Moonlight on the Thames by Lauren Westwood

When Lauren Westwood asked if I would like to read her latest outing, I eagerly said yes. After all, I quite loved the first book of hers that I had read. 

And then I found out that it was a Christmas story. 

I had been having a rough few days and I so wasn't in the mood for a fluffy chicklit full of all of the trappings that such books typically include. I'm sure you know the type. The ones with so little conflict and so much lighthearted cheer that, if in the right mood, they can make you want to break out the tinsel and mistletoe even when it's still hot enough outside to be wearing shorts and tank tops. 

I wasn't in the mood. 

Luckily, Moonlight on the Thames isn't a sappy and sickeningly sweet holiday romance. Instead, it's a touching, sometimes heartwrenching, story of redemption, forgiveness and love ... with a bit of Christmas thrown in. I may not be ready to break out the holly and the ivy, but an eggnog might not be out of the question.

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Title: Moonlight on the Thames

Author: Lauren Westwood

Publication: Aria, September 4 2018

First Lines

She wasn't meant to be here. That was the worst thing.

Faves on 4s

4% - The breath seized up in her chest; the hand holding the glass started to tremble. Breathe… this was silly. Christmas… She’d never told Jules, or anyone else, the real reason why she hated this time of year. Ice on the pavement… footsteps behind her… that smile… Jules was her little sister – she had a duty to protect her. There were some things that she didn’t need to know—

14% - His frown still hadn’t wavered, but she could feel his eyes moving away from her face. Appraising all of her. She already felt stripped and raw from the music, and she was sure he could see right through her to the core of ugliness at her centre.

44% - His head hadn’t stopped aching since waking up earlier in the afternoon. All he wanted to do was play piano for a while, then go home and have a cup of tea and a shower. He’d make a start on the damn application – he’d promised Tanya that much. And then, sleep. Praying that this time, he didn’t dream.

74% - Nicola tried again to find her voice. She was desperate for him to leave and desperate for him to stay. How could something that had happened so many years ago still affect her like this? It was ludicrous and it was wrong. It had festered so deeply inside of her that it had turned all of her ugly and rotten. And now, she had tried to lift up this man and had let him drop like a stone. He deserved better than this, even if she didn’t. He had done nothing wrong. All she could offer him now was an explanation.

84% - She felt like something inside of her was torn and waiting to be stitched back together. It was painful, but on the other hand, the anticipation – knowing that he would return later – was delicious. It was a very strange and unsettling feeling, and one that she was almost certain she’d never had before this week.