Can the magic and Lara do their thing once again?

Synopsis

CAN LARA ADD A SPRINKLING OF MAGIC THIS CHRISTMAS?

Jacob introduces ever tastier treats to the Sugar and Spice cafe’s menu as the Christmas Spirit knits her magic into the lives of those finding this Christmas tough.

Florence is struggling to make ends meet and afford the present she knows her son wants for Christmas. Her ex-husband flaunting his new girlfriend and their baby isn’t helping her mood.

Widower Jude feels a failure as a father to his two young children after the tragic death of his wife. The move to Winstanton was meant to make life easier. Can he learn to carve out time to build new friendships and give himself the chance to grieve?

Rachel’s boss has given the promotion he promised her to the man twenty years her junior, whom she trained. She’s fed up with being taken for granted, and the lack of sympathy from her husband and teenage children.

Retired David feels Grinch-like as his son expects him to look after his grandchildren all the time, without taking his life into consideration. He used to love Christmas, but this year it has lost its sparkle.

Can the warm welcome at the Sugar and Spice café help them find their Christmas spirit?

A feel-good festive romance with a heartwarming community and a generous helping of Christmas spirit!

My review

With Christmas looming around the corner, Lara is adamant to make the magic work as usual. This year maybe it would be a real challenge… Because there is Florence, struggling to not only afford the Christmas present her son wants, but to just get to the end of the month. Especially as her ex couldn’t be bothered to take his responsibilities. Then there is widower Jude, who moved to Winstanton after the death of his wife. While he is still grieving, he also feels like a failure as a father, as his two young children are also grieving and he does not know to make the children happy again. And Rachel is angry as the promised promotion went to the man she trained and that is twenty years her junior. And she doesn’t get the support she expected from her own husband. Meanwhile, David enjoys his retirement, but starts to feel as being taken for granted as his son expects more and more that David will look after his grandchildren, and drop everything when Lewis has other plans. So Lara for sure has work to do, but luckily she can also count on her Uncle Jacob and his treats of the Sugar and Spice Café.

There are books that put a smile on your face, even before you have read one word of it. And Susan’s books is just like that. Just knowing that this would be my next read, made me all happy on the inside! 😊

At the start, I was very curious to see what challenge Lara would be facing now, and if her ‘magic’ would be able to do the trick once again. Because for sure it is a real challenge this time around!

Lara is still that wonderful child, eager, kind and just so welcoming with a warm hearth. She is not only making new friends of her own age, but she also sees the struggles of the adults around her and Lara just wants to make them happy again. Somehow, I truly see Lara like a Santa’s Little Helper 😊.

With my first encounter of each character, I thought that I had found my favourite character, or the character I felt the most for. Yet the more the story evolved, the more I realized that I liked each character equally, even if perhaps their situation was not something I could relate to.

My heart went out to Florence. She is struggling to not only find a job, but each month is a struggle to make ends meet. And she cannot count on the support of her ex – husband for contributing for the care of their son Rain.

However, at the same time, I also admired Florence. Being on your own isn’t easy. Yet that doesn’t take away that Florence would do anything for Rain. She loves him with all her heart. And no matter how much struggles she is facing, she tries to be the best mum she can be, and not let Rain see how much in fact she is having a hard time.

What I also liked about Florence, is how she just doesn’t give up. Yes, she isn’t always getting the jobs she wants, but she is not a quitter. After every setback, she keeps her head up high, and believes that something will come her way.

I found it also sweet to see how Florence even dares to hope for love again, or at least she has an attraction towards Jude.

Jude… well maybe he *is* my favourite character in this book after all…

Because what he has been through with his family is so unfair. But unfortunately, life isn’t always fair, is it?

Losing the person you love so deeply is already difficult. But if you have two children to look after, it’s even harder. Grief is difficult for an adult, but how can children cope with the loss of their mother?

And here we see that also Jude does all he can for his two children. I could understand the reason for their move to Winstanton, to have more support. And yes, perhaps also to have a new start, to not be constantly reminded of what they have all lost?

Not that Jude wants to forget about his beloved wife, but slowly he just wants to live again, see the beautiful things that life can have. Just move on, without carrying the heavy burden of grief all the time…

Perhaps even Florence could be part of the beautiful things in his life?

In Rachel’s situation, I felt a lot on anger. Not towards her, I would never dare, but the situation she finds herself in career-wise. I truly cannot understand the injustice she has to go through. Not only does she not get the promotion she was promised and it goes to someone she trained. But also the more time passes, the more she is being used and being treated badly.

I don’t know if it is typical a man – thing, but it frustrated me too the lack of support Rachel has from her own husband. Is truly that hard for men to see the struggles we women have to face, and how unfair life still is? But I also have to say, he redeems himself 😊.

David is perhaps the furthest away from my own personal situation, as he is freshly retired and I am still enthusiastically working. But I could understand how his frustrations are only adding up. Of course he wants to help his son with the grandchildren. But I also felt it may not become a habit. Just because someone is retired, does not mean that he can drop everything when you need him to help out.

The not understanding of David’s son Lewis, and even how Lewis gets angry and ‘disappears’ with his whole family, truly angered me. Perhaps because I am a people – pleaser myself and have been taken advantage of several times, I just wanted to knock some common sense in Lewis.

Now, it may seem that I got a lot of anger in this book. And yes, there for sure were some frustrating moments. But the heart of the story, the warmth of the story, the beauty of the story (may or may not be in the form of delightful Lara), emanates from all the pages.

Because we see that no matter what you have endured in the past, no matter what you are enduring now, with a little bit of Christmas magic, nice treats of a lovely Café, being embraced by a lovely and caring community, things can take a turn for the better.

I found this, may it not be obvious already 😊, a wonderful, heartwarming, Christmassy story, filled with wonderful characters, lovely treats and delightful drinks. And once again a Lara that keeps on surprising me in the best of possible ways! 😊