3 Star
'Tis the season to be
jolly… But can Eve find happiness through the frost…?Eve has never liked
Christmas, not since her beloved fiancé was killed in action in
Afghanistan on Christmas Day. So when her adored elderly aunt dies, the
last thing she is expecting is to be left a theme park in her will. A
theme park with a Christmas theme…And that's not the only catch. Her aunt's will stipulates that Eve must run the park with a mysterious partner, the exotically named Jacques Glace. Who is this Jacques, and why did Aunt Evelyn name him in her will?
But Eve isn't going to back down from a challenge. She's determined to make a success of Winterworld, no matter what. Can she overcome her dislike of Christmas, and can Jacques melt her frozen heart at last…?
Kathryn - 3 Star
It's not that I was completely disappointed by Johnson`s latest novel because I found the plot line to be unique (not many books out there centre on the combined inheritance with a stranger of a partially completely winter wonderland theme park) but I really wish I`d been interested in the main character or felt some warmth towards her- it would have really improved my read.
Eve is quite emotionally stilted because of her history - although as we make our way through the novel I suppose one cannot blame her for being wary- but it was difficult to believe in her intense distrust of Jacques (the other beneficiary). She takes her lack of trust to a level I just couldn't get on board with. For that reason I appreciated Eve’s cousin Violet so much more- she was warm and all-embracing and although she had her own reasons for distrusting men you could still feel she wanted to believe that love was possible for her again. Unfortunately I wanted to invite Violet to the party and forget to send Eve’s invitation.
The building of the winter/Christmas theme park was fun and this aspect of A Winter Flame was inviting. I loved the planning, the chaos and particularly the animals involved in the build. Jacques was fabulous and charming and served to point out Eve’s reluctance to enjoy life even more- he had endless patience.
This lack of warmth for Eve made A Winter Flame a bit difficult to embrace but I still feel Milly Johnson forms a well written story and has an affinity to put characters together with a good plot line. I just didn’t connect with this leading lady.
Thank you to Simon and Schuster UK for our review copy. All opinions are our own.
Connect with Milly Johnson:
Website
No comments:
Post a Comment