The Christmas Promise by Sue Moorcroft

The Christmas Promise by Sue Moorcroft

Published: December 1st 2016

Publisher: Avon

Pages: 325

Available in Paperback and on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

Rating: 4/5

Blurb

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…

Review

The Christmas Promise is the first book by Sue Moorcroft that I’ve read and is one which I really enjoyed.

Ava Blissham is having a rough time and with Christmas just round the corner she feels it’s only going to get worse.  When friend Izz drags her out for her work Christmas party Ava bumps into her ex Harvey who tries to blackmail her by saying if she doesn’t go back out with her he’ll spread illicit photos of her all over the internet. Upset Ava rushes homes but is followed by Izz’s boss Sam who wants to make sure she’s ok. Sam takes Ava home where she shows him her hat studio and he asks her is she will make a special hat for his mother who has recently been diagnosed with cancer. Desperate for some money Ava agrees, it’s only when she meets Sam’s mother and realises that she’s under the impression her and Sam are dating. Which makes it more complicated when Harvey comes to the same conclusion.

This book deals with the effects of cyber bullying, financial hardship and tragically a cancer diagnosis which added a great deal of emotion and poignancy to be the story. Sam’s relationship with his ill mother brilliantly portrayed. He shows her he cares but doesn’t smoother her and make her feel “ill”.  Ava was a great character who I instantly liked, I wished she just forget about the whole “not dating” thing after Harvey and give lovely Sam a chance. I loved the wide mix of supporting characters in this book too from Ava best friend Izz, to Tod and Lindsay to the gem that is Auntie Val as they all added a little something to the story.

Some of my favourite scenes included when Ava first meets Sam’s mum, the charity fundraiser and the Christmas Day scenes all were very touching and they were moments when I did shed a few tears. Despite this being a serious book with real issues there are some light hearted and comical moments, the fancy dress party being ones of my favourites.

Harvey was an utterly horrible character and the plot to take revenge on him for his nastiness was genius and quite funny and I loved how it brought many of the sub character’s all together to help Ava and Ruby, a WAG who needed a little help with her media presence.

What I loved most about this book was that it was more than just a romance told at Christmas. It was a book which dealt with real issues, poverty, bullying and cancer may not be the cheeriest of topics but they are things which we are dealing with in today’s world and that made it a great read for me. This is a book which highlights that Christmas isn’t about how much money you spend on gifts and celebrations it’s about spending time with those we really care about and embracing life and making those special moments count because those are the things which are most important.

I’ve loved reading my first book by Sue Moorcroft and can’t wait to get started on my next. It’s the perfect book to read right now as we begin the final count down to the big day. Thank you to Avon and Netgalley for tis copy to review.