Published By: Boldwood
Pages: 122
Released On: 22/10/2021
Christmas is a time for love, laughter, family and friends, and in Mermaids Point, everyone is getting ready for the festive season.
For Nerissa and Tom, this will be their first Christmas as a couple, but making sure they have time for each other, whilst blending their families, will take some careful planning. What festive traditions will they make their own? Laurie and Jake are flat out running Laurie’s seafront cafe, packaging up orders of mine pies, sausage rolls and other delectable Christmas goodies, as well as finding time for Jake’s journalism. But when Jake’s mum offers them an unexpected gift, their plans are turned upside down.
Alex can’t but be charmed by beautiful and talented Ivy, but he is still recovering from his ex-wife’s betrayal and has a secret life he is not ready to share with anyone yet. But as the Christmas spirit starts weaving its magic, Alex may find himself ready for love sooner than he imagines. For Andrew, nothing is more important than family. As friends and family gather beneath his roof, it’s a time for reflection about what the future might hold.
And as far as Nick is concerned, pop sensation Aurora Storm is the ’one who got away’. After they shared a brief holiday fling, he has been thinking about her ever since, Is Christmas the perfect time to finally reach out to her, or is love at first sight just in fairy tales?
*****
Thanks to Boldwood for a gifted copy of this title in return for an honest review.
Firstly, I just want to say I love that this is dedicated to Jessica Redland. She is an author I’ve recently discovered and fallen in love with, so I feel a kinship in my adoration there.
For someone who dislikes short stories, I am generally rather partial to a novella – I mean, my favourite book A Christmas Carol is a novella! It is a nice book to choose to read if you’ve only got an hour or two spare.
This is an offshoot of an existing series based at Mermaids Point which I had no prior knowledge about, but I didn’t feel at a disadvantage. Sure, you would probably get a bit more out of it if you already knew the characters and their experiences, but there is a positive about coming it a new. You don’t have any preconceptions as to how they should behave or whether you like or dislike particular characters etc. It’s a totally fresh story for you to get lost in.
With novellas, the writing has to be short and snappy as there isn’t the page count to waffle. Yet Bennett has managed to fit in so much fantastic description and activity that it doesn’t feel rushed or drawn out, and it is so visual that you can easily add yourself to the story.
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