The Christmas Village
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4.4 • 7 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
USA Today bestselling author Annie Rains returns to Somerset Lake, North Carolina, with a heartwarming Christmas story about a midwife and her ex-fiance who face high stakes when they must team up to compete in the neighborhood house decorating contest, in this trade paperback that will help get readers in the holiday spirit.
Once upon a Christmas, she gave him her heart. This year, he'll have to win it back again . . .
When Lucy Hannigan returned to her childhood home in Somerset Lake, one of the first things she did was join the local book club. And thank goodness, because now that Lucy’s first Christmas without her mother is bearing down upon her, she can use all the help and support she can get. Especially when she has to take in a tenant and the only person interested is Miles Bruno, her ex-fiance.
Lucy’s friends keep teasing her about the way Miles is trying to make up for his mistakes but forgiving and forgetting isn’t coming easily to Lucy. With bills piling up and her mother’s finances in disarray, however, Lucy isn’t in any position to say no.
As the small town prepares for the holidays and competition heats up in the Merriest Lawn decorating contest, Lucy can’t help feeling like a Scrooge. Her mom loved the holidays and won the contest each year, but as much as Lucy would like to carry on the tradition, she isn’t sure she has it in her to deck the halls this holiday.
Yet when Miles shows up with tons of tinsel, dozens of decorations, and lots and lots of lights, Lucy begins to wonder if maybe the spirit of the season will finally mend her broken heart.
Customer Reviews
3.25star-cute and engaging
3.25 stars-THE CHRISTMAS VILLAGE is the second instalment in Annie Rains contemporary, adult SOMERSET LAKE sweet romance series-a spin off from the the author’s SWEETWATER SPRINGS series. This is Sheriff Miles Bruno, and midwife/nurse Lucy Hannigan’s story line. THE CHRISTMAS VILLAGE can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story line is revealed where necessary.
Told from dual third person perspectives (Miles and Lucy) THE CHRISTMAS VILLAGE follows the rebuilding romance and relationship between Sheriff Miles Bruno, and midwife/nurse Lucy Hannigan. Ten years earlier, couple Miles and Lucy had their entire future ahead of them but Miles broke Lucy’s heart, and in the interim watched as Lucy lost the people she loved. Fast forward to present day wherein Lucy finds herself in financial trouble following the death of her mother, and the numerous unpaid bills that are due before the end of the year. Meanwhile, Sheriff Miles Bruno is about to be homeless, and his only option is to rent an apartment from the woman he once loved bringing him up close and personal with memories from the past. With the approach of the Christmas holidays, Miles offers to help Lucy set up the Hannigan annual Christmas display, a display that Lucy is hoping to enter in the Somerset Lake holiday contest but all is not well in the small town of Somerset Lake, as a vandal has set their sights on the destruction of holiday cheer. What ensues is the second chance romance and relationship between Lucy and Miles, and the potential fall-out as Lucy is unable to let go of the past, taking her frustrations and anger out on the man she still loves.
The relationship between Lucy and Miles is one of second chances; a rekindling romance between two people torn apart by betrayal, ego, heart break and perception. While Miles reconsiders everything that happened in the past, Lucy is unable to move forward. There are no $ex scenes; the romance is limited.
There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters many of whom refuse to leave well enough alone. The small-town mentality and nosy ‘butinskies’ threaten to destroy a relationship that is already struggling with too many painful reminders.
THE CHRISTMAS VILLAGE is a story of love, loss and second chances. The premise is cute and engaging; the characters are animated; the romance is mostly implied