My Final Christmas book for 2023 came from Annabel French a pen name of Katie Ginger, and I have been lucky to have been involved in a number of blog tours for her in the past. Her style of writing is really rather special, and when writing as Annabel French, her style is equally engaging. If you’d like to read a couple of my earlier reviews, you can follow these links: Summer Strawberries at Swallowtail Bay and The Perfect Christmas Gift.
I received a digital advance reading copy of this book from Avon Books via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. You can read my thoughts below.
Synopsis
Ever since her ex-husband Ollie filed for a divorce last Christmas, Naomi is a self-confessed scrooge. She hates her job, has exactly zero hobbies, and on top of that she’s all alone this holiday season.
Spurred on by her best friend Mia – who has invited her to spend Christmas at her snow-kissed Chateau in the Swiss Alps – she decides it’s time for change.
But, when she arrives, she’s shocked to see Mia’s big brother Gabriel. It’s been fifteen years since they last saw each other, forcing her to face memories she’d rather forget.
As Naomi grapples with getting her life back on track, she throws herself into various festive activities, and she can’t seem to escape Gabriel this time…
Will he manage to thaw her icy heart, or is she on a downward slope to disappointment?
Review
I hadn’t intentionally saved this as my last Christmas book, but I’m glad that I did. The setting, the story and the characters left me with a warm feeling of festive joy and happy anticipation for the forthcoming celebrations.
Naomi is understandably feeling bitter and low as she has been hit with the end of her marriage and the realisation that her job gives her zero satisfaction. Couple that with the fact that she has been so invested in work and marriage that everything else in her life has been put on the backburner, she has very little enthusiasm for the Christmas celebrations.
Thankfully, Naomi’s best friend, Mia, is like a fairy godmother and presents her with an escape route from her unsatisfying life. A chance to visit the Swiss Alps and enjoy the magic of an Alpine Christmas. Determined to enjoy her visit she finds that she has to avoid contact with Mia’s brother, Gabriel, and ignore her memories from fifteen years earlier.
There was nothing that I didn’t love about this book. The characters were beautifully imagined and fully developed. The setting was easy to imagine, with descriptions that had me picturing a lovely Alpine, snow-covered village, and an enchanting Chateau decorated for Christmas.
Filled with relatable characters and a huge helping of romance, this was a gorgeous note to end my reading on. I can thoroughly recommend it to you as I can still feel the warmth even now that I am reviewing it.
Just gorgeous!
Author Bio
Annabel French is the pen name for romance author Katie Ginger. When she’s not writing happy ever afters set in dreamy destinations, she can be found running around after her two kids, two dogs and one husband!
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