Happy New Year!! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas break and a great New Year. Ours, like a lot of people around the world, was a quiet one. We made up a cheese-board of the 345 varieties of cheese we seemed to have amassed during December and watched Trading Places. It was heaven.

If I'm honest, I did struggle to relax this Christmas. I absolutely adore Christmas. But I think it was a combination of the crazy times we are living in, and a massive list of jobs I had daftly created for myself. But eventually after a stiff talking to, I managed to curl up in front of the log fire with a few books and eventually begin to relax down. I'm not sure what it is about a fire, but it makes my shoulders drop, my breath deepen and I relax. I do hope that you found relaxation and a sense of peace during the Christmas break. Shall we get to the first read of the year? It's christmassy themed, because you know....Christmas, but it's a lovely one.

Set in America and Scotland, Gayle is a successful motivational business speaker. Events in her past has meant that she hasn't spoken with her 2 daughters Ella and Samantha for 5 years. But then she has an accident and whilst receiving some very strong pain relief asks her assistant to call her daughters. Samantha is a successful businesswoman in her own right running a bespoke travel company, but feels that her entire life is run without passion. Ella is happily married with a beautiful daughter, and has made the choice to be a stay-at-home mum. But has never told Gayle about leaving her job, getting married and having a baby. The 3 women decamp to Scotland for their first family Christmas for 5 years. Gayle works hard at being a better parent and grandparent whilst dealing with painful memories, Ella must learn to stand up to her mother and be proud of her choices and Samantha is trying to hold it all together and enjoying the company of the handsome laird, Brodie. Will the 3 women learn to be a family again?

This was definitely the right book to be reading between Christmas and New Year as it had that ease of reading which I was craving. Something light, but very enjoyable. The settings are marvellous. America is fast paced, glamorous and packed with busy shops and Christmassy streets. Scotland is a breath of fresh air. Beautiful landscapes, a cosy stately home, lots and lots of lovely snow and the scent of pine tickling your nostrils. The family engage in playful Christmas activities - building a snowman, long winter walks, visiting the reindeer owned by the Estate and throwing the odd snowball. These all help to heal the rift formed within the family.

The characters are sweet, but I did, at times, find myself wanting to shake them a bit! Gayle is a power house of a business woman but has sacrificed having any kind of life in the process. She finds it difficult to understand children, believing that it is important to prepare a child fully for the reality of the world whilst simultaneously destroying any magic. She turns to research to help her get to know her Granddaughter and learns to see the world through a child's eyes. Ella is adorable but I did want her to not be so scared of Gayle and Samantha was great, if a little uptight. The romance between Brodie and Samantha is very sweet indeed and helped along by delicious meals and hot chocolate.

I imagine a lot of people are back to work today, but if you are desperate to cling onto the last vestiges of Christmas, then this is a very sweet and easy read. Sarah Morgan is becoming one of my go to authors for enjoyable fiction and I always look forward to her latest release. A Wedding in December will remain my favourite of hers, but this is perfect for fans of Sarah Morgan. Have a great day xx