Christmas with the Recluse by Victorine Lieski {Review}

Christmas with the Recluse by Victorine E. Lieske

Kindle Edition

Published November 26th 2018 

Source: I received a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are my own and were voluntarily given.

    

When Charley gets sent by her father to appraise a mansion full of antiques, she gets a surprise when she arrives and the owner is cold and mean, and doesn’t want anything to do with Christmas. And even worse? It’s not really an appraisal job at all. He just wants her to clean out his mountain of junk from his garage. But Charley makes it her goal to show him that Christmas is a special time of year. And as time goes on, she sees his frozen heart start to thaw.

Alexander has been dealing with the guilt from his wife’s death for two long years. It’s time to move past, so he hires someone to help rid his garage of his wife’s memories. But when she arrives, she’s not at all what he was expecting. And even though she’s a bit crazy, she helps him find his Christmas spirit once again.

My Review: 4 Stars

Christmas with the Recluse is all about a peppy young college grad and a certifiable scrooge. Although this setup also comes across as a Beauty and the Beast type of book--Christmas style.

Alexander hires Charley to go through is antiques, but mistakes her for a man and is quite surprised when this happy, bubbly bundle of energy, with quirky socks, shows up to do the job. Both Charley and Alexander have endured hard losses in their lives, yet Charley handles her lot in life with a plan to find happiness and Alexander wallows in his grief, becoming hard, angry, and grumpy.

I loved watching the emotions melt away like the snow, revealing passion and tenderness. Cogsworth and Mrs. Potts, oh, excuse me... Thomas, the butler, and Dorothy, the housekeeper/cook, are the icing on the cake, especially with Dorothy's budding romance. Milly, the sweet black kitten, is also a fluffy added bonus.

This story proves to be as sweet as a frosted sugar cookie and is sure to melt your heart.

Content: mild, sweet romance (kissing), implied violence/death