Kiltie’s Advent Book Calendar – 15th Dec

Notting Hill in the Snow by Jules Wake; One More Chapter

Page Count (e-book) – 308

The Blurb:

Viola Smith plays the viola in an orchestra (yes really!) but this year she’s been asked to stretch her musical talents to organising Notting Hill’s local nativity.

Nate Williams isn’t looking forward to Christmas but as his small daughter, Grace, has the starring role in the show, he’s forced to stop being a Grinch and volunteer with Viola.

With the sparks between them hotter than the chestnuts roasting in Portobello market, Nate and Viola can’t deny their feelings. And as the snow starts to fall over London, they find themselves trapped together in more ways than one…

My Review:

Further to my previous review on Ms Wake’s ‘Covent Garden in the Snow’, I was delighted to be able to find the time to fit in her offering for this year. ‘Notting Hill in the Snow’ is an equably enjoyable read although, it was, for me, rather predictable. ‘Covent Garden’ had a few twists and turns and the reader wasn’t ever fully sure of how it would all pan out. ‘Notting Hill’ lacked that same small element of suspense and I had the gist of the story sussed pretty quickly.

That aside, however, this is still a well-written and highly enjoyable read. Viola’s first meeting with Nate is almost as cute as his seven-year-old daughter, Grace, and even my rusty old heartstrings twanged more than once each time she had to face yet another bitter blow of disappointment. My blood also simmered (although it never quite reached boiling point) when Viola’s family consistently treated her as though she was their personal dogsbody, only existing to be at their beck-and-call. 

Nate fits the remit for the drop-dead gorgeous male protagonist who sets both Viola’s and the readers hearts a-flutter. He is a kind man who only wants to do the best he can for his child despite all the upheaval and struggle that comes with being a single parent. 

The main focus of the story, however, is Viola’s identification with Grace’s emotions as she is let down time and again by the adults in her life. The writing of this was good but part of me feels it could have been just a bit better. There were opportunities where, with a little more effort, this reader would have been reaching for the tissues.

There is, however, plenty of snow, plenty of fun and plenty of giggles and laughter so, while this book fell slightly short of the high standard created by ‘Covent Garden in the Snow’, it was still a good, well-written read and I will most certainly be looking out for Ms Wake’s Christmas offering next year. 

Available in e-book and paperback on Amazon