Written by Lorraine Wilson

⭐ ⭐

Published by	One More Chapter 1 Dec. 2019
Genre	Holiday Fiction
Pages	43
ASIN	B081L2GYHY

#20BOS26 Reading Challenge Book #16

I was probably having a 'Christmassy moment' when I downloaded a free digital copy of this short story in December 2019, for which I thank the author, Lorraine Wilson and her publisher, One More Chapter.

I do love a Christmas themed story and the blurb ticked all the right boxes for me. Why it has been hidden in my TBR list for so long confounds me. Regardless, it has surfaced, thanks to the 20 Books of Summer Reading Challenge.

The blurb:

Christmas at the Chateau

Poppy is looking forward to spending her first Christmas in France at her boyfriend, Leo’s, Château. And as the snow falls softly around the dramatic castle, Poppy can’t think of anything more magical.

There are new traditions to discover, a cosy Christmas market to explore and best of all, a promise of a secret treasure hunt from gorgeous Leo. The clues take Poppy on a magical tour of the chateau, each place holding special memories for her and Leo – their first date, their first kiss, the list goes on.

And at the end, hidden beneath the mistletoe, is one last surprise for Poppy. A simple question that could change her life forever….

Holiday Fiction Short story Fiction

My thoughts:

Christmas at the Chateau is a short story and the second book in the series A French Escape. The first book being Poppy’s Place in the Sun which is a 400-page novel, and which, naturally, I have not read.

This is a quick read which might be aimed at a younger audience than myself, and whilst I finished it, I would not say it was one for me.

The treasure hunt held my interest, but I found Poppy's overthinking personality a bit tedious and it led me to quickly guess the ending of this story.

The writing style did not overly appeal to me and I was surprised by a bedroom scene which I felt was unnecessary and did not add anything to the storyline.

I was also confused by the number of dogs Poppy actually had, but that may be through not reading the first instalment.

As a quick read Christmas at the Chateau was fine, but it didn't make me want to read the rest of the series.