A Christmas Gift
by Sue Moorcroft
Rating: 5 Stars *****

About the Author

Sue Moorcroft writes award-winning contemporary fiction of life and love. The Little Village Christmas was a Sunday Times Bestseller and The Christmas Promise went to #1 in the Kindle chart. Her latest release, The Christmas Gift has also become The Sunday Times Bestseller this year (2018). She also writes short stories, serials, articles, columns, courses and writing “how to” guides.

An army child, Sue was born in Germany, then lived in Cyprus, Malta and the UK, and still loves to travel. Her other loves include writing (the best job in the world), reading and hanging out with friends, dancing, yoga, wine and chocolate.

 

Links to Sue Moorcroft’s website and social media

Website: http://www.suemoorcroft.com 

Blurb

One Christmas can change everything…
Georgine loves Christmas. The festive season always brings the little village of Middledip to life. But since her ex-boyfriend walked out, leaving her with crippling debts, Georgine’s struggled to make ends meet.

To keep her mind off her worries, she throws herself into organising the Christmas show at the local school. And when handsome Joe Blackthorn becomes her assistant, Georgine’s grateful for the help. But there’s something about Joe she can’t quite put her finger on. Could there me more to him than meets the eye?

Georgine’s past is going to catch up with her in ways she never expected. But can the help of friends new and old make this a Christmas to remember after all?

Review

A Christmas Gift will put you into that festive spirit and give you that desire to stay warm and cosy with a good book. The cover deserves a mention here too. It’s bright, colourful, cosy and really draws the eye in. It is an excellent gift to give to someone, or indeed, treat yourself to. It’s warm and uplifting. Perfect for this time of year!

Just a few pages in and this book had already captured my attention. Don’t be fooled into thinking this is a flimsy, syrupy book because of the title. This book is about life, right down to its deepest, darkest pockets, which is cleverly coupled with a lot of lightness throughout with Christmas joy and happiness. It has a lot of substance packed into what is an average sized, good paced book. It is emotive and with characters to really care about.
Sue Moorcroft has written a very enjoyable, entertaining, well-observed book that actually contains a lot of excellent, modern content; and yet all flows with consummate ease. There are twists and turns throughout with family relations, an ex-partner, bailiffs, a student theatre production, a band, a romance and of course a heartwarming Christmas atmosphere.

There are many characters due to the nature of the story, but don’t let that put you off, they are described well and you will get a good feel of their personalities very quickly and are easy for any reader to follow. They make the story more realistic due to the life and premise that weaves throughout this book so well. 

Georgine France is the Events Director at Acting Instrumental – a performing arts college in Middledip. The college is putting together a musical theatre piece to showcase the student’s work. There’s clearly been a good amount of research as it is all realistically written with the different attitudes of people and what it takes to put on a show, which as this book shows, it takes a lot to pull a show off, even if it is a student production. I can see the detail that’s put into this work as I, myself get involved in amateur theatre, albeit front of house or backstage, but I’ve seen a fair bit. So, the way Sue Moorcroft has handled the piece was joyous. It is a bit like being able to take a peek of what goes on behind the scenes, but whether you’re involved or an audience member ot just like reading about life, there’s something for everyone here that will be found to be relatable to.

Sue Moorcroft has even thought of the audience for the show. I love that a Girlguiding group gets a mention. Being a former Girlguiding leader myself I can definitely say that it is so typical to do a fun outing of seeing a live show at Christmas with the girls. The fact they are even briefly written about, shows the thought and attention to detail that has gone into creating this book.

Georgine thought, when she successfully gained the Events Director position, all would be different. Little did she think she would be having financial issues to deal with and having to support her family.
This is a great premise and is set in so much reality for many with the great sounding job, but with the backdrop of other things happening in people’s private lives. It immediately drew me into wanting to know more about her life. It also shows very well, that no matter what the job title is, people are still people and have very real life issues to deal with, just the same as anyone with say, a lesser title. I find this keeps the main protagonist grounded in a way that makes her very likeable and relatable to.

Norman Ogden (Oggie) is the head/Principle of Acting Instrumental and an instantly likeable character with his very nice sounding personality and drive for wanting people to do well. Like all the characters,  the impression of the type of man Oggie is understood very quickly.

One of the other main characters is Joe Blackthorn who is the new colleague at the college. He isn’t all who he first seems and as you read on, you will find out there’s much more to him. He leads a fascinating life, part of it is being part of a band, which readers will be treated to a very believable insight into. I enjoyed getting to know more about him, his life behind his work and his interactions with others. He wants a quieter life, but will he get it? He has a lot to contend with from the past to his present, including the very topical issues of the press, selfies and autographs. There is a small paragraph, which is thought-provoking and basically makes the point of seeking permission before taking a selfie with any celebrity and not to assume you will receive an autograph. It is a very current topic within this world. 

There’s a beautiful love story that also develops between two characters (I won’t say who because that would spoil the intrigue). Let’s just say, it is written so tenderly and beautifully but also realistically, that it becomes part of the story that any reader would want to see if it develops further. I also like the portrayal that basically other aspects of life happens, some good, others almost heartbreaking, even when you’re caught up in the romance of a particular moment. I ended up really rooting for these characters to get it together and wanted to read more to see what happens and hoping they would.

I was left more than satisfied by how this meticulous, well-crafted, uplifting festive book concluded and how it had many twists and turns along the way.
It is also worth reading the acknowledgements because they are so interesting. Whether you have read her books before or not, then I highly recommend giving this one a try and finding out more about the characters living in Middledip.

*With thanks to Sue Moorcroft for providing a profile photo and for kindly allowing me to review her latest book, as well as contacting her publisher. I also thank her publisher – Avon Books UK (division of Harper Collins) for sending me a copy of her book.

*Please note: this is an impartial review.

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