In the winter months of the year, there is nothing quite as cosy as snuggling up under a warm blanket with a good book. However, when you’re reading a novel set in the sunny south of France, it does get a little difficult to stay in the cosy, festive spirit. At the end of November, I explained this trouble to my mum and she quickly rectified my issue by handing me this novel: Twelve Days of Christmas. It came with her highest recommendation of an easy yet enjoyable read and promised all of the cosy Christmas vibes that I was after. So, for the past month I’ve put F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Tender Is The Night on the back burner and I’ve temporarily replaced it with this festive read by Trisha Ashley. So far, I think this novel is absolutely charming and today I thought I’d share it here on the blog as part of Blogmas!
The plot line of this novel follows the life of a woman called Holly; a young, childless widow who (without spoiling anything) has very little reason to enjoy the festive season each year. With an aversion to Christmas and all of the merriment that accompanies it, every year she attempts to spend the holidays away from home by taking on housesitting jobs elsewhere. On this particular Christmas, Holly accepts a job looking after a house on the remote Lancashire moors which is owned by Jude Martland: a young man who also has an aversion to the festive season. Although Holly thinks she has a perfectly isolated Christmas ahead of her alone in the remote house on the moors, things do not always go to plan…
I should admit that I thought a book with a story line centred around Christmas might be a bit overwhelmingly cheesy. However, much to my surprise, this story isn’t actually as sickly sweet as I expected. Additionally, although this is not a difficult read in itself, the author has managed to introduced me to a few new bits of interesting vocabulary (I love it when a book does this) that I am now obsessively trying to use at every possible opportunity in day-to-day life (does anyone else do this when they discover a new word, or is that just me?). My favourite new word so far is definitely ‘miasma’; am I alone in my ignorance or is that an odd, new word to you too? All in all, I am very impressed thus far, so if you or someone you know is looking for a Christmassy read this year, I fully recommend picking up this story and giving it a go!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this post and that it’s made you want to get cosy with a good book this Christmas. What are you reading currently? Thank you for stopping by on my blog today!
Lots of love, Alissa
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