Review of ‘Christmas at Winterbourne’ by Jen Silver

This is a wonderful story of a group of women who spend Christmas together in a lesbian guest house in the beautiful Sussex countryside.  Wil and Gaby run the business and are expecting their first child any day.  As family, friends and paying guests descend on them for the holidays, they are dealing with a difficult time in their relationship.  Wil’s ‘adopted’ mother, Kim left her the house in her will and many of the women in the house have memories of Kim and issues they still have to deal with.  Clare, Australian actress and Kim’s former lover, is in the UK to resurrect a part in a TV show based on Kim’s books.  She still has unresolved feelings from her time with Kim and hopes that being at the house will help.  One of the guests wants to write a book about Kim and this causes ructions.  We find out a lot in flashback which makes Kim a big part of the story, even though she died many years before.   The other guests are also dealing with relationship problems and it is this mixture of interweaving stories that had me hooked from chapter one.  This is a love story with great humour, relationship angst and deep emotions running through it.  The fact that it is set at Christmas makes it all the more special, with a cosy, traditional feeling.  I felt as if I was there with them all.  The setting is beautifully described and Jen Silver has got me so convinced that I want to book a stay there!  I highly recommend ‘Christmas at Winterbourne’.
I was given this ARC free by Affinity ebook press in return for an honest review.