Published By: Allison & Busby
Pages: 384
Released On: 23/11/2023
Schoolteacher Sophie Lawson has fled to the Cotswold countryside after a tragic break-up and is throwing herself into dating and organising Cranswell’s annual Christmas concert.
The festive fun is marred by the arrival of a handsome but surly musical director, tricky pupils and concert preparations falling into disarray. Disaster strikes, but the show must go on. Will the concert bring Christmas harmony to Cranswell and will Sophie end the year on a high note?
*****
Thanks to Allison & Busby for the gifted proof of this title in return for an honest review.
People say that these kind of books are all the same. You know the type. The rom-coms, the happily-ever-after books as I call them. Boy and girl are going through some things, they meet, they don’t get on, they then realise they love each other, some obstacles comes along and splits them up, they get together and all live happily ever after. And apparently that’s a bad thing. But I love it. You get exactly what you’re wanting from it and you get a good read.
My bookshelves are filled with the likes of Heidi Swain and Phillipa Ashley and Jessica Redland and Kiley Dunbar and Sue Moorcroft. This kind of book is exactly what I expect from these authors and it’s what I want and it’s what they’ve been excelling at all these years. And I can definitely put Helen on that list too.
And then when you throw Christmas into the mix as well, it really warms the cockles up. It’s like a cosy hug in a book and I for one am, and always will be, here for it.
I liked the inclusion of a single dad. In most fiction, it’s the single mum struggling with it all. But in this, that role falls to a man. And he is a single father raising his young daughter. And he’s struggling, and he’s making all the wrong choices. He doesn’t have all the answers, he makes mistakes, and that’s all very refreshing to see. He’s not the big macho action man, and that made a lovely change.
I’d say your main three players are Sophie, Kate, and Liam – with special cameos from June and Lulu.
Sophie is the main protagonist. A primary school teacher who is getting over a breakup and is throwing herself into organising the annual Christmas concert. She felt so real that I think we can all see part of us in her. She is trying her best, and like a lot of women, is juggling so many balls that she worries if she drops one, then she’ll drop all of them. She’s so awkward that she really steals the story. You are embarrassed for her at times, but you love her and you’re willing her on and rooting for her throughout the book. Kate is her colleague who is also very heavily pregnant. I suppose she’s technically a supporting character, but she works wonders off of Sophie, and almost plays devil’s advocate and I just love the scenes where she popped up. And then you have Liam, the new choir music director. He and Sophie have history (no spoilers here), which adds to the awkwardness. Between them they are clearly going through things that don’t make for a particularly happy friendship, and at first I felt they were quite unsuited, but once you delve into their lives, you’re really wanting them to become something.
Whilst there is a fabulous supporting cast, my standout characters were June and Lulu. June is Sophie’s mother and she’s such a……no, I won’t use rude words. She’s not a particularly nice person, in my opinion. There’s obviously reasons for it, but I felt she was so blunt and rude that I was willing Sophie to have a go back at her. And Lulu, a member of the choir who is a fabulously eccentric character who steals every scene from Sophie that she’s in.
It’s not all plain sailing. It’s not all snowflakes and tinsel and hot chocolates. It ebbs and flows like any real life. It has you rooting for the characters, feeling giddy in their triumphs and despair at their mistakes.
It really is the perfect cosy festive read for a dark cold evening in the runup to the season. But, and I appreciate I could celebrate Christmas all year round, I think it would be just as enjoyable reading it at any time. But matching it with the season adds a sense of warmth and cosyness and cuddliness that really envelops you.
You get everything you want from a happily-ever-after romcom – the love and the slushyness and the awkward moments and the cheerful ones – but there’s something else there. There’s a real heart. There’s some difficult topics, which I won’t spoil, but for a debut novel, she’s managed them with aplomb.
I definitely recommend this as an addition to your festive reads, and I’m excited to see what Helen does next.
Books By Your Bedside 