The Christmas Café by Amanda Prowse

 Bea loved her husband Peter very much, and was devastated when he died, however there was always the underlying feeling of guilt that he wasn't the love of her life. When Bea met Peter she had already loved, and lost, and had a son by her lover. Peter took on her and her son, and cared for them both

After Peter died Bea was stuck in a bit of a rut. Her Granddaughter Flora was playing up and staying with her to give some distance between her and some undesirable friends (and her and her parents!), and Flora was helping her run The Reservoir Street Kitchen in Sydney Australia.

One day, Bea gets a message from the owner of the faraway Christmas Café in Edinburgh, Scotland inviting her to join a forum for café owners. Her Granddaughter shows her how to reply, and Bea and Alex become e-penfriends. From this, an idea is born, and Bea and Flora plan a Christmas trip to Edinburgh to see the snow and visit the Christmas Café.

Throw in problems between Flora and her parents, between Bea and her beloved son Wyatt and his wife, and between Bea and her parents and sister, caused by her early pregnancy, and the fact that Bea is still pining for her lost love -Wyatt's father, and you have a fabulous book full of emotion and easily up to the high standard we expect from Amanda Prowse. Definitely one to read, especially at Christmas.