#BookReview (4 stars) – Christmas at Bay Tree Cottage, by @LinnBHalton #Fiction #Romance

Blurb:

The countdown to Christmas is usually a magical time, but Elena James is fed up with living on a building site! The renovations on her beautiful cottage – like her heart – have been frozen in limbo ever since she was unexpectedly widowed.

Elana calls in a professional, Luke Stevenson, to help finish the cottage, so her little girl can send letters to Santa up the newly-repaired chimney. Luke’s kind, capable and sexy – but he’s also ten years younger than Elana. So why has her heart decided it’s finally time for a thaw?

My Review:

Christmas at Bay Tree Cottage initially caught my eye with its beautiful cover ❤

I love reading Christmas themed books as Christmas approaches, and have already read quite a few this year. I would say this is the least Christmassy book out of all the Christmas books I’ve read this year. The overall atmosphere felt heavier and sadder than many of the other Christmas books I’ve read in recent weeks. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as this is a touching story with raw emotions. However, for me personally, I would say I’d have probably enjoyed this book more if I’d not gone into it thinking it was a Christmas book, as it failed to give me that excitable Christmas sparkle many other festive books give me.

I would class this story as a romance, but not the chick lit version, more a real life one mixed in with grief, frustration, money worries and betrayal. Ideal if you enjoy that kind of romance, which I often do.

However, there are happy moments too. I did love the magical relationship little Maya had with her father, and early on this book did make me think about believing in Father Christmas. I’ve never really understood the desire to not believe in such things, but maybe that’s because I’ve yet to stop believing 😉

I’m torn between 3 and 4 stars, but I’ve decided to round it up to 4, as this is a good story with depth and realistic emotions, and I think my feelings about this book are much more about the time I chose to read it, rather than the book itself.