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 circumstances – and Ginny is in for a shock when she discovers she and Rhys share an unexpected connection.

Between Winter Solstice and Twelfth Night, and with the help of Rhys, can Ginny unlock her past and make this Christmas her happiest one yet?

Romantic, touching and absolutely delightful’ - Milly Johnson

'Trademark Trisha, at her absolute finest!' - Heidi Swain

'An absorbing treat' - Sue Moorcroft

'A wonderfully intriguing read' - Jo Thomas

'The perfect escape from real life' - Debbie Johnson

 My Thoughts

You are invested in the characters from the beginning in this great festive read. There are plenty of references to writing and books in this story set on an artists and writer's retreat and Claire's reactions to the other writers illuminates the text. Her relationship with her unconventional mother is complicated and far from straightforward.

    Running through the story is the tale of writers and artists from earlier generations and this is partly why Claire agrees to attend. She has been living a solitary life up to this and finds the company and the friends she makes exhausting but stimulating. It is as if she is waking up. The mystery of previous relations provides  an added interest but it is Claire's relations with Rhys and his daughter which takes her by surprise. With second chances looming and secrets from the past to be uncovered, this is a delightful read with a festive flavour and plenty of characters to entertain.

In short: a new future beckons 

About the Author

Trisha Ashley's Sunday Times bestselling novels have sold over one million copies in the UK and have twice been shortlisted for the Melissa Nathan award for Romantic Comedy. Every Woman for Herself was nominated by magazine readers as one of the top three romantic novels in the last fifty years.

 

Her novel The Wedding Dress Repair Shop won the RNA award for Popular Romantic Fiction.

Thanks to Tricia Ashley, Bantam Press and Anne Cater of Random Things Tours  for a copy of the book and a place on the tour.

Check out these great bloggers!