The rest of the Martland family are delightful. This is a romantic comedy so we know where the relationship is headed but it’s a lot of fun seeing how these two people who have been hurt in love, get over their mutual antipathy & become friends. Their spiky, bad-tempered conversations are a delight. Holly & Jude get off to a bad start with grumpy trans-Atlantic phone calls that cut out with the bad reception. Holly doesn’t bargain on the rest of the family & the weather conspiring to revive her Christmas spirit. Holly takes over from Jude’s regular house sitters at the last moment to look after the house, Merlin a gorgeous old lurcher, Lady, an ancient horse & Billy the goat. Jude Martland is in the US, avoiding Christmas at his family home, Old Place, after his brother ran off with his fiancée last year. This year, the job she had lined up in the Scottish Highlands falls through & she takes on a last minute emergency post in Lancashire. She caters for posh house parties most of the year but during winter, is a house sitter, choosing the most remote locations possible. He fell through the ice trying to rescue a dog. Then, eight years ago, Alan died just before Christmas. Holly married Alan & discovered the joy of Christmas trees, paper chains & silly games. She was brought up by Strange Baptist grandparents who were kind & loving but didn’t do the secular side of Christmas. Her mother died at Christmas giving birth to her.
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