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The Christmas Retreat by Trisha Ashley #Review

Best-selling author, Tricia Ashley's The Christmas Retreat  was published in hardback on November 6th by Bantam Press . I am delighted to be taking part in the celebrations for this lovely festive read .   Ginny Spain usually loves Christmas. Not this year, though. After witnessing a traumatic accident and breaking up with her ex, she plans to spend it alone. But her formidable art historian mother, Evie, has other ideas. Determined to drag her daughter out of isolation, Evie persuades Ginny to spend Christmas with her at an artist and writer’s retreat at Triskelion, a remote old house in the tiny coastal village of Little Star. But Evie’s plans aren’t without an ulterior motive – having discovered that her grandmother was an artist and spent time at Triskelion house, she wants to unlock the secrets surrounding her and Ginny’s ancestor. Rugged Rhys Tarn lives at Triskelion with his ten year old daughter, having lost his wife in mysterious and distressing circumstan...
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  Searching for Sandra follows the lives of the characters in books one and two of the Hummingbird House series – showing what happens next and the unexpected impact of friendships and neighbourly love.

Make yourself at home in Hummingbird House with this heartwarming new novella.


In 1968, the summer of love seems long gone. Hummingbird House has a new batch of residents, and Betty is settled in a comfortable – though unexpected – form of domestic bliss. Life may not have worked out as planned, but she is determined to make the best of it.

Yet as the months go on, she realises she still has much to learn. With one tenant missing and another threatening to sweep her off her feet, she begins to worry that her happy home could fall around her once more.

***

In 2022, Betty has established a comfortable routine. She weeds the front yard. Listens to the radio. Makes cake. At the age of 83, she knows what – and who – she likes, plus just how much she can manage before her arthritis begins to complain.

She lives by simple rules gleaned from hard-learnt lessons:

•              Keep an open mind and a well-stocked pantry

•              Sometimes meddling is not such a bad thing

But when an old friend finally makes an overdue appearance, those guidelines start to take on a new meaning.

Just how much should we do for absent friends? And when is it right to take a chance on love?


My Thoughts

 By Part three of this series, anyone who has read the two earlier books will be  quite familiar with the characters. If you haven't read them, I would recommend doing so first as the relationships and dynamics between them have evolved through the books. At the centre of the story is Hummingbird House and its inhabitants. Owned by Betty, you follow the m over the years. This volume concentrates on the elusive Sandra who has been such a vivid character in previous volumes. In this, her absence speaks loudly. 

    The book alternates between Hummingbird House in 1968 and the present day. The different timelines are handled well and it never becomes confusing. There are subtleties in Betty's relationships with her tenants which add to the enjoyment and at times, you feel they are keeping an eye on her as much as she on them. 

In short: lost friendships and new relationships

 

About the Author

Jane Harvey is a pen name. ‘Jane’ crafts fun fiction for the thinking woman, where she enjoys exploring unexpected friendships and writing happy endings. This is lucky, because in real life her (prize-winning) fiction is a little bleaker. She was born and raised on the beautiful island of Jersey, CI, and lives with two males and a dog.

 You can follow Jane here: Instagram |  Facebook  |  Twitter 

Book links:  Amazon UK |   Amazon US

 

Thanks to Jane Harvey and Rachel of Rachel's Random Resources for a copy of the book and a place on the tour.

 Check out the rest of the tour


 


 

 

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