Christmas at Conwenna Cove by Darcie Boleyn

source: free review copy via Net Galley
title: Christmas at Conwenna Cove
author: Darcie Boleyn
published: Oct 2017
first line: “What on earth is that?”
genre: contemporary holiday small town romance
rated: 4 out of 5 stars for sweet holiday romance

 

blurb:
Pack your bags for a festive trip to Conwenna Cove, just in time for Christmas…
When Grace Phillips travels to Conwenna Cove to help her parents move there, 30 years after their honeymoon in the village, she sees why they fell in love with the place. The festive decorations, carols in the air and constant supply of delicious mince pies certainly make it hard to leave. Will the rude and abrupt local vet Oli Davenport soften up and give Grace more of a reason to stay?

It’s been two years since Oli lost his wife to cancer. He loves his eleven-year-old Amy and five-year-old Tom more than anything, and his world revolves around being both mum and dad to his children. He has no interest in romance until he crosses paths with beautiful and kind-hearted Grace. The sparks fly but both Oli and Grace are holding onto the fear of letting someone into their heart.

As the snow falls and Christmas wishes come true can Conwenna Cove work its magic and help Grace and Oli find the happiness they both deserve?

my thoughts:
This is the time of year when I’m already getting into the Christmas spirit and Christmas at Conwenna Cove was the perfect read to start off the holiday season. I read this one as part of Kim’s Ho Ho Ho Read a Thon last week and I really enjoyed it.

Set in the small Cornish village of Conwenna Cove, the story centers around a writer named Grace Phillips who is helping her parents move there. While in Conwenna, Grace meets Oli Davenport who is the local veterinarian. He is a widower and a single father of two young children whose wife passed a way from cancer two years ago. Oli resembles Tom Hardy so *insert heart and flames emojis here*.

When the two first meet Oli initially seems stand offish but as the story flows and they get to know each other the magic happens. Oli is still mourning the loss of his wife and Grace has never gotten over losing her brother Sam, so the two of them share a connection over the loss of a loved one. Grace gets to know Oli’s two children, who were adorable by the way, and the interactions with the kids made me smile. I liked both Grace and Oli and that there were stray animals being rescued in the storyline was a plus. This is part two in the Conwenna Cove books, but it reads perfectly as a stand alone.

Author Darcie Boleyn writes small town life nicely, I felt like I was visiting Conwenna and I’d love to go back. She creates characters you can care about and this is a cozy small town holiday romance to be enjoyed. The goodies that they were eating and drinking set the mood just right as well.

The lights on the tree in the corner of the cafe twinkled softly like randomly strewn diamonds on the thick spiky branches. Frank Sinatra crooned about Christmas from the radio on the counter and the sounds of people enjoying the last Saturday morning before Christmas soothed her…” 76% Kindle, Christmas at Conwenna Cove by Darcie Boleyn

Christmas at Conwenna Cove is perfectly sweet romance that put a smile on my face and even had me tearing up towards the end. I was also inspired to crochet a few Christmas ornaments when I was finished reading. I recommend this one if you enjoy nice Christmas romance, small town settings and second chances. I feel like this one needs to be made into one of those Hallmark channel holiday movies 🙂

about the author:
Darcie Boleyn has a huge heart and is a real softy. She never fails to cry at books and movies, whether the ending is happy or not. Darcie is in possession of an overactive imagination that often keeps her awake at night. Her childhood dream was to become a Jedi but she hasn’t yet found suitable transport to take her to a galaxy far, far away. She also has reservations about how she’d look in a gold bikini, as she rather enjoys red wine, cheese and loves anything with ginger or cherries in it – especially chocolate. Darcie fell in love in New York, got married in the snow, rescues uncoordinated greyhounds and can usually be found reading or typing away on her laptop.-quoted from amazon.

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Disclaimer: This review is my honest opinion. I did not receive any kind of compensation for reading and reviewing this book. I am under no obligation to write a positive review. I received a free review copy of Christmas at Conwenna Cove via Net Galley.