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Book Details
A Taste of Christmas Spirit
AN ALL-NEW CHRISTMAS SPIRIT BOOK FOR 2025
CAN LARA ADD A DASH OF MAGIC THIS CHRISTMAS?
The Sugar and Spice bakery sparkles with holiday spirit as Jacob serves up more mouthwatering festive treats, and Christmas spirit Lara tries to sprinkle her magic over those finding the time of year difficult.
Ollie is at his wits’ end. A debt from years ago comes back to haunt him just as he and his girlfriend are buying their dream home.
Rose is dejected as her college sweetheart has dumped her now they’re in their final year. She’s not looking forward to Christmas alone, nor her twenty-first birthday on Christmas Eve.
Sacha has recently moved to Winstanton following the failure of his business. He’s too embarrassed to confide in his family, but can he find the friendship he so desperately needs and begin to trust again?
Diana tries to find her new normal after the unexpected death of her husband earlier this year. All her plans for retirement have been thrown out the window and she feels lost. She needs a renewed sense of purpose and to find her place in the world.
Can Lara provide the answer to a joy-filled Christmas?
A story of hope, love, friendship, community, and of course, Christmas spirit.
For fans of Sarah Morgan, Philippa Ashley, Jenny Colgan and Cathy Bramley.
Praise for the Christmas Spirit series:
‘Christmas all wrapped up!’
‘Right from page one you are drawn into all the joys of Christmas!’
‘A lovely story about love, friendship and hope all wrapped up in a lovely Christmas jumper!’
‘You can taste the hot chocolate, see all the Christmas lights and feel the warmth of a Christmas hug.’
Extract
Ollie is one of the main characters, one of those Lara has chosen to help this Christmas.
Ollie thrust open the door to Sugar and Spice. He’d been in a foul mood all morning, as he’d called bank after bank, trying to figure a way through this mortgage disaster without having to alert Brooke. She would be distraught if anything changed their plans.
He’d raced through his work this morning, getting up an hour earlier to be able to do so, firing off emails left, right and centre, typing faster than he felt he’d ever done before, so he’d have this window to address the elephant in the room – the lack of a mortgage, and the fact they were meant to be moving in just over two weeks’ time. Brooke was going to kill him. He had to sort this, and fast. After calling eight lenders, he’d decided he needed a break, so here he was at Sugar and Spice.
Unfortunately, Jacob wasn’t here; not that he’d have burdened Jacob with his business – that wasn’t the sort of friendship they had with each other – but even just seeing his friendly face would’ve helped. Instead, he spoke to the young girl with the wavy red hair. He remembered Jacob telling him she was a drama student, but he couldn’t remember her name. She was friendly enough, but she was busy, so he contented himself with a game of Scrabble on his phone whilst he wolfed down a toastie and sipped his latte.
Now he could only wait for the lenders to reply. It was astonishing how no one ever seemed to be at their desk when he phoned. You always had to have someone call you back or leave them a message. Probably understaffed. He sighed. He knew the feeling. Work was going well, but he was also being asked to do more and more, and at short notice. His boss seemed to have forgotten he would be taking two weeks off starting mid-December to prepare for the move, and indeed, for the move itself. He kept mentioning meetings and reviews and reports due right before Christmas, but Ollie wouldn’t be there then. He’d be moving house. Well, he hoped he’d be moving house. First, he had to overcome this hurdle – and hopefully before Brooke got wind of it.
He couldn’t believe it. If only he hadn’t got into bed with Yasmin – literally and metaphorically – all those years ago. How was he to know she wouldn’t pay for the car, after they split up? He’d taken out the finance in his name as she hadn’t been working at their company long enough for the manufacturer to offer her credit. His head ached as he thought back to those days. He massaged his temples as if trying to erase the stress, the shame and the long-lasting consequences of getting a CCJ.
Brooke didn’t know about any of that. He hadn’t wanted her to think less of him. She saw him as some hotshot technical sales executive who had it all going on, who was in demand by employers and who was at the top of his game. They’d saved up the necessary deposit for the house, although most of it came from his bonuses, which had been significant – until recently. Things had been a little leaner of late; his clients seemed to be tightening their belts.
He didn’t mind paying the lion’s share – Brooke’s nurse pay scale hadn’t changed in a while, but she made a decent wage, although he, like the majority of the country, thought nurses should be paid far more. But she liked nice things. He got it. She hadn’t had many material things growing up. That’s why she wanted the new house, all the new furniture, why she took such care over the interior décor and soft furnishings, whereas he…well, he was happy simply being with her. He would have honestly been happy with a one-bedroom flat on the outskirts of the town, somewhere cheaper, away from everything, but Brooke, Brooke had a point to prove. She’d made it. She’d finally reached the point where she could afford everything she’d always wanted. How could he pull the rug out from under her? Ollie took one last sip of his latte and returned to dialling mortgage lenders.
Purchase Link – https://books2read.com/u/4997jw
Author Bio
Susan Buchanan writes contemporary romance, women’s fiction and romantic comedies, usually featuring travel, food, family, friendship, community – also Christmas!
Her books are Sign of the Times, The Dating Game, The Christmas Spirit, Return of the Christmas Spirit, A Little Christmas Spirit and Just One Day – Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn, The Leap Year Proposal and You Can’t Hurry Love
As a freelance developmental editor, copyeditor and proofreader, if she’s not reading, editing or writing, she’s thinking about it.
She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, the Society of Authors and the Alliance of Independent Authors.
She lives near Glasgow with her husband, two children and a crazy Labrador.
When she’s not editing, writing, reading or caring for her two delightful cherubs, she likes going to the theatre, playing board games, watching quiz shows and eating out, and she has recently discovered a love of writing retreats.
Social Media Links –
https://www.facebook.com/susancbuchananauthor
X @susan_buchanan and Instagram @AuthorSusanBuchanan and Threads @authorsusanbuchanan and BlueSky @susanbuchanan.bsky.social
And on her website www.susanbuchananauthor.com
Giveaway to Win a signed and dedicated paperback of A Taste of Christmas Spirit (Open to UK Only)
Win a signed and dedicated paperback of A Taste of Christmas Spirit (Open UK Only)*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome. Please enter using the Gleam box below. The winner will be selected at random via Gleam from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
