One Kiss Before Christmas
My Rating: 4.5
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Holiday
Format: eARC*
Publication Date: November 2, 2020
Author: Emma Jackson
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One Kiss Before Christmas Blurb
Could it be the start of her happy ever after?
Ashleigh could use a little Christmas magic. She’s still living in Brighton with her Nan – who could give the Grinch lessons in how to be miserable – her acting career has been reduced to playing one of Santa’s elves, and not even the prospect of a friend’s winter wedding can cheer her up…
That is until Olivier, the gorgeous French chef, reappears in her life. Or more accurately, next door.
When they were teenagers, Olivier would spend every Christmas with his mother, who just happens to be Ash’s neighbour and owner of the best chocolate shop in England.
If anyone can bring a little sparkle back to Ash’s life, it’s Olivier. All she needs is one kiss before Christmas…
One Kiss Before Christmas Review
As a quick reminder, here is my rating structure:
- 1 star: Did not finish
- 2 Stars: Finished but I do not recommend
- 3 Stars: Liked but could use some improvements
- 4 Stars: Loved this book!
- 5 Stars: Rare. The unput-down-able, binge read obsession.
My star ratings are also based also genre based. I compare all books with books of the same genre. While I would love to believe that my love of books in general transcends all bias, there are genres I prefer over others.
I’m human.
Example: If I read a mystery novel and think it deserves a 5-star rating, then I have compared it to other mystery books, and determined it to be one of my absolute favorites. The unputdownable mystery.
This will hopefully keep me from comparing Outlander, a personal obsession of mine, with the experience of reading The Hate You Give. Both 5 star books for me, but completely and totally different. I couldn’t even try to rate them against each other, so I don’t. Makes my life easier. 🙂
My Thoughts
Sometimes when I’m reading, I pick up a book and know before the end of the first chapter that I will like it. There’s no specific reason, but somehow the author has performed some sort of alchemy using of good writing, lovable characters, and timing my reading moodiness to create gold.
One Kiss Before Christmas is one such book for me.
There wasn’t anything particularly mind blowing or overly unique about this book except that it made me feel good in a time when I struggle with that feeling.
I knew when I opened my kindle, I would be in a safe, mildly pine scented. place to read. There is a great comfort in feeling safe when reading expecially in such a tumultuous time. And, honestly, that’s all I want for this Christmas, a little bit of frosted security and maybe a glass of eggnog.
Ashleigh and Olivier are a couple I can root for both individually and together. One thing you have to understand before reading One Kiss Before Christmas: it is a character driven story. Do not come here for the unexpected twist or page turning plot.
Instead, you should read One Kiss Before Christmas for the heart. The characters are so well developed that their outcomes almost become personal to the reader. These are two people who, yes are pursuing love with each other, but are first and foremost pursuing love with themselves.
The questions of “Who am I?” and “What do I want?” permeate the pages of this book, making it not only a cute holiday romance, but also an inspirational novel in its own right.
What didn’t work for me
I try to always say why a book falls short of 5 stars and the only thing I could come up with is that I wanted the couple together sooner. This is a sllloooowwww burn that might be great for some people, but I was feeling impatient.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a festive book to give you the holiday spirit, look no further than One Kiss Before Christmas.
~About the Author~
Author of the Best Selling A MISTLETOE MIRACLE and contender for the Joan Hessayon Award 2020, Emma has been a devoted bookworm and secret-story-scribbler since she was 6 years old. When she’s not running around after her two daughters and trying to complete her current work-in-progress, Emma loves to read, bake, catch up on binge-watching TV programmes with her partner and plan lots of craft projects that will inevitably end up unfinished. Her latest romantic comedy, SUMMER IN THE CITY, was released in June 2020.
Emma also writes historical and fantasy fiction as Emma S Jackson. THE DEVIL’S BRIDE was published by DarkStroke in February 2020.
*Special thanks to Emma Jackson and Rachel’s Random Resources providing a copy of One Kiss Before Christmas in exchange for an honest review.
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