Ginny Spain usually loves Christmas: wrapping up warm by a cosy fire, putting twinkling lights on the tree… But after breaking up with her ex, her festive spirit has deserted her. This year, she plans to hide away and spend the holiday alone.
Her formidable mother, Evie, has other ideas. Dragging Ginny out of isolation, Evie takes her to an artist and writers retreat at Triskelion, a remote old house in the tiny coastal village of Little Star, determined to uncover the secrets of an ancestor who once lived there.
Triskelion is now home to rugged Rhys Tarn and his ten-year-old daughter – and Ginny is in for a shock when she discovers Rhys and her share an unexpected connection.
Before Twelfth Night, and with the help of Rhys, can Ginny unlock her past and bring back her Christmas cheer?
Review: I have read and enjoyed many Christmas romances from this author over the years. I look out for her next book each festive season. Trisha Ashley has books set in a variety of locations; this one is set in Wales. This book certainly draws the eye with its bright pink cover and I was confident that the story within would be equally pleasing.
The story centres on writer and illustrator Ginny Spain who has recently broken up for the second time with her boyfriend and is planning to spend Christmas on her own in her little cottage in the country. However, when she suddenly has to leave her beloved home, her plans have to change. Concerned that her daughter may be becoming a hermit, Ginny’s flamboyant mother, Evie, books them both into a retreat for writers and artists over the Christmas period. The retreat is to be held in a small Welsh coastal village in an old house called Triskelion. Evie is writing a book about her grandmother (Arwen), an artist who once lived and painted in the house, and hopes to learn more about her. When Ginny arrives at the house, she meets the other people on the retreat, an odd assortment of men and women. Already living in the house with the owners she discovers writer Rhys Tarn and his small daughter. She has met Rhys briefly before and has a low opinion of him. As she gets to know him better, she realises that she may have been wrong about his character. It is a shock when she finds that she and Rhys are connected through her ancestor.
There are many threads to this festive romantic story, in which a historic account of Arwen’s life is told through letters to her best friend and runs alongside a present day narrative of Ginny’s life. The book includes a cast of many characters other than the group spending the festive season in Triskelion. The entire community of the village have their part to play. It is interesting to become involved in their various celebrations during the time that Ginny is visiting, such as winter solstice and twelfth night festivities. I found Arwen’s story very sad and was glad of the more light-hearted events taking place in the present day tale. The members of the retreat party lent an air of comedy at times. A nice touch is the inclusion of recipes for dishes mentioned in the text if people wish to make them for themselves. This is not one of my favourite Christmas stories, but it is certainly an interesting tale with a different approach, transporting the reader back and forth between 1919 and the present day.
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