The love story between Libby and Owen is definitely worth reading and the epilogue brings it home for this reader. Home for Christmas can be read as a stand-alone read without having read the previous stories in the series, so you don’t feel lost jumping in the middle of something. Lily Everett is a new author for this reader and I will definitely be returning to Sanctuary Island to read the other stories. ~ Amanda, Guilty Pleasures
Description:
Tis the season for family and love…
At least it’s supposed to be. For Libby Leeds, however, the holiday season is just another reminder of things she’d rather forget. When she left Sanctuary Island as an orphaned child, she never thought she’d go back except in her dreams, dreams she’s kept alive by writing monthly column of her fictional small-town life, until her publisher sends her back home for the holidays.
Owen Shepard is a fallen hero, wounded in action rescuing three of his fellow soldiers, but after a whirlwind of media attention, all this charismatic Army Ranger wants is to get back on his feet and make it to Sanctuary Island to be with his daughter in time for Christmas. What he didn’t expect was to be put on a crash course with a columnist hiding her past. Will the magic of Sanctuary Island at Christmastime allow them to find healing together?
Review copy provided for an honest review
Nothing says Christmas like going home for the holiday to be with family and then it snows.. However it is a little bit more complicated for Libby Leeds, as she is heading home to Sanctuary Island for Christmas after being gone for many years. What started off as a lie out of desperation has turned into a full web of deceit, when she is ultimately blackmailed into hosting a holiday meal for a wounded soldier reuniting with his own family on Sanctuary Island. She writes a food column for a magazine and has used her imagination to embellish family meals, recipes and antidotes, when she doesn’t have one or even know how to cook! She has got a huge learning curve ahead of her but she calls in a huge favor and her family comes to her rescue.
Owen Shepard is a wounded soldier and is meeting his 8 year old daughter for the first time since finding out he had her. The circumstances which brought Caitlin to Sanctuary Island are grim but she is progressing under Andie, Owen’s sister and aunt, and is anxious to meet her father as well. Owen has made the military his life and hopes to recuperate well enough to get him back to combat. Owen’s situation is interesting because the more he’s home and around Caitlin and Libby, he finds that he wants to be a good father and be more than just and friend to Libby.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story and the author’s writing style. The premise of the story was unique and how Libby gets out of the many lies she tells is both heartbreaking and courageous. Libby grows as an individual and keeps Owen on his toes when she expresses her opinion that gives him pause. There were two smaller secondary stories with other characters which brought out the importance of family and honesty. They were both very entertaining and helped the main story along and concluded nicely as well. I love reading Christmas stories and how the holiday bring two well deserving characters together. The love story between Libby and Owen is definitely worth reading and the epilogue brings it home for this reader. Home for Christmas can be read as a stand-alone read without having read the previous stories in the series, so you don’t feel lost jumping in the middle of something. Lily Everett is a new author for this reader and I will definitely be returning to Sanctuary Island to read the other stories.
Thanks Amanda for the review