she realises there is more to him than meets the eye. And the connection between them is too strong to ignore…

While the spirit of the season sprinkles its magic over the seaside town and preparations for the ice sculpting competition and Christmas eve ball are in full swing, can Penny melt the ice and allow love in her heart? And will this finally be the perfect Christmas she’s been dreaming of?

Read on for my thoughts on Christmas at Lilac Cottage.  No true spoilers,  promise.

Christmas at Lilac Cottage is exactly the type of Christmas romance I love to read – really at any time of year, but especially around Christmas.

Henry and Daisy might not have been exactly what Penny was looking for as tenants when she decided to rent out part of her cottage, but sometimes we find precisely what we need in the most unusual places or people.  Penny loves her home in this small town and if sometimes the townsfolk seem to know more about your business than you do that’s life in a small community.  She creates the most beautiful and magical ice sculptures yet somehow that magic hasn’t reached her own life just yet.  But that is about to change.

First impressions aren’t always the best ones.  It was delightful to watch Henry and Penny’s reactions to each other change, grow and morph into something quite different than either expected at first.  It’s alway fascinating to me to watch one person simply change the way one views everything depending on how we react to them.  Henry was far more than what he first appeared to be and Penny slowly came back to life through her reactions to Daisy and Henry.  With both magical and realistic moments we are witness to three people becoming a family that none of them ever expected, yet fit perfectly once they let down their guards.

Christmas at Lilac Cottage will delight and charm you this Christmas reading season.  Full of emotions, both lighthearted and somber, this is a slice of life and we all know that life rarely moves along smoothly.  I would highly recommend this Christmas story to any reader who enjoys a good love story and especially loves all the funny, annoying and unique quirks of living in a small town.  The secondary characters were almost as enjoyable as the main characters and that will create a lasting memory of a charming story that I will be adding to my Christmas re-read schedule for years to come.

*I received an e-ARC of Christmas at Lilac Cottage from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. That does not change what I think of this novel.*

Available in paperback and for the Kindle