Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Christmas at the Vicarage Review

18 Nov, 2015 by in Uncategorized Leave a comment

I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Christmas at the Vicarage Review

Christmas at the Vicarage

by Rebecca Boxall
Published by Lake Union Publishing on Nov 17, 2015
Genres: Adult, Chick Lit, Christmas
Pages: 226
Format: eARC
four-stars
Source: Netgalley
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It’s been fifteen years since Rosamunde last lived at the vicarage in Potter’s Cove, the pretty coastal village where she grew up, experienced her first true love—and a heartbreak that changed her life forever. But now Potter’s Cove is calling her back: it’s time to make peace with the past and go home.

Rosamunde’s return to the vicarage in the days before Christmas is a whirlwind of festive cheer and heartwarming reunions with friends, family and her loving father, the vicar. And while seeing the old place after all this time stirs painful memories of long-ago grief, it also reminds her of all the love she left behind. Fifteen years ago she vowed never to let herself be vulnerable again—but now that she’s back she’s not so sure. Is it possible that real happiness could strike more than once?

Spanning three decades of family life, Christmas at the Vicarage is a warm, feel-good tale that examines what it means to love and to lose—and to be brave enough to try again.

What drew me to this book?

The cover and a promise of a Christmas story set on the English coast

What I Liked?

There were plenty of plot twists to keep the reader absolutely engaged through the whole book. It is set in two time periods, life for Rosamnunde as a teen and life as a woman in her 40’s trying to resolve the past.

I loved the part set in Paris and the stories she hears about her mother as a young woman. While the ending was slightly predictable, I truly enjoyed the main male character and his gentle nature.

I struggled with

The “love her life” Stephen and his selfish ways.

The fact that some of the story elements were very convenient and far fetched.

Overall, while not necessarily a light hearted fun Christmas book, it shows hope in recovery from sadness and despair. Christmas at the Vicarage has a great cast of supporting characters and a feel good at the end conclusion.

Content: Adult (highlight to reveal) language, sex, extramarital affairs.

About the Author

Rebecca Boxall was born in 1977 in East Sussex, where she grew up in a bustling vicarage always filled with family, friends and parishioners. She now lives by the sea in Jersey with her husband and two children. She read English at the University of Warwick before training as a lawyer, and also studied Creative Writing with The Writer’s Bureau. Christmas at the Vicarage is her first novel.

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