Book Review: The Christmas Love Letters by Sue Moorcroft

Please join us in welcoming Sue Moorcroft back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her novel, The Christmas Love Letters.

A secret romance was just the start of the story…

Tucked into a crook of the Norfolk coast lies Nelson’s Bar – an idyllic village where time seems to stand still. Maddy Cracey has called this beautiful spot home all her life, as had her husband Adey – until an epic row sent him storming out into a blizzard, with no sign of him since that fateful night.

Six years on, and Maddy’s life in the village has settled into a gentle pattern with her young daughter and Great Aunt Ruthie. However, when handsome stranger Raff turns up with a handful of long-forgotten love letters, their quiet life is upended as family secrets from the past are unearthed.

As Raff and Maddy get to know each other, they grow closer and a love story of their own seems inevitable. But when Maddy receives a mysterious message, she can’t help but wonder whether her own past is as distant as she’d thought it was…

The festive new novel about love, family and the power of words from Sunday Times bestseller Sue Moorcroft, perfect for fans of Sarah Morgan and Phillipa Ashley.

*****

Roll on Christmas, then I can read this book again without feeling guilty…scratch that, I’m going to start it all over again, right now! The queen of the Christmas romance has done it again, and you don’t need it to be December to read this story; I should know.

Set in Sue’s Norfolk village of Nelson’s Bar, we meet a wonderful cast of characters from Aunt Ruthie who has a heart-breaking past which comes back to not only haunt her, but her niece Maddy and young daughter, Layla. This is in the form of a series of letters she kept which detail a relationship she kept secret for her whole adult life.

The other half of this secret appears in the shape of Raff, an author of fantasy who’s distracted by his ill sister. Between them, they have to piece together their intertwined stories and discover if a relationship is worth fighting for.

As ever, this author displays she is a master of her craft. There’s heartache and heartbreak; magnificent settings and beautiful dialogue. Overall though, what stands out for me is the characterisation. Sue’s always written beautiful characters, but here, she’s taken this to a new level and I look forward to me next visit to Nelson’s Bar!

My thanks to Avon and Netgalley for the reading copy.

*****

About Sue Moorcroft –

Sue Moorcroft is a Sunday Times bestselling author, and her books have been #1 on Kindle UK and Top 100 on Kindle US, Canada and Italy.

She writes two books a year for publishing giant HarperCollins and has won the Goldsboro Books Contemporary Novel of the Year, Readers’ Best Romantic Novel award, a HOLT Medallion and the Katie Fforde Bursary.

She’s president of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and past vice-chair.

Her novels, short stories, serials, columns, writing ‘how to’ and courses have appeared around the world.

Say hello to Sue via her Amazon page, Audible, her website, Facebook, Twitter (X,) Instagram, Linked in, and Bookbub.