One More for Christmas

One More for Christmas
Sarah Morgan
Harlequin, 2020
416 pages

From Goodreads: For sisters Samantha and Ella Mitchell, Christmas is their most precious time of the year—a time for togetherness, love and celebration. Most of all, it’s about making up for everything their childhood Christmases lacked. But this year, they’ll be buying presents for the most unexpected guest of all—their estranged mother. It’s been five years since they last saw each other. But when their mom calls out of the blue and promises that this Christmas will be different, Samantha and Ella cautiously agree to spend it all together…

Gayle Mitchell is at the top of her career, but her success has come at a price—her relationship with her daughters. She never seemed to say or do the right things. Her tough-love approach was designed to make them stronger, but instead managed to push them away…until a brush with her own mortality forces Gayle to make amends. As the snowflakes fall on their first family celebration in years, the Mitchell women must learn that sometimes facing up to the past is all you need to heal your heart…

Once upon a time there was an author, who shall remain nameless, who I read every Christmas. Then I discovered some of her personal beliefs were a little unsavory to me and thus a big gap was opened in my holiday reading repertoire.  Entrée Sarah Morgan, who I discovered last year, and who writes a Christmas book every year. Her books more than filled my empty spot because they are even better than aforementioned nameless author's. Morgan's books are romantic, witty, unique, and best of all... her characters are individuals with different personalities. The heroines in each book are not the same (oh, cheap shot at other romance authors.) Morgan has a big back catalog that I'm looking forward to reading over time.

Anyhoo, when One More for Christmas became available to me, I snapped it up. It sat on my Kindle for a couple months and I wish I had read it sooner because it was fantastic. What was refreshing to me was that this book was not simply a romance story, but more of a family story. As Ella and Samantha are reunited with their mother, Gayle, they find the whole family suddenly in Scotland for the holidays. Removed from their every day lives, the family has ample time and space to try and heal past wounds and, what's more, Samantha has time to find a love interest after a disastrously awkward breakup (this plot point alone was worth the read!).

At the same time, the family who owns the Scottish estate where they are staying is also experiencing some growing pains. After the patriarch of the family passes away, mother, brother, and sister, are left to find a way to keep the estate running on ever-shrinking finances. In fact that is why Samantha and her family are there, to check out the place to see if it would appeal to Samantha's boutique travel agency's customers. And oh it does- the setting was gorgeous from the home to the tiny village, from the snow to the reindeer. I'd certainly book a trip there if it were real and in the budget!

While it was refreshing to have the romance come second string, I do wish there had been more since the couple had such great chemistry. I loved that Brodie wasn't your typical buff highlander in a kilt, but rather a nerdy yet handsome guy who was adorable. I cannot overstate how ADORABLE he is.

All in all this was another fantastic Christmas book by Sarah Morgan and I am looking forward to catching up on her past novels while also looking forward to new. If you like a cozy holiday story, this is definitely one for you.