Stevie‘s review of Just for Christmas (Poldore #1) by Scarlett Bailey
Contemporary Holiday Romance published by Ebury Press 07 Nov 13
I heard the author read from this book at the Festival of Romance, ’round about the time it was first published, and always regretted buying the eBook rather than a print copy. So, when I stumbled across a physical version in a charity shop, it seemed like the perfect incentive for a reread, even in the summer. Although the story takes place over the Christmas holiday period, its main themes around people getting back together with their families and friends – or finding reasons not to – are also very fitting right now as restrictions seem to be easing for the long-term in some parts of the UK. We can still do with some hefty doses of humour, under the current circumstances, and this book supplies plenty of that, as well as an engaging protagonist in the form of Alex Munro.
Raised single-handedly by her father from an early age, and then following him into a male-dominated profession, Alex has always played down her gender and sexuality to be ‘one of the lads’. When she realises that she’s in love with her childhood best friend, but that he will never feel the same way, and immediately afterwards discovers that her father has lied to her about why his marriage ended, she feels that her whole world is falling apart. Unable to face dealing with either of the men on a day-to-day basis, Alex leaves her job in the busy port of Grangemouth on the east coast of Scotland to take up the post of harbour master in a sleepy Cornish village.
Once there, Alex learns that her tied accommodation comes with a resident dog and that none of the locals were expecting a woman to do her job. In spite of the latter, she quickly makes friends with most of the villagers and is recruited into the annual pageant in a starring role. Intrigue abounds amongst the inhabitants of Alex’s new home, not least around the man she begins to fall for, Ruan Thorne, who lives in a converted lighthouse and runs the local tourist boat business. Ruan is cast opposite Alex in the pageant, just to further complicate matters, and is still grieving his fiancée, who was lost at sea, while also fretting over the exploits of his younger sister, who longs for stardom and success beyond Cornwall.
This story was a lot of fun, especially as Alex’s life got ever more complicated by the arrival of a succession of unexpected visitors, not all of them welcome, or helpful to her attempts at moving on from her life-altering discoveries. I really appreciated the inclusion of a trans* secondary character, but was disappointed that we didn’t get to see more of how their romance with a minor character played out. All in all, though, I’m keeping my eye out for the other novel in this setting.
Grade: B
Summary:
When Alex Munro learns that the love of her life is getting married to another girl, all she wants is to be alone – and as far away from Edinburgh as possible.
Moving to a Cornish cottage, which comes complete with the world’s scruffiest dog, Alex finds that her new neighbours are determined to involve her in their madcap Christmas festivities.
Then she meets her sexy neighbour Ruan – and somehow Alex doesn’t want to be alone this Christmas after all. But having lost one fiancé, Ruan has no intention of letting anyone get close to him again…
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