Lulu Taylor is one of my absolute favourite authors so I was thrilled to receive an advance copy of this book. The story is about the Pengelly family and has a dual timeline: 1970s/1980s combined with the run-up to Christmas in the present day.
In the past we see Julia grow from a troubled child into an adult. She believes she's put the tragedies of her past behind her and can now concentrate on her children and restoring the beautiful family home, Tawray. In the present day, Julia's grown-up children try to solve the mystery of what happened to their mother, along with their own personal problems, before Tawray is lost to them forever.
The cover for this book is absolutely gorgeous and, as the title suggests, this is more a winter-themed book than a Christmas one. Christmas is briefly mentioned at the start and end. This was one of my favourite parts of the book because Julia's daughter Alex has taken over the tradition of decorating Tawray with dried flowers and I loved the descriptions of the process, which reminded me of Cotehele.
Alex and her brother Johnnie were my favourite characters. Alex is a people-pleaser, whereas it is only just beginning to dawn on the rebellious Johnnie that he might be taking his wife (and happy family life) for granted - and that if he doesn't buck his ideas up, he'll lose both. Their step-mother Sally makes a splendid Dolores Umbridge style villain. I'm old enough to remember the 80s, so it was fun spotting all those references too. One of the characters works for Princess Diana. The behind-the-scenes glimpses into her life are fascinating. There are also a couple of great twists at the end. In addition, the story does cover darker subjects (which I probably shouldn't mention specifically because of spoilers) but this is done in a very sensitive way.
A Midwinter Promise is a brilliant book and I found it utterly addictive. Recommended, especially if you like historical timelines, big old houses, something a little bit different to your usual Christmas read, and authors such as Eve Chase (Black Rabbit Hall), Harriet Evans (The Garden of Lost and Found) and Kate Morton (The Forgotten Garden).
Thank you to Lulu Taylor and Pan Macmillan for my copy of this book, which I requested from NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.
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