Whilst ‘romance’ is a genre I have ordinarily neglected, what better time to indulge in a novel high on the feel-good quotient, than Christmas week? Moreover, in her latest novel (published November 2021), Christian author, M.C.Harrison has certainly tapped into the Christmas spirit and the magic that attends the festive season, whisking the reader away to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.
Miss Holly Bennett hails from Richmond, but when her unreliable boyfriend (Craig) disappoints yet again, the main character takes her sister’s advice and heads to the snowy slopes, with her dog ‘Skeeter’, for some retail therapy in the Victorian quaintness of rural Bethlehem.
Lifelong member of that community, Tyler Morris, is owner of ‘The Olde Yarn Bookshop’ and is also leading the local response to a bizarre drone problem besetting the townsfolk. Still, it is the palliative care of his mother and childcare of his orphaned nephew that dominate Tyler’s life.
The challenges for this star-crossed couple include creating the space for their natural chemistry to flourish, but also finding common cause in combatting local corruption and fashioning a very special Christmas celebration, the life-blood on which the town depends.
This is an easy read, over a gingerbread latte that oozes traditional values and charm. It also made this reader want to book into the ‘Sweet Betsy from Pike’ bed and breakfast immediately and inhabit a world not so much lacking realism, as simply filtering out some of the customary ugliness. Escapism – absolutely, but a welcome reminder perhaps that the sharing of life’s trials and tribulations can make the good times even sweeter. Certainly, in this COVID-dominated period, Ms Harrison has demonstrated that happiness can also be infectious!
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