Welcome to Day 7 of #12 Books of Christmas

You can view the previous posts below:

Day 1 - Winter Street by Elin Hilderbrand

Day 2 - The Box of Delights by John Masefield

Day 3 - The Christmas Lights by Karen Swan

Day 4 - Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie

Day 5 - The Christmas Chronicles by Nigel Slater

Day 6 - Skipping Christmas by John Grisham

Last week we had our first snow of Winter 2020. I live in the shadow of the Pennines in the North of England and the really bad weather happens on the higher ground. But as usually happens, the town came to a standstill and roads were closed. I don't think we even had an inch of snow. It did look very pretty though and I always love the accompanying silence that comes with snowfall. As a child, we did get bad winters, and I remember sitting by the fire listening to the local radio on my Grandfather's old radiogram to find out if our school was going to be closed and rejoicing if I was in for a day of snowy fun. Now the winters are less harsh. I wanted to read a novel filled full of snow, fir trees, nipped fingers and the smell of pine. I first encountered this little gem when it was published last year in paperback and fell in love with this sweet novel. I knew I wanted to recommend it for #12BooksofChristmas

Maggie and Nick White have separated and not looking forward to their first Christmas by themselves. Their daughter Rosie suddenly announces she is getting married to her fiance Dan in 6 weeks time after a whirlwind romance. The venue? - An Aspen lodge hotel. Maggie wants to keep news of their separation from Rosie and her sister Katie until after the wedding and pretend that the trip to Aspen is actually their second honeymoon. Katie, meanwhile, jaded by her career as an A&E Doctor and reeling from an attack by a patient, is convinced that Rosie is making a terrible decision and is determined to go to Aspen to make sure the wedding does not happen. But she is thwarted by Dan's handsome Best Man Jordan. Will the wedding take place? Will Katie make a decision about her career and what will happen with Maggie and Nick?

This is a delightful read and full of all the snow that I want! The location is stunning. Think a beautiful ski lodge smelling of pine and the family stay in tree houses that have won architectural awards with underfloor heating, luxury showers and cosy throws. Think lots of cedar and sheep skin rugs. Maggie and Nick enjoy a day of romantic activities (not a euphemism!) planned by Dan's mum, Catherine. This includes dog sledding, a ride in the snow in a horse drawn carriage, followed by a meal in a glamorous restaurant halfway up a mountain. It is a dream holiday destination. The family have a snowball fight, go snowmobiling and snow shoeing.

The romantic story is equally enjoyable. My favourite character had to be Rosie, open-hearted, trusting and kind. Katie is spiky, but with good reason and is very over-protective of Rosie. Thankfully she has Jordan to spar with. It was also interesting to read Maggie and Nick's story. Their separation was not caused by a massive argument, or an affair but they are just 2 people who put everyone's priorities above their own and lost each other along the way. Ably assisted by Catherine, Dan's glamorous mother, they quickly find that there is still a lot of affection and love there.

It has been so nice to read this again and is definitely a book I will be keeping and re-reading again. Sarah Morgan is fast becoming one of my go to authors. I love reading her novels and would heartily recommend this one if you are looking for a gorgeous romantic novel set in the most wintery of locations.