The Christmas Wish by Tilly Tennant
Publication Date: 22 October 2018
Published by Bookouture
Genre: Women's Fiction/Romance
328 pages
This is a blogging dream come true for me: my very first Bookouture review! My sincere thanks for the opportunity to read and review this lovely book, and I really hope I get the chance to repeat the experience.
Book Description:
Christmas is coming but it doesn’t feel that way for Esme Greenwood. Recently jilted by her cheating fiancée Warren, she’s had enough of London life and escapes to Thimble Cottage in the Peak District, home of her beloved grandmother Matilda.
While Esme mourns for the wedding she’ll never have, Matilda puts her granddaughter back together again with comforting words and generous helpings of fruitcake and together, they plan the trip of a lifetime, to Lapland to see the northern lights, somewhere Matilda has always dreamt of going.
But tragedy strikes and when Matilda dies, Esme screws up the courage to go on the trip on her own to honour her beloved grandmother’s wishes. At the airport she meets a motley crew of characters including Zach, a handsome, brooding, out- of- work actor and together they set off for an adventure of a lifetime.
Beneath the indigo skies of Lapland Esme and Zach grow closer. But when Esme is bombarded by messages from Warren promising he’s changed and she discovers that Zach is hiding something very significant-will her head be turned? And when a trip to the northern lights reveals the full extent Zach’s own secret past is there any hope that Esme will get the happy ending that her grandmother wished for her?
While Esme mourns for the wedding she’ll never have, Matilda puts her granddaughter back together again with comforting words and generous helpings of fruitcake and together, they plan the trip of a lifetime, to Lapland to see the northern lights, somewhere Matilda has always dreamt of going.
But tragedy strikes and when Matilda dies, Esme screws up the courage to go on the trip on her own to honour her beloved grandmother’s wishes. At the airport she meets a motley crew of characters including Zach, a handsome, brooding, out- of- work actor and together they set off for an adventure of a lifetime.
Beneath the indigo skies of Lapland Esme and Zach grow closer. But when Esme is bombarded by messages from Warren promising he’s changed and she discovers that Zach is hiding something very significant-will her head be turned? And when a trip to the northern lights reveals the full extent Zach’s own secret past is there any hope that Esme will get the happy ending that her grandmother wished for her?
My Thoughts:
Esme is running from her relationship problems when we meet her on the doorstep of her grandmother Matilda's home in Little Dove Morton. She needs to work out where to find the courage to make the break from the controlling - and very married - Warren. Her relationship has driven a wedge between her and her parents, and cost her many friends as Warren seeks to control every aspect of her life and isolate her as much as possible. She is doing well in finding her confidence again, and is rebuilding her relationship with her mum when sadly Matilda dies suddenly during a Christmas shopping trip. This sets Esme back terribly until she opens her grandmother's gift to her: tickets for two to Lapland. When Warren declines the offer of a free trip Esme has to decide whether to honour her granny's lifetime wish for her, or stay in England and accompany Warren to his mate's caravan in Clacton.
I was extremely infuriated with Esme at first as she dithered around the obnoxious Warren and his controlling ways, but I soon felt incredibly proud of her as she started making decisions which empowered her, finding strength in the memory of her beloved grandmother.
I found the characters Esme made friends with on her trip very entertaining, all very diverse in age and personality. They all had their own strengths, offering support and gems of life experience in their own way. The one to stand out for me was Hortense, an absolute gem of a person, who I expected to be extremely overpowering but turned out to be surprisingly caring in her own inimitable way.
As the Northern Lights elude the party the mood shifts, leaving Esme unsure of where she stands with the mysterious Zach. His mood changes quicker than she can keep track of and with rumours of there being more than just friendship between him and the tour organiser, Esme wonders whether to just put him out of her mind.
I'm not a big Christmas lover but the magic of Lapland and the real Santa's grotto came across in just the right amount in this festive tale. The emotion of Matilda's loss together with the turmoil in Esme's personal life are just the type of thing we feel more keenly during the festive period but despite this I loved how the author managed to inject happiness into what could have been a lonely and quite depressing situation. Hope and the possibility of new beginnings from sad endings come through strongly but without being too "hearts and flowers" - the perfect balance for someone like me who doesn't really indulge in Christmas spirit in a big way. That's not to say you won't need a tissue to hand as Tilly has a way with words that set me off on more than one occasion. A lovely book which I enjoyed from start to finish.
About the Author:
Tilly Tennant was born in Dorset, the oldest of four children, but now lives in Staffordshire with a family of her own. After years of dismal and disastrous jobs, including paper plate stacking, shop girl, newspaper promotions and waitressing (she never could carry a bowl of soup without spilling a bit), she decided to indulge her passion for the written word by embarking on a degree in English and creative writing. She wrote a novel in 2007 during her first summer break at university and has not stopped writing since. She also works as a freelance fiction editor, and considers herself very lucky that this enables her to read many wonderful books before the rest of the world gets them.
Hopelessly Devoted to Holden Finn was her debut novel; published in 2014 it was an Amazon bestseller in both the UK and Australia. In 2016 she signed to the hugely successful Bookouture and is currently working on her tenth Tilly Tennant novel. She also writes as Sharon Sant, where she explores the darker side of life, and Poppy Galbraith, where things get a little crazier.
Hopelessly Devoted to Holden Finn was her debut novel; published in 2014 it was an Amazon bestseller in both the UK and Australia. In 2016 she signed to the hugely successful Bookouture and is currently working on her tenth Tilly Tennant novel. She also writes as Sharon Sant, where she explores the darker side of life, and Poppy Galbraith, where things get a little crazier.
Social Media Links:
Website: www.tillytennant.com
Twitter: @TillyTenWriter
This sounds good.
ReplyDelete