Review: A lot of fun
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 9, 2012
Enjoyed this book a lot and will read more of this author when she has more out. Both lead characters were NOT tragically flawed or had some huge tragedy they had to overcome in order to fall in love. That was very refreshing to me. They were normal people for their environments who got into dilemmas that were conceivable - funny, but conceivable. It was a fun read. So, why not 5 stars? I just am back from spending the Christmas holidays in London when this book is set. And in the book there were scenes that were so out of whack with what London is like during Christmas that it pulled me out of the story and back into my real life - which is not what I want a book to do. In London at Christmas there is only 8 hours of sunlight a day - yes, I said eight. The sun comes up at 8 AM, is at high noon at 12:00, and sets at 4:00 PM. In the book, the heroine was going to try to sell her cupcakes to children playing in the park after dinner. It is black dark by then and no children are in parks then. Another plot point was the traffic in the city right before Christmas: in the book - bad, in reality - next to nothing because most people are off and out of town. Still another point - the heroine was outside without a coat. No way. London at Christmas is damp, drizzly, grey cold. Coats are essential. And she was zipping around the house wearing a T shirt, flannel pj bottoms and socks. Another no way. There is a reason all those Brits are wear wool sweater sets indoors - it is damp cold inside, too. Why does this all make enough of a difference to me to write this long rant? Well, I really did like this story, and wanted the author to know that her research into the places she sets her books needs to include things other that geography. (Also in three trips to the UK during the last two years for a total of over 30 days, I never heard a Brit say "Crikey." "Brilliant," "Yah, yah, yah" and "Bloody", but not "Crikey" - which I have heard Aussies say.)