Book Review: The Christmas Promise by Sue Moorcroft

"For Ava Bliss, it’s going to be a Christmas to remember …

On a snowy December evening, Sam Jermyn steps into the life of bespoke hat maker Ava. Sparks fly, and not necessarily the good ones.

Times are tough for Ava – she’s struggling to make ends meet, her ex-boyfriend is a bully, and worst of all, it’s nearly Christmas.

So when Sam commissions Ava to make a hat for someone special, she makes a promise that will change her life. She just doesn’t know it yet…"

Rating: 4/5

This is the first book I have read from author Sue Moorcroft, and I loved the fact it was a Christmas story! The cover for this book is beautiful, really festive, and made me excited to dive in and start reading This story is about Ava Bliss, who works as a milliner, or hatmaker to you and me. Her business has been a bit slow, so when her friends boss Sam comes into her life and commissions a special hat for Christmas, the pair strike up a friendship. When Sam asks her to do him a favour in the run-up to Christmas, Ava agrees, but doesn't quite realise what she's letting herself in for...

I have to admit, the art of hat making is something I know nothing about (unsurprisingly), so it was fascinating to read more about this particular skill throughout the book. I loved Ava's passion for her work, you could tell she was really proud of her skills of making beautiful hats, and Moorcroft does go into some detail about the work which was great to read. I liked the process too of Ava making the special hat for a present - it was fun to read how it all comes about, especially for the very deserving character who would be receiving the gift.

I will be honest and say that I did find the book a bit slow going at first, and I did get a little bit confused about the many characters thrown at me in the first few chapters. I lost track a bit, and it took me a little while to get into it and really get the characters down. Once I had done though, it was fun reading, and the characters all pop up regularly throughout the book, as they move through Ava's life. Her friendships are obviously very dear to her, as she doesn't appear to have much of a relationship with her parents who live in France. So when Sam comes on the scene, Ava is happy to make a new friend, but nothing more.

Sam was a fantastic character to read about - a perfect gentleman towards Ava, and the special relationship he has with his mother was so beautiful to read. There were scenes in here that moved me to tears, because the emotion of it all became so much, Moorcroft writes these parts so realistically. It's a harsh reality that illness can strike anyone at any time, but the way this was tackled throughout the book was beautifully done. There is another very important issue woven throughout this book involving Ava and her awful ex-boyfriend. He is holding something over her, and threatening to ruin her life with it, and I hated him for that. It's the lowest of the low, and while it was a horrible storyline to read, it highlights a very important and current issue.

I really enjoyed the festive feeling in this book, especially as Ava and Sam prepare to spend Christmas together to help honour their promise to someone special. Although it is a festive read, it isn't a hugely light and fluffy read. There's some serious stuff going on in this book, but I was completely absorbed by it, hoping for a good outcome for Ava and Sam, they both deserved it. I loved the different friendships within the book, although I did find one of Ava's friends a bit odd (Izz), and the importance of surrounding yourself by people who love you, especially at Christmas. This was a really well written and enjoyable book, and I am pleased that I persevered after the slow and confusing start! A lovely novel I can definitely recommend.

Blog Tour: The Christmas Promise by Sue Moorcroft

Today I am thrilled to be part of the blog tour for Sue Moorcroft's new festive read The Christmas Promise, her first book with her new publishers Avon. I am hosting an extract from the book, and am lucky enough to have a copy sat on my shelf ready to ready when I start reading my festive books!

Please enjoy the extract below, and make sure you pick up a copy of The Christmas Promise! Thank you to Sue Moorcroft and the team at Avon for asking me to be part of the blog tour!

Saturday 1 December
Battling her way along the crowded pavements of Camden High Street, under the red and green Christmas lights and past the huge boots and aeroplanes displayed on the shop fronts, Ava didn’t feel entirely in the mood for going out and having a good time. Today, her first day as a ‘casual’ stallholder in the West Yard market, had seemed endless. And she was pretty sure there would never be a second.

‘Even though I’ve been home to warm up, my feet are still burning and freezing both at the same time,’ she complained to Izz. They’d linked arms to share body heat as sleet danced in the air around them but she wished her dress would magically transform itself into a thick water­proof coat until she reached the warmth of Blaggard’s Bar. ‘It’s only the beginning of December and I’ve already had enough of Christmas shoppers who browse without buying, try on without buying, and especially, especially those who gasp, “How much? For one hat?” and drop one of my precious samples. Also without buying.’

Izz’s teeth chattered, although she was marginally more warmly dressed in glittery jeans and a top. ‘Sales were a bit thin, were they?’

‘To the point of being anorexic, even though I slashed my prices and prayed that none of my bespoke customers would appear and demand to know why they’d previously paid double.’

‘Your hats are amazing. You should be charging more, not less.’

Ava gave Izz’s arm a squeeze. ‘Aw, thank you! But needs must. I do need to eat, even if I can manage without luxuries like restaurants or the gym. I get anxious every time I think how much I spent on tarpaulin, skirting cloth and display stands, all of which look likely to end up on eBay after Christmas. If another casual hadn’t offered us a lift home I’d probably have stuffed the lot in a bin. I should have listed my stock on Etsy or Notonthehighstreet and saved myself a lot of freezing disappointment.’

She gave a little skip to keep up with Izz’s long stride. ‘I hope this drinks party is worth coming out for. It’s a bit early for a Christmas do, isn’t it?’

‘PR and marketing people will be frantic for the rest of the month with clients. Anyway, three of the associates from Jermyn’s were already over here today with a new client. Oh, look, there’s Tod, going into Blaggard’s.’

Ava watched the back of their mutual bestie Tod with envy as he hopped out of a cab and into Blaggard’s Bar, safe from the December drizzle. ‘Clients on a Saturday?’

‘It’s not necessarily a Monday-to-Friday industry.’ Izz was on a short contract at the communications agency where Tod was an associate. Tod was taking his newish and bossy girlfriend, Louise, to the agency Christmas do, and so Ava had agreed to be Izz’s plus one, Izz not currently having a boyfriend or feeling sufficiently brave to go alone.

Izz’s next words illuminated why giving the event a miss had not been an option. ‘Sam says the agency Christmas bash is a cornerstone of team building, so everyone will probably be here.’

‘Ah! If Sam said it then it must be true,’ Ava teased, shooting thankfully through a midnight-blue door span­gled with stars and into the happy and familiar din of Blaggard’s Bar, the rough-hewn wooden pillars incongru­ously strung with fairy lights and mistletoe tied with red and black ribbon.

Typically Camden, Blaggard’s was about crowds and diversity; suits mixing happily with gothic black or steampunk satin.