Felicity at the Cross Hotel: A feel good romance

What a super read! I fell in love with the cover and then went on to fall in love with the central characters, Felicity (Fliss) and Patrick. Everything a reader could wish for in a contemporary romance is in this book - a cast of characters dealing with mixed messages and misunderstandings, the joy and pain of new love, loss and moving on from it, and all of it in the wonderful setting of a Tudor hotel in the English Lake District. I don't want to give anything away, but as with all good romances, there is a happy ending for everyone.

There are many things in this world I like and last tie I was on holiday, several of them came together. First up, some sun. Second, a contemporary romance by Helena Fairfax. And thirdly, that romance was set in one of my favourite places in the world, the English Lakes.

Helena never lets me down. Her novels are gentle but thoughtful, feel-good but not fluffy. Her characters are engaging and well-drawn, their dilemmas real. When Felicity Everdene, heiress to her family’s hotel chain, finds herself at the Cross Hotel on a short holiday, there’s speculation that Everdene Hotels are moving on for the kill on the ailing family business. But all isn’t what it seems: Patrick, the hotel’s owner, is dogged by personal tragedy and Felicity herself has to confront the differences within her own family.

With its gorgeous descriptions of the Lakes and its sensitive characterisation, Felicity at the Cross Hotel is a fabulous read.

Felicity At The Cross Hotel is a contemporary romance set in the English Lake District. Fliss Everdene is taking time away from her job to help her mother’s friend. Jilly Cross has recently lost her husband and the family hotel is rundown; it has serious debts, few customers and unhappy staff. Jilly’s son Patrick has returned from the Caribbean, but doesn’t want to take on the business; this is breaking his mother’s heart.

The effervescent Fliss brings happiness and a new lease of life to Jilly's world. Used to being Operations Manager for her father’s chain of hotels, she’s wary when asked to run the bar. However, she quickly settles in and has plenty of suggestions about how they can turn the ailing business around. But at the back of everyone’s mind hovers the question: is she working undercover with a plan for The Cross to be the next acquisition for the Everdene chain?

I enjoyed reading about the setting for this book, The Lake District is a place on my bucket list of travels. This book also reminded me of The Hotel Inspector, a TV reality show which I enjoy watching, so two big thumbs up from me. The author writes with a smooth, engaging style which is very comparable to other popular authors in the genre. The romance is predictable, but what readers want from this type of escapism read. What matters is the details of the story arc and how the characters interact to get to the conclusion. I must also mention some well-written secondary characters; I particularly liked Johnny.

I can recommend this book to those who have a softness to see a hotel transformed from rags to riches with the promise of romance, all in a delightful English setting.