Hi Savvy Readers!
This week’s featured read is Last Christmas in Paris by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb. It’s clearly the perfect novel for this time of year. It combines Christmas with Paris… What could be more perfect?
Read on to find out how you can enter to win a copy!
Mostly told in a series of letters, young Evie Elliott watches as her brother Will and his best friend, Thomas Harding, head off to The Great War. But they all believe, as does the rest of the country, that it will be over by Christmas and that the trio will be spending their holiday among the streets and cafés of Paris.
As we know, that’s not the case. Evie then struggles with life as a lady and wishes to do more to help the war. She’s not content to sit around and act like an ornament, and for that reason I really liked her character. She secures a newspaper column to voice the truth about the war and the conditions rather than spouting more government propaganda, it’s clear she finds her voice there, and comes into her own.
Meanwhile, Will and Thomas are struggling with the realities of the war, and write to Evie. Evie and Thomas grow closer and closer through their letters as they share their hopes and fears. I loved the slow growing affection in this novel. The letters really showed the development of their feelings. They both start off formal and then open up more and more. The love that blossoms between them is believable and lovely.
This book is also framed in the present, where an old Thomas Harding clutches an old stack of letters and heads off to Paris for one last Christmas, where he finds one last letter for him. Prepare the tissues, Savvy Readers, this one’s emotional.
Overall, we loved it! It was immersive and believable. The characters were people to root for and the setting is absolutely gorgeous. The quiet pace worked well for this story about two regular people who shared a great love. This is the absolute perfect read for Christmas, and we’re giving away THREE advance reading copies! Click here to find out how you can be entered to win one!
We hope you’ll enjoy it as much as we did. Add it to your 50 Book Pledge shelf today!
Happy Reading!
Brenann
thesavvyreader2014.wordpress.com 