After I dumped a book with a dislikable main character, I picked up a Christmas book from my treasures selection, Christmas at Honeycombe Bay by Lilac Mills. This one wasn’t a mistake. It’s one of those books I recommended to my family.
Neither Eloise Garrett nor Bartholomew Knott are fond of Christmas. Eloise grew up in foster homes, and was made redundant a few months ago. At 60, she’s not having luck in the job market. “As far as she was concerned Christmas was overpriced, overhyped and overrated.” Bart’s beloved wife Penny died twenty months earlier. He hasn’t operated their guest house in Honeycombe Bay since her death. It’s his second Christmas without Penny. He’s spending it with his son’s family, but has no interest in celebrating. When Eloise calls to book a room, saying she’s looking for an off-season British seaside resort because there won’t be much holiday celebration there, Bart’s eager to accommodate her. They’ll be two non-celebrants together.
It’s just that Bart enjoys providing breakfast and hosting people. So, he books two other guests. One cancels, but Mitch Hastings, a teacher from Wales, shows up on his motorcycle. It’s just the three of them rattling around in the house, although Mitch isn’t around much. Eloise enjoys walks in the quiet town, sharing light meals with Bart, a drink in the evening in front of the fire. Then, when the “sleepy, quintessentially English seaside village” turns into a Christmas village for seven days, Eloise is appalled and blames Bart because he didn’t tell her. She’s ready to pack up and leave when the house next door catches on fire, and the tenants, a young woman named Sarah and her three-year-old son Toby are homeless. When Bart and Eloise step up to help, Eloise has a reason to stay in Honeycombe Bay.
Christmas in Honeycombe Bay is a quiet, peaceful Christmas novel with characters who really have reasons to avoid Christmas. It’s a treat to watch Eloise and Bart step out of their comfort zone to help a mother and child. Eloise proves to be a sneaky manipulator when it comes to helping Sarah and Toby. The scenes with this found family are warm as Eloise and Bart both discover what they’ve been missing. It’s everything you want in a Christmas novel, including mature characters, without being cloying. It’s a quiet book evocative of the Miss Read novels of the past.
Liliac Mills’ website is https://www.lilacmills.com/
Christmas at Honeycombe Bay by Lilac Mills. Dell, 2026. 304p
FTC Full Disclosure – I received a galley from the publisher, through NetGalley, with no expectation of a positive review.
