Snow Love Lost (Marram Bay, Book 2)

Portia MacIntosh

Oct 2018 · Marram Bay Book 2 · Sold by HarperCollins UK

About this ebook

Don't miss this festive, small-town rom-com from million copy bestseller Portia MacIntosh.

'Easily my favourite Christmas book of the season so far.' Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'A warm, witty, feel good, festive romance' Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Ivy, the owner of a year-round festive store, loves Christmas. When her mother passed away, Ivy vowed to take over her mother’s store and keep the Christmas spirit alive in the idyllic seaside town of Marram Bay, and she’s been running the place single-handedly ever since.

The only thing missing in Ivy's life is a dash of romance – something her twin sister, Holly, will not let her forget.

As Christmas approaches, an enigmatic businessman moves to town, threatening to bulldoze her beloved shop to make way for a holiday complex. Ivy must fight to save the store. But could this intriguing newcomer be hiding a softer side, one that just might grant all her holiday wishes?

Praise for Portia MacIntosh

'Smart, funny and always brilliantly entertaining, every book from Portia becomes my new favourite rom com.' Shari Low

'I laughed, I cried – I loved it.’ Holly Martin

'The queen of rom com!' Rebecca Raisin

‘This book made me laugh and kept me turning the pages.' Mandy Baggot

'A fun, fabulous 5-star rom com!' Sandy Barker

'Loved the book, it's everything you expect from the force that is Portia! A must read' Rachel Dove

'A heartwarming, fun story, perfect for several hours of pure escapism.' Jessica Redland

This book was previously published as Love and Lies at the Village Christmas Shop.

Ratings and reviews

3.5 Stars I was actually quite charmed by this tale, once I settled in to it and couldn't understand why some of the peripheral characters felt so familiar. I knew that Ivy was new to me, and her twin Holly, but something had the vaguest twinge of deja vu to it. Then I realised we have been transported to Marram Bay before, but a very different Marram Bay to this rather isolated location. I could get on board with an all year round Christmas Shop and I know they do exist but to have one so far outside the village seemed to defeat the purpose of a retail outlet and to find it struggling was no real surprise. To be entirely honest the whole trying to save the shop from the charming developer plot left me cold (and not in a festive way). What did save this book for me was the characters that inhabited it. From a devious Santa, to a stay-at-home mum with worries about her future and her family to the grieving daughter who has never really covered from the loss of her mother. Every character, no matter how brief their appearance on the page, has a fully rounded personality that the author manages to coax out with few words. The residents of Marram Bay feel wholly real and as complex as any person you really know, some of them are even rather unlikeable. The plot itself is rather predictable but there is no miraculous saviour for the Village Christmas Shop and a modicum of reality is held on to by the author. Despite managing to give you that warm feeling of a happy ending it is only really happy-ish as a dollop of the real world is allowed to intrude in to the way things work out. Only a dollop though, after all this is fiction and we demand our happily-ever-after. A fun, solid read that is more about the people than the plot.

About the author

PORTIA MACINTOSH is the bestselling author of over 30 romantic comedy novels.

From disastrous dates to destination weddings, Portia’s romcoms are the perfect way to escape from day-to-day life, visiting sunny beaches in the summer and snowy villages at Christmas time. Whether it’s southern Italy or the Yorkshire coast, Portia’s stories are the holiday you’re craving, conveniently packed in between the pages.

Formerly a journalist, Portia has left the city, swapping the music biz for the moors, to live the (not so) quiet life with her husband and her dog in Yorkshire.