All singleton Isla wants for Christmas is to be left in peace, but a surprise trip to the Alps means there’s a chance for romance in every snowflake that falls…
It’s the week before Christmas and Isla McCoy has just received an unexpected gift: a letter announcing she is due a life-changing inheritance, but only if she’s willing to make amends with the father who abandoned her.
She has absolutely no intention of forgiving him, but who could resist an all-expenses-paid trip to the French resort of St Martin-de-Belleville?
There she meets smooth-talking Justin and nerdy glaciologist Sebastian; two very different men, with two very different agendas. Torn between her head and her heart, Isla finds herself utterly lost in a winter wonderland of her own feelings.
Surrounded by twinkling candles and roaring log-fires, Isla’s resolve finally begins to melt. But will she learn how to reconnect, not only with a whole new family, but with herself and her heart?
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of A Cosy Candlelit Christmas to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
Ever since I finished reading A Very Vintage Christmas by Tilly Tennant, I couldn't wait to delve into A Cosy Candlelit Christmas, book two in the Unforgettable Christmas series. I was eager to discover how Dodie and Isla's stories would overlap and interconnect. Tantalising hints as to Isla's story were dotted throughout book one as to the life changing journey she was embarking on. Would it be all plain sailing or would there be plenty of twists, turns and upsets along the way? I have to say that this book felt even more Christmassy than the first. It really hit the spot in terms of the festive atmosphere and think this was partly due to the fact it was set in a ski resort in France in the days running up to and during Christmas. I think I preferred Isla's story to Dodie's and that is not to take away anything from A Very Vintage Christmas which I really enjoyed. I think this one just affected me more deeply. Everything that Isla was battling through really resonated with me and I felt the storyline was even stronger than the one I had read before. A Cosy Candlelit Christmas is certainly one of the best Christmas books I have read so far this year that will need strong competition to beat it.
Isla is 29 and a university student studying psychology. She feels quite screwed up herself so believes what she is studying suits her down to the ground. She has given up her job and moved back in with her mother to study. The relationship she has with her mother is a complex one and is deeply affected by their circumstances as she grew up. When she was five Isla's Dad abandoned them and has not been heard from since. Her mother Glory raised her single handily and not without a struggle. Times were tough for the pair and the resentment and anger emanating from Glory with regards to her husband leaving is still very much fresh in her mind. This had led to Isla putting up a defence when it comes to men. As she says herself she doesn't do relationships, she is too busy, too focused on her life with too much responsibility at home. She likes to appear unavailable and uninterested to men whereas the reader senses underneath that wall she has built up there is someone who like us all at the end of the day wants that special someone in their life to cuddle up to at night.
I couldn't blame Isla for not letting herself want to let her guard slip but when it transpires a letter has arrived from Ian, fireworks ensue. Isla is completely torn - go against her mother's wishes and contribute to an already tense situation and go to France to look into this inheritance she has been left by a grandmother she can vaguely remember. Or should she stay put and forget the letter ever came into her life? Poor Isla, it really was like she was being ripped in two. Given the chance wouldn't you want to reconnect with your father? I knew the inheritance wasn't at the forefront of her mind but her father’s family had more underhand aims behind her having to go to St.Martin-De-Belleville, the ski resort where her father runs a hire shop with his wife Celine and teenagers Benet and Natalie. Isla wants to ask her best friend and stalwart Dodie for advice but Dodie is busy with worries of her own. I thought there would be more scenes featuring Dodie but they came very far and few between. So for those reading this book first there is no need to worry if you haven't read A Very Vintage Christmas.
Right from the moment Isla steps off the plane and makes her way to the resort the Christmas atmosphere really ramped up. Through such wonderful descriptions I could vividly picture the snow covered resort with the huge mountains surrounding it. I could sense the cold and see all the decorations and fabulous food that were there. For someone who has never being skiing or to a resort covered in snow Tilly Tennant sure did a good job of making me feel like I had. Isla embarks upon her quest and to reconnect with her Dad with trepidation which is understandable given the bad picture Glory had painted of the husband who more or less just upped and left. I'm glad she didn't rush into his arms and forgive him the moment she set eyes on him. Time is a healer but explanations are needed first. Combined with the fact there was a sense of sneakiness ongoing Isla was wise to sit back and wait and let things unfold and only then rush to uncover the answers she desperately wanted.
Isla was a person who was full of logic and reasoning throughout. She always stepped back to view a situation from every angle. Her cousin Justin from her stepmother's side was a character I couldn't warm to at all. I much preferred Seb who was staying at the same hotel Residence Alpenrose as Isla. He was a glaciologist and although he was meant to come across as a nerd and obsessed with his job, I thought he had a heart of gold underneath his shy exterior. Justin on the other hand was not nice at all. At times he came across as very dominating and almost menacing. It was clear he had ulterior motives and wasn't really that in to Isla only to string her along. To read of the unfolding situation with Isla and her family was a joy. I loved every minute of the story. It had a great basic plot and the fact it was based all around Christmas endeared the overall message to me even more.
It was great there was no messing about and we were straight into the story and Isla was allowed to share her life with us. She has plenty of conundrums to deal with and at every point she takes her mother's feelings into account but also she has to balance the wishes of her father. To be honest, I wouldn't have blamed her if she just said forget about you all I am satisfying myself and my needs but she wasn't that kind of person. Through being away in a different atmosphere and with the help of Dahlia the owner of the hotel and Seb she battles through in her attempts to make the right decision. Amends need to be made and forgiveness thrown into the mix but Isla needs to let go of the distrust that poisons all her relationships and only then can she see the light to make the correct decision for everyone involved, herself being the most important person.
I couldn't recommend A Cosy Candlelit Christmas enough as a Christmas read for this year. The story between such a beautiful cover lives up to the title and the image one conjures up when you see the snowy background. There is real depth and emotion throughout the story and one can't help but fall in love with Isla. She is one special woman. Some authors wouldn't have pulled off publishing two books in such quick succession especially with the interconnected theme but Tilly Tennant succeeded in writing two brilliant books that have made me really excited for what comes next.
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