About Books #97:Starlight over Bluebell Castle

There’s something that’s really comforting about coming back to a series. About knowing the people, the surroundings. And of course: about getting to see what, exactly, happened to them after that last page, what happens to the Ludworth-triplets under the starlight over Bluebell Castle?

I was offered an ARC by Netgalley in exchange for a review. All opinions are strictly my own.

The story

The most magical time of the year…

Jessica Ridley’s life has just been turned upside-down – and not in a good way! So when blast-from-the-past Tristan Ludworth invites her to stay at Bluebell Castle and transform it into a winter wonderland, it’s the perfect distraction for Jess and her two young children…

Jessica is used to planning even the most elaborate events in her sleep, but she certainly didn’t expect to be working so closely with Tristan at the castle – or that she could still find him quite so handsome after all this time!

And with a little holiday magic in the air, it’s becoming harder and harder to resist his charms. Can Tristan convince Jess to give love one more chance, just in time for Christmas?

The opinion

You can say what you want about Sarah Bennett, but she sure knows how to build an atmosphere. And where Bluebell Castle was lovely at the start of the year and beautiful in summer, she managed to make it sound absolutely enchanting in the run up to Christmas.

The setting of Starlight over Bluebell Castle is, of course, only that – a setting. The relation between Jessica and her children, as well as the one between her and her ex? Those would have been enough for me. Combined with the Christmas stay she and Tristan make out of Bluebell Castle, made this book Iinto a perfect cosy read.

I have to admit that, for me at least, the romance between Jessica and Tristan spoke to me less than the one between Tristan’s siblings and their respective partners. Maybe that’s because we missed a big chunk of their romance, the entire part where they got to know each other. Or maybe it’s because we’re missing so much of the years in between, where Jessica was married and her and Tristan were just friends. Either way, their romance didn’t catch me quite as much as I’d come to expect from Sarah Bennett…

The rating: 3.5/5

That’s not to say this wasn’t a great book, though. After all, I did fly through it in less than a day. However, I have to admit that, for the last book in the Bluebell Castle series? I was maybe hoping for a little more. (Goodreads)

-Saar