Unfortunately, while I enjoy this author, this book unfortunately did not resonate with me. While I’m a fan of this author, I did not finish this book. However, I look forward to more books by this author in the future.

I love books by Holly Martin, and this one did not disappoint. Penny is a damaged woman, one who has been holed up for eight years in Lilac Cottage after a devastating experience. She is not looking for a man, she is looking for friends and is hoping that Henry and his wife Daisy will fit the bill. When Penny is your friend, she goes out of her way to help and care about you. When we first meet Henry, I thought he was a miserable, uptight snob, but when we got to know him, how wrong I was. Daisy, it turns out, it not his wife and that changes Penny's hope for a friendly couple living in her annex. I do not want to give away anymore of the story, but suffice it to say that Henry and Penny will get their Happily Ever After. I loved the small town of White Cliff Bay. There were some great secondary characters who added so much to the story. As well, the festival and Christmas Spirit got me in the mood for Christmas, even though it is still two months away. I devoured Henry's and Penny's story in one day and am ready to continue the White Cliff Bay series with the next book, Snowflakes on Silver Cove. I can't wait to read more by this wonderful and funny author. I definitely recommend this to anyone who loves a feel good Christmas Romance.

Penny owns a cottage in White Cliff Bay and is an ice sculptor. (Love the unique profession for Penny!) Penny also has an annex that she is renting out. When she gets some new renters, she assumes that it is a husband and wife since their names are Henry and Daisy. Penny is looking forward to making some new friends since she has been at a standstill with her love life. New friends are always good to have!

To Penny's surprise, Henry and Daisy are not a husband and wife at all but a father and daughter. Daisy is Henry's teenage daughter. Daisy is very nice, but her father seems to have put up a guard around himself. When Penny first meets them, she and Henry sort of hit it off rocky, but he comes back later and apologizes for that. Henry is just not sure he is ready to have any female friends or anything like that.

The sparks that begin to ignite between Penny and Henry are something that you can't overlook though. Their attraction to each other is unmistakable. Henry is so determined to not upset Daisy though, he lets her pretty much dictate his life. When Daisy tells Henry she doesn't want her dating Penny, he doesn't. Seriously??

But then Penny and Henry start seeing each other without Daisy knowing. How is this all going to work out if Daisy catches them one day? What is Henry going to do , choose between Daisy and Penny?

I loved the whole Christmas fell to this one. It really puts you in the Holiday spirit and mood. I just wish it could be Christmas all year long with great reads like this one!

Holly Martin is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. She has a way of warming you up inside and will have you falling in love with all the characters from the very beginning of CHRISTMAS AT LILAC COTTAGE. You can't help but care for Penny. She is damaged where love is concerned, and very fragile, but she goes out of her way to help those she cares about. Henry is my new book boyfriend who I thought was an uptight snob in the beginning but the way he protects Penny and looks out for her had me swooning in no time at all. I devoured Henry and Penny's story in one sitting and can't wait to continue the White Cliff Bay series with the next book, Snowflakes on Silver Cove. I can't wait to read more by this wonderful and funny author.

Christmas at Lilac Cottage is a wonderful, romantic novel written by Holly Martin and published by Bonnier Zaffre.
Perfect for Christmas time but also for the good season it's the first book of White Cliff Bay series.

It's a beautiful, touching love-story this one told with perfect times, with great and very well constructed dialogues and long narrative psychological explorations of the various characters.
What I appreciated the most was the calm with which this book has been written, without any rush and with great descriptions of the daily life of the characters and moments they spend together.

It's like a long, beautiful, quiet walk or a hot chocolate cup this book where life has a meaning and where characters are treated with respect and consideration giving to them a big, clear soul and a punctual, global, amazing characterization.
Each character thanks to it, is alive, felt, portrayed with the exact profoundity and feeling and won't never be forgotten.

There is a lot in this book.

This one is not just a love-story with maybe, who knows? the happy end, (I won't tell you that!) but also the profound distress lived by some of the characters portrayed by Holly Martin.

So, also in this sense, when you will choose to read this book you will read a book plenty of meanings.

Penny Meadows first of all.

She was left years ago by her boyfriend, if he could be classified like that after her miscarriage.
A man unfortunately not interested to build any existence with her.
A miscarriage happens, you know and if there is real love no one would break-up a relationship for this reason.
Polemically her boyfriend will tell to everyone the superficiality by Penny.
No one believed him but the damage was done and Penny, devastated closed with men.

After all her relationship with him couldn't be classified like a proper relationship and well she isn't so great with men or self-confident with herself for trying to find other alternatives.

Penny is an ice-carver in love with her work.
She lives in a cottage and she has another part of the structure she can rent to someone.
Extra money.
Penny is thrilled by the arrival of this couple, for Christmas Time Daisy and Henry. She prepared them something delicious and ready to make friendship.
Just Henry arrives at first, plenty of good books from Hemingway to Steinbeck passing through Dickens, Hardy, Tolkien and the most recent Dan Brown and Ian Banks but a bit distant.
Penny is immediately fascinated by this man.
He is handsome and her attraction for him very strong although it appears clear than Henry can have all the women he wants and first of all there is a wife somewhere not yet arrived.

The arrival of Daisy for them, additional stress because Penny thinks at first that Daisy is his wife, while she is her daughter, someone abandoned by everyone when little and rescued by Henry.

From that point on Daisy suffers of a strong sensation of being abandoned by people of her life, she has nightmares and that's why Henry is cautious with women.

He doesn't want to start new and serious relationships with any of them also for not let feel Daisy like to being put aside.

Of course a relationship with a daughter is completely different from the one with a woman but to Henry is indispensable that Daisy wouldn't think that he neglects her and mainly he would want to find a lady accepted also by Daisy.
Daisy loves Penny and together creates some creations.
Daisy will accept Penny? And will Penny be in grade to win Henry and Daisy's hearts?

At the end of the book an interview with the author and also the recipe of Holly's mince pie cake.

I highly suggest you this love-story. Money very well spent and the sensation you will think is that in your hand you have a precious loved book.
First of all loved so badly by Holly Martin.

I thank NetGalley and Bonnier Zaffre for this other wonderful love-story!

This was a cute Christmas story. There were parts of this story that were really funny. We meet Penny who owns a cottage that is lovely and cozy and has an amazing view of the town White Cliff Bay. Penny has her cottage decorated for Christmas with beautiful lights.
We also meet Henry and his daughter who have come to rent from Penny. Henry is a guarded man, but there is an instant attraction between him and Penny.
I really enjoy books from Holly Martin.

I loved reading this!! It was such a beautiful setting with likeable characters.

I really enjoyed this book, I thought that it had a great story and it was an excellent holiday book that was really funny at times, its definitely one that I would recommend - 5 stars from me

A delightful and heartwarming story of Penny, a young woman who had been hurt in the past, and Henry and his teenage daughter Daisy, who also have issues. Needless to say, of course there is a HEA, but the path there was rocky at times. Joining the journey to see how it all unfolds was the fun part of this book. Highly recommend this book and author. The only thing I wish there would have been more of is the Christmas theme. It was there, but in the background only.

I enjoyed this book, but felt it was too slow paced and cookie cutter. The writing was enjoyable, I'd definitely try something written by Holly Martin again. Glad that I read it, could have been more.

Really good read. Always enjoy reading this authors books. Nice read and easy to follow story line.