The Christmas Invitation – Trisha Ashley

It would not be Christmas without a Christmas read from Trisha Ashley, whether it be old or new – and for this year it is her latest novel and she invites us all to Christmas.

Meg has never celebrated a proper Christmas it was not something that happened when she was growing up. However recovering from illness and with a commission to paint some portraits, Meg finds herself thrown into Christmas head first with the Doome family.

Henry and Clara Doome live in The Red House a large house that they have made a home in the depths of the North. Die Hard fans of Trisha Ashley will recognise names and places from other novels, but it is certainly not a requirement to have read any of them.

Henry and Clara are well known in both their respective fields which is why they decided to have their portraits painted. So close to Christmas, Meg thinks she can get them done before the big day and can then escape back to the life she knows.

Henry and Clara have other ideas.

And so it seems does fate, when Meg bumps into someone from her past.

Henry and Clara delight in welcoming Meg to their home and infusing her with everything Christmas as well as feeding her up with the other members of the household who all seem to gravitate to these strong characters all who have back stories and are almost invisibly linked in some way.

Add to this, Teddy an enthusiastic child excited by Christmas that it almost jumped off the page. Then there is Den and is wonderful cooking; Sybil and her son Matthew; Zelda, Teddy’s actress mother; Lex, Clara’s nephew and widower plus Flora, Rollo and River makes for some interesting house guests and an enthralling storyline.

It seems rather a lot of people with a lot going on but in no time, Trisha Ashley has drawn you right in and you are in the story, so much so I think if I turned up to the house Henry and Clara would have found me a room, a purpose and a new direction in life just as they did Meg.

A must for all Trisha Ashley fans and for new readers too! This is how Christmas can be.

Thank you to the publisher via netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. 

The Christmas Invitation is published on 31 October but out now on Kindle.