Author: The Christmas We Met
Author: Kate Lord Brown
Series: N/A
Format: Digital ARC, 416 pages
Publication Details: October 22nd 2015 by Orion
Genre(s): Romance; Holiday; Mystery
Disclosure? Yep! I received an advance copy in exchange for an HONEST review.
A gorgeous winter tale about the secrets revealed by a collection of family jewels.
A talented young jewelry designer fights to rebuild her life and family by solving the mystery surrounding a diamond brooch given to her by her grandmother.
When Grace Manners takes up residence on the Wittering Manor estate in Sussex, she little realizes working alongside eccentric Fraser Stratton will change her life.
Since her husband disappeared, along with most of their money, Grace has struggled to make ends meet and the little cottage on the estate is both a refuge and a workshop for her jewelry business. It’s only when Grace begins to uncover the story behind a beautiful diamond brooch she inherited that she becomes drawn into a family secret that threatens to destroy what little she has left…
Review
The Christmas We Met is the story of Grace who has lost everything. Her husband destroyed her jewellry company, building up crippling debts and then disappeared, leaving a note that suggested suicide.
Grace and her daughter, end up moving into a cottage on the Wittering Estate, after Grace lands a job as a receptionist/typist/personal assistant to eccentric Fraser, head of the manor, who wants help writing his memoirs.
Seeing as Grace is a talented jeweller, the job reinforces what she has lost, but will also give her the chance to solve a mystery, and feel part of a family once more.
I really enjoyed The Christmas We Met. It was a quick, light, read, with an interesting mystery and a cute romance. And it had all the secrets and lies one needs for a bumpy, yet compelling family drama.
The main reason why I’ve only given it 3/5 is because it just wasn’t Christmassy enough. Only the first and last scenes were really festive and wintry, but I was expecting this throughout. I wouldn’t really class it as a festive read, which is what I was hankering for. It was also fairly predictable.
The Christmas We Met is a heart-warming romance and a light-hearted mystery set in a beautiful manor teeming with secrets, only the lack of festiveness let it down for me.
