Wednesday, November 8, 2023

Book Review: Christmas at Corgi Cove

By Sara Steven

Rosie Reynolds had come to lakeside Corgi Cove as a lost, lonely girl abandoned by her own mother, but there she discovered a true place to call home. She loves her Corgis, Bonnie and Clyde; loves the lakeside life; and loves her aunt and uncle most of all. But when she discovers their struggling inn is about to be bought out by some big city chain, she hatches a to win a contest naming theirs the best Christmas-themed inn in the USA. It's a long shot, but she knows if the whole town pulls together that they can do it. 

But she didn’t count on Everett St Claire, who emerged from his gleaming, black BMW, straightening his tie and asking himself how did a big-city guy like him find himself in a speck on the map like Corgi Cove? And how fast could he get back to the city? After all, it couldn’t be that difficult to convince one elderly couple to take the money to retire. 

He didn’t count on getting sucked into life on the lake. Sure, the people might be…eccentric, and Rosie might seem like a pain in the backside, but there is something alluring about the place. And with the holidays nearing, and the deadline looming, Rosie and Everett are about to discover the magic of a Christmas at Corgi Cove. (Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads.)

First off, who doesn’t love Corgis? Knowing the book had adorable Corgis in the mix had been a contributing factor to my wanting to read Christmas at Corgi Cove, but I ended up getting so much more than I could have even imagined. I loved the small-town atmosphere of Corgi Cove, along with the bed and breakfast that Rosie helps operate with her aunt and uncle. It just felt like the kind of place I’d love to check out and visit, but unfortunately for Rosie and her family, that hasn’t been the case for them at all. There is a much larger hotel that opened up in the area a few years back, taking in a lot of traffic, preventing any from finding their way to Corgi Cove.

Everett is set out to try to get Rosie’s aunt and uncle to sign the dotted line, in order to sell off the bed and breakfast. In some ways, it was reminiscent of some of the premise behind the movie, The Goonies- where, some big city slickers want to come in and pick up what land they can, in order to develop something entirely different. Rosie doesn’t want to see that happen to the bed and breakfast, which is why she enters the B&B into a contest, hoping against hope that they might win. It would mean much-needed money to save and salvage the B&B. 

Initially, for Everett, it’s just a job. If he doesn’t do his job, he will most likely lose the job. But, at the same time, he’s beginning to see the magic that is Corgi Cove. He fights against those feelings, despite the ones that are growing for Rosie. Rosie feels the same way for Everett, but knows he is the enemy who wants to see the B&B to the end of its demise. 

I enjoyed the way the story is written out by the author. It flowed really well with its backdrop and dialogue and it made me feel like I was right there at Corgi Cove. The constant push and pull between Rosie and Everett was a lot of fun, too, because I really had no clue what would happen in the end–if he’d fly back to the big city, or if he’d completely fall under the spell of small-town life. I know for me, I was totally under its spell, from start to finish. Bonnie and Clyde, the two star Corgis, were such a handful, adding to the great characterizations that are in this story. 

Can Rosie save her family’s legacy, with Everett by her side? That’s the primary question throughout this read–enough to even make me a little teary-eyed towards the end. It was the perfect, five-star holiday experience!

Thanks to HarperCollins for the book in exchange for an honest review.

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