Synopsis:
Welcome to Wychwood-on-Lea… a not-too-quaint village where frosty evenings, welcoming fires, and second chances will make this a Christmas you’ll never forget.
Anna Vere has escaped to the Cotswolds for Christmas to try to heal from her broken engagement and, far worse, her broken dreams. When her reserved room at a bed & breakfast is flooded, she takes up the offer of camping out in Willoughby Close, the converted stables of the nearby manor house… and is taken under the wing of sexy local carpenter Colin Heath.
What starts out as merely helping a neighbor in need turns into far more as Colin and Anna share a surprisingly intense and emotional connection, weaving their own Christmas magic as they spend the holiday together. But Anna has a secret she’s scared to reveal, something that could destroy the fragile bond they’ve just created, and Colin knows she’s only in England for a short time. Can these two sudden soul mates risk their hearts for a love that has yet to be tried and tested?
Review:
A Cotswold Christmas isn’t the worst festive audiobook I’ve listened to, but it also isn’t the best. The premise sounded very cute and cosy and the cover looks like a classic festive romance.
The writing style was pretty solid and the story was easy to follow when adapted as an audiobook. I don’t know if I’ve ever said this about an audiobook before, but A Cotswold Christmas would have benefitted from being longer. You’re supposed to root for Anna and Colin’s relationship but the one week they spend together as a couple isn’t told in detail. How can you root for a relationship you don’t get to hear anything about? I also found it difficult to think of Colin as a man of Greek god attractiveness when it’s a female narrator trying to put on a deeper voice, making him sound like an old man.
Although saying that, both Anna and Colin were likeable but they definitely had flaws. Colin was very kind, although you know if Anna wasn’t attractive he probably wouldn’t have offered to help her. Anna was all round pretty good but there were certain situations she could have handled better.
This is a silly thing to comment on but why did every single house have an Aga? I’ve never been to the Cotswolds so I can’t know for sure but surely not every house comes with an Aga. I’m not even entirely sure what one is, only after googling it for this review have I realised it’s a brand name. I have seen them before but never in real life and I’ve never seen one used.
Anyway, I think I would have enjoyed A Cotswold Christmas more if it was longer. There wasn’t enough time to develop the characters or their relationships so I found it hard to connect with the story.
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