Christmas at Moonshine Hollow by Angela Britnell

"Oh, it's beautiful." She stopped after they'd crossed the road. "If someone asked me to draw a picture of my vision of small-town America, this is how it would look". The tree-lined road of classic Victorian-era buildings glowed with white fairy lights and, halfway along the right-hand side, the Franklin Cinema's neon-red frontage looked like something from an old film.

"Yea, it's Leiper's Fork on steroids".

On these dark winter evenings there's nothing better than to snuggle up with a cosy Christmas book. Christmas at Moonshine Hollow by Angela Britnell is a festive, sparkling treat, filled with romance, family secrets and Christmas miracles.

There's not many books where the main romantic interest is running a moonshine business, is there?! Meet Cole Landon.

We first encounter Cole at Landon Hollow Distillery, being told off by his mother, for not looking friendly during the tours around it. Cole might be a gruff, unpolished guide, but he sure is committed to his business. He is a workaholic. "He basically lived in the distillery. Ever since he'd chucked in his job as a corporate lawyer in Washington DC a decade ago".

He also believes that "his great-grandfather, the notorious moonshiner "Lightning Landon", would laugh at the idea of conducting tours to show off the handmade copper still he used to make his illegal moonshine."

Cole "was the sort of man people would always notice - tour guide or not... it was his air of suppressed energy that couldn't be ignored".

Cole's family lives nearby. His relationship with his mother Sylvia and step-father is complicated. And then there's the extended family, with the bossy matriarch who loves to meddle. 

The drama is brewing at the distillery, as Sylvia and her husband have been profligate with the money and sold shares of the distillery to an unsavoury local businessman, who also happens to be Cole's competitor. Not everything is merry and bright with the Landons.

Jenna Pendean has travelled to Tennessee all the way from Cornwall, but she is not here for the sightseeing or other touristy delights. She has a hidden agenda. There is an old family document in her possession which might alarm the current owners of the moonshine business.

"As a child, Jenna had spent endless happy hours listening to her Grandpa Jimmy's stories when her parents were busy at work in their family pub." She plans to spend her time in Tennessee checking out a few facts, then confronting the owners of the Landon Hollow Distillery. Only the fate decides otherwise - Jenna didn't count on meeting Cole and his family. There's an immediate attraction between the two.

Jenna's English accent seems to fascinate the locals, and she's given a job at the distillery on the spot, without checking out any of her credentials. She enjoys hosting tours for the distillery, and feels apprehensive.

"If his [Cole's] family discovered the truth about why she was here, they certainly wouldn't put out the welcome mat."

"His family couldn't be friendlier towards her, but that's where the trouble lay."

Jenna doesn't want to shatter the bubble of good will and confess why she arrived to Tennessee in the first place. Her own parents have a toxic relationship. She craves the warmth and good humour of Cole's extended family. How can she be honest with them, now that they've accepted her into the bosom of their family? Everything spirals out from control. And how will hot-head Cole react, when he finds out her secret?

Can Cole and Jenna have a perfect Christmas together?

Christmas at Moonshine Hollow is a heart-warming story about love, family and Christmas. Perfect for fans of Trisha Ashley, Tilly Tennant, Milly Johnson and Sue Moorcroft.

The cover design deserves a special mention. I loved the traditional red house and barn against the background of blue mountains. And all that snow reminded me of the very long winter we had in Massachusetts 18 years ago, when the little college town we lived in was completely snowed down. It was my older son's first Christmas, and our lovely neighbours took me to buy a Christmas tree. Wonderful memories.

Purchase Link  - https://tinyurl.com/yyn5c56k  

 

Author Bio – Angela grew up in Cornwall, England and returns frequently from her new home in Nashville, Tennessee to visit family and friends, drink tea and eat far too many Cornish pasties!   

 

A lifelong love of reading turned into a passion for writing contemporary romance and her novels are usually set in the many places she's visited or lived on her extensive travels. Thanks to over three decades of marriage to her wonderful American husband she's a huge fan of transatlantic romance and always makes sure her characters get their own happy-ever-after.  

 

She is a member of the Romantic Novelists' Association, the Romance Writers of America and the Music City Romance Writers. Her first novel ‘Truth and Consequence’ was published in 2006 and she’s now had over 30 novels published internationally and several short stories in women’s magazines.  

 

If you'd like to find out more of what Angela gets up to (Advance warning: this may include references to wine, dark chocolate, Poldark and the hunky Aidan Turner) check out www.angelabritnellromance.com  or follow her on 

www.facebook.com/angelabritnell , 

www.twitter.com/angelabritnell and on Instagram as Angela Golley Britnell.  

This post is part of the blog tour.

Many thanks to Angela Britnell and Rachel's Random Resources for my e-copy of the book!