Gayle Mitchell is the head of Mitchell Associates and is the leading expert on organizational change as well as a fierce advocate for women in business. She appears to have it all but when a freak accident happens and her oldest daughter is contacted, what’s missing in her life comes to light. She hasn’t seen or spoken to her daughters, Samantha and Ella, in five years following a major blowup. It’s Christmas season, one her daughters love and embrace but a time in the year Gayle most dislikes. Samantha and Ella are very close and always celebrated Christmas together. Samantha owns a specialized vacation planning service and had planned to visit an estate in the Scottish Highlands to evaluate the property. Circumstances evolve that have all three women, including Ella’s husband and 5-year old daughter, making the trip together.
These were three very interesting women and I was intrigued to learn what fractured the daughters from their mother. We learn a lot about Gayle from the outset so I had a clue but her behavior was so outrageously callous I knew there had to have been some big event that shaped her thinking. What made her a successful businesswoman shattered her relationships with Samantha and Ella. The estate in Scotland was a lovely and charming setting to fuse the warmth of the holiday setting and a second chance for Gayle to connect with her daughters. And, Brodie McIntyre, the handsome estate owner provides an element of romance to the story.
I was looking for a heartwarming story with a little weight to it and this delivered everything I was hoping to find to begin my seasonal reading. Each of the women brought their own issues to the mix and finding their way back to each other wasn’t easy. The setting was a perfect backdrop and Gayle’s revelations about her past were surprising. I listened to the story and while I liked the narrator, she never made a distinction between the three women’s voices, often making it difficult to know which was whom. Her Scottish lilt for those characters was wonderful though and she’s a good storyteller. I enjoyed this story and particularly liked the humorous elements. It was the perfect holiday reading choice.
Book Info
- Release Date: October 6, 2020
- Narrator: Lucy Tregear
- Audio Length: 11 hours, 31 minutes
- Publisher: Harlequin Audio
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(Thanks to Harlequin Audio for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.)
Blue Mood Café 
Fab review Jo! Too bad that the narrator not making distinctions between the characters.
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Thanks, Nicki💜 It’s a shame because she was a good storyteller.
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Ooo…no distinction would be difficult. This sounds like a beautiful holiday story, though. Family working through issues just says Christmas. Excellent review, Jo!
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Thank you, Tessa💜 Even though the chapters were separated for each of the three main characters, when they were together in a scene, it was extremely difficult distinguishing one from another. Such a shame because it’s a great story and the narrator had fine storytelling skills.
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Lovely review Jo! 💗
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Thank you, Tammy Sue💜
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I love Sarah Morgan’s books but think I may go the ebook route on this one because the lack of distinction between the character’s voices would frustrate me. Glad to hear the story was excellent aside from that though.
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Suzanne, the eBook version may be better though this wasn’t bad, just moments of difficulty with the lack of distinctions. This was definitely a book that should have used multiple narrators.
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Lovely review, Jonetta! I look forward to Sarah Morgan’s holiday books each year and need to make time for this one. That’s tough when narrators don’t distinguish between characters!
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Thank you, Jennifer💜 I love her stories and normally the audio performance is superb. Despite that issue, she was a wonderful storyteller.
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Wonderful review Jo. I listened to this one last year and had similar thoughts about the story. I will say that I did not enjoy the narrator at all and ended up switching to the ebook. I personally found her voice shrill and agree, there was no distinction between the women. I am glad you enjoyed it.
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