Lara huddled under the golf umbrella with her mum as the countdown to the Christmas lights switch-on began. She wished she'd worn her puffy jacket with the lining like her mum had suggested as the cold was beginning to make her shiver...
The Blurb
CAN LARA ADD A DASH OF MAGIC THIS CHRISTMAS?
The Sugar and Spice bakery sparkles with holiday spirit as Jacob serves up more mouthwatering festive treats, and Christmas spirit Lara tries to sprinkle her magic over those finding the time of year difficult.
Ollie is at his wits’ end. A debt from years ago comes back to haunt him just as he and his girlfriend are buying their dream home.
Rose is dejected as her college sweetheart has dumped her now they’re in their final year. She’s not looking forward to Christmas alone, nor her twenty-first birthday on Christmas Eve.
Sacha has recently moved to Winstanton following the failure of his business. He’s too embarrassed to confide in his family, but can he find the friendship he so desperately needs and begin to trust again?
Diana tries to find her new normal after the unexpected death of her husband earlier this year. All her plans for retirement have been thrown out the window and she feels lost. She needs a renewed sense of purpose and to find her place in the world.
Can Lara provide the answer to a joy-filled Christmas?
A story of hope, love, friendship, community, and of course, Christmas spirit.
My Review
Before I even begin my review, I want to let you know that there is a giveaway of this fabulous book, further down in the post.
It is the first Christmas book that I have read this year, and it was a lovely one to kick off my festive reading with. Although, it is the fourth book in the series, it is not necessary to have read the earlier books in order to enjoy this one. In fact, I came into this series with the third book, A Little Christmas Spirit and you can find my review of that book here.
In this book we meet Sasha, Diana, Ollie and Rose. Each of them has their own backstory, and they come together and find warmth and companionship at The Sugar and Spice Cafe, which is set in the small Scottish village of Winstanton. I was pleased to see that Lara is still very much the essence of the book. Lara is the ten-year-old niece of cafe owner Jacob, and she sprinkles her own version of Christmas magic throughout the book.
During this book, the cafe becomes host to a celebrity chef who is making a Christmas cookery programme in the kitchen. This adds excitement for the regular visitors to the cafe who become the live studio audience.
Into this wonderful setting, the author has conjured her own Christmas magic throughout her story. She is a wonderful storyteller, and it was very easy to get pulled into this special tale. It is full of festive traditions from far and wide, all centred around this extraordinary cafe.
If you like a feel-good novel, then you will love this one. It has everything to make you smile whilst reading this. It is an utterly charming book to read and I highly recommend it.
Book Details
ISBN: 978 1915589057
Publisher: Susan Buchanan
Formats: e-book and paperback
No. of Pages: 230 (paperback)
Series: Book 4 of the Christmas Spirit series
Purchase Links
About the Author
Susan Buchanan writes contemporary romance, women’s fiction and romantic comedies, usually featuring travel, food, family, friendship, community – also Christmas!
Her books are Sign of the Times, The Dating Game, The Christmas Spirit, Return of the Christmas Spirit, A Little Christmas Spirit and Just One Day – Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn, The Leap Year Proposal and You Can’t Hurry Love.
As a freelance developmental editor, copyeditor and proofreader, if she’s not reading, editing or writing, she’s thinking about it.
She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, the Society of Authors and the Alliance of Independent Authors.
She lives near Glasgow with her husband, two children and a crazy Labrador.
When she’s not editing, writing, reading or caring for her two delightful cherubs, she likes going to the theatre, playing board games, watching quiz shows and eating out, and she has recently discovered a love of writing retreats.
You can also find Susan at:
Giveaway to Win a signed and dedicated paperback of A Taste of Christmas Spirit (Open to UK Only)
*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome. Please enter using the Gleam box below. The winner will be selected at random via Gleam from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
Click below to enter.
(ARC and media courtesy of Rachel's Random Resources)
(all opinions are my own)
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