4 out of 5 stars
On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads
How I discovered this book: Twitter!
In a nutshell: Cosy Christmas novella set in a Swiss hotel
Spa hotel managers Stacy and fiancé Rico are so busy organising a perfect Swiss advent for their guests that they hardly have time for each other. The arrival of Rico's widowed father, Ralph, is a lovely surprise, but is he hiding something?
Widow Carol arrives at the hotel for a relaxation week with a friend, en route to Australia, to visit her son and grandchildren. Pushed into the holiday by her friend, she can't wait for the week to be over.
With tension building between Stacy and Rico, she feels envious of the guests who have time just for each other.
This is a cosy, 'feel-good' story, with all the atmosphere of Christmas in Switzerland, and I enjoyed reading all about the various Advent customs in this part of the world. It's most definitely a 'clean read', and I think would be appreciated most by readers who like sweet romances, as this is the general tone of it - and all HEA and Christmas addicts, of course! A book to curl up with on a cold day, with a huge mug of hot chocolate; this might even make it snow. 😀
4 out of 5 stars
On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads
How I discovered this book: I've been mutually retweeting with Linda Huber on Twitter for some time and had seen that her books looked popular, so thought I'd try one!
Genre: dark family drama.
A great start to this book: a man is burying a body in a garden. But who is it?
Death Wish concentrates on two families. Leo Mackie has just set up home with his unstable girlfriend, Ashley, while her wicked witch mother, Eleanor, looms in the background. Leo will do anything to keep Ashley's love, and doesn't realise a) quite how unhinged she really is, b) why, and c) what a bad move it is to accept her mother's offer of buying into his business ~ and into their lives....
The other family consists of sweet eight-year-old Joya, her father, Stu, and her it's-all-about-me, neurotic mother, Martine, who feeds her child an almost constant diet of chips, ice cream and Coke, and leaves her to her own devices much of the time; I was with Stu all the way and wanted to tell her to get a grip, too! Also in the house is Martine's invalid mother, Vee.
Linda Huber writes in such a readable way, and I read the first 40% of the book in one sitting; it was only later that I realised that almost all of it takes place in the two houses. That the families lead rather dreary, insular lives did not matter; the writing itself was of a quality that kept me turning the pages. I liked Ms Huber's decision to show much of the story from Joya's point of view; it gave a refreshing variation to the narrative, and made me remember how I used to think when I was eight years old! This story is a fine example of what goes on behind respectable closed doors. Leo was by far my favourite character, despite the decisions he makes later; he seemed the most 'real' to me.
There are no great surprises but the end comes together neatly, with a nice little twist or two in the tale that becomes almost darkly comic in places, which I liked. Within the plot are the deeper issues of Huntington's Disease, assisted suicide, teen pregnancy and adoption, and these are dealt with realistically and with sensitivity. It's a moderately-paced story, very well put together, and I think it would appeal to anyone who likes intricate family dramas ... with a dark side.
