Hannah Langdon

"Christmas with the Lords" by Hannah Langdon was such a joy to read because it was one of those books where you felt good about the characters and their myriad adventures and sweet romances. It was a clean-cut storyline about the main character, Penny, who questioned the direction of her life and the choices she should make after a painful breakup from a 10-year relationship with Timothy. Penny found herself in a situation where either she could continue with her teaching at home in London or live out her life for a thrilling adventure by following her mother to India; however, amidst these choices, she was offered a position to assist the Lords, a fairly well-to-do and affluent family, in Dorset to babysit Bunny's twins. The ensuing comical mishaps and the formation of new friendships between Penny and the Lords family after her arrival to their mansion, was endearing and very light-hearted with the author's descriptive narration of their interactions. I felt compelled to cheer on Bunny and her own issues of potential abandonment by her spouse, Ben, particularly in light of her new medical condition (which I hope does not spoil the story for other readers here). Also compelling were Penny's fumbling attempts to deal with her newfound attraction to Lando, the brother of Ben, in light of her still indecisive mind concerning the salvaging of her relationship with Timothy; all the back-and-forth moments of certainty and uncertainty that Penny was facing in her encounters with Lando brought me to a whole level of understanding as it resonated with my own experiences. Their dynamic interactions, though at times angst-ridden, impressed upon me a sense of delightful anticipation for what would follow next and I was not disappointed at the outcome. Penny and Lando's captivating romance while unbeknownst to both characters during the storyline, had each of them dealing with their own inadequacies and one could not help but cheer them on.

Hannah Langdon's "Christmas with the Lords" is a beautiful story about relationships and their intricate complexities as shown between lovers, between friends, between child and parent; also tellingly the story demonstrates how relationships can grow out of painful situations and the choices one must make to ensure that opportunities for love and family do not get missed.

Reading this book with the Christmas holidays coming up, I couldn't help but enjoy every aspect of this book immensely. I highly recommend it as a pick-me-upper. I hope to read more novels from this wonderful author! Thank you Hannah Langdon!… (meer)