The Christmas Escape by Sarah Morgan

09 Dec The Christmas Escape by Sarah Morgan

Posted at 10:20 in Best-selling Author, Christmas, Popular Fiction, Romance by Karen Byrom 0 Comments

Walk into a winter wonderland
*****

I like books that take me away from the everyday at Christmas-time, and best-selling author Sarah Morgan always obliges. So far I’ve spent Christmas in the Scottish Highlands, New York and the US’s snowy ski slopes with her wonderful stories and characters – where will she take me this time, I wonder?

Hurrah! We’re off to snowy Lapland, with a story that offers insight into the pitfalls and perils of friendship, family dynamics and romantic relationships.

What could be more Christmassy?

Heroine Alix always warned her best friend Christy that her husband Seb wouldn’t be reliable – and now it looks as if she’s been proved right.

Just as the couple with their little daughter are off to Lapland to meet Christy’s long-estranged aunt Robyn, Christy decides to stay behind so she and Seb can sort out their problems, leaving committed career woman Alix to take 5-year-old Holly on the seasonal holiday.

But Alix won’t have sole responsibilty – Seb’s best friend Zak will be there, too. And she and Zak have history!

As they build snowmen, chop down Christmas trees, enjoy dog sleigh rides and watch for the northern lights, will Alix finally face her fears about relationships? Can she and Christy repair their friendship? And will aunt Robyn finally spill the secrets of her own past?

I really enjoyed this multi-layered story – the characters are all strong and honest with themselves, if not with each other, which makes them very empathetic.

The conflict between the different parties was generally convincing, and little Holly lightened the mood whenever the narrative threatened to get a bit too navel-gazing.

I found Zak a little arrogant, but, hey, a hero has to have one flaw, and he makes up for it in many other ways – a real bit of hot stuff in chilly Lapland!

The Christmas Escape by Sarah Morgan is published by HQ in paperback and ebook