Christmas at Carriage Hill
By Carla Neggers
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Alexandra Rankin Hunt, a rising star in London’s fashion
industry, recently relocated to a village in the Cotswolds
where she met Ian Mabry, an RAF pilot whose family owned the local pub. For a
time, Alex thought Ian was “the one,” but he turned out to be just another
heartbreaker. Now Alex is looking forward to a trip to Knights Bridge,
Massachusetts, to attend the wedding of her American cousin, Dylan McCaffrey to
Olivia Frost. She has a particular interest in being present for the ceremony
since she designed and made the wedding gown and the bridesmaids’ dresses. She
also hopes her visit will allow her to avoid Ian and make it easier to begin
the process of forgetting him. To Alex’s dismay, she arrives in Knights Bridge
to find that Ian has also been invited to the wedding. To make matters worse,
both English visitors are staying at the Farm at Carriage Hill. Not only is
Alex unable to avoid her former love, but they are constantly thrown into one
another’s company.
Time together is exactly what Alex and Ian need to clear up
their miscommunication problems. As they participate in wedding festivities, share
English recipes with their American hosts, and visit the elderly woman who was
beloved by Alex’s great-grandfather, another RAF pilot, they find their way to
their own HEA.
This novella falls between Cider Brook (January 2014) and Echo
Lake (February 2015), the third and fourth books of Neggers’s Swift River
Valley series. Fans of the series will enjoy the long-awaited wedding of Olivia
and Dylan and a sweet touch to the poignant romance of Dylan’s grandmother and the
man she loved, a war hero. Readers who like recipes mixed with their fiction
will find several to add to their collection, including one for scones and one
that makes Brussel sprouts sound appetizing. But the central romance is slight,
and despite the title, this is not a satisfying Christmas story. Alex and Ian
are likeable enough, but characters and plot are too thinly developed to engage
readers fully. Those already invested in the series will find enough of
interest to make the read worthwhile, but others may find themselves confused
by references to characters from earlier books. I suggest readers unfamiliar
with the series not start with the novella. I do recommend highly the first
book in the series, Secrets of the Lost
Summer, Olivia and Dylan’s story.
~Janga
~Janga
Thanks for the input. I think of Have the first one on my tbr. Dont really care for novellas esp if they are not in print form. For a novella, if interested in reading it would rather get from the library.
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Always enjoy her books. I make a habit of reading a series in order. It prevents this kind of disappointment in characters and plot, plus it makes the books richer because of the background you know of the characters and setting.
ReplyDeleteA new author to me.It sounds like something I would enjoy
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