The Holiday Cottage by Sarah Morgan @sarahmorganwrites @thatbritishactress @harlequin_audio #TheHolidayCottage

the setup…
Imogen Thorne is a client representative for an event management company in London. It’s her life, literally, and she excels. But to her work colleagues, she presents a false picture of her world outside of the office…a golden retriever named Midas, a family complete with uncles and cousins, holidays with lots of traditions. The truth is her only relative is an alcoholic mother who wants nothing to do with her and there’s no dog. It all comes crashing around her when her boss recognizes her workaholic ways and sidelines her for a month, not knowing Imogen has nowhere to be outside of the job. But then her favorite client, Dorothy Rutherford, invites her to come stay at her guest house on her estate in the Cotswolds while they continue developing their project. Little does Imogen know that this will be a life changing moment.

the heart of the story…
It’s a more somber theme but still perfect for the season. Imogen’s life is so barren and empty that I wanted to reach out and give her a hug. I also knew that Dorothy was carrying painful baggage from the past and her daughter Sara was trying to protect her. Somehow Imogen was involved either directly or as a trigger. The setting was a major element of the story, a lovely illustration of Christmas in the Cotswolds.

the narration…
Henrietta Meire made me feel the emotions of the characters. From Imogen and Dorothy to the wacky and lovable work colleagues. She made this a wonderful listening experience.

the bottom line…
Despite the sadness of Imogen’s circumstances, the sense of promise that there would be light somewhere in her future was always there. The stunning revelations were quite a surprise and there’s a handsome veterinarian who provides a bit of romance. I enjoy holiday stories but so much more when they have the kind of emotional depth like this one.

Book Info

• Release Date: September 24, 2024 (aka The Christmas Cottage)
• Narrator: Henrietta Meire
• Audio Length: 10 hours, 6 minutes
• Publisher: Harlequin Audio

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