Portobello Book Blog

I couldn’t really post this review any day but today could I? With exactly one week till Christmas, I give you my review of the lovely One Week ‘Til Christmas.

Travel writer Isobel and Tom quite literally bump into each other on a frosty pavement, which almost results in a nasty accident with a bus! Despite this inauspicious start, Isobel can’t help but feel an instant chemistry between them. When she is drafted in to interview an up and coming actor, she is most surprised to find it’s the man from the bus, a man she hasn’t been able to stop thinking about since their worlds literally collided. Not only is there one week till Christmas, there is also only one week till Isobel jets off home to her family in Australia. Tom clearly is rather taken with Isobel too and they agree to spend that week enjoying the sights of London at Christmas time together.

One Week Till Christmas made London seem like the most romantic place in the world to be at Christmas. Belinda Missen really captured the magical festive atmosphere and beautifully incorporated so many traditional Christmas activities such as outdoor ice-skating, visiting the Christmas markets, seeing the Nutcracker ballet and enjoying mulled wine. You could sense that here were two people who were clearly made for each other and the chemistry between them fizzed off the page. But with lifestyles which meant they might rarely be in the same country never mind the same city, it was hard to see how they could maintain a relationship. Despite all the challenges, it seemed to me that Isobel represented normality for Tom, someone who wasn’t fazed by his fame (didn’t actually know who he was really) and just enjoyed getting to know the real him.

One Week ‘Til Christmas is a gorgeous love story and at just under 200 pages, perhaps this is one you can fit in during these last few days before Christmas. There were scenes to make you laugh, scenes which would give you a lump in your throat and at least one which was worthy of any romantic film. This is a joyful book which will fill you with Christmas spirit, make your heart sing and restore your belief in true love.

I have reviewed my own copy of One Week ‘Til Christmas. It was published by HQ Digital and is currently available for Kindle for only 99p (though please check before buying). You can buy your copy here: One Week ‘Til Christmas

From the back of the book

Isobel Bennett is waiting for the number 11 bus when a man quite literally falls into her lap. Snow is falling, Christmas lights are twinkling, and a gorgeous man with dark brown hair has just slipped on ice and is now pressed against Isobel.

Isobel knows she’s not imagining the chemistry between them. But then his ride arrives and, embarrassed, he beats a hasty retreat, murmuring apologies – and Isobel realises only too late that she didn’t manage to catch his name…

When she runs into him again the next morning, she decides it’s fate.

It’s a second chance for Isobel and Tom – but there’s only one week until she’s leaving London for good. Seven days of enjoying all the festive delights the city has to offer: ice-skating at Somerset House, mulled wine on the Southbank, Christmas shopping at Liberty.

There’s magic in the air and mistletoe in the trees – but what will happen when the week is over?

About the author

Author and sometimes foodie, Belinda is a ridiculous romantic who met her husband after being set up by a friend two states away. Residing in country Victoria, surrounded by books, cat-fur, and half-eaten cake, Belinda divides her days between writing rom-coms, baking, and indulging her love of comic books.