Harri (Harriet or Hairy as her stepbrothers affectionately call her) Hall is on her way to her family ancestral home, The Hall. She has been living in Australia for the past two years with her boyfriend, Art. Art has had the idea of the two families spending Christmas together as he wants to ask her father "a question". Convinced Art is about to propose, Harri has come ahead of Art to prepare for the celebrations. Yet although stately in name, The Hall is far from this in nature and Harri is shocked to see that the house is more dilapidated than she remembers. On her return, Harri is introduced to the enigmatic builder Lance Knightly, who has befriended the family in Harri's absence and who offers to help make The Hall look more habitable. Indeed, Knightly is perhaps a fitting surname for him as he chivalrously attends to the repairs knowing that the family are not exactly flush with cash; using his connections to find free material or cheap prices for the work. As the family and Lance pull together to attend to the home, Harri finds herself drawn towards the dark-haired, handsome stranger. When Art and his family unexpectedly arrive ahead of schedule, the Christmas which Harri anticipated is definitely not the one she ends up having and she finds out that someone you think you know, is not always what they seem ...
I loved this book - it was fresh, witty and well written. The story just flowed and it had so many magical elements to it, perfect for Christmas. The characters were so endearing, particularly Harri's family who were by turns eccentric and quirky. It had a real twist to the tale and I would highly recommend it.
(LP)
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