Wednesday, October 26, 2022

Review: Once Upon a Christmas (Love at Langley Park #1) by Jane Porter

 


Can the magic of the Christmas season lead to a fairy tale happy ending?

When Cara Roberts’ family plans an extra special Christmas to support her after her broken engagement, she wants nothing to do with the holiday. After learning her brother and his wife can’t use the cottage vacation they purchased, she impulsively escapes to an English cottage in the bucolic village of Bakewell, despite having no idea where Bakewell is.

Lord Alec Sherbourne of Langley Park is no fan of Christmas, but following in his parents’ footsteps, he annually donates his impressive 19th century country home to be decorated and opened on December weekends as a community fundraiser. This year, Christmas is complicated by the arrival of a pretty American woman who booked a cottage on his estate—only the cottage is occupied. Forced to take her under his vast roof, he’s dismayed when a storm and frozen pipes keep her with him longer than he’d anticipated. Even more worrisome, her presence is making it feel like Christmas for the first time in forever.

As these two holiday housemates become friends, is there something more in the Christmas air?
 
My Review: 
My new favorite Christmas book.
This is the first book in the Love at Langley Park series and I have to say, I am already hooked.  I loved the unexpected roommate situation with Cara Roberts, an American tourist spending Christmas in England, and Lord Alec Sherbourne, who just wanted to spend a quiet Christmas at his country estate, Langley Park.  When a snowstorm traps them together, along with several of Alec’s elderly relatives, Alec losses the cranky edge he had, when him and Cara first met, causing Cara to start falling in love with Alec.  But is it enough for two people, who live half the world apart, to start a relationship?
This book is the ultimate Christmas story.  Both, Cara and Alec suffer from broken hearts.  Cara’s engagement recently ended and Alec still grieves for his wife.  Together, they heal each other and learn to move forward.  The characters are very well defined and the setting felt so real.  I could easily picture the scenes playing out in my mind.  I won’t soon forget this story.  It is my new favorite Christmas story.
 

2 comments: