I would like to begin by saying a huge thank you to Rachels Random resources and Stephanie Wood for providing me with a gifted copy of this lovely novella. It is another little story that has got me in the festive mood!
The Christmas Miracle (Christmas on The Close #6)
Blurb
You are invited to spend CHRISTMAS ON THE CLOSE where each of the neighbours are celebrating in their own special way.
Diane always enjoys baking special festive treats, which she happily delivers to her friendly neighbours on The Close as Christmas approaches. When she decides to seek closure with a romantic matter from her past, she unexpectedly finds herself on an emotional journey she isn’t prepared for. Her granddaughter, Emma, has all the technical know-how to assist in the search for answers, but is distracted by an intense - and highly unsuitable - romance of her own.
The two women must deal with unsettling issues as they begin to face the reality of their situations, but their familial bond helps to provide the security and support they need to answer the questions they face. The sixth standalone episode of ‘Christmas on The Close’ reveals how it may be easier to allow the head to make all the decisions, but the heart will never stop fighting for what it really wants.
My thoughts
I very much enjoyed this short Christmassy novella, it was just the right amount of sweet happiness with a little twist before the reveal at the end. It was nice the way the story of Dianes past was slowly revealed throughout the novella to give us a little suspense and tension, although I do have to say I predicted the twist fairly early on. This did not detract from my enjoyment of the story though and it certainly raised my festive spirit.
The side characters were lovely, there were some nice links to the other neighbours and so left me a little intrigued and interested to read the other books in the series. It would be nice to find out what all the other neighbours stories were.
If you enjoy happy, cheery stories with some depth of emotion and festive cheer then this is one for you. It was a satisfying read and the tale wrapped up nicely in a bright red Christmas bow. (Not literally!). If you are interested in this or any of the other books in the series you can purchase them using the links below:
Author Bio –
Stephanie Wood writes contemporary fiction in the form of novels, novellas and short stories and you can find the running order of her titles on the first page of any book. She published the AEGEAN SUN series of books as a fly-on-the-wall vision of life in a Greek resort during the summer season, using her extensive experience as a holiday rep to bring some unusual incidents to life on the page. The series began as an exploration of the various ways in which tourists make the most of their holidays and how they interact with the locals while they are visiting. The later books in the series have taken a closer look at the locals themselves and show how their lives and relationships are sometimes changed by the regular influx of seasonal visitors. The CHRISTMAS ON THE CLOSE series is set in a British suburban cul-de-sac over the festive period and visits each house individually to discover how the neighbours who live there celebrate the season in their own special way. Stephanie lives in Lancashire where, apart from reading and writing, she loves gardening and cycling and is a huge fan of the soaps Emmerdale and Neighbours.
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