Monday 30 November 2015

Book Review - Christmas in the Park by Laura Lockington

Amazon UK
Title: Christmas in the Park
Author: Laura Lockington
Format reviewed: Ebook
Source: Review copy from publisher
Publisher: Endeavour Press
Publication Date: 20th October 2015
Rating: 4 Stars


30-something Sarah has finally decided to start her own business. After years of 5 a.m starts, running around a busy television studio, she has decided to hand in her resignation, and begin her dream of running her own cake making business. Swapping her stylish clothes for tracksuits and an apron she gets to work, and is thrilled when the local café agrees to start selling her treats. 

And – even better – she starts to get to know the handsome and single owner, David. 

Working from home also means she can finally do one other thing she couldn’t do with her hectic job – get a puppy. Deciding she wants a rescue dog, Sarah heads off to the local dog’s centre, and tries not to say yes to adopting the whole lot. 

One beautiful little Dachshund with adorable amber eyes immediately takes a liking to her. And Sarah knows there is no turning back. 

She bundles Malteaser up and takes him home, and before long he is helping her to meet new people in her local park.  But Malteaser can be more than a bit of a handful. And Sarah knows she is no good at disciplining him... 

So when fellow dog-walker Nick steps in to give her hand she knows she should take his advice. But does he just want to help her out, or is he interested in something else? 

With an excitable puppy, and lots of orders to bake for the café, could Sarah be taking on too much? And could there be something there with David – or Nick? 

With Christmas on the way, and the café suddenly coming under threat, things get even crazier. And Sarah has to find a way to create a magical Christmas in the Park... 

‘Christmas in the Park’ is a warming festive novella, full of sweat treats, doggy disasters and snippets of romance. 

I'm not ashamed, nor sorry to say that I am a huge sucker for a pet dog in a book, and Malteaser is no exception.  He is a Dachshund with lovely colouring and a beautiful personality. As a rescue dog he is a bit shy initially, but he soon warms to Sarah, and becomes the key character of this story. 

Sarah has swapped jobs, from TV Producer to cake maker, supplying to cafes, and as a result throughout this story we hear about the fabulous cakes she is baking. They may not be the most exotic sounding cakes, but there was enough detail to make your mouth water. 

With all the great food descriptions, I was happy to see a recipe included at the end, and if I had the slightest talent for baking I would have gladly given it a go!

Thanks to Malteaser, she is getting to meet a lot of new people, and 2 men become prominent in Sarah's life for different reasons. The question you are wondering for a lot of the story is which one will she end up with. 

Nick has two dogs of his own, and seems to be quite strict with them. David part owns the cafe that Sarah is supplying with baked goodies in the middle of the park. The cafe also likes dogs, so Malteaser is even welcome.  And then there are all the other dog walkers, with their various quirks, but all love the cafe and are all happy to join in the fight to save it. 

Christmas in the Park is a sweet festive romance, with lots of food, a fabulous Christmas day, dogs and a lot of humour. Written in a chatty style, this is a reasonably easy to read short story, and has proven to me that the one book I have read by Laura Lockington in the past wasn't a fluke. I last read one of her books probably about 10 years ago in paperback, loved it a lot, and then didn't see anything else by her, until the last year or so, where her books were popping up in kindle recommendations. 

Thanks to Endeavour Press for this review copy. This was my honest review.

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