BLURB:
Tall, dark and handsome, Tom is out to have some fun. Kaisa doesn’t think she’ll ever fall in love again. But when they meet on the snow-capped Swedish Alps, sparks fly.
With his beloved mother passed, Tom is forced to leave his two teenage sons in Milan with his ex and is looking forward to an uncomplicated Christmas skiing in the Swedish Alps.
With her daughter Rosa away backpacking in the Far East, Kaisa decides to take a rare winter break over the holidays with her best friend Tuuli. Now in her late fifties, Kaisa doesn’t think she’ll ever fall in love again. But when she sees Tom after some thirty years, her heart begins to beat a little faster. Kaisa knows, however, an affair with Tom will go nowhere. Years ago, they had a disastrous date, which neither of them wishes to revisit.
Yet, on the slopes and in the apres-ski bars Tom showers Kaisa with his attentions and she finds she cannot resist his intense eyes and passionate kisses.
Can Kaisa trust this European Casanova, and her own sudden infatuation?
The Christmas Heart is a seasonal story of grown-up love set in the beautiful Swedish Alps. It’s the final book in the acclaimed Nordic Heart series, but can also be read as a stand-alone story.
Get this feel-good Nordic holiday romance today!
My review
This is a wonderfully Christmassy book and a touching love story. The setting in Finland in the deep snow is beautifully festive, with people skiing and then enjoying warm wine in the evenings in the cosy bars and restaurants.
The cover gets you into the mood beautifully. There’s obviously going to be romance with that loving couple, and there are hints of hygge happiness with the knitted hats and Christmas decorations. Or so I thought until I did some research. Hygge isn’t a Finnish thing: they go for the more down-to-earth pantsdrunk, which is relaxing by drinking alcohol in your undies! However, a warm, enticing Nordic atmosphere is created. All the little details of life in Finland that you find in this book are fascinating.
Our characters are mature, in their fifties and early sixties, making this a work of boomerlit, if you want to give it a label, but it will appeal to younger readers just as well. However, I think the elements of the story that deal with past regrets and loss will resonate more strongly with those of us with a few more years under our belts. Tom and Kaisa were attracted to each other at university, but never acted on that. They met briefly later and had a short fling, but went separate ways again. But now they’ve been set up. Tulla and Ricky, their best friends, have arranged this skiing holiday, not mentioning to either Tom or Kaisa that the other would be there.
Despite herself, Kaisa is instantly attracted to Tom again, but she’s wary. He was a ‘Rich Boy’ back in uni days, and still is, somewhat entitled and extravagant. Is that really the sort of person she wants to be with? And she discovers after a passionate night with him that he has a younger girlfriend. What a mess she’s got herself into. Never again.
But you should never say never…
Tom takes a little longer for the reader to warm to. He’s recently suffered death in the family, and so that wins our sympathy, but like with Kaisa, he has to work to win our affection. He’s a nice guy but, as he admits, he’s no saint, so we’re all going to have to get to know the real him to make our final judgement.
The author tells an engaging story of attraction, stubbornness, misunderstandings and happiness. It’s a gentle story but that’s not to say it’s without emotional tensions, and highs and lows. There’s a nasty accident too, and whilst the outcome of that has long-term consequences, they aren’t necessarily bad…
But I mustn’t give too much away! You must read this atmospheric, sweet yet powerful short novel for yourselves. You’ll be so glad you did! And who can resist the work of someone who confesses to dancing to Abba in secret. I mean, don’t we all?
- Format:Kindle Edition
- File Size:3959 KB
- Print Length:134 pages
- Simultaneous Device Usage:Unlimited
- Publisher:Newhurst Press (25 Oct. 2018)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A prize-winning author, Helena Halme writes contemporary fiction with a hint of both Nordic Noir and romance. She’s a former BBC journalist, bookseller and magazine editor. Originally from Finland where she gained an MSc in Marketing, she also holds an MA in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University and writes in English.
Helena acts as Nordic Ambassador for the Alliance of Independent Authors and helps other writers publish and market their books.
Helena has published seven fiction titles, including The English Heart, a best-selling Nordic romance, which won an Awesome Indies badge on publication. The bittersweet 1980s love story between a Finnish student and a British Navy officer is now a series, including a prequel novella, The Young Heart, the sequels The Faithful Heart, The Good Heart and Helena’s latest title, The True Heart, book four in The Nordic Heart Series. Helena has also published a non-fiction title, Write Your Story: Turn Your Life into Fiction in 10 Easy Steps.
Helena is addicted to Nordic Noir and dances to Abba songs when nobody’s watching.
Website: http://www.helenahalme.com/
Twitter : @helenahalme
Author page on Facebook
Instagram @helenahalme
This is a fast-paced, enjoyable cosy with an added splash of romance – definitely my favourite combination in a book! Kat makes for a lively and very likeable heroine. We really feel for her, forced to return to the mothership for a while and, in so doing, having to relinquish some of her independence. It also means she’ll run into a few people she’d far rather avoid…
Paula Williams is living her dream. She has written all her life – her earliest efforts involved blackmailing her unfortunate younger brothers into appearing in her plays and pageants. But it is only in recent years, when she turned her attention to writing short stories and serials for women’s magazines that she discovered, to her surprise, that people with better judgement than her brothers actually liked what she wrote and were prepared to pay her for it.
If you’ve read the first book in this series, The Second Footman, you’ll know what to expect: complex characters, rich imagery and a tale that’s intriguing as well as full of intrigue. And if you haven’t, you’ll soon work out for yourself that Jasper Barry is a fabulous novelist who drags you through many different emotions as you read. This novel works as a standalone since you soon pick up who’s who and what’s what, but it’s a richer read if you’ve read the first novel.
Author Bio – Lynette grew up listening to her mother Mattie’s stories about her WW2 love for US Navy Diver Charlie. She used Mattie’s 30 letters from Charlie, and together with her insightful editor/advisor husband, Bud, they completed extensive research to give reality to The Rigel Affair. Lynette has published multiple short stories for NZ magazines. Both Lynette and Bud have completed numerous Creative Writing courses at Auckland University. Lynette is an accomplished expressionist Artist, with works sold internationally.
I have to admit that I’d expected a rather darker mystery from the cover, but this is a very lively and subtly amusing novel. It’s one in a series but you don’t need to have read the preceding books, although that would be the ideal scenario. You get enough info to work out who’s who and what’s what, and can pick up on the running themes.
Before turning to crime, Alice Castle had a long career as a feature writer on national newspapers including the Daily Express, The Times and The Daily Telegraph. Alice grew up in south London and, after a brief stint in Brussels (where her first novel, Hot Chocolate, is set) she is back where she belongs, dreaming up adventures for her heroine, amateur detective and single mum Beth Haldane. Alice is married with two children, two stepchildren and two cats. Find out more about her London Murder Mystery series on her website, www.alicecastleauthor.com. Death in Dulwich was published in September 2017 by Crooked Cat Books and was #1 in the Amazon Satire/Detective charts in the UK, US, Canada, France, Spain and Germany. The Girl in the Gallery came out in December 2017 and the third in the series, Calamity in Camberwell, was published on 13th August 2018. Revenge on the Rye will follow in 2019, with more books in the pipeline.
Jo and Hattie have transformed Kirkton Hall into the Best Boomerville Hotel, a place offering holidays with creative and self-improving courses to older, single persons. They’re the ones with time and money and so this is a very astute business move. It also doesn’t hurt the venue is becoming known as a posh dating destination. But not everyone goes to the hotel in the hope of finding friendship and love. There are a few other motives at play.
This is a lively and evocative story set in wartime London. Our three heroines are wonderfully strong women. Like so many others during this time of heartbreak but also empowerment, they’ve assumed important roles in the war effort. Not only are their jobs demanding and dangerous, but home life isn’t easy either. Frankie misses her grandfather who died recently and is struggling to cope with her obnoxious step-gran Ivy. Winnie’s husband is in the army and so she constantly worries about him, although she has her beloved dog Trixie to keep her company, and Bella has lost the writing assignments she so enjoyed. But they keep their spirits up as best they can and tackle every new task that comes their way.
Rosie Hendry lives by the sea in Norfolk with her husband, two children, chickens and a snake. She’s worked in a variety of jobs from fruit picking, waitressing, teaching and as a research scientist but has always loving reading and writing. Starting off writing short stories for women’s magazines, her stories have gradually become longer as her children have grown bigger.
The story is set in New Zealand and centres on a family. It’s helpful, I think, to quickly run through the relationships and say a little about the main characters. There’s Valerie, the mother, who was married to a Maori man. There’s Elena, the elder daughter, who’s pregnant. She’s a food blogger and we see some of her posts in the book. She’s married to the philandering Malcolm.
Isa Ritchie is a Wellington-based writer. She grew up as a P?keh? child in a bicultural family and M?ori was her first written language. She has completed a PhD on food sovereignty in Aotearoa. She is passionate about food, wellbeing and social justice.
The Promise of Tomorrow is a touching and powerful historical romance set just prior to and during the First World War. It grabs the reader’s attention from the very start when we meet the conniving McBride, who is planning to ‘lose’ his ghastly wife and marry his wealthy ward instead.
Australian-born AnneMarie Brear writes historical novels and modern romances and sometimes the odd short story, too. Her passions, apart from writing, are travelling, reading, researching historical eras and looking for inspiration for her next book.
I think the key sentence in this book is: First she needed to find herself. Katherine has been too busy being someone else, because she thought that was what she had to be. She’s lost touch with her soul. But she knows where to find it and so leaves her affluent city life behind to return to Bluewater. Here she begins to paint again, and as well as starting to find herself she finds rich talent she’d forgotten she had. And eventually she also finds herself facing decisions, and maybe even losing herself again.
Painting Blue Water is the debut novel for Leigh Fossan. A creative soul at heart, Leigh grew up with a paintbrush in her hand, and went on to study the arts in Florence, Italy. While abroad, Leigh was one of the few recipients of the Coluccio Salutati Award for Creative Writing. Today, Leigh is a professional artist and her paintings are collected around the world. She lives in Colorado with her artist husband, and their young daughter, who wants to be a scientist.