Sealed with a Christmas Kiss by Rachael Lucas #thesealquel

I am very proud to be able to call Rachael Lucas a friend. I was thrilled when her first book, Sealed with a Kiss was a self publishing success, and absolutely over the moon for her when she got a traditional publishing contract with Pan Macmillan.

And now she’s back with a Christmas novella, Sealed with a Christmas Kiss.

Pre order on kindle | Hive ebook

Revisiting Kate and Roddy on Auchenmor was always going to be a winner with me, but I’d no idea how much.

Kate has taken to life on the remote Scottish island of Auchenmor like a seal to water: she’s given a new lease of life to the Laird’s estate in her day job; she’s befriended the once-nosy locals; and even young Laird Roddy is not quite so grumpy these days.

Better still, Kate has just had her best idea yet: they’ll turn the castle into the most gorgeous wedding venue in Scotland. The pressure’s on as the first wedding is booked in for Christmas Eve – just weeks away. But with a mismatched bride and groom, a hysterical PR on her case, her own relationship woes and a huge storm blowing in, can Kate pull it off in time?

I can hear Rachael’s voice in this story, and it’s settled into itself even more so than with the first book (which I may have recommended earlier). This has a deft touch to it, and flows along beautifully. You could read this without having read the first, but I’d say why not treat yourself and go for both?

I was privileged to read #thesealquel early, and took it with me to the leisure centre, so that I could enjoy it without child sized interruptions. The only drawback being when I ended up weeping (happily!) in public, as I was completely caught off guard by one of those emotional moments. It’s happened to us all, hasn’t it?

To be honest, it’s not that often that a book brings me to happy tears – yes, I’ve got all over emotional when favourite characters reach noble ends, but I’m more prone to happy sighing when reading romance, so that should give you some idea of how entwined I was with the story and the characters. Roddy and Kate feel like old friends that I should pop by and visit, and it’s the strength of Rachael’s writing that has given them that reality.

If you enjoy a good romance with a spot of comedy, and gorgeous scenery, you really can’t go far wrong with this. Pop over to your nearest ebookshop and get Sealed with a Christmas queued up for delivery – publication date is this week, 6th November.

(and if you need Sealed with a Kiss first, here’s a handy purchasing link for that too. Sealed with a Kiss)