I’m always a particular fan of novellas in the lead up to Christmas, when it can sometimes be a bit of a challenge to get through quite as many full-length novels as I’d really like to. And I’m delighted today to share my review of one that I really, really wanted to catch up with – Delivering Christmas by the wonderful Liz Fenwick. Published on 11th October, this beautiful little read – just 126 pages – is now available for kindle (just £1.99, or free via Kindle Unlimited) and in paperback. The copy I read was my own, purchased for my kindle via Amazon.
And this is the point when I wish I could tell you that I’ve read and loved everything Liz has ever written, but I’m rather ashamed to admit that – although I’ve purchased every single one and they’re all waiting on my kindle – I’ve only been able to fit in a couple. That said, the first one I tried – The Path to the Sea – was just so thoroughly wonderful that I immediately added her to my list of favourite authors. It was a book that had a profound emotional impact, and I felt a real sense of loss when my reading experience was over (you’ll find my review here – and it featured in my Books of the Year list in 2019). And then there was The River Between Us – shifting effortlessly between present and past, fascinating with its flawed and complex characters, the wonderfully told story of a forbidden and impossible love that entirely broke my heart (you can read my review again here). I’ve been trying in vain to fit in the reading of her latest novel, The Secret Shore (could everyone else stop writing for a little while please?!), but when I saw that this new novella picked up Theo’s story – she was a character I’d so enjoyed in The River Between Us – I really had to include it in my pre-Christmas reading…
All she wants for Christmas is peace and quiet, and to be alone…
Theo Pascoe is relieved she finally has her cottage back to herself, after her beloved son, wife, and grandson move out to their new home. Christmas is fast approaching and she’s fully booked doing the work she loves, preparing Christmas decorations for the local hotel, running wreath-making workshops, and dressing clients homes for the holidays.
However her family and friend think they know best – that she is suffering from empty-nest syndrome and what she really needs is some romance back in her life. But that’s the last thing Theo wants right now!
As Christmas Day approaches Theo is looking forward to spending the day quietly at home, with just her cat for company. But she has just one last home to decorate when a sudden cold snap catches everyone by surprise and she finds herself stranded in a remote house with a client. Theo just wanted to spend Christmas alone, but it seems fate has other plans?
I always think there’s a particular art in writing a novella – to interest the reader in the characters within relatively few pages, to engage them in a story with sufficient depth and detail and, when writing romance, to make it convincing at an emotional level. I did have a bit of a head start with this one – I’d met and liked Theo before, found her very easy to identify with in so many ways – but I’m sure new readers would find her equally sympathetic within the first few pages.
For me, she’s rather living the dream – living with her Norwegian Forest Cat (called “Cat”…) in Boatman’s Cottage, set in the most idyllic Cornish location, running wreath-making workshops and offering a service to local homeowners and businesses to get them Christmas-ready. She has a friendly and efficient assistant, plenty of friends around – but she’s looking forward to kicking back and spending Christmas on her own (with Cat, of course…) just because she can. Romance might not be something she’s looking for, but it sometimes takes you by surprise – an admiring glance at the Christmas tree farm, some (rather ham-fisted on his part) attempts at wreath-making, a commission to work at his son’s house, an unexpected change in the weather… and Theo’s plans rather leave through the window.
As a second chance romance – always a personal favourite – it’s really rather lovely. The Christmassy detail is fascinating and beautifully festive, I enjoyed the different relationships, the romance was warm and believable, and there are some lovely touches of humour (and just a little embarrassment too – loved that bit!). And there was a nice touch of historical detail too – it might mean more to those who’ve read The River Between Us, but I thought it was rather perfect.
I really enjoyed this one – the later life romance really warmed the cockles of my heart, the book had all the Christmas touches I could have asked for, and the whole story was beautifully told. One I’d very much recommend to others – and just the right length to make it easy to fit into your own build-up to the big day…!
Praise for Delivering Christmas:
‘A wise, warm, festive delight.’ – Alex Brown – author of A Postcard from Capri
‘I absolutely loved it! It’s gorgeously romantic and uplifting!’ – Emily Kerr – author of Her Fixer Upper
‘No one captures the heart like Liz Fenwick! A beautiful love story of new beginnings intertwined with the unbreakable familial ties of the past.’ – Amanda Geard – author of The Midnight House
‘…the perfect Christmas tale!’ – Christina Courtenay, author of Promise of the Runes
‘Romantic, evocative and beautifully described, this is Liz Fenwick’s signature Cornish comfort in a perfect Christmas treat.’ – Pernille Hughes, author of Ten Years
About the author
Novelist, slave to two cats and dreamer turned doer….
Award winning author of The Cornish House, A Cornish Affair, A Cornish Stranger, Under A Cornish Sky, The Returning Tide, One Cornish Summer, The Path to the Sea, The River Between Us, The Secret Shore and the novella A Cornish Christmas Carol. She lives in Cornwall with her husband and spends her time wrangling two mad cats, plot walking, reading and procrastinating on social media.
The novella, Delivering Christmas, is out and she’s writing her next novel.
Her books are available in Dutch, German, Portuguese, French, Estonian, Norwegian, Danish, Turkish, Swedish, Latvian, Serbian, Czech, Hungarian, Italian and Finnish.
Sounds like a nice cosy Christmas Eve kind of book.
It’d be just perfect!