Click on image to visit the Harper Impulse Website

What it’s all about

Need a fun, festive treat to warm you up on cold winter nights? Don’t miss this terrific debut from a witty new voice in romantic comedy!

When Juliet Hill unwittingly discovers a most-definitely-not-hers-rhinestone-studded lace thong in her high-flying lawyer boyfriend’s apartment, this usually feisty chef is suddenly single and facing a very blue Christmas – with only a ready meal for one to keep her company!

So when she’s personally requested to cater for the family at Thornton Hall three days before Christmas, it’s not long before Juliet’s standing at the (back) door of the Earl of Gloucester’s impossibly grand ancestral pile.

The halls are decked, the guests are titled, those below the stairs are delightfully catty, and all-American Juliet sets to work cooking up a glorious British Christmas with all the trimmings.

But other flames are burning besides those on the stove… Sparks fly with Edward, the gorgeous ex-soldier turned resident chef, and are those sidelong looks Juliet’s getting from her boss, the American tycoon Jasper Roth?

As the snow starts to fall on the idyllic Cotswolds countryside, so does the veneer of genteel high society and there are more than a few ancient skeletons rattling out of the Hall’s numerous dark cupboards!

CHRISTMAS AT THORNTON HALL is a country house romance for the modern age, a must-read for fans of the scandals and drama of Downton Abbey and the charm and wit of Helen Fielding.

My bit

What could be better than a book that reads like Downton Abbey. OK so I know Downton isn’t a book but you know what I mean, right?

So although this reminds me of Downton it is a modern book. So I better lay that out there straight away. What I really loved about the book was the mix in characters. And the whole ‘see how the other half lives’ aspect. We get to see the ‘monied’ characters upstairs in their realm and then we get to witness the goings on downstairs with ‘the help’. Like I said, if you love Downton then this is definitely the book for you.

Some characters you will fall in love with, others you won’t be able to stand. That is good though – you don’t have to like them, it is OK to hate them. The problem comes when you don’t feel anything for them. Luckily though Lynne Marie Hulsman does her job well and there isn’t a character in this book that you don’t feel something for, be it good or bad.

Christmas at Thornton Hall made me laugh. That in itself is a massive plus. I don’t do comedy. You know the type of book that is meant to be funny – well I don’t laugh. SO when I do laugh at a book you know that its because it is naturally humorous. It’s not forced.

Now I did see it mentioned that this plot has been done before. SERIOUSLY??? Girl has heart broke, meets boys, falls for boy. Isn’t that like EVERY chicklit book out there? Isn’t THAT why we read them? Of course the plot has been done before.

Oh yeah, have snacks to hand. Lynne Marie is going to make you hungry while reading this!