In a flurry of Christmas lights and snowfall comes The Christmas Sisters by Sarah Morgan. Hannah, Beth, and Posy are as different as they come, meeting only once a year for their annual family gathering in the Highlands. Hannah is independent and assured, Beth is motherly and organized, and Posy is her parent's combined, at least that's what they've led one another to think. Their mother, Suzanne, has dreamed of a perfect Christmas, but this year it's unraveling before it's even begun. The sisters are unsure of their futures, but the season is already a difficult one for them and the trust sisters usually share is nonexistent. As each woman faces her individual plight they learn to rely on one another, but Suzanne worries that a Christmas spent together as a family won't last.
"You didn't tell him?"
"Of course not. I'm your sister. I'm a barrier between you and the world."
Oh my heart, how I loved The Christmas Sisters. Sarah Morgan takes us on a magical journey, with Christmas spirit almost like a secondary character in this novel filled with family drama, romance, and a life-altering accident that continues to wreak havoc 25 years later. Suzanne and Stewart McBride are the adoptive parents to Hannah, Beth, and Posy, though they're their
daughters in their eyes. Each year the girls are invited home to warmth, snow, and the perfect Christmas weekend, except this year the pressure of the time together is weighing them down. Each is holding onto a secret and as Christmas day draws nearer those secrets are slowly revealed. On top of those secrets, each sister is facing a relationship hurdle, with Beth hoping to strengthen her bond with her husband, Posy diving head first into new love, and Hannah running from it despite the comfort and joy it brings her. The story explores their past, with each sister evaluating how it has affected their present, and the future that promises many changes for them all. While baking cookies, decorating the house, and bickering the girls discover the bond they each thought was lost.
"I'm loving the honesty. We are the Christmas Sisters."
This was one of the best family oriented, yet still romantic Christmas reads I have ever read. I couldn't put it down, in love with the Scottish Highlands setting, the blanketing snow, and the family atmosphere. I really enjoyed that each sister discovered that the great responsibility they felt they had to carry alone was the same for each. They all wanted the holidays to be perfect for their mom, they were willing to risk themselves for it even. It was heartwarming, sweet, and a bit of a tearjerker as the girls discovered sisterhood, friendship, love, and the magic of Christmas and Santa Claus. I highly recommend this book, not just for the holidays, but for a year round magical read.
Review by Carlene Welch