A lovely Christmas read that perfectly encapsulates the spirit of God. The ending though felt rushed and it would have been nice for there to have been more Christmas themes. ( )

Now Marcia Willett books will not to be everyone tastes. All the characters have daft names and they all probably shop at Waitrose if you know what I mean. That said I find her books as comforting as an old cardi and this one was no exception, really enjoyed it. ( )

Young Jakey reluctantly packs away "Auntie Gabriel" as the story begins. Several story lines begin to emerge. In one, Dossie's parents wish her to give up her food preparation business and resume operation of their family's bed-and-breakfast. In another the dwindling number of nuns must make a decision about staying in their home or joining another group when and an offer arrives. She's also torn by an interest in the mysterious Rupert who seems hesitant to fully commit to a relationship. A developer wishes to purchase their convent to turn it into a hotel. Jakey's dad Clem gave up studying for the priesthood when his wife died. After talking things over with the priest he comes up with a direction for his life and a plan to save the convent. The book wraps up as Jakey unpacks "Auntie Gabriel" during the Advent season. While I enjoyed this story, too many story lines weaken it. I'd love to revisit this convent with stories of visitors to the retreat center and the solace they found through interaction with the key players. ( )

Willett's writing is poetical and has a leisurely pace I like, so I'll be seeking out other books by her. But this one I couldn't engage with--the present tense with third person was odd...I could get past that, but the narration went into too many characters' heads. It was way off for me. I don't mind omniscient third person, but I think that works better not being in so many characters' heads. This was like having deep point of view with every character in the book. I hope Willett's other books don't use that style.

It took me a while to get into this book. Marcia Willetts builds up her characters slowly, and while I undoubtedly found them getting under my skin - particularly Janna and 4-year-old Jakey - I did wonder for a while where the story was going. There’s a fair bit of description, and some quite detailed asides about a couple of businesses.

There are a few subplots including conflict too. We see different perspectives through the book - not at all in a disturbing or intrusive way, but this did mean that it was harder to identify with anyone in particular, or to know who was going to be important.

But by the time I was about half-way through, I was becoming eager to know what would happen, and had found myself becoming really quite fond of some of the other characters too. I like character-driven novels, and that’s what this was, with a nice storyline that came full circle: the book begins at Epiphany, and ends just before Christmas a year later.

I enjoyed this very much and would recommend it to anyone who likes thoughtful character-based fiction with a very low-key Christian/religious theme.

Latest review: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2021/05/the-christmas-angel-by-marcia-wille... ( )