REVIEW: A Casterglass Christmas by Kate Hewitt
To save Casterglass, all the Penryn children will need to return home, rebuild their lives among the ruins, and find love that has proved elusive…
The Penryn family have always been eccentric—living in a dilapidated castle in the wilds of Cumbria with an orchid-mad father and a classicist mother who likes to re-enact Greek myths, who wouldn’t be? Penniless and proud, patriarch Walter Penryn resists selling his birthright and family legacy until taxes, bills, and the need for a new roof force him to reconsider.
Well-heeled Londoner Althea Penryn doesn’t expect a divorce and job hunt over the Christmas holidays, but her husband claims he’s done and the prenup is solid. She packs up her reluctant teenage children and heads home to Casterglass Castle to confront the ghosts of her past—including the real one her mother claims lives in the old guard tower. And then there’s her unexpected romance with local sheep farmer, John Braithwaite, who is everything her adulterous, solicitor ex-husband isn’t.
This Christmas, amid the renovation and potential heartbreak of losing her family home, can Althea find a new purpose and the happiness that has so long eluded her?
Dear Ms. Hewitt,
When I finished reading “A Casterglass Christmas,” I was conflicted. While I appreciated the fact that these characters and their situations are a bit messy and probably true to life, there were plenty of times I was extremely frustrated with all and sundry. I also don’t feel that the blurb matches the reality of the book.
Althea and two of her three children arrive at her family’s 800 year old castle in the middle of a pouring rain storm, at night, after a long drive. Althea tries to project cheer but her children, quiet twelve year old Tobias and stroppy sixteen year old Poppy, aren’t having much of it. Althea might have some happy memories of growing up there but in the face of the reality of a dank, freezing, frankly dilapidated place, the children aren’t buying it. Althea’s vague parents wander in and out of the scenes before Dad drops the “We’re going to have to sell up” bomb after which Althea gets all teary. Althea tends to do that as well as fight back sobs a lot.
But there’s a great deal on her plate as she’s finally (after twenty years of choking it down) decided she’s had enough of her spouse’s serial infidelity. He’s done a number on her self confidence which the plot will make much use of. The next few weeks provide Althea with a lot of time to pick apart the reasons why she stayed in such a terrible relationship for so long. Growing up as an Honorable makes many people think that the she is wealthy but the reality of death/inheritance taxes, dreamy parents, a patchy bit of homeschooling, freezing bedrooms, and having to scrounge around for food (dreamy parents often forget to go shopping) made Althea and her older siblings a mess while the “surprise” baby had her own challenges.
The roof is leaking to the tune of £200,000, Althea signed a prenup that she is sure will leave her with nothing after the divorce, her daughter has perfected teen antagonism, her son seems a little lost, and the neighbor and Althea didn’t meet cute. Now what are all of them going to do?
Reasons slowly emerge for why Althea stayed so long in her marriage and why her daughter is such a pill. The two boys, Tobias and uni aged Ben, are actually lovely children with their heads on straight. I guess boys really are easier than girls. Poppy though, made me want to yank a knot in her. Perhaps this is a generational thing but a spineless mother who apologizes to her daughter when said spoiled daughter acts like a brat is not something I find pleasant to read. Mother and daughter eventually begin to find their way back towards a less sulky relationship but I did not have fun along the way. Still Althea isn’t totally blameless as she came to view money and spoiling as love.
Althea also does something I find myself occasionally doing and that is putting off til tomorrow what I should have done a few days ago. Just because I do it and understand it, doesn’t mean I didn’t get frustrated with Althea while she was doing it. With some major issues facing her that desperately need to be looked into, understood, and dealt with, her mental blanking and “I’ll do this after Christmas” grew wearisome. On the other hand, she’s been perfecting this for twenty years so changing overnight or even over the course of a week would have been unrealistic. I realize I’m being two faced about this.
I would call the book more women’s fiction than a romance. There is a slight growing romantic relationship here and it looks to be continued in the next book but this one is mainly Althea discovering herself as well as finally noticing that she’s done a poor job of keeping in touch with her parents and siblings, one of whom has a lot to say about that. On the one hand, I can understand why some of these characters act as they do as I’ve admitted to feeling and acting similarly myself. On the other hand, I’m not sure I had enough of a good time reading this book that I want to come back for part two. This book does not have a cliffhanger but most of the plot threads are going to be carried through into the next book. C+
~Jayne
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