A Christmas Gift

I liked this but I didn't love it. Georgine (I can't tell you how much that name irritated me) France was the pretty, rich girl at school. But around her nineteenth birthday things changed and she went from pampered princess to pauper. Now she is the Events Director for a local performing arts college called Acting Instrumental. Georgine's fall from grace has been hard: her father lost his construction business; her mother left; she had to drop out of university to get a job; and recently her boyfriend left her with a mountain of debts and dodging debt collectors at the door of her modest home in Middeldip Village. Joe Blackthorn reinvented himself when he left Middledip, the child of an alcoholic he was a kid from a sink estate, often hungry, dirty and poorly dressed. Now the drummer and singer with a successful british band he has had a falling out with his band member and retreated to his home town of Middledip to lick his wounds. His oldest friend and mentor runs Acting Instrumental and he is working incognito as assistant to the Events Director, little does he know that it is his BFF from school, Georgine. It's Christmas, there's a school musical, an incognito rock star, a dedicated teacher, irresponsible siblings, band drama, parental illness and tabloid journalism. i adore Sue Moorcroft's Middledip books but this book slightly missed the mark for me, it felt too safe, too obvious, too predictable. Maybe it's the curse of the Christmas novel. Maybe it's because Georgine just seemed too good to be true. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

3.5 Stars We've been to Middledip before but to be honest there is little of the village in the book and even less of characters that we already know. This book is very firmly about Georgine and the Academy that she works at, with special cameo appearances by Rich/Joe/JJ. With a sprinkling of seriously ill father, awkward encounters, munificent grandmother in a far away land and doorstepping moneylenders (well, bailiffs but you get the idea) this story felt like a re-worked fairytale; indeed there is so little that actually relates to real life about the characters themselves that it may as well be. Don't get me wrong I did enjoy the book - the writing is witty and does pull you in. It was the plot that I really couldn't get on with. Also, why does everybody have to be redeemed in the end? Yes, I know it is Christmas and a time for belief to be firmly suspended but I did find myself eye-rolling about the absurdity of some of the scenes and the cosy way everything gets resolved. Maybe I was just in the wrong frame of mind when I read it earlier this month but somehow I think the same things would have annoyed me no matter when I read it. The characters aren't all that badly written, they are just somehow pretty flat and predictable on the page. Georgine is a bit of a doormat to be honest and that never really changes throughout the book. Her relationship with Joe/Rich/JJ made rather uncomfortable reading to me and I felt like she was under some sort of evil spell rather than making rational or heart-led decisions about her future. The only relationships that felt halfway normal were the ones between Georgine and her Father and Sister respectively. All that said I must have got some enjoyment from reading it as when I noted the read dates and overall score down in my notebook I did give a fairly solid 3.5 Stars - it seems that in this case my memories of the book would have reduced that down to a 1.5 Stars. In the interests of fairness though I will stick with my initial impression - I only wish I could remember why I rated it relatively highly.

Georgine French is an events director at a relatively newly created secondary school focused on the performing arts She loves all things theatrical, and while family financial difficulties put an end to her degree, this position is tailor-made for her. Organized, upbeat and enthusiastic, the 17 through 19 year olds that she manages all find a source of inspiration and confidence in her presence. But not all is rosy – a breakup with her ex left debt collectors at her door, and her struggles to pay off large bills that he had run up in their name leaves her understandably unsettled. With him unwilling to take his responsibilities in hand, and the sudden appearance of her younger sister, guilting her into letting her stay as her own money management issues caused her relationship to break down, things are chaotic at home. Joe Blackthorn is a new volunteer employee at Acting Instrumental, handed off to Georgine to orient (read babysit) by her very unusual, yet best boss ever, Oggie. Quiet and almost monosyllabic, she’s finding it hard to see just what Joe would bring to the school, but ever in need of a helping hand she ropes him into her organization scheme, watching rehearsals, talking to students, you name it. But Joe has a secret – years earlier he and Georgine were friends in school – while he was navigating a severely dysfunctional home life, poverty and some minor criminal and gang activity, she was the popular posh girl – with everything his council estate friends envied and thus wanted to destroy. With trust issues the size of Scafell Pike and secrets (and shames) that could sink the Titanic – Joe’s double, no triple, identities, Georgine’s guilt and belief that her youthful indiscretions were the result of her family’s sudden change of circumstance, and the willingness of her sister and her ex to play on those guilts thus pushing her further into inflexible demands, the road these two have to travel is laden with pitfalls. But Joe’s determination to find and nurture talent, preparing these wide-eyed young artistic types for the pitfalls and bumps in the road is his main objective – all while ignoring a rift in the band he’d been in for the past decades, and his separation of identities, jobs and even homes. Surprisingly the story tackles multiple issues from secrets and responsibilities to the past and present informing your future, a bit of romance for Georgine and Joe, and some truly lovely moments with the Christmas show – the story was a read in one sitting sort of book, that brought the true meaning of what is important: family, friends and trust, to the forefront. I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.