After being made redundant Ellie has returned to her home village, Little Leyton and is house sitting whilst her parents are abroad. To keep herself occupied she works behind the bar at The Dog and Duck and has taken up dog walking and sitting to help out fellow villagers and is looking forward to a peaceful and quiet time at Christmas.
However, fate has other ideas for Ellie. Her ex Jonny assumes that now she has returned from the bright lights of London they can pick up where they left off. Stumbling across a new villager Max when out walking sets her heart racing and that is not just because she has to chase the dog which escapes onto his land. And it seems that The Dog and Duck is going to be taken over by someone unknown. Then a perfect job offer comes in from London.
Ellie is in a complete muddle emotionally and she does not know where her true roots lay. Christmas as a way of making it all seem so much raw.
This is a cosy read, not completely given over to Christmas, but one which shows how communities work, especially small village ones. With a roaring fire, a pint in your hand and some romance in the offing it is a perfect curl up on the sofa read.
Jill Steeples is a new author to me and if you like your stories based round a central place, character and with romance then this is the book for you.
We get to revisit The Dog and Duck in the summer and I am looking forward to seeing what happens in Little Leyton.
Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.
Christmas at The Dog and Duck is out now in e-book format.
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