




Charlotte hates the holidays. As a former child actress, she starred in a modern classic of a holiday movie, and its fans won’t let her move on. When a piece revealing that her reluctance nixed plans for a reboot, she flees to London to spend the five-week countdown to the holidays with her sister.
But the ghosts of Christmas past follow her there when she ends up at Eden Priory, a filming location for the movie she has never visited. There, after being recognized by a fan while viewing the extraordinary holiday decorations, she’s accidently left behind, forcing her to accept a ride back to London from Graham, the son of the owners. Their family business—and the funds to keep their historic house running—relies on holiday cheer, and Graham knows a visit from a holiday star would bring in more visitors.
Now an illustrator, Charlotte accepts a commission illustrating iconic holiday movie scenes in London and its environs. Graham offers to help escort her, as long as she’ll commit to an art workshop at Eden Priory. But as Charlotte’s chaotic family holiday goes awry, she begins spending more time scouting locations with Graham. She may not love a Christmas romance…but what if she has one of her own?
Christmas Is All Around by Martha Waters is grumpy meets sunshine slow burn holiday romance set in England and I am here for all of it! What’s not to love when our one and done former child star heroine Charlotte would rather eat glass than make merry? Content to earn her living as a successful illustrator, Charlotte is thrown into the spotlight when her rabid fans react negatively to her nixing a reboot of her Christmas movie she made years ago. And who can resist a handsome Englishman?
Charlotte packs her bags and heads to her sister’s house to lay low and avoid Christmas cheer. No such luck as her sister, husband and his parents are bound and determined to pack in as much Christmas fun for her niece who expresses her opinions loudly. She reluctantly tags along and is most excited to visit the home of one of her favorite artists Eden Priory. An honest to goodness proper English home complete with its own park. She is horrified to find that she recognizes the interior from her movie and panics when a fan recognizes her. She runs to an alcove to hide where she finds one of the reindeer stepping out of costume.
As meet cutes go, Charlotte’s watching Graham’s strip tease is a treasure. Her luck seemed to turn for the better because Graham is a direct descendant of the original owner of the Priory. He and his family are trying their best to conserve and maintain the Priory but leaky roofs cost money and so they have opened their home to nostalgic Christmas revelers. It didn’t hurt that visitors came to see where a portion of everyone's - except Charlotte - favorite Christmas movie was filmed.
Graham takes her away from the crowds and following a private tour Charlotte finds she’s been left behind. Graham drives her back to London where he also happens to live. On the way they strike a deal for Charlotte to make drawings of famous grand houses to sell at the Priory. Going with Graham to all these locations gives Charlotte an easy out of further Christmas happenings on her sister’s must do list.
As fate would have it, Graham loves Christmas and introduces Charlotte to his traditions. I mean the man even loves to make mince meat. And I’m sure there’s a plum pudding on the hob somewhere. As Christmas is all around, they fall in love at the end but don’t own up to those feelings right away. Charlotte does not like to be vulnerable and does not trust easily. Her fears are brought to light when Graham’s family blind side her. Can Graham prove his worth? It is a near thing at the end.
Martha Waters writes the most delightful
characters. The dialog is witty. The story unfolds naturally and there is real
character growth. She always writes relatable stories no matter what the time
period. I am glad to see her venturing into writing contemporary rom coms and
look forward to her next projects.
Ms Waters is a new to me author. This does sound like a terrific story. Thanks for the review. For me, Christmas stories always make me smile....well generally they do. Some are better than others, and a child star who dislikes Christmas is a new angle. Thanks .
ReplyDeleteShe's new to me too, Annette. I've been enjoying the Christmas stories I've read so far this fall. I'll be adding this one to my buy list. :)
DeleteYou are both in for a treat! Enjoy!
DeleteThanks for the excellent review, Santa! I look forward to reading this book!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the review. This does sound like it will be an enjoyable Christmas story. I like the premise of the story and that the relationship grows slowly and naturally. I will have to look for this one.
ReplyDelete