Tuesday 25 October 2016

Book Review - Christmas Under A Starlit Sky by Holly Martin - Blog Tour

Amazon UK
Title: Christmas Under A Starlit Sky
Author: Holly Martin
Format reviewed: Ebook
Source: Netgalley
Publisher: Bookouture
Publication Date: 19th October 2016
Rating: 5 Stars


Step inside a beautiful winter wonderland where love, laughter and cosy nights by the fire will make this Christmas one to remember. 

Neve Whitaker loves managing the Stardust Lake hotel. She gets to work alongside her wonderful family and she’s spending Christmas on the most enchanting, snow-covered island in Scotland. So why is her heart so heavy this festive season? 

It might have something to do with the gorgeous actor Oakley Rey, the man she finished with before he left for California and the man she loves more than anything. With Oakley’s career in Hollywood soaring, Neve is convinced she’d only hold him back. She had to end it with him – at least that’s what she keeps telling herself. 

But now she has a secret she’s struggling to keep, and when Oakley arrives on Juniper Island determined to win her back, Neve is thrown off balance. Will Neve’s fear of having her heart broken again push Oakley away for good, or is it time for her to take a leap of faith? 

What a wonderful second book in the Town Called Christmas series, it has just the right mix of full on Christmas feeling, lots of drama, many ups and downs, has made me cry and above all has fabulous conclusion too, wrapping up many storylines from both this and the first book. 

I had been looking forward to starting Christmas Under a Starlit Sky, pretty much seconds after finishing Christmas Under a Cranberry Sky, as I really didn't want to stop reading about the picturesque Juniper Island, the truly magical and festive setting Holly Martin has created for these books. 

If you are looking for a pair of beautiful romances, which don't go particularly smoothly then Christmas Under A Starlit Sky is definitely a book to read. We have Neve's relationship with Oakley to sort out, and Neve has a surprise for him, that may not go too well. There is also Adam who meets one of the villagers and there is a clear spark. but will they be able to get over what Ivy's not telling him. 

And even Luke, the oldest of the Whitaker siblings is having his heart turned by a woman, which although we don't see it in any details, there are just hints here and there, so its great to see that he is affected by the magic of The Merry Dancers (Northern Lights) as they appear on Juniper Island. 

One of my favourite moments, was Neve's riding lesson with young Poppy. Poppy used to love riding until a tragic accident left her without legs. Neve's secret dream is to teach horse riding to paraplegics and quadriplegics, and has a horse ready just for this sort of thing. It was such a touching moment, and coming on the back of having watched the Paralympics, I have a bit of a fascination with just how inspirational these sorts of things can be.  The whole session was dealt with sensitively, and couldn't help but make me smile.  In fact its a bit of a shame there wasn't more of this in the book, as I think it could be a great basis for a story itself. 

Easily the biggest laughs of the book is the explanation Oakley gives, in answer to 4 year old, Wren's question about baby's origins! I'm not going to give away just how the explanation goes, nor why it came up in conversation, but its a must read section.

Even Christmas day is not without its drama on Juniper Island, and the whole book is just filled with action, many characters and a whole lot of love. I loved my return to this fantabulous setting, and really really hope we haven't seen the last of it. 

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Bookouture for this review copy. This was my honest review. 


1 comment:

  1. I've got the Cranberry Sky one on my Kindle waiting TBR so I hope I enjoy it as much as you!

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...