I may only have been to Heritage Cove once before, but it was somewhere I really wanted to visit again this Christmas – and it’s a real pleasure to share my review of Christmas Nights at the Star and Lantern by Helen Rolfe. This is the sixth book in her Heritage Cove series, published by Boldwood Books on 19th September, and is now available as an ebook, paperback and audiobook. The e-copy I read was downloaded free via Prime reading.
Helen always has a rather special touch with Christmas – it featured heavily in The Little Café at the End of the Pier (complete book now available – you’ll find it here) and The Little Cottage in Lantern Square (available here), both of which I really enjoyed and reviewed as they each first came out in four separate parts. If you pop the author’s name in the search box (on the right) you can catch up on all those reviews if you’d like to – and you’ll find reviews of a few of her others too! I was a little late discovering Heritage Cove – the fifth book in the series, Finding Happiness… – but found I rather liked it there, with such a lovely community, beautifully drawn and very welcoming. So I was rather looking forward to another visit…
A wonderful story of love, friendship and opening your mind and your heart to new possibilities that will enchant fans of Holly Martin and Heidi Swain.
The Copper Plough is at the heart of village life for the residents of Heritage Cove, and never more so than at Christmas, when the tree glows in the alcove and the smell of mulled wine carries out onto the street. So when new owners for the beloved pub arrive and decide to shake things up, not everyone welcomes the changes with open arms.
Local bakery owner Celeste is ready to keep an open mind. But she’s shocked to discover that one of the new landlords is Quinn, a former Navy sailor with whom she had a short but powerful romance years earlier.
Fate may have brought Quinn and Celeste back together, but life seems determined to keep them apart. Can the villagers learn to embrace the newcomers this Christmas? And will Quinn and Celeste find a way back to each other before snow falls over Heritage Cove?
Join new friends and old, as Christmas comes to Heritage Cove.
The residents of Heritage Cove can live with the new owners changing the name of the pub in the heart of the community – there was nothing wrong with The Copper Plough, but The Star and Lantern isn’t too bad as changes go. So long as nothing changes inside – and when Quinn and brother Eddie decide they won’t be putting a Christmas tree in the corner, they do start to worry what else will follow. Especially when they try to make up for it with a delivery of trees they can sell outside – but from a neighbouring farm rather than the village favourites.
But they’re not the only ones feeling a bit uncomfortable at the moment – Celeste, at the Twist and Turn Bakery, had a no-strings fling with Quinn when he was holidaying in the area and there’s still a strong attraction between them, but she’s dead set against any possibility of any more permanent arrangement. And there have been major changes in Quinn’s life recently – his naval career over, having left him with some major issues that he’s yet to try to manage. And then there’s Barney, the village’s much-loved elder statesman – he has a few problems of his own to overcome first, but the brothers know that his approval is going to be important to them being accepted by the community.
If you haven’t visited Heritage Cove before, I suspect you could just be a touch put off by all that – sixth in series maybe not the best place to start, wondering if it might be difficult to catch up? While there’s no question that you might enjoy this book even more if you’ve read others in the series, there’s really no need to worry – I’d only read one, and although it was good to meet old friends again (and there are some really lovely cameos), I promise you’ll have no problems at all finding your way around and feeling entirely at home. This is very much a story with a beginning, middle, and end – I hadn’t really met Celeste before, and enjoyed getting to know her. And sister Jade too, who runs the bakery with her (and all those lovely creations – this really isn’t a book to read when you’re hungry!).
While Celeste’s happy to be an aunt to Jade’s little one, she has no wish herself to be a mother – just one of the issues that the book explores, and particularly sensitively. Another is Quinn’s PTSD and continuing mental health issues, equally perfectly handled. But it’s not all about the issues, just in case you should think this might be a rather heavy read – there’s a strong chemistry between Celeste and Quinn, and the rekindling of their romance is something rather special. As are the other small stories involving other members of the community, as we watch them slowly begin to take the incomers to their hearts. And, of course, it’s Christmas – a time of heightened emotion for sure, but with joy and laughter aplenty too.
The whole book is perfectly balanced – challenging themes at times, but such a warm and uplifting read as it heads towards its hoped-for happy ending. A perfect addition to a really lovely series – and one I’d recommend to all.
About the author
Helen Rolfe is the author of many bestselling contemporary women’s fiction titles, set in different locations from the Cotswolds to New York. Most recently published by Orion, she is bringing sixteen titles to Boldwood – a mixture of new series and well-established backlist. She lives in Hertfordshire with her husband and children.
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