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Poldore #1
Just for Christmas
Her best friend’s wedding...
When Alex Munro learns that the love of her life is getting married to another girl, all she wants is to be alone – and as far away from Edinburgh as possible.
Moving to a Cornish cottage, which comes complete with the world’s scruffiest dog, Alex finds that her new neighbours are determined to involve her in their madcap Christmas festivities.
Then she meets her sexy neighbour Ruan – and somehow Alex doesn’t want to be alone this Christmas after all. But having lost one fiancé, Ruan has no intention of letting anyone get close to him again...
When Alex Munro learns that the love of her life is getting married to another girl, all she wants is to be alone – and as far away from Edinburgh as possible.
Moving to a Cornish cottage, which comes complete with the world’s scruffiest dog, Alex finds that her new neighbours are determined to involve her in their madcap Christmas festivities.
Then she meets her sexy neighbour Ruan – and somehow Alex doesn’t want to be alone this Christmas after all. But having lost one fiancé, Ruan has no intention of letting anyone get close to him again...
457 pages, Paperback
First published November 7, 2013
56 people are currently reading
3200 people want to read
About the author
Scarlett Bailey
13 books173 followersA lover of Christmas, romance and old movies Scarlett wrote her first Christmas romance 'The Night Before Christmas' in 2011. Her second novel 'Married by Christmas' and a digital novella 'Santa Maybe' are out now.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 193 reviews
December 27, 2018
This is a gorgeous book, and a lovely way to end the reading year.
Alex (girl nursing broken heart) leaves Grangemouth, Scotland for Poldore, Cornwall, where she meets Ruan** (boy nursing broken heart). Boy meets girl and misunderstandings abound. There is a delightfully smelly dog aptly called “Buoy” (as the story is set by the sea) who I loved reading about.
Set in the week leading up to Christmas, this is a calming, soothing story, that gently lulls you into reading for the joy of a simple story with a happy ending. The characters are beautifully eccentric. There is humour. Yes, you know what will happen next. What more could you want. Enjoy!
I genuinely enjoyed reading this 💖
** Ruan means “river” in Cornish (of course it does). He also happens to run a fleet of boats. And is manly and sexy. He is often seen going into the local pub after being caught in a storm, looking dashing and masculine. What more could you want in your leading male character.
Buddy read with Justine. Shout out to Jus!
December 1, 2014
When I saw the book for the first time I was instantly drawn to it’s cover, it’s so beautiful =) Then I read the blurb and knew: I have to read this book.
It's a wonderful novel about Alex, who just went to the other end of England to escape from everything at home. With a broken heart and the lost of trust she starts her new life.
She meets Ruan and as a reader I instantly felt their connection. It actually took them much longer to realise it. They both also had other things to deal with, issues from their past, which always came in between.
I couldn’t put the book down, the writing is amazing and emotional.
I loved Alex as the main character and could really connect with her. The book is open for controversial topcis, which I think is great.
Definitely worth reading!!! Can’t wait to read more of Scarlett Bailey.
I have to say I’m not a big fan of dogs (trauma since childhood) and Alex didn’t like dogs either. Well, yes I used the past on purpose. It was great to see how she got closer to Buoy.
This book is the most perfect and an amazing Christmas story and it instantly gets you into the Christmassy spirit. Alex is a wonderful heroine and the way she is handling her situation is inspiring.
The story is full of drama, emotions and everything about it is so authentic.
Never felt closer to characters in a book.
Ruan is a typical man on one side, but once you get closer and get to know him, he’s just everything a girl wishes for.
Oh and I love the choices of names (Ruan and Buoy), it’s not just normal names, which I think is really great.
Go buy the book now, it’s definitely more than worth it. I can’t even find enough words to describe how great it is. <3 <3 <3
It's a wonderful novel about Alex, who just went to the other end of England to escape from everything at home. With a broken heart and the lost of trust she starts her new life.
She meets Ruan and as a reader I instantly felt their connection. It actually took them much longer to realise it. They both also had other things to deal with, issues from their past, which always came in between.
I couldn’t put the book down, the writing is amazing and emotional.
I loved Alex as the main character and could really connect with her. The book is open for controversial topcis, which I think is great.
Definitely worth reading!!! Can’t wait to read more of Scarlett Bailey.
I have to say I’m not a big fan of dogs (trauma since childhood) and Alex didn’t like dogs either. Well, yes I used the past on purpose. It was great to see how she got closer to Buoy.
This book is the most perfect and an amazing Christmas story and it instantly gets you into the Christmassy spirit. Alex is a wonderful heroine and the way she is handling her situation is inspiring.
The story is full of drama, emotions and everything about it is so authentic.
Never felt closer to characters in a book.
Ruan is a typical man on one side, but once you get closer and get to know him, he’s just everything a girl wishes for.
Oh and I love the choices of names (Ruan and Buoy), it’s not just normal names, which I think is really great.
Go buy the book now, it’s definitely more than worth it. I can’t even find enough words to describe how great it is. <3 <3 <3
November 19, 2014
Not very festive at all really but I still enjoyed the first half nevertheless.
Fiesty mutt, Buoy, was probably my favourite part of the book.
I found the whole thing with Marcus quite tiresome and there wasn't enough Ruan (and I was hoping to see more of his lighthouse)
The thing that annoyed me most was this attitude of Alex being sooo different because she doesn't wear make-up or high heels or fashionable clothes... and the way she looked down on Milly for having hair extensions and a fake tan (sure, I'm not fond of that look but it's not my place to be judgemental about it)
Oh and of course the tomboy who is one of the only women in her line of work just had to have a perfect body.
I really liked the town of Poldore, or at least it turned out very nicely in my imagination.
Fiesty mutt, Buoy, was probably my favourite part of the book.
I found the whole thing with Marcus quite tiresome and there wasn't enough Ruan (and I was hoping to see more of his lighthouse)
The thing that annoyed me most was this attitude of Alex being sooo different because she doesn't wear make-up or high heels or fashionable clothes... and the way she looked down on Milly for having hair extensions and a fake tan (sure, I'm not fond of that look but it's not my place to be judgemental about it)
Oh and of course the tomboy who is one of the only women in her line of work just had to have a perfect body.
I really liked the town of Poldore, or at least it turned out very nicely in my imagination.
December 18, 2014
Don't really read any chick lit but I was in the Christmas mood and thought why not when I saw this cheap. I was super surprised I enjoyed this as much as I did perfect for the Christmas feeling. But I liked that it wasn't all about Christmas. The romance was super cute and I liked how the romance develops slowly instead of the dreaded insta-love. I found some bits of this book really funny I was laughing out loud at bits. This book is a fun perfect read for Christmas will definitely be reading more chick lit.
December 22, 2014
A perfect Christmas read!!! Unique story and characters you'll fall in love with
December 2, 2013
There are a couple of things that made this novel really stand out for me. Firstly, Alex. Our heroine is feisty, stubborn and determined in life and her career. Far from a 'girly girl', she proves that chick lit heroines aren't always these models of perfection that the romance genre's critics denounce them as. I like my heroines with a bit of grit and with more than a few flaws.
But despite this, she's really sweet - never less so than when she discovers barmaid Lucy's secret (SPOILERS!). Lucy's character is the second thing that made this stand out for me. It's very rare that transsexuality is dealt with deftly, sensitively and without making it a massive deal. It's an aspect of Lucy that Bailey tells us about, and the fact that she gets a happy ending as well as our heroine makes me smile. Kudos for dealing with this so well, and for promoting diversity...
Complete review here: http://exploitsofachicklitaficionado....
But despite this, she's really sweet - never less so than when she discovers barmaid Lucy's secret (SPOILERS!). Lucy's character is the second thing that made this stand out for me. It's very rare that transsexuality is dealt with deftly, sensitively and without making it a massive deal. It's an aspect of Lucy that Bailey tells us about, and the fact that she gets a happy ending as well as our heroine makes me smile. Kudos for dealing with this so well, and for promoting diversity...
Complete review here: http://exploitsofachicklitaficionado....
December 24, 2023
I really liked the start of this story, it was fast , maybe even a bit too fast , one thing after another. As the story goes on, it's becoming a very slow, long conversation, .. I got bored (the last few chapters) and had to skip a few pages.
3,7 ⭐⭐⭐✨
3,7 ⭐⭐⭐✨
December 13, 2024
I love a "fall in love and live happily ever after" Christmas read, and this one fits that perfectly 👌
November 11, 2013
I’ll own up – I’m an absolute pushover for books set at Christmas, and look forward immensely to that time when the sparkly covers appear on the supermarket shelves (and the cover of this one is absolutely beautiful...). I also have to own up that Scarlett Bailey’s alter ego is one of my favourite authors – one of her books featured in my top ten of last year, and I’m looking forward immensely to her new one. These Scarlett Bailey Christmas outings are a little lighter – in previous years we’ve seen The Night Before Christmas and Married By Christmas as well as the digital novella Santa Maybe – but they show the same wonderful story telling skills, the large cast of real-life characters, the female lead who becomes your best friend as you struggle along with her, and a lovely warm feeling that’s absolutely perfect for Christmas reading.
Alex has had a best friend called Marcus since childhood – he calls her Al and “mate”, and they get into all kinds of scrapes together. At the point she realises that she wants him to be rather more than her friend, he doesn’t take her seriously and decides to propose to the glamorous Milly. She then finds that her father – who brought her up after her mother walked out when she was very young – has some secrets that entirely change their relationship. So she decides to move from Grangemouth to Cornwall, to the lovely town of Poldore, to take up her post as harbourmaster. Alex is used to working in a man’s world, a little shy but highly professional in her work, and she begins to build her new life.
She takes up the tenancy of a small cottage which comes with a boat to ferry herself across to the harbour, and a sitting tenant in the form of a smelly and unfriendly dog called Buoy, who she has to learn to live with. The hub of the community is the pub The Silent Man – she strikes up a friendship with barmaid Lucy, who turns out to have secrets of her own, and immediately clashes with Ruan who runs small boat tours out of the harbour. She gets drawn into the community with a role in the Christmas pageant, organised by the larger-than-life Sue, and the preparations for it drive the story forward. At the same time, Alex’s life gets a great deal more complicated when her former life impacts on her present.
I adore stories with a real sense of place and community, and there are some big characters here that absolutely enthrall. Ruan is suitably gorgeous, with a sad background that you ache to be healed. Alex is a wonderful strong character, and you yearn for her to make the right decisions and bring happiness into her life – but there are many twists, turns and misunderstandings along the way. And running through it all – or walking in through one door and out of the other, before taking over the bed – is the wonderful character of Buoy, one of the most real dogs I’ve come across in fiction in some time.
This was a simply wonderful book – just Christmassy enough without ever being cloying, filled with fantastic characters, a vividly drawn setting and with a story that keeps you turning the pages in your hope for a happy ending. I loved it – and if you love Christmas and a really feel-good story (and eccentric dogs), so will you.
Alex has had a best friend called Marcus since childhood – he calls her Al and “mate”, and they get into all kinds of scrapes together. At the point she realises that she wants him to be rather more than her friend, he doesn’t take her seriously and decides to propose to the glamorous Milly. She then finds that her father – who brought her up after her mother walked out when she was very young – has some secrets that entirely change their relationship. So she decides to move from Grangemouth to Cornwall, to the lovely town of Poldore, to take up her post as harbourmaster. Alex is used to working in a man’s world, a little shy but highly professional in her work, and she begins to build her new life.
She takes up the tenancy of a small cottage which comes with a boat to ferry herself across to the harbour, and a sitting tenant in the form of a smelly and unfriendly dog called Buoy, who she has to learn to live with. The hub of the community is the pub The Silent Man – she strikes up a friendship with barmaid Lucy, who turns out to have secrets of her own, and immediately clashes with Ruan who runs small boat tours out of the harbour. She gets drawn into the community with a role in the Christmas pageant, organised by the larger-than-life Sue, and the preparations for it drive the story forward. At the same time, Alex’s life gets a great deal more complicated when her former life impacts on her present.
I adore stories with a real sense of place and community, and there are some big characters here that absolutely enthrall. Ruan is suitably gorgeous, with a sad background that you ache to be healed. Alex is a wonderful strong character, and you yearn for her to make the right decisions and bring happiness into her life – but there are many twists, turns and misunderstandings along the way. And running through it all – or walking in through one door and out of the other, before taking over the bed – is the wonderful character of Buoy, one of the most real dogs I’ve come across in fiction in some time.
This was a simply wonderful book – just Christmassy enough without ever being cloying, filled with fantastic characters, a vividly drawn setting and with a story that keeps you turning the pages in your hope for a happy ending. I loved it – and if you love Christmas and a really feel-good story (and eccentric dogs), so will you.
December 11, 2016
I loved this! Pleasantly surprised for a Christmas romance.
It was a very quick read, simple enough story. I really liked all the characters - although the whole thing with Marcus was a bit eye-rolling and in the way of the real romance. The romance was good and lighthearted, it was very fast and I found myself laughing at some parts. I definitely wouldn't read it again but it was a nice way to spend a few hours of the day. That being said, it was most definitely not a Christmas novel - there was a Christmas parade, and a Christmas morning, but nothing about the story was inherently Christmas. It could've been set during any time of the year.
It was a very quick read, simple enough story. I really liked all the characters - although the whole thing with Marcus was a bit eye-rolling and in the way of the real romance. The romance was good and lighthearted, it was very fast and I found myself laughing at some parts. I definitely wouldn't read it again but it was a nice way to spend a few hours of the day. That being said, it was most definitely not a Christmas novel - there was a Christmas parade, and a Christmas morning, but nothing about the story was inherently Christmas. It could've been set during any time of the year.
October 22, 2014
I have had this book on my bookshelf for a while but thought I would read it as one of my first Christmas reads of the season, not realising it was about the same characters as in Two Weddings and a Baby! But I still read it and love the characters, especially Sue! and Buoy the dog is so funny with his ways! I really enjoyed this book and read it really quickly as found it quite "unputdownable!. Would thoroughly recommend it and hopefully everyone else will read it in the right order!!
November 27, 2022
the perfect cute, cosy, feel good little romance novel. went it with zero expectations but i think about this story a lot ofter finishing the book. 3 stars because the mc was really your typical cliché girl that runs away to a small town to avoid her problems, and she does so while being a bit of a pick-me girl. also, there’s bodyshaming and one specific character that is borderline acceptable (they blame it on his personality but he’s just being disrespectful, rude, egoistic, and sexist!!)
November 16, 2013
A gorgeous book inside and out. Within a few pages I'd fallen in love with the first character, Buoy the dog. I loved the setting if the story, it was very well described and you could imagine walking along the seafront. All the characters were written with warmth and humour. A great book to leave you with a warm, happy feeling. Thoroughly recommend.
December 26, 2013
Read this while at airport and on plane to lanzarote ... Couldn't put it down ... I cried at the part where Buoy helps to rescue Ruan and when he is injured, a perfect read to pass by a few hours !! The chemistry between Ruan and Alex is great and the surprise visit from her mother was a nice touch . Would read future books by Bailey.
January 19, 2015
I've read science fiction books that were less fantasy based than this, but that's why I loved it. It was pure escapist nonsense with the added bonus of having a feminist slant and a fairly well written trans character (although I'm not tans myself, so there obviously could be problems with the character that I missed).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 23, 2014
Suddenly realised I hadn't got round to reading this at Christmas - I normally only read Christmas books at Christmas, lol. Then I bought the sequel so rushed off to read it... loved everything about it - Alex and Ruan and the background cast - and the dog of course!
December 29, 2014
Loved it - fab story. I would have given it 5 stars, but there were lots of niggly missing words, which annoyed me. Couldn't fault the story, though - another surefire winner.
December 12, 2016
2.5. Man kan inte läsa sådana här böcker för noga för då inser man hur dåliga de är.
July 16, 2017
So damn cheesy. I freaking loved it!
January 3, 2026
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
If you’re looking for a cosy, small town romance, with drama, a love triangle and a cute scruffy dog. This one is FOR you. Just with a Christmassy twist.
At the start of the book I wasn’t too sure whether I liked it or not and thought it was going to be my first DNF of the year 😅 but the more I read… the more I fell in love with the characters… the more I chose the characters I disliked… the more I fell in love with this book.
April is a tomboy, from the get-go, she leaves the big city to go to a small town, to escape the drama that was her life in the city. Escaping from her engaged best friend Marcus and her dad. She was ready for a fresh start until she met Ruan. Sexy, quick-tempered, boat guy Ruan.
She’s not looking for anything at all. She wants a quiet life, but Poldore, in Cornwall, is quiet, but not that quiet. Is a small town ever?!
Loved this book! And can’t wait to read more by this author 🥰
If you’re looking for a cosy, small town romance, with drama, a love triangle and a cute scruffy dog. This one is FOR you. Just with a Christmassy twist.
At the start of the book I wasn’t too sure whether I liked it or not and thought it was going to be my first DNF of the year 😅 but the more I read… the more I fell in love with the characters… the more I chose the characters I disliked… the more I fell in love with this book.
April is a tomboy, from the get-go, she leaves the big city to go to a small town, to escape the drama that was her life in the city. Escaping from her engaged best friend Marcus and her dad. She was ready for a fresh start until she met Ruan. Sexy, quick-tempered, boat guy Ruan.
She’s not looking for anything at all. She wants a quiet life, but Poldore, in Cornwall, is quiet, but not that quiet. Is a small town ever?!
Loved this book! And can’t wait to read more by this author 🥰
December 27, 2025
Nice, cozy story set in Cornwall at Christmas time. There was a lack of consistency with names, one minute she was Milly and then sometimes on the same page she was Millie. Same with the reverend, he was mainly Jed but was once called Fred!
December 27, 2017
Really enjoyed this book easy cosy read for winter nights deffo one to add to your Christmas reading list liked all of the characters although Alex best friend Marcus annoyed me a bit but by far my favorite character was buoy the dog 10/10 💗
February 17, 2023
Such a sweet story...I loved Buoy..his heroics made me cry so much and I loved the book more coz of him!
December 19, 2017
2.5 stars
December 31, 2020
A fun light read over the holidays
December 15, 2017
Really lovely, easy read... Completely predictable but fun and romantic - fab!
December 10, 2023
Absolutely loved this story and a great and a new Author for me, but will look for more by Scarlett
January 8, 2014
“I don't know what it is about this place, it's almost as if as soon as I arrived all of my unresolved issues were magically resolved.”
Alex Monroe is running away. After embarrassingly declaring her love for her best friend at his engagement party, and discovering her father has lied to her for the past 25 years Alex laves her Scottish home and travels to the English coastal town of Poldore. Upon immediate introduction to the town, she is forced to adopt a stray dog, play the Virgin Mary in the town Christmas pageant and gets entirely swept up in the lives of all the local residents.
I have read three of Scarlett Bailey's Christmas novels now, and while this one does not have a great deal to do with Christmas itself, I feel this is her best book so far. There is the perfect amount of fun and friendship and romantic entanglements to ensure a light hearted, relaxing read by all, but what really enticed me was the originality of the characters.
Alex is not your typical chick lit lead; she's grown up with only her father's influence which has created a bit of a tom boy, but more importantly Alex works as a harbour master – a job typically performed by men, but also not a job one comes across much in fiction. I really enjoyed the snippets of Alex's job because it was so refreshingly unique in a genre normally filled with routine 'glamour' jobs.
Bailey also pleasantly surprised me by making Alex's new best friend in Poldore a transsexual. Lucy was a great model for Alex, as Lucy is a woman so confident in her own skin and what she wants from life, where as Alex has spent most of her life hiding – hiding her feelings for best friend Marcus, hiding her femininity for her career, hiding from all social situations and any kind of spotlight. Lucy's past once again elevated this book out of the typical chick lit mold and created a very enjoyable read by standing out. I also readily applaud Bailey for the way in which Lucy announces her past – matter of fact and without fanfare – because it removed the social stigma and made it seem completely natural and 'normal'.
Just for Christmas also has the most loveable stray dog, Buoy, that I've ever seen in fiction. In fact, I think more novels should contain stray cats and dogs that are adopted by an entire community and perform life saving heroics on a regular basis. If you're crazy enough to not be convinced to read this story yet, there is also a really amazingly redone lighthouse that comes fully furnished with a handsome, dreamy love interest that has Alex in all kinds of swoons.
Just for Christmas has a great deal of swoony, English countryside fun and it certainly doesn't have to be Christmas for anyone to find many things to appreciate and enjoy about this book. There's also plenty of hilarious gems that really made me smile when I read them:
”The only fashion statement that parkas make,” she said glumly, “is that the chance of spontaneous sex is extremely small.”
Alex Monroe is running away. After embarrassingly declaring her love for her best friend at his engagement party, and discovering her father has lied to her for the past 25 years Alex laves her Scottish home and travels to the English coastal town of Poldore. Upon immediate introduction to the town, she is forced to adopt a stray dog, play the Virgin Mary in the town Christmas pageant and gets entirely swept up in the lives of all the local residents.
I have read three of Scarlett Bailey's Christmas novels now, and while this one does not have a great deal to do with Christmas itself, I feel this is her best book so far. There is the perfect amount of fun and friendship and romantic entanglements to ensure a light hearted, relaxing read by all, but what really enticed me was the originality of the characters.
Alex is not your typical chick lit lead; she's grown up with only her father's influence which has created a bit of a tom boy, but more importantly Alex works as a harbour master – a job typically performed by men, but also not a job one comes across much in fiction. I really enjoyed the snippets of Alex's job because it was so refreshingly unique in a genre normally filled with routine 'glamour' jobs.
Bailey also pleasantly surprised me by making Alex's new best friend in Poldore a transsexual. Lucy was a great model for Alex, as Lucy is a woman so confident in her own skin and what she wants from life, where as Alex has spent most of her life hiding – hiding her feelings for best friend Marcus, hiding her femininity for her career, hiding from all social situations and any kind of spotlight. Lucy's past once again elevated this book out of the typical chick lit mold and created a very enjoyable read by standing out. I also readily applaud Bailey for the way in which Lucy announces her past – matter of fact and without fanfare – because it removed the social stigma and made it seem completely natural and 'normal'.
Just for Christmas also has the most loveable stray dog, Buoy, that I've ever seen in fiction. In fact, I think more novels should contain stray cats and dogs that are adopted by an entire community and perform life saving heroics on a regular basis. If you're crazy enough to not be convinced to read this story yet, there is also a really amazingly redone lighthouse that comes fully furnished with a handsome, dreamy love interest that has Alex in all kinds of swoons.
Just for Christmas has a great deal of swoony, English countryside fun and it certainly doesn't have to be Christmas for anyone to find many things to appreciate and enjoy about this book. There's also plenty of hilarious gems that really made me smile when I read them:
”The only fashion statement that parkas make,” she said glumly, “is that the chance of spontaneous sex is extremely small.”
November 2, 2013
Oops, Scarlet Bailey just did it again. She just knocked me out of my feet with "Just for Christmas" which I have already put on my FAVOURITE BOOKS shelf.
The idea of releasing books as Scarlett Bailey "just for Christmas", or rather just before Christmas is great and I hope it will stay a tradition. Ekhm, a little hint for the author.
The book introduces us to Alex, who I have immediately fallen in love with and I want her to be my new best friend. Alex has just move to Poldero where she got a job as a first time ever woman harbour master. She has left her town because of two reasons: her best friend Marcus and her father.
In Poldero she starts a brand new life with brand new friends and a dog who is brand new for her, but actually is already 11 years old. I love books with dogs but Buoy was a special one and I have poured buckets of tears when I read how he helped Alex. She finds herself not only with a dog but with a sexy, albeit a little grumpy neighbour Ruan and as being a part of a traditional town - pageant.
Like I've already said, I loved Alex. It was so good to read about a woman who is not taking care about her looks, although obviously she looked great. And who was not as thin as a stick, and who was not able to use an eye - liner by herself. Because I can't too. Who didn't care what she wears and who thought she's not a girly - girl. But she obviously was. But what I loved most about Alex was the way she was, so easy, so uncomplicated, so friendly, so loyal and so honest.
I have also loved all the people from Poldero. Even Marissa was brilliant. Ruan's sister Cordelia was the coolest nanny I have ever met in a book and I really liked it.
It was fantastic how all the people warmly accepted Alex, although some of them didn't believe in a woman harbour master. They were not at all overwhelming and they didn't like gossip, oh no, but some way or the other they knew all about each other.
We have a love story here as well, and a one with twists and turns. With surprises and understatements and all of this with a lot of humour and written in a brilliant way. If I only had time, which I don't, I would devour this book in one. It is a fantastic, enjoyable, light story and Scarlett Bailey is a wonderful story - teller, with some best lines ever. I have laughed, and I have cried as well, and I have thoroughly enjoyed the whole book. It was a real page turner, written in my favourite way, and I really didn't want it to end. I actually can't wait for the next Christmas because I hope for a next Bailey's book. I admit - I received a copy of this book from publisher in exchange for a review but if I haven't, I would go and immediately buy this book. This is how much I have loved it.
I received a copy of this book from publisher in exchange for a review.
The idea of releasing books as Scarlett Bailey "just for Christmas", or rather just before Christmas is great and I hope it will stay a tradition. Ekhm, a little hint for the author.
The book introduces us to Alex, who I have immediately fallen in love with and I want her to be my new best friend. Alex has just move to Poldero where she got a job as a first time ever woman harbour master. She has left her town because of two reasons: her best friend Marcus and her father.
In Poldero she starts a brand new life with brand new friends and a dog who is brand new for her, but actually is already 11 years old. I love books with dogs but Buoy was a special one and I have poured buckets of tears when I read how he helped Alex. She finds herself not only with a dog but with a sexy, albeit a little grumpy neighbour Ruan and as being a part of a traditional town - pageant.
Like I've already said, I loved Alex. It was so good to read about a woman who is not taking care about her looks, although obviously she looked great. And who was not as thin as a stick, and who was not able to use an eye - liner by herself. Because I can't too. Who didn't care what she wears and who thought she's not a girly - girl. But she obviously was. But what I loved most about Alex was the way she was, so easy, so uncomplicated, so friendly, so loyal and so honest.
I have also loved all the people from Poldero. Even Marissa was brilliant. Ruan's sister Cordelia was the coolest nanny I have ever met in a book and I really liked it.
It was fantastic how all the people warmly accepted Alex, although some of them didn't believe in a woman harbour master. They were not at all overwhelming and they didn't like gossip, oh no, but some way or the other they knew all about each other.
We have a love story here as well, and a one with twists and turns. With surprises and understatements and all of this with a lot of humour and written in a brilliant way. If I only had time, which I don't, I would devour this book in one. It is a fantastic, enjoyable, light story and Scarlett Bailey is a wonderful story - teller, with some best lines ever. I have laughed, and I have cried as well, and I have thoroughly enjoyed the whole book. It was a real page turner, written in my favourite way, and I really didn't want it to end. I actually can't wait for the next Christmas because I hope for a next Bailey's book. I admit - I received a copy of this book from publisher in exchange for a review but if I haven't, I would go and immediately buy this book. This is how much I have loved it.
I received a copy of this book from publisher in exchange for a review.
December 19, 2025
3.5⭐️
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