Can Christmas wishes come true?

Synopsis

After one toxic relationship too many and more failed jobs than she can count, spirited Scarlett Finch has lost her sparkle and doesn’t think she can face this year’s festive season. The last thing she expects is to land a Christmas job at Glenbriar’s Little Station Bookshop, especially not thanks to a slightly unhinged older woman with a parrot, a pug, a wild imagination, and some crackpot ideas for displays – not to mention a flair for making unexpected decisions, like hiring Scarlett without telling the owner.

Widowed dad-of-three Lloyd Miller is just trying to keep life on track. Between moving house, juggling his day job, and preparing to take over the bookshop from his retired mum, the chaos inside the shop is the last thing he needs, particularly when it includes Scarlett, the woman he shared a no-strings summer fling with… and hasn’t stopped thinking about since.

While Glenbriar twinkles with Christmas lights, both Scarlett and Lloyd are haunted by their pasts, drawn together in their present, and uncertain of their future.

A bookshop full of anonymous wishes might just give them the courage to make their own – but with neither convinced they deserve a second chance, it’ll take more than festive magic to open the book on a new romance. They can’t change the past – but they can still choose how the story goes.

My review

Scarlett Finch knows everything about toxic relationships, as she has been in several ones. Relationships that have led her into making mistakes in the past, making her lose her sparkle and joie de vivre now. With all her loved ones around her being in a happy place, Scarlett has never felt more alone and lonely, especially with Christmas looming around the corner. And having no job, doesn’t make it easier for her to see things from the bright side. Until one day, she is looking at a Help Wanted sign at Glenbriar’s Little Station Bookshop. And before Scarlett knows it, the old woman in the store, with a pug and a parrot, has given her a job without even consulting the owner. The owner who happens to be the mother of Lloyd Miller, with whom Scarlett has had a summer fling with. Lloyd is struggling with the loss of his beloved wife, looking after his three children on his own, having a new job and at the same time taking over the bookshop from his mother. So with too many things on his mind, he is shocked to find Scarlett in the bookshop. But at the same time, he is also happy to see her again, as he hasn’t been able to forget the young woman that rocked his world that summer… However, both Scarlett and Lloyd are not only scarred but also haunted by their past and with too many differences and much more important priorities, even their Christmas wishes couldn’t come true, or can they?

There were several reasons I was happy to start reading this book. Not only do I love the stories this wonderful author writes, but I was also happy to return to Glenbriar, residence of many of my friends by now. With several books in this series, it feels like truly being welcomed back by all my friends that I made with each book. But as Scarlett isn’t a complete stranger, and I know about that trip that took place in summer, and what she has been through, I truly wanted to see how her story would turn out to be.

Right from the start, I still felt sorry for Scarlett. She has been through a lot, has met many wrong men and has made several mistakes already in her young life. She is at a point in her life where she wants to make a change, but she is also struggling with turning that leaf over.

I was cheering for Scarlett, having everything crossed that she would find her own happiness and that she would understand that making mistakes is just human. I could also see so clearly that Scarlett has learned from her mistakes, and just how much she has matured from our first encounter with her till this very book.

I loved reading how Scarlett rather by accident ends up getting the job at the Station Bookshop, not only because of the force of nature that Eunice is, but also because Scarlett admits herself that she hasn’t picked up a book for ages. But just like Eunice, I could feel that Scarlett was just the right person at the right place. Not only to help Eunice out, but also to give the bookshop a much needed injection of change and spark.

But most important I was also very eager to read how Scarlett and Lloyd would find each other again and if there would be any chance of that fling to evolve into something more important. Even if it may seem the wrong time and place…

Lloyd… there is so much going on in his life now, and unfortunately, not all has been a wonderful time.

Reading his background, learning about all that has happened and is still taking place, getting to know his children, well, it broke my heart…

Of course losing someone is painful, and losing her in that way, even more terrible. However how much Lloyd is still hurting over his loss, he knows that his children need him now more than ever. And while Eve, his eldest daughter may not agree with his choice, I could understand why Lloyd made the choice to move to Glenbrair.

It is not only to have a fresh start, but also and mainly to have the comfort and help from family around him. But being reminded with every turn around the corner what they have lost as a family, to be reminded of what they all have endured, and who has left is, isn’t the best way to start look forward again.

Now, it is not that Lloyd is in any way looking for someone new, because his priority is only on his children. He just wants to see a smile back on their faces, and he wants them to be able to not forget their mother, but to think about her with happy memories.

I had to laugh a little bit, reading how both Scarlett and Lloyd are flabbergasted when they see each other again. They never thought they would ever meet again, so while it was funny as a reader, I could understand the short circuit in their minds.

While of course I wanted Scarlett and Lloyd to find each other immediately again, I appreciated how Margaret let the main characters take their time. Not only because it was initially a bit awkward, but also because both Scarlett and Lloyd know that no matter what they may or may not feel, they aren’t the priority. Especially Scarlett shows a great maturity in knowing that Lloyd should and must only focus on his children.

Children who are not only struggling with the move, but are still grieving (and understandably) over the loss of their mother. And it felt so real to see how each child or teenager is coping with all what has happened to them.

And seeing how Scarlett wants to help each of them out, but without crossing a line anyhow, shows us once again how good at heart she truly is. She knows what matters, when to offer help but also when to take a step back. But also not letting anyone belittle her anymore.

I liked in this book there is a special place for the Christmas tree where anyone can hang their own wishes in. And it was sweet to see how there are of course some superficial wishes, but more important, how there are wishes from the heart…

The story of Scarlett and Lloyd couldn’t be more fitting for a Christmas story, because it is a beautiful story about yes pain and grief, but more important about second chances, growth, love, matureness, understanding, respect and even forgiveness.