Previously published as ‘Christmas at the Contraband Cafe, this book is a perfect Christmas novella for fans of fun, festive fiction.
Chloe Charlesworth has had the week from hell. Not only did she have her dream job as a fashion journalist, snatched away from her, then her aunt breaks her leg. So, Chloe leaves London on a mercy dash to Rum Cove in North Yorkshire to help run her aunt’s businesses, the Contraband Café and trekking centre. Chloe imagines she will be simply popping in to check that her aunt has the right help, but when she accidentally poisons her aunt’s horses and argues with the local vet, she feels obligated to help out with the numerous Rum Cove’s Christmas events, which all centre around the Contraband Café. But, Chloe is desperate to get back to London, move in with her boyfriend, Marcus, and find another journalism job, the only trouble being that he doesn’t seem too keen on the idea.
Rum Cove, an old fishing village, is undeniably beautiful and the locals very friendly, except for the local vet Luke, who is appallingly rude and arrogant. Thankfully Marcus decides to visit and Chloe soon realises that she has some serious decisions to make. A sparkling, Christmas romance.
Available on Amazon and via Kindle Unlimited.
December’s Romance Book Reading Challenge was a pretty easy one. This month’s theme was, of course, Holiday Romance. The prompts were all quite sweet and more or less all already included in my planned reads. I got the historical romance, the novella and the favourite author (although that one wasn’t really Christmas themed). I saved a book from my Kindle Klean-up Challenge for this month… a contemporary holiday romance by the name of Christmas at Rum Cove.
I’ll start with the Christmas element. Picture a small, village near the English coast. Imagine, community spirit up the walls. Conjure a Christmas market and fair to showcase all the creativity of the village. Now, add in a snow storm and two people looking for love. So yeah, this story packs a Christmas punch that I devoured!
The two main characters are Chloe and Luke. They make for a charming enemies to lovers pairing. Poor Chloe makes every mistake possible as she tries to care for her injured aunt’s animals and veterinarian, Luke, is completely unimpressed. Until, he is. At some point he sees the sweet Chloe who’s had a hard time and really just needs to figure out who she is and find a solid dose of self-confidence. Rum Cove, with its friendly residents and small town charm, is the perfect place to figure it all out.
I give this sweet, quick read 4/5 espresso shots.
The Cozy Pages 