#BookReview (4 stars) – Away for Christmas, by Jan Ruth @JanRuthAuthor #novella #book #review

Blurb:

Jonathan Jones has written a novel. Losing his job a few days before Christmas means the pressure is on for his book to become a bestseller, but when his partner drops her own bombshell, the festive holiday looks set to be a disaster.
When he’s bequeathed a failing bookshop in their seaside town, it seems that some of his prayers have been answered, but his publishing company turn out to be not what they seem, and when his ex-wife suddenly declares her romantic intent, another Christmas looks set to be complicated.
Is everything lost, or can the true meaning of words, a dog called Frodo, and the sheer magic of Christmas be enough to save Jonathan’s book, and his skin?

My Review:

Ooh, a book about books, authors, bookshops and Christmas. My favourite kind of book!

This novella is about a struggling aspiring author, with a somewhat unsuccessful love life, who doesn’t enjoy his day job, and has a less than perfect relationship with his publisher or his family. His struggles felt real and I was eager to see if things worked out for him in the end or not, while at the same time feeling frustrated by his own self-destructive behaviour.

This is a well written story of love, life, family, mistakes, regret, change, success, hope and happiness.

I loved the focus on the writing industry, covering publishers, self-publishing, authors and book reviewers. I was able to really relate to these parts of the story.

Away for Christmas actually isn’t all that Christmassy, so could be read any time of year, or if you’re someone who isn’t that keen on Christmas books, but like the sound of the blurb, I’d highly recommend it, as Christmas certainly isn’t the main focus of this book.