A Christmas that even the best weather broadcaster couldn’t predict…

Synopsis

When your heart’s broken, all roads lead home…

After the end of a long-term relationship, local weather girl Bea Armstrong has been avoiding her family, and their inevitable ‘I-told-you-sos.’ But with Christmas fast approaching, she is finally on her way home to Charis House, the school in Sherwood Forest that her mum and dad run in their old family home. And to top it all off, the insufferable Henry Fairfax – who her parents have always wanted her to marry – has also been invited. 

Relief comes in the shape of a last minute interview for her dream job. There are just a few minor problems… The interview is in Scotland, Bea has no car, and the snow is falling already. The only solution is for Henry to drive her – could this Christmas get any worse…

But during an unforgettable two day interview, a stay in a log cabin and a nightmare journey through the snow, Henry turns out to be nothing like she thought. And when Bea’s first love and recent ex shows up, Bea has a difficult choice to make…

My review

Bea Armstrong’s family never was certain about the guy she fell in love with. So after the end of her long – term relationship, it’s no surprise that Bea was a bit avoiding them. But you cannot avoid your family on Christmas, right?
So off to Charis House she goes, which also happens to be the school in Sherwood Forest that her parents are running.
Already not feeling the happiest she has been, things only get worse when she discovered that Henry Fairfax has been invited by her parents to spend the holidays with them. The same man she has tried to avoid while her parents have made no secret about how it would be perfect for them to get together, even when they were only children.
When Bea learns that she has a list minute interview for her dream job, Henry is her only way to get in Scotland, as Bea has no car and snow is already falling.
And it’s during their journey to and back from Scotland and the time in between that Bea gets to know the real Henry…
But Bea has some important decisions to take, and it does not only concern to accepting her dream job or not… 

Not many of you know this, but I have my own personal weather broadcaster, as my brother is always fascinated by the weather, and is checking satellite imagines and whenever I need a prediction, it’s him who I call, rather than checking online sites. 

So I immediately bonded with Bea, because I understood that passion, having it seen (on a lesser degree) personally.
But while being a broadcaster on the local television station may seem like a chore, just rattling of your predictions, I truly liked how Bea managed to connect with her viewers, and even has her own fans. And seeing how she made predictions on request, put a smile on my face. 

And I also could easily comprehend her emotions whenever it concerned her ex – boyfriend. If you have loved someone for so long, even if he/she has let you down, you always keep hoping that a change will be made and that everything will turn out for the best, even if your parents were against it from the very start. 

In this book, Bea has several opportunities to make things work in her favour. But we know even before she does or say it, that it is not in her character to say or do mean things. This is obvious during her ‘interview’. She wants to do a lot to get the job, but she doesn’t want to change herself. And during her stay in Scotland, she also learns what make her unique (and as a reader I can say also wonderful). 

I truly liked how Bea learned that her thoughts about Henry were wrong. Henry may not be the most flamboyant character, but we, together with Bea learn how kind, caring and supportive he truly is. He was not obligated to drive Bea, or to play along during the interview. But he is just that kind of guy… And Bea starts to see that for herself, and realizes that she misjudged him completely… 

What I loved about this story is that Bea learns that what she used to dream of, isn’t always what is the right thing for her. Is her dream job the perfect way to grow? Will that give her a greater satisfaction than in the job she now?
And when her ex reappears, for another chance, is she sure that she will come first for once? Or will it end again in her feeling small again? Is the guy her family saw perfect for her, truly the last man she wants to be with? Or is there someone else perfect for her?

But she also learns to stand up for herself even against her own family, fight for the right causes – to help her family –  and even at the most difficult moments, has time for her fans. I could surely comprehend why she is so loved by everyone. 

This book, even while I read it during summer, made it possible to dream about the lovely feelings that we all have around Christmas time. It shows us the importance of family, friends and the importance of following your heart. Like I said before, a dream isn’t in reality always what we truly want. But thanks to those dreams, we see what truly matters to us and makes it possible to chase new, realer dreams.