Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor - Lisa Kleypas

ONE LITTLE GIRL NEEDS A FAMILYOne rain-slicked night, six-year-old Holly lost the only parent she knew, her beloved mother Victoria. And since that night, she has never again spoken a word.
ONE SINGLE MAN NEEDS A WIFE The last thing Mark Nolan needs is a six-year-old girl in his life. But he soon realizes that he will do everything he can to make her life whole again. His sister’s will gives him the instructions: There’s no other choice but you. Just start by loving her. The rest will follow.
SOMETIMES, IT TAKES A LITTLE MAGIC… Maggie Collins doesn’t dare believe in love again, after losing her husband of one year. But she does believe in the magic of imagination. As the owner of a toy shop, she lives what she loves. And when she meets Holly Nolan, she sees a little girl in desperate need of a little magic.
…TO MAKE DREAMS COME TRUE Three lonely people. Three lives at the crossroads. Three people who are about to discover that Christmas is the time of year when anything is possible, and when wishes have a way of finding the path home…

I've been meaning to try Lisa Kleypas's contemporary novels for some time now but to be honest what I've read about didn't make me rush to pick them up. I am, in fact, one of those readers who keep asking why she doesn’t go back to writing historicals, those I know I will, if not love, at least enjoy. However, as I was looking at the Christmas themed books I had in the TBR pile I noticed this Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor and thought that it might be the right book to sample her contemporary writing.

I'm happy to say that I did enjoy it. This is a rather short story and at times I felt that of it had a longer format some thing or other could have been better developed or contextualised but as a whole I thought it a nice, sweet story about 2 people falling in love despite themselves.

Mark Nolan is raising his 6 year old niece with the help of his brother Sam. He has a girlfriend that he likes and he is planning to propose as she seems the right woman to raise a family with. Mark, his brothers and sister had a pretty messed up childhood and he doesn't want to make the same mistakes his parents made.

Holly, his niece, doesn't speak since her mother died. One day, while visiting the local toy shop Holly and the shop owner, Maggie Conroy, connect with each other and the little girl eventually starts speaking. Although at first glance Mark wasn't particularly interested in Maggie, her connection with Holly makes him pay more attention.

Maggie has been a widow for 2 years. She feels attracted to Mark but, if for one she feels that dating other men would be betraying her dead husband, she also feels that Mark is off limits as he is in a relationship. And so they dance around each other, getting to know each other but afraid to do something about it.

I did like both of them. Maggie was a really funny character and Mark you could see he just needed to believe in himself and the love he had to give. I was curious about his brothers - Sam and Alex - who play a secondary role in this story. I have checked Kleypas website and I see they have their own books so I already added them to the TBR pile.

A nice, cosy Christmas read!

Grade: 4/5

This counts for the Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge