Reviewed by Emma Crowley
Emily Feeney has always loved the festive season, so when she invites some of her favourite people to Christmas dinner at her restaurant, she has an afternoon of delicious fare and seasonal fun in mind. But as the big day draws near, her plans start to look a bit uncertain . . .
Her partner Bill is preoccupied by family worries, and both he and Emily have been skirting around a big unanswered question. When events finally force Emily to issue an ultimatum, Bill must choose between the two women he loves.
Tom and Lil have moved into the apartment above Emily's restaurant, hoping to put the past behind them while they plan their summer wedding. Little do they know that an unexpected arrival in town is about to make the past a lot harder to forget.
And Emily's best friend Heather has surprise visitors too: the mother she left behind as a teen, who now needs Heather's help, and a man she thought she'd never see again. Maybe it's finally time to give each of them a second chance?
As Emily's prospective guests navigate their way through the holiday season, their lives become more and more complicated. Will they all find themselves around the table together on Christmas Day?
Many thanks to Hachette Ireland for my copy of A Winter to Remember and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
The new book from Roisin Meaney, A Winter to Remember, has such a beautiful cover that just screams curl up and read me now. This is a lovely, gentle and relaxing read ideal for this time of year. Prior to reading, I discovered that some of the characters that had featured in The Restaurant and The Book Club feature again so when I began reading I was on the lookout for them. Although, if I hadn’t know this before starting I think I would have figured out fairly on who was who and details of their stories did come back to me. But don’t worry if you haven’t the previously mentioned books as this is very much a standalone story. I found this to be a gorgeous quick read and just as wonderful as Roisin’s previous books and I enjoyed every minute of the time I spent reconnecting with characters and seeing how their lives had changed and what situations they now found themselves in.
The first few pages set the scene. It’s Christmas Day and Emily is hosting dinner for her friends at her restaurant, The Food of Love. But what should be a happy time is certainly not for Emily. Her plans have changed and instantly the readers interest is piqued as to what has caused her to feel this way. To discover the answer we are taken back in time several weeks and from this point on each chapter details the run up to Christmas Day.
There are a lot of characters to become familiar with but I felt as if I knew an awful lot about them already but there is plenty of backstory woven in with Roisin’s deft touch and lovely writing style. Something seems to have happened between Emily and her best friend Heather and as the pages fly by I can’t say there was anything specific that imploded between the pair more so that a distance appears between them with a lot left unsaid. They never actually come out and say to each other what they are going through individually until perhaps it was in the territory of becoming too late to do so and you just hope that they can find a way back to the friendship and I would say sister hood that had flourished between them.
Emily is in a relationship with Bill who is several years older than her. They have been through a lot together but it’s obvious for all to see that they are a match made in heaven. They are raising Bill’s grandson Pip whose mother Christine abandoned him when he was only a raw infant. Christine has substance abuse issues and a lot of it stems from the experiences of her childhood. Emily and Bill have been managing just fine and the bond they have with Pip is evident for all to see. When their dear friend Astrid passed away she left her house in trust for Pip for when he turns older. A small inheritance has been left to Christine as well. That’s if she ever dares to show her face again. Emily is happy in her relationship with Bill but deep down she longs for a child of her own which is only natural as this is most women’s wish and desire. But Bill flat out refuses to engage in any conversation regarding this subject. You can sense Emily’s hurt surrounding this issue and this is compounded even further when Christine makes a surprise reappearance at Bill’s house. Emily soon feels like she is being pushed out into the cold and the relationship she has developed with Pip is severely under threat not to mention things with Bill become quite challenging.
I felt for Emily throughout this book. She was a good person with a heart of gold who would do anything to help anyone but Bill didn’t always consider her needs. It was as if once Christine was back on the scene that Emily was pushed into second place in his heart and his day to day life. Yes, you can see where Bill is coming from. His daughter has returned with the promise that she is clean and is now ready, willing and able to rear her son again. But can she be trusted? Of course, Bill had to support his flesh and blood but still I felt he should remember the person that had been there for him through thick and thin and would always stand by his side. Emily’s strand of the story is an emotional one and the reader is conflicted and goes back and forth as to whose side they are on or whose opinion is more valid. It’s a tough one but I thoroughly enjoyed how everything played out. As Christmas approaches and things get worse for Emily she questions will she ever find the long lasting happiness that she craves and which the reader can see that she deserves?
Heather is a busy mum and her partner Shane works all hours as a paramedic. At times they are like ships in the night just passing with a brief hello. Heather’s stress levels increase when her mother arrives to stay and it appears as if she isn’t moving on any time soon and when an unexpected letter arrives for her it certainly puts the cat amongst the pigeons and threatens everything which she has established. Will she be tempted or can she weather the storm that is approaching? To be honest, Heather wasn’t my favourite character as I found her to be a bit selfish and for some reason I just couldn’t connect with her. I found myself reading quickly through her sections in order to get back to characters that I was more engrossed in. I don’t think that’s any fault of the author more so that she was just one character that wasn’t for me and it’s not as if we can like every character in every book that we read.
Lil and Tom arrive to rent the flat above Emily’s restaurant and it was such a delight to read about them again. Lil featured in The Book Club and her story was heart breaking, memorable and inspiring in equal measure. They will return to Fairweather once the new library has been built but for now Lil has a job in the local library and things are progressing in her relationship with Tom. Tom too has a heart breaking story and you can see that he still has unresolved issues around this which threaten to continue rearing their ugly head. There is a fragility and air of vulnerability around Lil that I wonder will it ever go away or can it given all that has happened to her. Tom is her protector but still there is a niggle deep within her that things mightn’t work out long term even though there is some happy news for them. Tom and Lil were a couple I was rooting for from the beginning and given their backstory I desperately hoped that happiness and some Christmas magic would appear in their lives.
Christine is certainly the most complex character of them all. She is fighting a daily battle to stay on the straight and narrow and she was a brilliantly written character. You kind of love to hate her and my opinion of her swayed back and forth and that’s because I didn’t like how her actions affected others. Yet on the other hand you have great empathy for her because she has one goal in mind and is determined to succeed but there are plenty of temptations sent her way and lots of bridges for her to mend. We really get inside her head and become familiar with and grow to understand her mindset. She struggles and battles on a daily basis and is very much caught up in her own mind. So much so that at times she can’t see the effect of her return is having on others.There was a point that there was so much going on and everything became so tangled for the characters that I could see no route to happiness for them.There are lots of pain and anguish for all involved and several leaps of faith must be taken.
A Winter to Remember is classic Roisin Meaney and I enjoyed it from beginning to end. I hope it finds its way to many readers this Christmas as it definitely deserves a place under the Christmas tree.She has brought characters from two books and combined them seamlessly into one entertaining, satisfying and pleasant Christmas read.
No comments:
Post a Comment