The Christmas Calendar Girls
by Samantha Tonge
This Christmas fall in love with the town of Chesterwood...
Christmas is meant to be a time of giving, so with Chesterwood food bank under risk of closure Fern knows just what to do to save it. She's going to get the town to create a living advent calendar.
Fern and her best friends call for help from the local community to bring this calendar to life. When Kit, the new man in town, offers his assistance Fern's heart can't help but skip a beat (or two).
As they grow ever closer, Fern must admit that Kit's breaking down the barriers she built after the death of her husband. But his past is holding him back and Fern doesn't know how to reach him. No matter how hard she tries.
In this town, Kit's not the only one with secrets. Domestic goddess Cara is behaving oddly, burning meals in the oven and clothes whilst ironing, and Davina's perfect children are causing trouble at school leaving her son, Jasper, desperately unhappy.
Can the Christmas Calendar Girls find a way to bring the community together in time to save the food bank, while still supporting their families and each other? Can Fern find love again with Kit?
This is a story about kindness and letting go of the past. It's about looking out for your neighbours and about making every day feel like Christmas.
My Rating:
Favorite Quotes:
Davina stood up and gave me a piercing stare that only a mother of twins could master.
The best sorts of friends were good at turning me into we.
It felt as if a light bulb switched on in my chest whenever I saw him, like that magical sensation as a child when you discover the tooth fairy has visited.
I took out my phone, brushed my hair and took a selfie. The strained smile made me look like a convict. So I took twenty more and finally created one that didn’t suggest I’d turn up to a date hiding an axe. Then I created a profile on Tinder. Not words I ever thought I’d be saying…
My Review:
This was a fun and easy read with relevant real-world issues, heart-squeezes, insightful observations, and clever levity in equal measure. While battling overwhelming odds to raise funds to continue a charitable operation, the overall tone of the story was decidedly upbeat with hard-won lessons and positive outcomes all around. I enjoyed the creativity and everydayness of the characters as well as the entertaining storylines, and relatable conflicts and concerns. Ms. Tonge’s poignant writing is laced together with such perceptive watchfulness; her stories are a learning experience as well as an entertaining one.
About The Author
Samantha Tonge lives in Manchester UK and her passion, second to spending time with her husband and children, is writing. She studied German and French at university and has worked abroad, including a stint at Disneyland Paris. She has traveled widely.When not writing she passes her days cycling, baking and drinking coffee. Samantha has sold many dozens of short stories to women’s magazines.
In 2013, she landed a publishing deal for romantic comedy fiction with HQDigital at HarperCollins and in 2014, her bestselling debut novel, Doubting Abbey, was shortlisted for the Festival of Romantic Fiction best Ebook award. In 2015 her summer novel, Game of Scones, hit #5 in the UK Kindle chart and won the Love Stories Awards Best Romantic Ebook category.
Links
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SamTongeWriter
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/SamanthaTongeAuthor
Website: http://samanthatonge.co.uk/
Follow Aria
Website: www.ariafiction.com
Twitter: @aria_fiction
Facebook: @ariafiction
Instagram: @ariafiction
No comments:
Post a Comment