Author: Mary Jayne Baker
Format reviewed: Ebook
Source: Netgalley
Publisher: Mirror Books
Publication Date: 21st September 2018
Rating: 5 Stars
After years living in London, costume shop owner Becky Finn is trying to build a new life for herself and fiancé Cole in her old home of Egglethwaite, a sleepy village in the Yorkshire Dales.
Keen to raise funds for the struggling village hall she loved as a child, Becky soon finds herself at the head of a colourful group intent on resurrecting Egglethwaite s Christmas pantomime. But, as she quickly discovers, there s more to panto than innuendo and slapped thighs.
As opening night grows closer, Becky starts to wonder if her embattled panto will ever make it to the stage and, with handsome co-star Marcus on the scene, if she s picked the right man for her after all.
Keen to raise funds for the struggling village hall she loved as a child, Becky soon finds herself at the head of a colourful group intent on resurrecting Egglethwaite s Christmas pantomime. But, as she quickly discovers, there s more to panto than innuendo and slapped thighs.
As opening night grows closer, Becky starts to wonder if her embattled panto will ever make it to the stage and, with handsome co-star Marcus on the scene, if she s picked the right man for her after all.
It's panto season!!
Oh not it isn't - I hear you cry!
Oh yes it is! - or at least it feel like it having just read The Perfect Fit.
If you are a fan of the good old British tradition of a pantomime, then you will love this book as putting on a panto to save a village hally is exactly what this book is all about.
The real life situations of Becky and the cast are mirroring the fairytale ones where reality and fiction can become blurred.
All of my favourite sections revolve around the panto, the writing sessions between Becky and Marcus, full of innuendo and groan worthy jokes. The sections of the script we see read and sound just like any panto I've seen, with the right mix between child friendly and hilarious for an adult too. They also I was glad to see were inserting all the key elements of a panto - song and dance numbers, a messy scene with custard pies and the like, audience participation and generally a feeling of a fabulous night out.
The book opens with Becky taking her niece Pip to a panto, and seeing it through the eyes of a 5 year old really set the tone for the book. If you have read the previous book in the Love in the Dales series, then like me you will be delighted to see a whole host of very familiar faces, even if as the story progresses you are seeing them in a completely new light!
It does work as a standalone though, so if you haven't read the first book don't worry you won't be at a disadvantage.
There are some plot lines that address all manner of topics some far more frivolous than others and this really is a feel good read that will make you keen for the festive season to start without it being a Christmassy book. In fact the story takes place over a year and we don't get a proper sense of Christmas, so although its very panto-centric, its a really pleasurable book to read year round!
So slap your thigh, unleash your inner child and sit back and relax with this joyous book that wil make you groan and also smile, laugh, believe in magic and fairy tales and generally feel like you have had a good night out at the local panto.
Thank you to Netgalley and Mirror Books for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.
Oh not it isn't - I hear you cry!
Oh yes it is! - or at least it feel like it having just read The Perfect Fit.
If you are a fan of the good old British tradition of a pantomime, then you will love this book as putting on a panto to save a village hally is exactly what this book is all about.
The real life situations of Becky and the cast are mirroring the fairytale ones where reality and fiction can become blurred.
All of my favourite sections revolve around the panto, the writing sessions between Becky and Marcus, full of innuendo and groan worthy jokes. The sections of the script we see read and sound just like any panto I've seen, with the right mix between child friendly and hilarious for an adult too. They also I was glad to see were inserting all the key elements of a panto - song and dance numbers, a messy scene with custard pies and the like, audience participation and generally a feeling of a fabulous night out.
The book opens with Becky taking her niece Pip to a panto, and seeing it through the eyes of a 5 year old really set the tone for the book. If you have read the previous book in the Love in the Dales series, then like me you will be delighted to see a whole host of very familiar faces, even if as the story progresses you are seeing them in a completely new light!
It does work as a standalone though, so if you haven't read the first book don't worry you won't be at a disadvantage.
There are some plot lines that address all manner of topics some far more frivolous than others and this really is a feel good read that will make you keen for the festive season to start without it being a Christmassy book. In fact the story takes place over a year and we don't get a proper sense of Christmas, so although its very panto-centric, its a really pleasurable book to read year round!
So slap your thigh, unleash your inner child and sit back and relax with this joyous book that wil make you groan and also smile, laugh, believe in magic and fairy tales and generally feel like you have had a good night out at the local panto.
Thank you to Netgalley and Mirror Books for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.
