And my third post of the day, and it’s such a pleasure to share my review of the latest book from Kiltie Jackson, A Snowflake in December: independently published on 8th October, it’s now available for kindle (and free via Kindle Unlimited) and in paperback. The e-copy I read was my own, purchased via Amazon.
Another new-to-me author, but one I’ve been wanting to read for rather a long time – I really liked the look of the Lovestyle series (and shared a lovely guest post from Kiltie – you’ll find it here – when A Rock ‘n’ Roll Lovestyle was published back in 2017) but was never quite able to get there. I then had the pleasure of Kiltie’s company at the Chase BookFest back in 2019 – and I still didn’t manage to catch up on her books! But this book had a blog tour when it was released, and I saw so many lovely reviews – so I was delighted to be able to add it to my pre-Christmas reading list…
When Christmas is the time of year you hate the most, what does it take to make you love it?
Polly Snowflake hasn’t celebrated Christmas since her father died on Christmas Day when she was fifteen years old and, twenty years later, she has avoiding the festive season down to a fine art. That is until she meets Maxwell Watkins, a fully-fledged lover of Christmas, who vows to thaw out her frozen Christmas spirit.
Taking the idea of an advent calendar, Maxwell sets a different ADVENT-ure each day from the 1st to the 24th December, covering all manner of wonderful Christmas delights. As they spend time together, Polly begins to wonder if Christmas is the only thing she’ll be opening her heart to. That is, until Maxwell’s glamourous super-model ex-girlfriend arrives back on the scene…
Will this be a Christmas for Polly to remember or yet another she’ll want to forget?
Well, wasn’t this just the loveliest read? I always love it when I can engage with a heroine from the very beginning, and Polly Snowflake is totally adorable – she’s just not much of a fan of Christmas, not surprising when it’s the anniversary of her father’s death. She’s moved from London, leaving a relationship behind, to the Peak District – lives in a rather lovely house, that she shares with characterful cat Bailey. She’s (understandably – what a boss!) unhappy with her current job – but things change when she crosses paths with Monty, who shows her an act of real kindness, then offers her a lovely new job as receptionist in the men’s fashion business (high end!) that he runs with partner Andy. Only problem is that Monty absolutely loves Christmas – and her first task is to decorate the office and put up the Christmas tree.
But she has help – Monty has a twin brother, Maxwell, who’s twice his size, and an ex-model to boot. And when Maxwell discovers how Polly feels about Christmas, he starts his mission to make her learn to love it again – with a different daily activity every day in the run-up to Christmas. The ADVENT-ures are simply wonderful – a candlelit procession (I loved that one!), a wreath-making workshop, a visit to Santa (AND a ride in the sleigh), a trip across the snow pulled by huskies… and so, so much more. And the pair grow ever closer, as Polly starts to experience the magic of Christmas – until Maxwell’s high-maintenance ex-girlfriend shows up, and throws everything into uncertainty.
The characters are just superb, wonderfully drawn and developed – and if I loved Polly, I certainly grew to feel the same about Maxwell (my goodness, he’s SUCH a lovely man – and really hot!). And all those wonderful outings – sheer unadulterated fun and joy at times, but with the occasional one bringing a tear to the eye as it triggers memories of her dad or her past life. If you’re not feeling particularly Christmassy when you pick this book up, I absolutely guarantee you (like Polly) most definitely will by the time you’re approaching the end – and that ending really was absolutely everything I wanted it to be.
This might just be the most Christmassy book I’ve read this year – everything that shouts “Christmas” is here, and I loved every single moment. And the slow-burn romance is just glorious – a few stumbles along the path, but you just know that a happy ending won’t be too far away. Quite wonderful – and very highly recommended.
About the author
Kiltie Jackson spent her childhood years growing up in Scotland. Most of these early years were spent in and around Glasgow although for a short period of time, she wreaked havoc at a boarding school in the Highlands.
By the age of seventeen, she had her own flat which she shared with a couple of cats for a few years while working as a waitress in a cocktail bar (she’s sure there’s a song in there somewhere!) and serving customers in a fashionable clothing outlet before moving down to London to chalk up a plethora of experience which is now finding its way into her writing.
Once she’d wrung the last bit of fun out of the smoky capital, she moved up to the Midlands and now lives in Staffordshire with one grumpy husband and another six feisty felines.
Her little home is known as Moggy Towers even though, despite having plenty of moggies, there are no towers! The cats kindly allow her and Mr Mogs to share their home as long as the mortgage continues to be paid.
Since the age of three, Kiltie has been an avid reader although it was many years later before she decided to put pen to paper – or fingers to keyboard – to begin giving life to the stories in her head. Her debut novel was released in September 2017 and her fourth book was a US Amazon bestseller in Time Travel Romance.
Kiltie loves to write fiery and feisty female characters and puts the blame for this firmly on the doorsteps of Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables and George Kirrin from The Famous Five.
When asked what her best memories are, Kiltie will tell you:
1. Queuing up overnight outside the Glasgow Apollo to buy her Live-Aid ticket.
2. Being at Live-Aid.
3. Winning an MTV competition to meet Bon Jovi in Sweden.
(Although, if Mr Mogs is in earshot, the latter is changed to her wedding day.)
Her main motto in life used to be “Old enough to know better, young enough not to care!” but that has since been replaced with “Too many stories, can’t type fast enough!”
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