#Review: Belle, Book and Christmas Candle by Sharon Booth @Sharon_Booth1 #romcom #witchlit

Goodness, it’s far too long since I read, enjoyed and reviewed a book from Sharon Booth – and I’m really delighted today to be sharing my review of Belle, Book and Christmas Candle, first published for kindle on 1st December but now also available in paperback. I’ve read and loved both books in Sharon’s Moorland Heroes series, Resisting Mr Rochester and Saving Mr Scrooge (links are to my reviews) – and she really does have a very special touch with Christmas books, because I absolutely loved Baxter’s Christmas Wish too. One day – she says wistfully – I do hope I’ll be able to visit Kearton Bay, Skimmerdale and Bramblewick too. But this is the first in a lovely new series, The Witches of Castle Clair – I really loved it, and I think everyone else who reads it will love it too.

Do you believe in magic?

Sky St Clair doesn’t, and growing up in Castle Clair, a small town renowned for its mystical past and magical legends, she never felt she belonged.

Sky got away from Castle Clair as soon as she could, but when a run of bad luck leaves her homeless and jobless, she has little choice but to accept her sister Star’s invitation to return home for the festive season.

When Star has an accident, Sky finds herself running the family’s magical supplies shop. Wands, crystals, pendulums … really? It’s a tough job when she doesn’t believe in the products she’s selling, but how can she? Magic isn’t real, no matter what her deluded siblings think.

Jethro Richmond doesn’t believe in magic either. In fact, he doesn’t believe in anything much anymore, which is proving to be a bit of a problem for a writer of fantasy novels. With a self-constructed wall around his heart as high as Clair Tower, and his dreams as ruined as the town’s ancient castle, he’s lost all hope of repairing his tattered career. The last thing he needs is to get involved with a family like the St Clairs, and no matter what a certain little black cat seems to want Jethro has no intention of spending any time with Sky or her unusual sisters.

But this is a strange little town and, as the residents prepare to celebrate Christmas, Sky and Jethro might just discover that in Castle Clair, anything is possible. Even magic…

I’ll admit that, until I started reading, the magic – and the mentions of “witch lit” I’d noticed on social media – did worry me just a little. But that was so very wrong of me – this book was simply wonderful. The magic is all wrapped up with family and relationships – all done in a lovely natural matter-of-fact way, and totally believable. And I can’t believe I just said that – but by the time I reached the end of this beautiful story, I was more than happy to accept the existence of witches, spells sustained by candles, magic wands, travelling distances in the blink of an eye and so much more. It helped a lot that Sky shared my early scepticism – unexpectedly finding herself running sister Star’s magic supplies shop, learning about the three types of customers (such a lovely touch!) and their purchases, discovering the power of crystals and candles, and that all wands aren’t necessarily black with a white tip.

And as well as being a story about a family and their secrets, this is a rather lovely romance too – I loved the developing relationship between Sky and Jethro, his sadness and the loss of his writing ability (and of fantasy too – what a great idea), their lunches at the shop, and the preparations for the Christmas magic show were just wonderful. I loved Sky’s chaotic but loving family, the relationships wonderfully drawn – and I very much liked Castor and his part in the story. But the undoubted star has to be Belle, the characterful little black cat who decides that the shop is where she wants to be, and who draws together and walks through so many of the story’s threads.

There was nothing I didn’t love about this book. The writing is excellent – I really liked the characters and their interactions, the gentle humour, the moments of drama and disagreement, and the whole structure and concept of the lovely story. Sharon Booth is a natural storyteller, and I was totally caught up in the web she wove through to the final page. And I really must mention the vividly drawn setting – Castle Clair is based on Knaresborough, which I know very well, and I really liked the way she used details I recognised, infused them with all the tastes and smells of Christmas and then added a sprinkle of real magic. A very special book, and despite its Christmas content, one that you could enjoy every bit as much as I did at any time of the year. I’m already looking forward to my next visit to Castle Clair…

About the author

Sharon writes heartwarming love stories set in beautiful Yorkshire. Her books are romantic but fun, and a happy ending for her main characters is guaranteed – though she makes them work for it!

As well as full-length novels she has written pocket novels for DC Thomson, and several of her “Fabrian Books’ Feel-Good Novels” have also been published in large-print format by Ulverscroft, as part of their Linford Romance Library.

Her short story, The Other Side of Christmas, was included in the Winter Tales anthology – a collection of seasonal stories by popular writers, in aid of The Cystic Fibrosis Trust and The Teenage Cancer Trust. Her 2017 novel, Resisting Mr Rochester, was awarded a Chill with a Book Readers’ Award.

Sharon lives in East Yorkshire with her husband and their dog. She is one tenth of The Write Romantics and a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and the Alliance of Independent Authors.

She has a love/hate relationship with chocolate, is a devoted Whovian, adores Cary Grant movies, and admits to being prone to all-consuming crushes on fictional heroes.

When she’s not writing, she spends as much time as possible getting her money’s worth from her membership of English Heritage.

For more information on Sharon and her books, she has an excellent website: you can also find her on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. You can also find Sharon, together with her friend and fellow writer Jessica Redland, at their Yorkshire Rose Writers website, and via their Twitter account.