Published By: Penguin
Pages: 352
Released On: 10/10/2024
Take one woman longing for the perfect Christmas . . .
All Clara has ever wanted is Christmas surrounded by loved ones, full of warmth and delicious food. So when her new boyfriend asks her to move to Switzerland, she can’t help but say yes! After all, what could be more perfect than Christmas in the Alps?
Add a dash of surprise.
She quickly signs up for a chocolate-making course, imagining a workshop like something out of a festive advert. Instead, it’s chocolate-making bootcamp! And her boyfriend isn’t all he seemed either.
And enjoy a magical festive treat!
Despite it all, Clara begins to make friends – including the aloof yet intriguing Gabriel. With all of the ingredients at her fingertips, will she finally be able to whisk up her Christmas dream?
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
I’m sorry, but a new Jo Thomas Christmas book? It’s sure to be a winner! And that cover! Oh so beautiful.
This book opened with a very evocative description of chocolate and the way it melts and smells and the joy it brings you…and that was me instantly hooked. This book itself is like chocolate, the melted, warming, luxurious, cosy, comfort that it brings.
I found myself smiling throughout. It’s so full of hope and joy and passion and bravery and love, and I think it’s my favourite of hers yet. What I really loved is that she’s written an older protagonist. Okay, so Clara is 40, not exactly ancient, but for the lead in a rom-com, she is quite old and I loved that. It showed that it doesn’t matter if you haven’t achieved the “perfect life” by a certain point. You can still find love, adventure, a new career, new opportunities, new friends at any age and I thought that was really important.
I did find it a little repetitive to begin with, day after day at the chocolate school, but that very quickly became a good thing, a comforting and familiar thing, and it means you get to see her progress over the course of the novel.
I have read a number of Jo’s books, some I’ve liked more than others, but none have failed to uplift me. Never have I spent an unenjoyable hour with her work.
I would have gladly accompanied Jo on her research trip! Using Switzerland as the backdrop for this festive tale is great, as it gives us that sort of fairy-tale Christmas ideal, the cold and snow and romance and everything we want Christmas to be. I’ve always wanted to visit and this has just cemented that.
What I wasn’t expecting from it was it to make me cry. It’s not sad, so why would I cry? But it’s so beautiful that I couldn’t help it, and I don’t think I’ll be the only one. And whilst it’s only September (at time of reading), I am definitely now in the mood for Christmas!
Books By Your Bedside 