The heart always knows, even when the mind doesn’t

Synopsis

Welcome to Pepper Bay, where you’ll find love, drama, and a happily ever after.

Snuggle down with this cosy, feel-good, comfort read that whisks you away to a beautiful bay on the Isle of Wight – Perfect for fans of Christie Barlow, Alison Sherlock, Rachael Lucas, and Holly Martin.

The Pepper Bay books are standalone stories that intertwine with recurring characters. Best enjoyed when read in order.

Christmas Memories at Waterside Cottage: Charlie and Grace have been together for four years, but when Grace wakes up in hospital after an accident, she doesn’t remember her husband at all. With Christmas just around the corner, and it being their favourite time of year, Charlie pulls out all the festive stops, hoping his wife will remember their relationship or at least fall in love with him all over again, because there is no way he can lose her.

My review

Grace finds herself waking up in the hospital after an accident. At first she is shocked to see her sister snuggling with her boyfriend. But that isn’t the biggest shock for Grace, because she quickly learns that she has lost four years of memories, and those years include falling in love and marrying Charlie, the Hot Doc.
With Christmas approaching, and being the favourite time of the year for the both of them, Charlie is determined to make his wife to remember him or at least to make her fall in love with him all over again. Because losing the love of his life is just too impossible to imagine…

Wow, what a wonderful story this was! It warmed my heart in an inexplicable way, showing us the real powers of the heart and the strength of real love…

I can only try to imagine what Grace goes through when she wakes up. First of all, it’s a shock to wake up in a hospital. Second, she sees her younger sister acting all loved up with Grace’s boyfriend (or at least that’s what grace thinks Freddy still is). And I cannot think about the fact of losing everything that happened the last four years.

But even if it is a terrible thing that happened to Grace, and what was behind the accident, seeing Grace’s family all coming together, caring and worrying about her, it warmed my heart to see such a warm and close family.

I also found Grace a courageous woman. Because she gives Charlie a chance, even if she doesn’t know him. She puts her trust in her, without an indication or memory of herself that Charlie has deserved that trust.
It cannot be easy to put your trust on someone purely based on the words of someone else, or some pictures. But it was sweet to see that Grace somehow still remembers Charlie, even if it is only a gut feeling.

Charlie is also not having an easy time… yes, compared to Grace, he has it rather easy. But how would you feel when the person you love suddenly doesn’t remember you? It was so heart – breaking to read how Charlie is afraid of losing Grace forever…

Yet I liked it how determined Charlie also is, as if Grace remembering him is not an option, then he must make her fall in love with him once again. I think that I could fall in love with Charlie myself, seeing how much he loves Grace, and how aligned they even are!
Even if their romance was a whirlwind one, it’s crystal – clear that what they had was the real thing, and even a great loss couldn’t break them.
Grace and Charlie had the kind of love story to get envious over!

The author managed perfectly to grasp the strength of love. Because here are two people, living together, ready to fight for what they once had, even if one party cannot remember any of it. But love works in mysterious ways, and the heart feels what the brains cannot recall. And we see that Grace, despite her lack of memories, feels that Charlie is trustworthy, that he is a good guy.
No matter what someone else tries to tell her, no matter those moments of doubts, Grace’s heart knows who Charlie is.

Pepper Bay always brings me so much joy and happiness. Yet perhaps this latest stay at Waterside Cottage, with marvelous characters, love that sparks from the pages, and the magic of Christmas is my favourite book so far. Because this book has just everything I expected, even if it all started with a tragedy. And I am definitely repeating myself, but seeing how strong love can be, and how the heart remembers what we have forgotten, was just magnificent and truly heart – warming!