This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Reviewed by Susan Lobban
Clem Aldridge loves living in Portobello and life is one big party. Responsibility is her brother, Tom’s role, whereas she rarely thinks before she acts. However Tom has had enough and after Clem jeopardises his business he finds it hard to forgive.
Clem is determined to prove her brother wrong and starts to put a plan in action, but this makes things worse and she is further tainted in her family’s eyes. Her only option now is to get away and let the dust settle.
Portofino holds too many bad memories for Clem and it is the last place she would decide to go willingly, but when Tom insists she go for a job she can’t refuse. This is her last chance to redeem herself and who knows she may be able to make some good memories this time round.
I have read all of Karen Swan’s books and love them all especially the Christmas ones. I could not wait to get started on this one.
The book opens at New Year and we meet Clem as she makes a disastrous decision to take her brother’s bike to get to a party quicker. What is so disastrous I hear you say, well the bike is custom made costing £100,000+ and when Clem leaves it in the street she comes back to a wrecked bike now worth zilch! Clem is a walking disaster and her family, especially her brother, despair with her on a daily basis. Right from the get go I warmed to Clem and wanted her to catch a break. I loved the first part of the book set in Portobello.
The second part of the book moves the story to Portofino. I felt this was when it went downhill. It is hinted that Clem has a secret past here and rather than keeping me gripped, I figured out her secret as soon as Clem arrived. I was hoping that the story would twist and that I would be proven wrong but unfortunately not. In Portofino Clem was no longer the confident social butterfly and I lost interest. In the end I felt it was like I was reading two different books.
By the time I had finished the book I was confused why the book was called Christmas at Claridge’s as there was very little of either in the story. I would suggest this was more a summer read than a Christmas one. I love to immerse myself in Christmas reads in December as it gets me in the festive mood, so if you are the same this is not the read for you.
All in all, Clem was the saviour of this story as I loved her and wanted to read more, but the story did not do her justice. I felt she lost herself in Portofino and her Portobello sensibilities went out the window. I do wonder if expecting a Christmas read did cloud my judgement, but for someone looking to escape cold frosty December for warmer climes this book is perfect.
6/10
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