Date of Reading: 05/12/2019
Author: Sue Moorcroft
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: September 26, 2019
Source: NetGalley
Rating: 3/5
About the book:
This Christmas, the villagers of Middledip are off on a very Swiss adventure…
Family means everything to Lily and Zinnia Cortez and, growing up in their non-conventional family unit, they and their two mums couldn’t have been closer.
So it’s a bolt out of the blue when Lily finds her father wasn’t the anonymous one-night stand she’s always believed. She is, in fact, the result of her mum's reckless affair with a married man.
Confused, but determined to discover her true roots, Lily sets out to find the the family she’s never known – an adventure that takes her from the frosted, thatched cottages of Middledip to the snow-capped mountains of Switzerland, via a Christmas market or two along the way…
Family means everything to Lily and Zinnia Cortez and, growing up in their non-conventional family unit, they and their two mums couldn’t have been closer.
So it’s a bolt out of the blue when Lily finds her father wasn’t the anonymous one-night stand she’s always believed. She is, in fact, the result of her mum's reckless affair with a married man.
Confused, but determined to discover her true roots, Lily sets out to find the the family she’s never known – an adventure that takes her from the frosted, thatched cottages of Middledip to the snow-capped mountains of Switzerland, via a Christmas market or two along the way…
Review:
This book left me confused for a bit. The narrative sounded more like a travelogue than a novel. As a matter of fact, I enjoyed the travelling part great deal than the story wrapped around it.'Let it Snow' stroked in me the fire to travel which had been dulled for some time now. Through Moorcroft's efficient writing Scotland with all its pristine beauty and festival traditions has come alive and I was rather tempted to book a ticket right away. Well, that is part of my bucket list now.
Now to the story. Lily and Zinnia are part of a homosexual family unit and now Lily has found out the identity of her father with whom her mother had an affair only for getting pregnant. Yes, this sounds flat even to my ears and surely her partner is not that forgiving. But they have weathered this storm somehow and now Lily wants to meet the rest of her biological family including her two brothers. She takes a job as the serving staff in the pub operated by one of her half brothers, Tubb. But even after two years, she is not confident enough to reveal who she really is. And that is taking its toll on everyone.
Zinnia, her sister, accuses her of not being happy with their family and regretfully I agree with her. What is the need to tarnish another man's memory by bringing up this affair now? Especially when he is thought to be a besotting father. However Lily argues her case, I partly blame her for the fractures inside her first family. And that has ruined the romance for me. I am no expert in the complexities of human emotions and therefore don't want to judge Lily's motives. Still, I can't help feeling let down. Does the author intend to convey the incompleteness of homosexual families?
Meet the author:
Sue has won the Best Romantic Read Award, been nominated for a RoNA and is a Katie Fforde Bursary winner. She also writes short stories, serials, articles, columns, courses and writing 'how to'.
Now to the story. Lily and Zinnia are part of a homosexual family unit and now Lily has found out the identity of her father with whom her mother had an affair only for getting pregnant. Yes, this sounds flat even to my ears and surely her partner is not that forgiving. But they have weathered this storm somehow and now Lily wants to meet the rest of her biological family including her two brothers. She takes a job as the serving staff in the pub operated by one of her half brothers, Tubb. But even after two years, she is not confident enough to reveal who she really is. And that is taking its toll on everyone.
Zinnia, her sister, accuses her of not being happy with their family and regretfully I agree with her. What is the need to tarnish another man's memory by bringing up this affair now? Especially when he is thought to be a besotting father. However Lily argues her case, I partly blame her for the fractures inside her first family. And that has ruined the romance for me. I am no expert in the complexities of human emotions and therefore don't want to judge Lily's motives. Still, I can't help feeling let down. Does the author intend to convey the incompleteness of homosexual families?
Meet the author:
Sue Moorcroft is a
Sunday Times bestselling author and has held the coveted #1 spot in the
Amazon Kindle chart. She's also a bestseller in Germany. She writes women's contemporary fiction with sometimes unexpected themes.
Sue has won the Best Romantic Read Award, been nominated for a RoNA and is a Katie Fforde Bursary winner. She also writes short stories, serials, articles, columns, courses and writing 'how to'.
An army child, Sue was born in Germany then lived in Cyprus, Malta and the UK. She's worked in a bank, as a bookkeeper (probably a mistake), as a copy taker for Motor Cycle News and for a typesetter, but is pleased to have wriggled out of all 'proper jobs'.
It stinks when a book lets you down.
ReplyDeleteNot good when a book makes you feel this way. Great review.
ReplyDeleteI have mixed feelings when an author leaves me conflicted - the storylines do make me think and consider the issues, but it is also extremely annoying.
ReplyDelete