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Trying Times for the Mill Girls by Chrissie Walsh #Review #TheLockwoodInheritanceBook2

  West Yorkshire 1900-1918 Today we are going back to the early days of the twentieth century to see how life in Almondbury changes at this critical time.   Trying Times for the Mill Girls by Chrissie Walsh is published  today on December 5th by Boldwood Books .   You can read  my review of Book 1 in the Lockwood Inheritance series, A New Dawn for the Mill Girls   here   In changing times, even the strongest must fight to hold on... At the dawn of a new century, mill mistress Verity Hardcastle and her husband Oliver welcome their long-awaited twins: gentle, golden-hearted Briony and spirited, stormy Blaise. From the beginning, their children seem destined to pull in different directions—but the Hardcastles stand united, proud stewards of Lockwood Mill and its tight-knit community of hardworking girls. As the winds of change sweep through Yorkshire—from the rise of the suffragette movement to the shadow of war—the mill stands firm. ...

Coming Home to Mistletoe Cottage by Celia Anderson #Review

 

As far as book reading is concerned, we are heading straight into festive season and here's a sparkly, Christmassy book to tempt you! Coming Home to Misteltoe Cottage by Celia Anderson was published by Harper Collins on October 27th. 


Could a sprinkling of magic save Christmas this year?

Amid the salt marshes and rolling fields of Periwinkle Bay, Magda Conway is enjoying her retirement in ivy-clad Mistletoe Cottage.

Yet with three weeks to go until Christmas, as the fairy lights twinkle and the trees go up around the village, her peace is disrupted when she’s left in sole charge of her two mischievous grandchildren.

Before long, she’s at her wit’s end – but high on a kitchen shelf lies her mother’s handwritten recipe book. And as she turns to it for advice, she finds more than just recipes between its tattered covers: there’s a pinch of magic too, and maybe even a sprinkling of love . . .

My Thoughts
This is such a refreshing look at familylife. During the story, you get to look back in the past to try to decipher the difference between how Magda lived and what she wanted for her life and also how real life has turned out for her. It does not take much to realise that the difference between how Magda's  life has turned out and the reality  is quite different. Magda strikes you as a most lonely person.
    This is a dynamic story with several layers between the different characters. I was made aware that the different generations had become  intertwined. I enjoyed how Magda's son had forged a relationship with her. For most of the story, you are unsure whether Magda is imagining the influence of her mother's recipes and the whole story is infused with a wonderful aura of love and homeliness. Can someome find love at 60? I'll leave you to decide on that but what I can say is that Magda can offer so much advice on real life and taking a chance. 
 
In short: Starting over

 
About the Author
 
Celia Anderson lives with her husband as far away from the sea as you can possibly get in mainland UK. She dreams of buying a cottage on the coast, which explains the regular appearances in her books of seaside places with wide, sandy beaches. Celia loves walking, reading, having large, bubbly baths, eating, and drinking wine. Over the years, she has found that all of these activities bar the first may be done simultaneously, although this can be messy.
 
You can follow Celia here:  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Facebook
                                           |  Links  
Book links: Amazon UK
 
Thanks to Celia Anderson and Harper Collins for a copy of the book and a place on the tour.
 
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