Stevie‘s review of The Christmas Escape by Sarah Morgan
Contemporary Holiday Romance published by HQN Books 26 Oct 21
For some reason I associate Sarah Morgan with holiday romance, even though it seems she’s written far more other books than those falling into that subgenre. That being said, it was way past time I tried one of her Christmas novels. Plus, the blurb for this particular new release appealed to me, both in terms of the setting and the brief character glimpses it gives us. Christy and Alix have been friends forever, even though their lives have taken very different paths, with Christy now living in a dilapidated country cottage with her husband and small child and Alix happily free and single with a high-flying international career and a fancy London apartment. Now they’re planning a family holiday together, staying at the Lapland resort run by Christy’s estranged aunt and her partner. Things start to go wrong before they even set off, however.
Christy discovers that her husband, Seb, has been keeping a secret from her and really needs her support to deal with the issues he’s been hiding. Her solution is to pack her daughter and Alix off ahead of them, accompanied by Seb‘s best friend, Zac. Christy knows that Alix and Zac have had disagreements in the past, but believes they can overcome these through their shared love of Christy’s daughter. Alix is not pleased to be asked to babysit at the last minute and even less pleased that Zac is coming on holiday with them. Their history is far more complex than Christy suspects. Meanwhile, Christy’s aunt is disappointed not to have as much time with her niece as she’d hoped, but quickly adapts to having plenty of time with her other guests, laying on activities she expects her great-niece to enjoy and giving the two adults the alone time she thinks they will also need – mistaking them for a couple.
Needless to say, Zac and Alix grow closer and start to work through their issues, while Christy and Seb figure out theirs. Sadly, we don’t see nearly enough of the older couple and get no real insights into what any of the men are thinking. On the other hand, we do see plenty of female friendship moments, both between Christy and Alix in the present and in the flashbacks to their growing up together. I also enjoyed finding out about the relationship between Christy’s mother and aunt and the childhood problems that eventually caused such close sisters to never speak to each other again.
Overall, though, the book was a bit of a disappointment. I found it difficult to believe that Christy had no knowledge of her husband’s professional issues, given that she was running a business as a freelancer and should have been on top of both her own and their joint finances. The big problems in their marriage come down to communication and could have been solved by one of them just asking the other more about what they’d been doing in their working day. Not an author I’ll be revisiting any time soon.
Grade: C
Summary:
It was supposed to be Christy Sullivan’s perfect Christmas getaway—a trip to Lapland with her family and best friend, Alix. But facing a make-or-break marriage crisis, Christy desperately needs time alone with her husband. Her solution? Alix can take Christy’s little daughter to Lapland, and they will reunite there for Christmas Day. It’s a big ask, but what else are friends for?
There’s nothing Alix won’t do for Christy. But Christy’s request to save Christmas is giving Alix sleepless nights. She knows something is wrong, but for the first time ever, Christy isn’t talking. And even the Arctic temperatures in Lapland aren’t enough to dampen the seriously inconvenient sizzle Alix is developing for Zac, a fellow guest and nemesis from her past.
As secrets unravel and unexpected romance shines under the northern lights, can Christy and Alix’s Christmas escape give them the courage to fight for the relationships they really want, and save the precious gift of each other’s friendship?
Read an excerpt.
