Christmas :: Christmas at the Little Cottage on the Hill :: Emma Davies

Arriving at the cosy little rental cottage as the first snow begins to fall, Ruby doesn’t regret leaving her bully of a husband for a moment, but she does feel guilty about uprooting her kids so close to Christmas. She can only wish that one day soon her son Jem will forgive her.

It’s not long before the family are settled in and drinking hot chocolate by the fire, the flames kept roaring by a neighbouring woodsman called Angus. As big as a tree, but as gentle as a dormouse, all Ruby’s instincts tell her to be wary of letting this gorgeous stranger get too close. Is that the first tingle of festive magic Ruby can feel? Or might it even be hope?

As Christmas day approaches and a blizzard sparks a power cut across the entire village, Ruby must force herself to believe in Christmas miracles again. 

This was a sweet read! It is the fourth (and final) book in the Little Cottage on the Hill series. We get to learn a bit about the characters Ruby meets, and are given a little peek into pasts that I imagine are elaborated on in the books earlier in the series, but never felt like there was any info dumping. I haven’t read any of the previous books and thought this worked absolutely fine as a stand alone. That said, the characters and feel of this one were so lovely that I’m definitely tempted to go back and read them now!

I think my favourite thing about this one was the lovely community feel it had, both in the rental cottages and the broader village. I loved hearing a bit about the shops that were setting up – baker/crafter with or dreaming of starting a small business is one of my favourite tropes from these sorts of books.
As hinted in the synopsis, there is a bit of discussion of domestic violence in this one – never actually on the page, but it does add a little more seriousness to some parts of the story.

Overall this felt very festive and celebratory. The owners of the rental cottage are planning both a Christmas wedding and a Christmas festival, and I thought worked well. There was also loads of snow and kittens (what more could you want?)!

xo Bron
***

Christmas at the Little Cottage on the Hill by Emma Davies
Out now from Bookouture
Source: Review e-copy provided to me by Bookouture (thank you!) via NetGalley. All views are my own.
Category: Cosy Christmas romance, wedding.

Christmas at the Little Cottage on the Hill on Goodreads.
Find Emma Davies online here.