Christmas at the Little Beach Cafe by Morton S Gray

"Run away to the little beach café this Christmas ...

Five years ago at Christmas, solicitor Justin Sadler made the decision to leave his comfortable existence behind and move to the coast. Since then, he’s tried his best to ignore the festive season and, as he sits in the little beach café and reflects on that fateful night when his life was turned upside down, he expects his fifth Christmas alone to be no different to any of the others since he made his escape. 

But when he encounters a mystery woman on the beach, he soon realises he may have found a fellow runaway and kindred spirit. Could Justin finally be ready to move on and let Christmas into his life again?"

I think we're all looking forward to Christmas 2020 coming and this book definitely got me into the Christmas spirit!  

Justin doesn't like Christmas (and he's got a pretty good reason for that!) whereas Sylvie is Christmas-mad; will Sylvie be able to reignite Christmas joy in Justin (and something else at the same time)?  Throw into the mix a meddling mother and a villain step-brother and the ride for Justin and Sylvie won't be smooth!

This isn't just a romance; there's also a crime / mystery element to this story which sets it aside from the standard Christmas romance!

I really enjoyed the book and I was a bit sad when it ended.  I'd love to read more about where Justin and Sylvie end up.  I was so engrossed in the story that I got a bit of a shock when it ended, sooner than I had hoped as it left me wanting more!

I believe this is book 5 in the Borteen Secrets series; I haven't read any of the previous ones and didn't feel like anything was missing.  However, I'll definitely be looking out for Borteen Secrets books in the future!

Christmas at the Little Beach Cafe is out now and available on Kindle here (price correct at time of writing):

House of Christmas Secrets by Lynda Stacey

This year we’re just going to have a nice, normal Christmas… 

Last year’s Christmas at Wrea Head Hall didn’t quite go to plan which is why Jess Croft is determined this festive season will be the one to remember, for the right reasons. And she has plenty of reasons to be hopeful, she’s going to marry the man of her dreams, Jack Stone, seven days after New Year’s Eve.  

However, as family secrets are revealed in hidden letters and two unexpected guests turn up on the doorstep, Jess is left wondering whether her life will ever be the same again. 

Can Jess and Jack still experience a peaceful festive season that they had imagined or are there some problems that even Christmas can’t fix?

This book is the sequel to House of Secrets and I strongly recommend that you read them in order.  Whilst this second book focuses on the story of Jess and Jack (both characters we meet in the first book - Jess is Maddie's sister), this book follows on from the first and is set about a year later.

I loved House of Secrets so much that I immediately searched out Lynda Stacey to see if she had any other books I could read and I was delighted to find she had written a sequel.  I absolutely was not disappointed!!

Alongside the story of Jess and Jack, we also get the story of Bastion and Lily (and we get to see more of Nomsa).  It's a exceptionally difficult ride for Bastion and Lily but it's delightful at the same time.

This book left me wanting more (in a good way)! I found it so easy to read as I was so engrossed in the story and the pages just kept turning.  A Christmas read with a dark edge to it.  

Reading Lynda's commentary at the end of the book, I also discovered that Wrea Head Hall is a real place and I'd love to visit!

House of Christmas Secrets is out now and is available on Kindle or in paperback (prices correct at time of writing):