I received a free ebook of this title, A Cornish Christmas, from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

I should preface this by saying that I am really a sucker for Christmas stories!   This book concerns a pregnant children’s book illustrator/author, who along with her husband has left the big city and bright lights of London behind for quiet country life in Cornwall.  As she continues to work on her books on the desk left to her by her mother, her husband sets out to become a self sustaining farmer, making jams and jellies from rather unlikely vegetables.  The couple have a history of miscarriage and infertility and are almost afraid to hope for a happy outcome of this latest pregnancy.  Throw in Ivy’s rabid mother-in-law and her mother’s ghostly visitations and there is plenty going on here to keep a reader turning the pages.

A charming Christmas ghost story that delivers a message of hope and forgiveness, not only for the holidays but any day!

  Love, love, loved this book!  Lovely setting, charming storyline, a protagonist to root for, and a modern happily ever after.  Just an all round feel good story.

The story revolves around Della, a reliable working mum, who just lost her mother after being her carer during a terminal illness.  Della is that woman.  The one who puts herself last.  She takes care of her husband, her daughter, her home, her mother and pretty much everything else that needs doing.  She goes above and beyond at her little dead end job.  She is caught up in the image of herself from childhood, as not quite enough, so she tries hard and excels at the things she does.  In quick succession, her mother dies, her daughter moves out to go to university and her husband, well…let’s just say his timing showed the “content of his character”.  The 962 cookbooks that Della inherits from her mother spur a change that has been a long time coming.  The end result is the Della that was supposed to be, a new understanding of family, and homey bookshop on Rosemary Lane.

Highly recommended especially for fans of Katie Fforde!  I will definitely be keeping an eye out for new books by Ellen Berry.