Can two best friends become more, despite the demons of their pasts?

Synopsis

Will this Christmas…

Change their lives again?

When self-made gentleman Freddie Walton rescued penniless Philomena Nichols at Christmas eight years ago, he never imagined that he would build his empire with her. Yet whilst they have created a life together as friends, Freddie can’t let their special connection become more than that. Not when his dangerous past continues to haunt him… But what happens when Freddie’s feelings for Philomena also refuse to stay hidden?

My review

Freddie Walton was able to turn his life around and has now become a self – made gentleman. Although he has to admit that his empire wouldn’t be what it is now if it weren’t for Philomena. Mena, who has been rescued by Freddie eight years ago, and since then have been best friends.
But despite his own feelings, Freddie won’t allow their bond to become more, as his dark past continues to haunt him. And Mena, believing that Freddie deserves so much more than ‘mere Mena’, is trying to hide her feelings too, as she doesn’t want to lose her best friend.
However, how long can those feelings remain hidden? And what happens when the pull becomes too strong to resist? 

I always have a weakness for stories where best friends stat to develop deeper feelings. So when I started to read, I was looking forward to read the bits where the main characters would FINALLY stop fighting those feelings. 

But… that took a very long, frustrating time! And while I understood where the both of them were coming from, I just wanted to knock some sense in both their heads! Couldn’t they just see how perfect they are for each other! Stop being so stubborn and afraid!!! 

I loved that both Freddie and Mena has come from far away, as their pasts are both rather dark ones. Freddie is still haunted by his Uncle, while it takes a very long time for the readers to discover the exact depth of it. That made it a bit difficult to exactly understand his motivations of keeping Mena at distance.
But on the other hand, I also liked him as he is very protective of Mena. He would do anything to protect her from any harm. 

The first sight we have of Mena is a rather dishevelled one. So seeing her after eight years, and seeing how much she has changed, learnt and matured, shows us that with the right help you can turn your life around.
I admired Mena also for her entrepreneurship. She wants to pay the kindness she received years ago back, by offering help on her own way. She understands how lucky she was, and it was sweet to see how she wants other people who weren’t that lucky, to have that same chance. 

The gothic part of this romance got a bit lost on me, as yes there were dome darker moments, but I wouldn’t describe them as ‘gothic’, but that can be a matter of interpretation. 

This book shows us that despite our feelings, sometimes fear can hold us back to act upon them. Fear of losing those we love, fear of feelings not being reciprocated, fear of a past that may hurt those we love.
But when love is in the equation, we shouldn’t let fear rule over these emotions. Because loving the right person, and being loved by the right person, means that the past doesn’t matter and the only thing that does is being together with your loved one, despite what society may think.