I’m delighted today to be joining the blog tour and sharing my review of Winter Kisses at Roseford Café by Fay Keenan: published by Boldwood Books on 13th October, it’s now available as an ebook (free via Kindle Unlimited), in paperback, and as an audiobook. Thank you, as always, to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for the invitation and support, and to the publishers for my advance reading copy (provided via netgalley).
I have no idea how I’ve missed them (I despair at myself sometimes!), but I’ve never read a book from Fay Keenan before. I really must have been looking in the wrong direction, because there are plenty I could have chosen from with the Little Somerby series, the Willowbury series – there’s even been another book set in Roseford, New Beginnings at Roseford Hall, an Amazon bestseller with plenty of five star reviews (and, I notice, available free via Prime Reading). So yes, yet again I’m starting a series from the second book – but honestly, I just couldn’t resist it when Rachel’s email landed in my inbox. Just look… coupled with that lovely cover, how could I have said no?
Hollywood comes to Roseford, as Christmas wishes really do come true…
The sleepy Somerset village of Roseford is the temporary home for the cast and crew of the latest Christmas movie, and there’s an excitement in the air that can’t be ignored. When Lucy Cameron, the owner of Roseford Café, is asked to fulfil a last-minute catering order on set, she can’t believe her luck.
Lucy’s erstwhile teenage crush, Finn Sanderson, is the star of the film, alongside his glamorous co-star, Montana de Santo, with whom he has been linked on and off the screen, and their sprinkle of stardust around the village is intoxicating.
With Christmas approaching and the snow starting to fall, Lucy’s path keeps crossing with Finn’s, and she starts to get to know the man behind the movie star. As her feelings grow, so too do Lucy’s reservations about even considering becoming involved with someone so well-known. And when Lucy becomes the centre of a social media storm, her fears seem to be justified.
Are happy-ever-afters just the preserve of romantic Christmas movies, or could Lucy and Finn star in their very own, real-life festive love story…
Revel in the perfect country Christmas romance from Fay Keenan, just right for all fans of Julie Houston, Cathy Bramley and Holly Martin.
Some books just happen to be set during the festive season – this one really was a totally full-on Christmas experience, and I must say that I loved every single moment. There’s snow aplenty, the most wonderful Christmas fair where you can smell the spices in the mulled wine and taste the mince pies (while browsing the stalls to find the perfect last minute present…), skaters on an impromptu ice rink, a family Christmas dinner, tinsel and sparkling lights everywhere – and a film crew at Roseford Hall making a Christmas movie for Filmflix.
Lucy, running the cafe in the quiet picture postcard Somerset village, is particularly excited about the arrival of the film’s stars. The male lead is Finn Sanderson – as a teenager she had his poster on her bedroom wall (and she might just have a t-shirt with his image on the front too…). So when he pops into the cafe one night on his way back to his room at the village pub, she’s so overcome that she can hardly speak to him (other than accidentally and embarrassingly telling him that he’s gorgeous…). But she slowly gets to know the man rather than the film star – and he really is the loveliest man, but with a few complexities to his past that make him considerably happier keeping his private life out of the spotlight and living as ordinary a life as he can.
His co-star in the film is Montana de Santo – in the days when they starred together in the TV drama High School Dreams they were known as FinnTana, something that’ll make the film they’re now making a guaranteed smash hit. So, as the relationship between Finn and Lucy builds, they need to keep it quiet – and not only because of the film, but also because of her worries about the impact of any publicity on her young daughter. But word does get out – a couple of photographs on social media, and the storm of on-line abuse that follows – and they very reluctantly accept that any kind of future together is going to be completely impossible. But that, of course, isn’t where it ends – and the author tells the rest of the story far better than I ever could.
But as well as the romance at the book’s centre – and it’s one of those you entirely believe in, with a really special chemistry between them both – there was so much else about this book that I loved. The setting, Roseford itself, just couldn’t possibly be more perfect for a Christmas romance – it’s vividly and beautifully described, and I just wish it was possible to book a room at the Treloar Arms for my own Christmas escape (I’d even be happy to take my turn on the karaoke…). The supporting characters are every bit as engaging as Finn and Lucy, beautifully drawn, their stories nicely woven in – some of the villagers will, of course, have been introduced in the first book in this series, but that really didn’t matter one bit as they very quickly became my friends too.
But perhaps the loveliest thing of all about this whole book was how it made me feel – there’s just such a tremendous warmth to it that wraps itself around you as you read, and you so desperately want Finn and Lucy to have their unlikely happy ending. I was totally unable to put it down, and read it in one glorious sitting – and even if the sun might be shining next time, I’m really so looking forward to my next visit to Roseford. This book was just absolutely gorgeous – go on, add it to your Christmas reading list straight away!
About the author
Fay Keenan is the author of the bestselling Little Willowbury series of novels. She has led writing workshops with Bristol University and has been a visiting speaker in schools. She is a full-time teacher and lives in Somerset.
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