A Gift Called Hope - Eva Jordan

A heartfelt novel of a Christmas shadowed by loss and regret—and brightened by hope for renewal—from the author of Time Will Tell.

 

Six-year-old Jack is counting the days to Christmas. But his grandmother is just counting the days until it’s over. For Jill, the holiday comes with painful memories, and she wants only to escape the recent past and its tragedies.

 

She’s moved and started a new life running a food truck in Widmore Bay, a quaint seaside town, in order to flee her agonising history.

 

It’s only for little Jack’s sake that Jill tolerates the tree and decorations. She just wants to spend Christmas with the curtains drawn, reading a book and drinking coffee.

 

But this season, she may stumble onto a miracle that restores joy—and hope—in her heart . . .

 

What did I think?

I've been a huge fan of Eva Jordan since reading her fantastic debut, 183 Times a Year so I was very excited to read her latest novel, A Gift Called Hope.  I don't think I can write a review that does this book justice as it didn't just blow me away, it completely broke me.  I cried BUCKETS!  Although I prefer reading physical books, this is one occasion where I was grateful to be reading a kindle copy as I couldn't stop my tears from dropping onto the digital pages.

So you may have realised by now that this isn't a sparkly festive Christmas book; it's a book filled with emotion as main character Jill struggles to cope with her grief following tragic events on a Christmas day that she will never forget.  You find out quite early on about Jill's loss and even though I was expecting it, the flashbacks that reveal what happened completely broke me.  I will never forget Jill taking that telephone call and I've got a lump in my throat just thinking about it now.

Whilst there is a lot of sadness in this book, there is also fun and laughter as Jill makes a new life for herself and her grandson in a small seaside town.  Jill's Irish neighbour Mary cracked me up on many an occasion as Eva Jordan perfectly balances the darkness of grief with the lightness of laughter.

Jill's grief is portrayed in such a way that it's almost a character in itself as she experiences guilt, anger and blame but ultimately acceptance and hope (as the book title suggests).  I felt all of the emotions with her as I was completely invested in her story.  I left a piece of my heart in this fabulous book, which ensures I will return for a reread in the near future.

A Gift Called Hope isn't just a rollercoaster of emotions, it's a whole fairground.  I cried tears of sadness and laughed until I cried but overall I felt the uplifting emotion of hope, the gift that Eva Jordan is giving all her readers this year.  Simply wonderful and completely unmissable - worthy of five stars and more.

Many thanks to Eva Jordan for sending me a digital ARC to read and review; this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

BLOG TOUR: Three's a Crowd - S. R. Booker

Out-of-work actor Harriet is recuperating from a crash-and-burn affair with Damian – aka ‘Cockweasel’ – and making ends meet as a barista when she meets two rather lovely men. Tom is a regular at the café, and seems like such a nice guy. Smooth-talking DJ Richard is older, but in great shape – a real silver fox.

 

Deciding to take a chance on both of them, Harriet doesn’t realise at first that she is actually dating father and son. Tom and Richard aren’t on speaking terms, and don’t share a last name – so how was she to know? By the time everyone finds out, both Tom and Richard are truly madly deeply in love with Harriet, and she’s faced with an impossible choice.

 

But as the battle for her affections intensifies, ‘Cockweasel’ makes an unexpected reappearance and begs her to give him another chance…

 

What did I think?

I absolutely loved this book.  Thank you Simon Booker for making me laugh and smile so much.  Three's a Crowd is just the tonic I needed to escape the madness of real life.

Harriet is a barista who wants to be an actor, but her dream of moving to Tinseltown seems to get more distant with every coffee she makes.  Tom is just Extra Cinnamon Guy' to Harriet until he finally works up the courage to ask her out.  When Harriet enters a radio competition to be the Voice of London, she meets DJ Richard who takes an instant shine to her.  Richard has good taste, his son Tom likes Harriet too...what are the chances it's the same Tom?

Told from three perspectives of Harriet, Tom and Richard, with an odd grandad George chapter thrown in for good measure, this isn't an ordinary story of girl meets boy - it's so multifaceted the book virtually sparkles.  The writing depicting the different voices of the characters is absolutely fantastic, especially Harriet's nagging doubts that seem to be constantly shouting in her ear.  I loved Gorgeous George (Richard's dad), he's such a smooth talker and rich lady magnet but his charms won't work on his son, who doesn't speak to him.

The fractured relationships between Tom and Richard and Richard and George adds an element of mystery and intrigue that shocked my jaw in to dropping to the floor when it all became clear.  I was really amused by Tom and Richard both trying to outdo each other to win Harriet's affections, they didn't know that Harriet was still hung up on her ex and she would drop everything (and I mean everything) if he ever came back into her life.

Three's a Crowd is like Cinderella mixed with a Carry On caper; it's fun, fresh and hilarious.  It's a fabulous romcom that often had me laughing out loud but also experiencing the various emotions of the characters as I loved all of them.  Highly recommended - it's one of the most entertaining books I've read this year.

I received an ARC to read and review for the blog tour; this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

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