Monday 13 July 2015

Reviewed: Cora's Christmas Kiss by Alison May.







Cora's Christmas Kiss is book two in the Christmas Kisses series. It was published by Choc Lit on December 4, 2014.


Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book to review.



First off, can I mention the cover? Isn’t that the most perfect of Christmas covers? I love it, from the gorgeous snowy colour tones to the simple but beautiful backdrop to the couple, all wrapped up warm, holding hands and oblivious to everything around them, so wrapped up in each other. If it’s possible for a cover set in the coldest of conditions to make you feel all warm and cosy, this is the one. Which accurately represents the book itself because Cora’s Christmas Kiss is the cosiest of novellas and the best pick to put a smile on your face for the festive season.

In Golding’s department store, two of their staff members have had tough years and neither of them expected to be spending December dressed up as Father Christmas (not Santa) and a reindeer, gifting little kids their Christmas wishes. Cora and Liam, under the guises of Rudy and Chris, find solace in each other’s company as they share their stories of the year gone by – full honesty, full getting to know the real person on the inside. What follows is a heart-warming little Christmas story and one of my very favourites.

The structure and format of this book was spot on, allowing us to learn about the stories of Cora and Liam whilst catching on to their growing attraction and seeing how a year of their lives had set them up for Christmas 2014. At first I thought that with all the flashbacks, we might not get enough chance to see the feelings between Cora and Liam develop but this is why Alison is the writer and not me because it worked out just beautifully. Having read Alison’s previous Christmas Kiss book, Holly’s Christmas Kiss, I was glad that in this one we get to see what has shaped Cora’s year because she was far from my favourite character in the first book, being a bit of a thorn in the side of Michelle and her newfound romance with Sean. I loved seeing their names crop up in Cora’s Christmas Kiss and we can see how much can change in a year’s time and how it impacts on a person because I really grew to like Cora in this book.

The way Cora communicated with Liam throughout this book, as they both pretended they were discussing their friend’s lives as they went back in time, really put a smile on my face and I liked how they kept keeping up the act even though they both knew from the start that wasn’t the case. I was fascinated with the way both their years had turned out and Liam’s especially was not what I had expected. His character was warm and caring as some of his reactions to Cora’s stories proved but he also knew how to make light out of things when needed to lift the mood. The connection between both characters was lovely to read and even though you’re pretty sure they’re going to have that dream-like ending, it would be what they so definitely deserved and I couldn’t stop myself from reading on until I reached a hopefully happy ending.

Cora’s Christmas Kiss was a delight of a book – two characters who’ve had not the greatest of years and yet who’d have thought that could make such an uplifting book? Throughout the telling of their stories and the flashbacks, a little bit of positivity is waiting to shine through every page and this is such a warm and touching story. I cared for both characters and really was a little sad to let them go at the end. Cora’s Christmas Kiss expresses the need to make the best out of the situation you are in and shows that maybe the things that make you happy are not always what you expected them to be.


Beautiful and uplifting, a must read for the festive season







2 comments:

  1. Anonymous20/7/15 14:55

    I read this book last Christmas and really loved. It is one of my favourite Christmasy books. I haven't read anymore by the Author, but I certainly will be.
    Amanda.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah glad you loved it too! I was surprised by how much I was taken by it and also will be reading more from Alison :)

      Delete

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