When your dislike of Christmas is something you have in common

Synopsis

A deliciously festive enemies-of-Christmas-to-lovers romance – perfect for fans of Sarah Morgan, Heidi Swain and Milly Johnson.

Event planner Natasha needs a distraction this December…

With her grown-up children on the other side of the world, Natasha is facing Christmas alone. Sowhen England’s most famous Christmas town, Wellcombe, needs saving from a PR disaster, she packs her bags. She’ll spend the season working, not wallowing – mulled wine strictly optional.

Stained glass restorer Will is counting the days until it’s all over…

Since a terrible tragedy shattered his Christmas five years ago, Will wants nothing to do with twinkly lights, carol singers or festive cheer. But his biggest job this year is restoring a pair of ancient church windows in Wellcombe… at the heart of the very celebrations he’s spent years avoiding.

Natasha and Will have one thing in common: they’re both faking their way through the most wonderful time of year. Can gingerbread, mistletoe and a little festive magic thaw their frozen hearts? Or will it take a snowstorm to show them it’s never too late for a second chance at love?

My review

This year, Natasha is not looking forward to Christmas. Not only are her grown – up children on the other side of the world, her best friend betrayed her in a terrible way. The perfect solution: working to avoid all the festivities. Weren’t it that she has been just hired to fix the PR disaster for Wellcombe, England’s most famous Christmas town. But not everyone in Wellcombe is excited for Christmas. Because for Will, Christmas will always be connected with a tragedy that happened five years ago. Yet with his job as stained glass restorer, he cannot escape all the festivities. So even if they initially are clashing, and Natasha is on a real emotional roller-coaster due her menopause, that shared feeling over Christmas is what is slowly bringing them closer to each other. But after Christmas, the plan for Natasha is to return back to London. So where will that leave them once that dreadful Christmas has passed?

Sometimes, when you start a book, you already have a feeling how it will progress. And you don’t have any big surprises. Not that it is a bad thing, especially as after the end you still feel happy the story. But sometimes there are books that you do see how it will end, but you have no idea how the story evolve and how that predicted ending will be reached.

And with this book, I knew the start, I hoped I knew how it would end, but what would be taking place in the middle? 😊 The only way to know all of this, just read! 😊

At the start of this story, I felt truly sorry for Natasha. Because her relationship ended in the worst possible betrayal, her children are living abroad and she feels more alone than ever. So of course she isn’t looking forward to this Christmas, which she will spend all on her own. Isn’t there anything sadder than that?

While Natasha isn’t an all – round – Christmas hater, this one for sure is a difficult one. Understandably, she wants to hide from all that is Christmassy, but of course Life and Fate have other plans, making her needed to fix the disaster occurring in the little town of Wellcombe.

What I did admire in Natasha is how she does not let her personal feelings interfere with her new task. She wants to do what she has been hired for, and do it right. But she also stands her ground when there are people of Wellcombe having their own opinions and ideas how things should have been done.

This may sound a little bit weird, but I also liked reading how Natasha is facing or at least trying to face her hormonal turmoil. I found it great of the author that we get a clear view and idea of what is happening to Natasha, and how she cannot always control her emotions and reactions. It would be easy to dismiss or diminish what is going on with Natasha at this certain period in her life in her body, but showing it all, makes the story somehow more realistic. And it made me think what I will have to endure in hopefully many many many years from now 😊.

It also makes it understandable how the initial clash with Will starts.

Because Will is the kind of person that helps everyone, whether it is always with great pleasure or not, I leave that in between. Not that Will doesn’t want to help, but there are many moments where he finds himself doing things that he in fact just wants to escape from, but as the ‘requests’ come from people who were there for him in the past, it is impossible for him to decline…

Because if Nastasha wants to hide from Christmas, perhaps she could take some lessons from Will, who absolutely wants to avoid everything Christmassy.

And while I can understand that not everyone is into Christmas, it is obvious that there is a deeper trauma with Will, causing such strong feelings about the holiday.

As a reader, of course I found the clashing between Natasha and Will just so hilarious. Yes, I know I am evil😊. But that clashing also shows us how wrong first impressions can be and how meeting at the wrong time, can turn a molehill into a mountain.

Because we know that both characters aren’t bad people, but they just have a bad moment, making the meeting awkward and a bit hostile too. But that doesn’t reflect their true characters.

So with each of them having their own struggles, it was truly sweet to read how Natasha and Will are slowly getting closer. And in a way, it was refreshing to see how there are still moments that are awkward or uncomfortable between them. Not because they are somehow a mismatch, but because how sometimes people in general misunderstand and misread a situation.

It also warmed my heart reading how ‘at home’ Natasha felt in Wellcombe. How lonely a life in the city can be, how inclusive, how accepting, how warm it can be in a town. And that for me is a more important message than the blooming romance between Natasha and Will.

Because of course the romance will bloom, but with a deadline for Natasha, how will it all be solved? But there is also the matter of having closure over the past, forgive yourself even. And more than that, it is about finding a place that feels like your place, your town.

I absolutely enjoyed reading this story, as it shows the difficulties and traumas people can have in their lives. But is also shows how a community, or how loyal friends, can help you (perhaps not always in the way you want too 😊 ). And we see how perhaps the most unexpected person can be the most understanding one.

I had the best of times reading this book, I laughed, I smiled, I felt the love, but I also was a bit shocked with some revelations. But in the end, the story gave me everything I needed!