Books like Last Christmas

I enjoyed my time with the residents of the small English village Hope Christmas. There are basically 4 protagonists and I connected with all 4 of them. I found Cat and Noel (a couple living in London), Gabriel and Marianne (a sheep herder separated from his wife and a school teacher, respectively) to be very real, making it easy to invest in them. I was expecting a traditional Christmas book, and though the story covers two Christmases, one in flashback, it actually encompasses over a year in the lives of these people. I had no problem with that.The main characters all have their issues and we are taken along on their individual journeys as they navigate the best they can. Along the way we meet a number of the villagers, including the almost larger-than-life Ralph Nicholas whose mission seems to be to help the floundering. I loved the village setting and felt absorbed into its fabric. I wonder if places like this still exist in Britain (and America). I can only hope so.Though much of the story takes place between January and November, the Christmas season is not ignored. The emphasis is on the true nature of Christmas and how simple and traditional is so much more than what Christmas how now become. Many people dread the Christmas holiday season. That’s really sad. I wish we could all go back to what Christmas once was long long ago. This little book gives us a taste of that. I was sad to leave Hope Christmas at the end of the book, but was pleased to see there are 3 novels and a novella in the Hope Christmas series. I was captivated enough by Last Christmas to want to immediately move on to book 2, A Merry Little Christmas. I can’t wait to see what is in store for the villagers next!