Book Review - Christmas at Lobster Bay by Annie Robertson

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Title: Christmas at Lobster Bay

Author: Annie Robertson

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Welbeck

Publication Date: 4th November 2021

Rating: 5 Stars

When Emma and Aidan decide to expand The Guesthouse at Lobster Bay, Emma feels certain it's the project she needs to develop her beautiful retreat, and to keep her and Aidan together.

She has three months to complete the project before her guests arrive for a sumptuous Christmas break. But unforeseen problems soon turn her and her loved ones into festive humbugs.

Unexpected structural problems, the arrival of a long-term guest, and an errant puppy who is determined to chew her way through every piece of pipe and furniture, push Emma and Aidan to their limit, and it's not long before cracks begin to show in their relationship.

Determined not to give up, Emma pushes on. But when a winter storm blows in, work grinds to a halt, pushing Emma and Aidan to the brink.

As Emma battles to keep her dream alive, will it be at the expense of her relationship? And will she eventually, with the help of her friends, finish the house and welcome her guests, with carolling and good cheer, to Christmas at Lobster Bay?

It is always a sheer pleasure when I'm able to sit and read two books in a series back to back, and in about a day each, which was the case with The Guesthouse at Lobster Bay (book 1) and Christmas at Lobster Bay. 

Set about 18 months after the end of the first book, this can easily work as a standalone, and I was delighted to be back with Emma, Aiden and Wilbur. 

Emma though is starting to feel the need for a new challenge but given the way everything progressed she and I both wondered if she had bitten off more than she could cope with , between expanding the guest house,  planning an epic 3 day Christmas break for her guests,  and somehow being persuaded to take on a puppy too. 

Add in Rhona being pregnant but having relationship issues, her eldest daughter clearly hiding things, the new lodger in the guest house perhaps being better looking and more available to Emma than Aiden is, and literally nothing running smoothly and this is an action packed book that I couldn't get enough of. 

There are moments of high drama, trips to the emergency room for various things, being on the verge of tears and one rather touching and emotional point, not to mention cutting comments from Emma's sister who I really dislike, and some "interesting" decisions being made. 

And the discussions about the menus between Emma, and Peggy are fabulous, as Emma wants things modernised while Peggy seems stuck in the 80s with her taste in food, and her bafflement over slightly more modern cuisines and presentations! 

This is action packed, and completely addictive to read, I was loving it whenever I was between the pages and back in Lobster Bay with all the regulars, plus a couple of new faces.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book and really hope it isn't the last we see of these characters and location. 

Thank you to Welbeck and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily,