The Gingerbread Christmas Village by Kiley Dunbar
Everyone deserves a Christmas treat...
The annual Wheaton gingerbread exhibit (a model village made of gingerbread) and grotto have been an important part of the sleepy Cotswold hamlet’s Christmas celebrations for decades.
For years the gingerbread exhibition drew visitors from across the region and each year the model town grew more elaborate and ambitious but recently, interest has been dwindling. The gingerbread grotto needs to be rehomed or close forever.
Sixty-four-year-old Margi, the event’s founder, has had enough of village life (and its total lack of eligible men) and is planning to sell up and head to Birmingham to live closer to her niece.
She has lost her spark and her Christmas spirit and decides this will be her last gingerbread village, but despairs when she finds her only support is her old friend, Izzy, her niece Lucy from Birmingham, and Fern, the shy young farmer’s daughter. Oh, and Patrick, the gorgeous, reliable school caretaker.
As if this wasn’t enough, Lucy is determined to get her out dating again and persuades her to try some online dating apps but Margi’s had her heart broken too many times and wonders if she has just missed her chance.
Can they save the Gingerbread Grotto and can Margi get her old spark and her Christmas spirit back?
A cosy, totally feel-good seasonal read that will have you smiling. The perfect read to snuggle up and have you feeling festive! Fans of Jenny Colgan and Trisha Ashley will love this book.
Review
‘The Gingerbread Village’ is a heart-warming tale that is the true spirit of Christmas! It was just a delight to read and was a lovely story. I was reading it when I wasn’t very well and it was the perfect tonic - packed full of Christmas vibes, amazing friendships and honestly the best ever first kiss I have ever read about!
The narrative really makes the most of its location and the area of the Cotswolds and the village of Wheaton came across brilliantly! It was extremely easy to visualise all the locations and it made for a truly stunning read. I think the descriptions of the gingerbread houses helped enormously with this and it also made picturing the gingerbread village much easier as well.
The thing that makes this book is Margi and the friends and family she has surrounded herself with! I was enjoying that fact that Margi was of an older generation and she was very relatable. Maybe I am getting older! The friendly voice with which she narrates the story makes it feel as if you are catching up with a friend rather than reading the book. I adored Margi and the fact that the author has made her a multidimensional character makes this book. She is how I want to be in my 60s still rocking my leather pants and jumpers, listening to punk and having a spark in me!
About the actual story, I am not going to say much as it was a delight and I don't want to spoil it even an iota!
Let me know if you pick this one up!
