REVIEW: A Knights Bridge Christmas by Carla Neggers

In A Knights Bridge Christmas (Swift River Valley #5) by Carla Neggers, Widow and new library director in Knights Bridge, Massachusetts, Clare Morgan is enjoying her first Christmas in her new hometown with six-year-old son Owen. Determined to make Owen’s transition from Boston to the small town easier, they gain friends and are under the watchful eye of the residents. So when Dr. Logan Farrell comes to town and enlists Clare’s help in decorating his grandmother’s home for the holiday, she accepts. But with everyone in town speculating and offering advice, she doesn’t want to cause a scene or get involved with a hot-shot who will leave her once he’s had his fun.

‘She’d agreed to help decorate a house with an intense, good looking, out-of-town ER doctor who wanted to please his grandmother. Any romantic implications were in her head–not that she was thinking along those lines, or, certainly, that he was.’

Logan’s grandmother Daisy seems to be transitioning well after a fall scared her into moving from her lifelong home into an assisted living facility. He thinks she may be plotting, though, when she pairs him up with Clare to decorate the old house. Logan can’t deny his attraction to the single mom and he enjoys her son Owen’s curiosity. But as an ER doc, his crazy schedule leaves little time for a serious relationship. Being in Knights Bridge, though, makes it seem possible to find a way to keep Clare in his life.

‘Staying here, letting his attraction take hold, was like hanging his toes off the edge of a cliff, tempting fate. He’d buried himself in work and now had a chance to have a good time with an attractive woman. Why play it safe?’

Carla Neggers brings us back to Swift River Valley in A Knights Bridge Christmas. Filled with the joys (and difficulties) a New England winter can bring, along with pleasing references to A Christmas Carol, this quick romance lays on the charm.

This story actually took place during the same time period as previous installments Echo Lake and Christmas at Carriage Hill, so if you have followed along you’ll catch some of the references from the townspeople about their own current lovematches. But this can also be easily read as a standalone if you’re new to the series.

Like with a lot of the previous Swift River Valley books, history playseda big part in Clare and Logan’s journey. Specifically, his grandmother and grandfather’s courtship, beginning at Christmas in 1945. I thought Carla Neggers did a nice job with taking the scenes reminiscing about that holiday so long ago and comparing it to today. They were poignant and had me a little bit teary-eyed to be honest. Daisy’s part of the story also brought home the importance of family and traditions throughout the year. Not just during the holidays.

Logan and Clare were interesting together. They weren’t polar opposites, but they were just different enough to keep things lively. Even though some of their verbal exchanges were a bit stilted, I thought there was a good basic attraction there that made the romance work. It happened fast, but then again this book came in at just over two hundred fifty pages and had a lot of ground to cover. I did like the way Clare and Logan seemed to balance each other, and that he built a great relationship with her son Owen.

If you’re looking for a sweet holiday romance set in a picturesque landscape, A Knights Bridge Christmas might just be the story for you.

Book Info:

Publication: Published October 1st 2015 | MIRA | Swift River Valley #5

New York Times bestselling author Carla Neggers celebrates the joy and romance of Christmas in New England

Clare Morgan is ready for a fresh start when she moves to the small Massachusetts town of Knights Bridge with her young son, Owen. Widowed for six years, Clare settles into her job as the town’s new librarian. She appreciates the warm welcome she and Owen receive and truly enjoys getting the library ready for its role in the annual holiday open house.

Clare expects to take it slow with her new life. Then she meets Logan Farrell, a Boston ER doctor in town to help his elderly grandmother settle into assisted living. Slow isn’t a word Logan seems to understand. Accustomed to his fast-paced city life, he doesn’t plan to stay in Knights Bridge for long. But Daisy Farrell has other ideas and enlists her grandson to decorate her house on the village green one last time. Logan looks to Clare for help. She can go through Daisy’s book collection and help him decorate while she’s at it.

As Clare and Logan get his grandmother’s house ready for the holidays, what neither of them expects to find is an attraction to each other. Better than most, they know all the crazy things that can happen in life, but everything about Knights Bridge and this magical season invites them to open themselves to new possibilities…and new love.