Winter Solstice, By: Rosamunde Pilcher

It's been many years since I last picked up a Rosamunde Pilcher book, so I don't know if I have outgrown her writing style or if Winter Solstice is just not the same quality as The Shell Seekers and September. I always loved Pilcher's simple Scottish tales, full of descriptions of the local environment and customs; details about people and places that make you feel a personal connection....you know them...you've been there.

Winter Solstice is much like her other books, charming and quaint, but this novel reads like a modern day fairy tale; just too good to be true. The characters are superficial, and the plot is predictable, but it is a perfect book to read over the holidays. It is the story of five lonely people brought together unexpectedly to spend Christmas in a quaint Victorian house in a snow-covered small village of Scotland. You will meet Elfrida, a sixty three year old eccentric retired actress, Carrie, Elfrida's thirty year old niece who is struggling to get over a failed love affair, and Lucy, Elfrida's fourteen year old great-niece. Lucy's parents are divorced and too busy with their own lives to even care where Lucy spends the holidays. Also included in the cast of characters is Oscar Blundell, the owner of the house, and Sam Howard, corporate executive and new arrival in town to start up the recently purchased, defunct woolen mill.

If you believe in the magic of Christmas and want to read a lovely romantic story that will leave you with a smile on your face, then this is a good selection.

Rated 3 Stars.
I use a rating scale of 1 to 5. Books rated 1, I seldom finish; books rated 2, I usually finish but would never recommend to anyone. 5 is the highest rating.