Set in North Devon during the winter holidays, The Winter Companion is festive on the inside (of the abbey) and gray and rainy on the outside, making it a perfectly Gothic Christmas romance for our final parish orphan. Neville is underestimated so consistently - even by those who love him - that this story has some seriously sharp edges for the reader, but he finds his heart's match in Clara, an overlooked lady's companion harboring self-doubt alongside heavy familial burdens. The way these two come together is so tender, and I was moved to see how they claim each other and their dreams in the end. As to be expected in Mimi Matthews, I spent a good bit of this feeling weepy, but gosh what a lovely conclusion to this series.