We’ll Have a Wonderful Cornish Christmas by C. P. Ward

Family Togetherness and A Little Romance

Despite the title, the plot doesn’t actually take us to Cornwall for a while. Instead, we see some of the heroine’s life before she decides to join her parents for a special Christmas trip to Tintagel in Cornwall for their Christmas Extravaganza that her father has a part in. Given that this is an adult woman traveling with her parents, there is a fair amount of family humor going on; as an adult who has traveled with her parents, I thought the author captured the humor and discomfort well. I particularly loved when glamping had to be explained! Unlike some of the holiday books that I have read lately, this one is suffused with the Christmas spirit. As seems typical for much of contemporary British literature, the pace is slow and meandering. If you’re expecting an exciting ride with lots happening, you won’t get your fix here. But if you accept this concept and just go along with it, you may very well find yourself charmed. Or at least I was. The author certainly gives nods to several current trends, like glamping mentioned above and social media celebrity. But this is really all about Christmas in this small town, which—the author admits both in the beginning and the end of the book—has been somewhat fictionalized. But she has created a charming setting with offbeat but relatable characters. I quite enjoy the following the heroine and her parents as they navigated their Cornish Christmas. You might as well.