Sunday 10 November 2019

Book Review: ONE WEEK 'TIL CHRISTMAS by Belinda Missen

ABOUT THE BOOK




Two people. One chance meeting. Seven days to Christmas.

Isobel Bennett is waiting for the number 11 bus when a man quite literally falls into her lap. Snow is falling, Christmas lights are twinkling, and a gorgeous man with dark brown hair has just slipped on ice and is now pressed against Isobel.

Isobel knows she’s not imagining the chemistry between them. But then his ride arrives and, embarrassed, he beats a hasty retreat, murmuring apologies – and Isobel realises only too late that she didn’t manage to catch his name…

When she runs into him again the next morning, she decides it’s fate.

It’s a second chance for Isobel and Tom – but there’s only one week until she’s leaving London for good. Seven days of enjoying all the festive delights the city has to offer: ice-skating at Somerset House, mulled wine on the Southbank, Christmas shopping at Liberty.

There’s magic in the air and mistletoe in the trees – but what will happen when the week is over?



MY THOUGHTS

ONE WEEK ‘TIL CHRISTMAS by Belinda Missen is, on paper, the type of light read that would easily make my Christmas reading list easily; it’s a romance and it takes place in London, one of my favourite places to visit.

Ultimately, the story did not fully capture my attention for two main reasons. First, for a relationship that’s meant to take place over a short period of time, it was a very slow-moving one. Our couple did not spend much time together overall. And the partial cause for this, which is my second reason, is I feel the author tried to include too many topics in the one book. How can you even make time for a romance when you’re thinking about making significant changes to your career, questioning your lifestyle, feeling pressure from a family who live on the other side of the world, and you are having issues with an employer whose ethics are morally objectionable. There were just too many competing themes that ultimately took away from the romance aspect.

Having personally spent one Christmas in London, I enjoyed taking a trip down memory lane. I also enjoyed the scenes when Tom talks about his time in the theatre. And in amongst this, our couple do share some very romantic experiences, which were lovely to read.



ABOUT THE AUTHOR



Author and sometimes foodie, Belinda is a ridiculous romantic who met her husband after being set up by a friend two states away.

Residing in country Victoria, surrounded by books, cat-fur, and half-eaten cake, Belinda divides her days between writing rom-coms, baking, and indulging her love of comic books.

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