A perfect story with lots of love and Christmas magic!

Synopsis

When Jess Thornton’s dad was lost at sea, the family coped in different ways, alone in their grief. Now, her mum seems to be going off the rails and her sister, Isla, who moved to France, is now back and determined to get their old family home on the market. But the last thing Jess wants this Christmas is for renovations to start on the house. It’s sure to stir up all sorts of memories she’s desperate to avoid. And to make things worse, Isla appears to have hired the most obnoxious builder in the world to do the work. Jess could ignore the fact that women seem to be putty in his hands. But what she finds harder to ignore is the frisson she gets every time she squeezes past him in the mess that is now their beloved old home! Can the family finally start talking and find a way to move on from the past this Christmas?

My review

Jess Rigby is a bit surprised when suddenly her sister Isla seems to be back from France. Since the loss of their father there is a distance between them, as they and their mother grieve separately.
But Jess is just shocked when Isla decided all by herself to renovate their old house, Moondance Cottage, to sell it as soon as possible.
And when she meets the builder responsible for the renovations, Seb, she instantly dislikes him. But also she feels an attraction to him, almost impossible to resist!

Cleaning up the house means also discovering well kept secrets and trying to make amends with the family.
But nothing is as easy as is seems!

Reading the synopsis, I was already a big fan of it. But little did I know that this book would be just perfectly amazing!

Jess was never able to grieve properly over the loss of her father, making it very hard for her to digest the renovations and the selling of the house with so many memories.
But as she has no other choice, she slowly gives her pain a place and even start to honor her father by creating again baubles for Christmas, as she and her dad used to do before.
And getting to know Seb makes her wonder if there is more possible for the two of them.

This is not a simple Christmas love story. In my opinion it’s a story about a great loss, grief and family.
The whole Rigby family has to find a way to bond again and putting their past behind them.
Everybody is doing their very best, trying to look after each other and telling the truth to each other.
What better way to re-find family again over the Christmas period, doing activities they used to loved.
And always rely on some Christmas Magic to make everything just more than perfect!