Published By: Embla
Pages: 340
Released On: 20/09/2022
Four months. One impossible task. It’s time to save Christmas.
Bella Reed has worked at The Highland Flower Shop ever since she left college and now her Aunt Jane has handed the keys and the lease over to her. With the business under her reign, Bella is ready to hit the ground running – until she’s dealt a massive blow. They’re being evicted.
When dashing businessman Maverick McIntyre turns up in Fort William, Bella discovers the reason they’re being kicked out. He has no intention of honouring a ridiculous deal his father made many years ago.
As Maverick and Bella lock horns, they both begin to see different sides to one another and before long the two strike up the most unexpected of friendships. Bella knows she has to keep business separate, but when her head and her heart are saying two different things, life starts to get complicated.
No matter her feelings, Bella isn’t about to let anyone down and the entire town’s counting on her to save Christmas.
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and Embla for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
Christmas + Scotland + flowers = it’s a match made in festive heaven.
The extended cast of characters in this book is plentiful and it helps give the story its sense of community. There’s children, parents, grandparents, and you can see the magic of the place through the generations.
I loved the description of the high street, especially near the end of the book when all the Christmas lights get switched on and whatnot, it’s really beautiful.
It starts in September so, apart from the odd mention, it does take a while to feel really festive, but there’s enough build up to get you looking forward to the latter chapters.
I liked the main characters of Bella and her aunt Jane. They’re strong women and they really hold the story up. Then you get the supporting cast. The handsome stranger, the caring colleague – it’s full of loving people, friends, relatives, as well as hard, selfish, serious types, but they all work together to add a sense of realism throughout.
One main plot theme involves a lot of tenancy legalities which I have no understanding of, but it doesn’t overwhelm. It is enough to move the story along and is the right side of mind boggling thankfully.
Everything is about community with this story and it’s lovely to see that. With more and more people moving to big cities for employment opportunities, it’s lovely to read about a smaller area where everyone knows everyone, it just makes the festivities that much richer.
These type of happily-ever-after books are always quite predictable, you know everything will work out in the end and that’s what I wanted from it. It’s the journey to get to happily-ever-after that I’m interested in and it was a very warm and cosy journey. I’d highly recommend it for any time of the year but particularly on a snowy winter night and I’ll definitely be looking out for more of her work.
There’s sadness and loneliness, stress and anger, but there’s also hope and happiness, love and joy. A real festive winner.
Books By Your Bedside 