A little birdy told me that you should visit #NottingHillInTheSnow! @JulesWake @0nemorechapter_ @RaRaResources

I am absolutely delighted to be taking part in the blog tour for ‘Notting Hill In The Snow’ by Jules Wake – thanks for the invite RaRaResources, and thank you to the publisher for the ARC.

A Notting Hill nativity… what could go wrong?

Viola Smith plays the viola in an orchestra (yes really!) but this year she’s been asked to stretch her musical talents to organising Notting Hill’s local nativity.

Nate Williams isn’t looking forward to Christmas but as his small daughter, Grace, has the starring role in the show, he’s forced to stop being a Grinch and volunteer with Viola.

With the sparks between them hotter than the chestnuts roasting in Portobello market, Nate and Viola can’t deny their feelings. And as the snow starts to fall over London, they find themselves trapped together in more ways than one…

What does TWG think?

I’m just going to come right out and say it – ‘Notting Hill In The Snow’ is by far, THE best festive book I have ever read. Not only did the storyline contain snow, Christmas presents, the magic of Christmas, and of course the unforgettable Christmas armadillo (obvs!), it also had enough warmth to light a mansion and a plot which brought tears to my eyes.

Whenever someone says that they NEED Viola, she goes and helps them. Whenever Viola says she needs someone, what do they do? They try to ignore the fact that she even spoke. She is such a selfless character, and it was evident that a lot of people around her took that for granted. Yes, she could have said ‘no’ to them, but the fact that her family could be disappointed with her was enough to make her say yes to whatever they needed help with. God, I so badly wanted her to tell her family, especially her mother, to go and fornicate themselves!!

Naturally, like many of Jules Wake’s novels, a gentleman was involved in a large portion of this book. A gentleman who shared Viola’s love of mince pies (my dream man!), but also a man who was afraid. Viola ends up supporting Nate’s daughter, Grace, and oh my goodness, that was when the tears pricked at my eyes. I wont give anything away by telling you too much, but Grace was a child who was losing her way. She was afraid to be a child in fear of getting told off and, in all honesty, her reaction to Christmas broke my heart. In many ways she reminded me of my little girl due to the similar ages and interests, so my maternal instinct was on high alert whenever Grace was mentioned. I just wanted to take her under my wing and show her that it was okay to be a child, that it was okay to make a mess. Thankfully she had Viola in her corner though.

‘Notting Hill in the Snow’ has the type of storyline that you want to devour, yet it also has a storyline that you dont want to devour because you know that when you do, the feelings of elation, beautiful emotional, and cosiness will go because the book would have ended. I was absolutely gutted saying goodbye to Nate, Viola and Grace – I would love it if they came back again in another story, but who knows.

There is more than just warmth at the heart of the storyline, there is also hope, passion, magic, selflessness. Most importantly though, the storyline reminded me about the importance of being true to yourself and live life for you, and not by the way anyone else wishes you to.

I really couldnt have wished for anything more where this book was concerned – I absolutely loved everything about it, especially the way that Jules Wake made her characters come alive from her heart, to ours.

An undeniably beautiful, hilarious, and magical novel – this is the definition of perfection in my eyes.

Buy now.