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Saturday 3 December 2016

The Gift of Christmas Yet to Come (St Nicholas Bay Novella) by Jo Bartlett @J_B_Writer @AccentPress



About The Gift of Christmas Yet to Come

Surrounded by friends she has had since childhood, with a job she loves, as a special-needs teacher at the primary school in beautiful St Nicholas Bay, Kate Harris has it all … well, almost. As Christmas rolls round once again, she longs for a child of her own to share it with.

In a town where Christmas is big business all year round, it turns out Santa Claus isn’t the only one with mysterious powers. When a psychic reveals that the answer to her future will come in red and white, Kate follows this sign. It leads her to disastrous dating agencies and demoralising dead-ends until, finally, the answer seems to be revealed.

Her search for the missing piece of her family might end happily but has it made her blind to another kind of love?


My review of The Gift of Christmas Yet to Come
 
I read the first book in the St Nicholas Bay series back in September, my review of Somebody Else's Boy can be read here. This was a book that I very much loved, and so when I was offered the opportunity to read The Gift of Christmas Yet to Come, I jumped at the chance, knowing that I would love it... and I did.
 
The Gift of Christmas Yet to Come is a novella, so a quick read, perfect for this busy time of year. The story focusses upon Kate, a special needs teacher at the local primary school and her close knit bunch of friends, who have all known each other since their early school days together. Now in her early thirties, and single, Kate begins to question her role in life and her need to become a mother. I liked Kate from the moment I met her, and my heart ached for the fact that she so desperately wanted a child of her own. I won't say any more about this, as I don't want to spoil the plot, but all I will say is that you will be rooting for Kate and for her to be happy.
 
The other characters in the book are also well written and huge fun. Her friend, Meg, I particularly loved with her quick wit and blunt way of sharing her feelings. You'd want her as your own friend. For me though, my heart was well and truly with Will, Kate's oldest friend and the man she could truly rely on in life. The fact he could calm her by simply singing a song from her childhood, melted my heart.
 
The Gift of Christmas Yet to Come is a delicious bite sized chunk of a book, that is a perfect Christmas read. It makes you feel happy and that all is well with the world. I do hope that we revisit these wonderful characters and learn more about what they get up to in book 2 of the St Nicholas Bay series. I really do love this wonderful and charming world that the author has created.
 
The Gift of Christmas Yet to Come  is published by Accent Press and is available to buy from Amazon here.


About the author

 

I’ve made up stories for as long as I can remember, but never really took it any further. Concentrating on my career and family, writing went on the back burner until a catalyst called cancer gave me a major kick up the proverbial.  I decided I was going to write that novel after all.

In 2015 my debut 'Among A Thousand Stars' was published by So Vain Books, which at one point appeared in the top ten of three Kindle charts on the same day.  I also had two pocket novels published by DC Thomson in 2015, which fulfilled my childhood dream of walking into WHSmiths and buying something with my name on it. 

I write mainly contemporary women’s fiction, when I’m not knee deep in assignments in my day job as a university tutor. 'Somebody Else's Boy', the first of the four-book St Nicholas Bay series was published by Accent Press in August 2016. This series is set by the sea in Kent, where I live with my own family – so close to the edge of the Channel that we’re practically French.

My ambition is to drink tea and make stuff up on a full time basis, and, if you follow me on Twitter @J_B_Writer, I might even say something interesting one of these days… although I wouldn’t hold your breath.






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