A Vicarage Christmas by Kate Hewitt is one of those books that I just flew through. Its addictive reading at its best and being fairly short, sated my thirst for a good Christmas novella. A piece of brilliant writing that had me enthralled right from the beginning. This book has so much more substance than a lot of Christmas novellas and explores difficult issues.

Anna has come home back to Thornthwaite after a considerable period of time spent living in Manchester. She's avoided coming home to the place where she is expected to be chatty, sociable and more like her sisters. Her father is the vicar after all and as Anna feared, the vicarage is full of people. However, Anna has a problem that she tries her best to hide. She suffers from extreme social anxiety around people she knows. People who will expect her to converse with them. At least in Manchester she has largely remained anonymous, keeping herself to herself mostly. However, a Christmas visit home to hear her father's big important announcement is almost more than Anna can bear. Meeting handsome stranger Simon allows Anna to open up about her difficulties and about her grief that is eating away at her. However, Anna is stunned to discover who Simon really is and again those feelings of helplessness come crashing down around her once more.

Having worked with lots of people suffering from social anxiety, I'd say Kate Hewitt has perfectly captured those feelings through her portrayal of Anna. She is a complicated character with many facets and despite being sure that she has kept her difficulties hidden well, there are those among her family who are quick to spot she is floundering on occasion. With Simon having the fuller picture about Anna and how she feels, he desperately wants to help. If only she'll let him. Simon has his own demons to fight and Anna doesn't realise it but they can help one another.

A Vicarage Christmas is a beautifully written, moving, thought provoking romance about the complexities of families, the impact of grief and the silence that sometimes follows. Its about the healing that love brings. A highly recommended read from me.