The peculiar life of a lonely postman, by Denis Theriault

Book title: The peculiar life of a lonely postman

Author: Denis Theriault

Rating: 3 out of 5

I won this book through Goodreads’ giveaway.

Synopsis: Secretly steaming open envelopes and reading the letters inside,

Bilodo has found an escape from his lonely and routine life as a postman. 

When one day he comes across a mysterious letter containing only a single haiku, he finds himself avidly caught up in the relationship between a long-distance couple, who write to each other using only beautiful poetry. He feasts on their words, vicariously living a life for which he longs. 

But it will only be a matter of time before his world comes crashing down around him…

Opinion:

Younger I always wanted to be a postwoman, going around my town with my bike delivering messages, parcels and letters to all my neighbours so I was very happy when I received this book.

Bilodo’s story starts very normally, an average man going on with his life and duties, until curiosity wins over him and he decides to open a letter he is supposed to deliver.

From that moment, his life changes for the worst, becoming a creepy third wheel in a passionate correspondence between 2 lovers. It quickly escalate from opening the letters before delivering them, to break in into the man’s apartment and impersonate him.

Like a lot of things in life, you know what he is doing is morally wrong, your skin feels all wrong continuing to read the story, but you simply cannot stop.

By the end, you get attached to Bilodo and his struggles, you feel how depressing his day to day is, and how much pressure he feels at his work place. We can all rely a bit on that.

The plot is easy enough to follow until the last chapter, and then I got completely lost with the last bit of the story. I can understand vaguely what the author tried to do, but it is so out of the blue and so unrelated to the rest of the story, that it didn’t make any sense.

I must say the Haiku’s were a very nice touch and very romantic choice, even so I am extremely bad with poetry and have no interest in it.

A fairy tale for Christmas, by Chrissie Manby

Book title: A fairy tale for Christmas

Author: Chrissie Manby

Rating: 4 out of 5

I won this book through Goodreads’ giveaway.

Synopsis:  What could be more magical at Christmas than a fairy tale come true?

It's the festive season and the members of the Newbay Theatre Society, more commonly known as the NEWTS, are preparing to put on a show. Being cast as Cinderella is the realization of a dream for newcomer Kirsty, not least because she hopes starring in a panto under the direction of her boyfriend Jon will bring them closer together.

But Kirsty soon learns that it's not all glitter and good cheer behind the scenes at the amateur theatre as bitter rivalries nurtured through decades, wardrobe mishaps and suspicious near-fatal accidents threaten to derail the production. And then there's Prince Charming himself. Will working together with Jon bring Kirsty her happy ever after... or reveal their love to be nothing but a 'showmance'?

With Christmas just around the corner, it's going to take more than a Fairy Godmother to get Kirsty and her cast-mates to the ball.

Opinion:

All in all it is a very light and warm book, perfect for a cosy day under the blanket with a cup of tea and cookies.

You have all the elements for a classical love story: a nasty boyfriend, a young and optimistic woman, a charming and adorable widower, with the cutest daughter, all around the most stressful and demanding period of the year: Christmas.

Kirsty is a young woman who decided to follow her dream by leaving her desk job and joining the entertainment team in a cruise, finding love on board.

Same love that will make her leave that boat to join an amateur theatre production in the little town of Newbury. Very far from all the glitter and glamour of the boat life, that little coastal town will be the sparks she needs to fight back against a manipulative boyfriend and find herself again.

The story circles around the Cinderella’s pantomime production, showing us all the steps from the writing of the play, to auditions processes, passing by costumes and rehearsal.

I really enjoyed that part, with all the different characters introduced to us, all of them with hidden secrets I was not expecting! With this kind of book, you always expect to find stereotypes, but in this book, they were so well written and conceived, I didn’t see them coming until the very end.

My only frustration was around the boyfriend. The author tried from the very first page to make us hate him, making him the most despicable person but I hate being forced like that, I like to make my own opinion at my own pace. However, in this book, to help the plot move along, the author pulled all the stops to make sure to represent him as a horrible man, with no depth, with all defaults, without any nuance.

Kirsty’s inner journey was very well written, her character development was a joy to follow and made you feel good and happy by the end. Good on your girl to follow your dreams! She had to learn by herself what she wanted in life, what made her happy or miserable, and dare to go for what she wanted.

I enjoyed the book for what it is, and recommend it if you are looking for charming love story with a Christmas background.