A Warfield Christmas

Good news! If you liked the last two books, “Drifting Sands”, “Crashing Waves” or even the third, “Roaring Waters”, you'll be reasonably happy with this brief holiday themed installment. The folks are all here and I do mean everybody.

It's been three years since the last book and Peter, Sally and their daughter Lily are living at Warfield Manor. Peter wants to gather all the near and dear ones around the Christmas hearth and he will get his wish and some extra too but first ... some bumps in the road. It makes sense. Life is full of ups and downs and to be fair that is something this author manages to capture fairly well.

The biggest snag is the rift that has come between our main couple, Justin & Marcus.
Dunno if it would be considered a spoiler to say but here goes: Marcus has asked Justin to marry him and Justin has said no. Knowing these folks from the last books I can't say that I was surprised or even really annoyed. I kind of understood Justin's reticence if not his reasons or the subsequent radio silence. Marcus has decided to stay in Atlanta, effectively bringing about a separation that's going on two months when Christmas rolls around. In the meantime he keeps busy working, and one assignment comes from Daisy Lee Brooks & Robert Brooks who find themselves not only estranged from Alexander, the son they had just recovered, but he also seems to be missing. In the meantime Justin broods, takes long walks on the beach, and cinematically misses Marcus but can't seem to put his ass in gear to get his man back or even call him. Why??? Adulting is hard but our man is 43. sigh

Meanwhile Damien and Robert are still together and apparently Damien has recovered from being the insufferable a#%hole he was in “Roaring Waters”. In fact he has turned out to be a real stand-up guy in Robert's time of need. These two are here to remind us of life's fleeting nature and they're quite touching.

Needless to say everyone does gather for Christmas at the Manor, families and couples are reunited and perhaps reconfigured, marriage proposals are made and accepted, some tears are shed, lots of hugs and kisses, cute kids, puppies, hot cocoa, presents, a surprise pregnancy, and true love among good people. It's all here plus a bag of chips.

I can't say I am/was an ardent fan of the series but this Christmas novella stays true to the spirit of the previous books. Make of that what you will and a Merry Christmas to all.