Notting Hill in the Snow is my first book from Jules Wake. I picked to read this book because of how striking the cover, but ended up really enjoying this.

I love the setting. It put me in a happy, Christmas mood and I think I needed that. I love the characters (especially Grace). They are authentic feeling. I was attached to them the moment I started reading.

I think there are parts about the romance that irked me a little, but I’m not spoiling anything. Overall, I definitely recommend checking it out!

This novel combined everything I love: Christmas and Notting Hill! I was thrilled to be approved as the title alone had everything I wanted!

The story of Nate and Viola was warm and fuzzy and such a nice, heartwarming Christmas read. I was rooting for them from their first meeting. I think we can all agree that Grace was the real star in this novel!

Thank you Net Galley for an advanced copy of a lovely Christmas story that I will certainly be recommending and revisiting next Christmas!

Brilliant. This was a well written book that I greatly enjoyed and already plan to recommend. Believable characters and an inticing setting. Some parts were perhaps a little lengthy, but maybe because I was impatient to reach the novels conclusion! Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Enjoyed this - the unusual setting and job made this a bit different to the average novel. Lovely story and so wanted the story to turn out well for Viola.

This was a really sweet Christmas story. I laughed a lot but it was also heartbreaking in places. I loved most of the characters, even the ones that I wanted to hate, I wanted to ring Bella’s neck, and smack Elaine, but most of all I wanted to give Grace a great big hug and a pair of purple jeans. I really enjoyed reading this story ! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Nothing wrong with it as such. It just didn’t grab me at all and never got round to ever finishing it.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

I truly love the way Jules Wake spirits me into the Christmas spirit at any time of the year. The romance not only between Viola and Nate but also the whimsy and wonder of London at Christmas makes for a deliciously atmospheric read. This is a book to fall into with a cup of cocoa even as you are trying to forget it is 41 degrees with the humidity outside your window.

I recognize this has been on my kindle far too long but I was so glad I picked it out. I have often loved Wake's prose and her delightful descriptors and as a music lover this one, especially, was dear to me.

Definitely a must read at ANY time of year.



(Also featured on twitter and instagram )

I love this book! The perfect cozy Christmas book to make you feel warm and cozy. I loved the relationship between Viola and Nate. The writing was easy and enjoyable. I would read more by Jules Wake.

I loved this book, the first I have read by Jules Wake but it definitely won’t be the last. It’s a fun read, romantic and seasonal. A well deserved 5* from me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read this book in exchange for a review, I will put this review on Amazon too.

Viola is a professional musician in an orchestra but because she is single her family think she is the go to person for everything and always has the time to drop everything and do their bidding! On top of everything she gets roped in to putting on a school nativity play, but she gets help in the form of Nate, who's daughter Gracie is in the play...... the sparks fly but where is Nate's wife, why it's she never around?

A lovely warm Christmassy book to definitely get you in the mood, lots of great characters and plenty of atmosphere, a book that you want to curl up with and not our down until you have finished it

After aptly named Viola Smith, a professional viola musician, volunteers to manage the music for a nativity play at a local school, she comes in ready to tackle it head-on. After all, how hard can it be? Unfortunately, she soon realizes the school needs a lot more than accompaniment—things like costumes and makeup … a cast … a script. While the prospect of producing anything initially seems daunting, she soon works out a plan with Nate Williams, one of her new pupil’s father, to get things sorted out. However, the more they work together, the closer they get—sometimes against their best wishes. As opening night draws nearer, the two must face their feelings if they ever want to make it to a successful curtain call.

Viola has spent much of her life always trying to please everyone around her. When her family needs anything—anything—Viola gets the first call. And so, while others might be petrified of tackling an entire nativity almost single-handedly, she lets out an internal scream and charges ahead. Fortunately, author Jules Wake has instilled in her captivating charm, a brilliant sense of humor, and the brains to always somehow pull the impossible together. It’s not that everything she does is effortless. She has plenty of messy and tumultuous situations, and she struggles with not letting everyone walk all over her. The result is a character who feels real and who, in turn, is the perfect guide through Notting Hill.

It’s also this need to never let anyone down that sets the stage for romance and a bit of drama. Viola is tossed together with Nate, a totally charming and complicated man, and there are immediately sparks between them. She’s disappointed to discover that he’s married, but Wake knows how to spin complex storylines. So of course, Nate and his wife are actually separated. There’s a constant battle of whether the two should become involved, and Wake’s success is making them seem like the perfect pair with one caveat: while their feelings are real, acting on them is in limbo. Wake writes to tug at the heartstrings, and she’s more than successful.

Of course, this makes it sounds like a high-drama romance. While there’s plenty of tension and tenderness, Notting Hill in the Snow is also deeply funny. Viola might have been able to move past Nate, but she could never leave his daughter, Grace. Frozen-obsessed and occasionally wicked, she’s the cuteness factor holding everything together. Wake knows how to write children, and there are no overly saccharine displays. Just like every other character, she’s is fully realized person. And there are plenty of opportunities for her to make a star turn, whether during rocky rehearsals or when sharing a private moment with Viola.

Ultimately, Jules Wake has managed a book both perfectly romantic and human. One that doesn’t shy away from pain and how complicated love can really be. Perhaps more impressively, she’s crafted characters who linger long after The End.

A lovely holiday romance! Something about the atmosphere of snow just makes everything more romantic and being stuck together is one of my favorite plot lines. Cute romance and heartwarming back stories all tied up in the atmosphere of a snowy London just lovely

Notting Hill in the Snow

by Jules Wake

Looking for a romance on the clean side? Enjoy Britishisms? Does a story in which the main characters put the well-being of a sweet, people-pleasing seven year old ahead of their own happiness appeal to you? How about a Christmas in Notting Hill with snow and hot chocolate? If you find these enticing, then Jules Wakes’ Notting Hill in the Snow is a perfect read for you.

Viola, who plays the viola for the London Metropolitan Opera Company, is such a likable character, always trying to help others. Unfortunately, she had a mixed childhood with parents who just weren’t very supportive. When she is asked to help with a local school’s nativity play, she meets little Gracie who has a loving, successful, and quite handsome dad. Viola empathizes with Gracie whose mother is removed both physically and emotionally.

Viola has lots of balancing acts to maintain as she tries to keep her family happy, contain her growing desire for Gracie’s dad, put on a stellar Christmas show, and complete her obligations to herself and the opera company as a professional musician.

This is the kind of book that you don’t want to end because you are enjoying it so much. At the same time, you long for that final, feel-good closure—if, in fact, it comes for Gracie, her dad, and Viola.

I find most Christmas romances I read to be good, but not excellent—usually too sweet. Notting Hill in the Snow is a step above, however. I admit I am partial to stories that include children; but, for that reason, as well as the theatre and music backdrop, and interesting characters, this book is a Christmas romance I enjoyed and highly recommend.

I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to HarperCollins (One More Chapter) for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 5/5

Category: Romance

Publication: October 11, 2019—One More Chapter (HarperCollins Publishers)

Memorable Lines:

“Good. Morning. Miss Smith,” intoned the class in a deadened robotic rhythm that threatened to suck all of the life out of me. Honestly, it was like facing a crowd of Dementors.

Lifting her chin, she regarded me with, from a seven-year-old, terrifying lofty superiority. “You can never see Frozen too many times.”

Kensington Park Road was almost bereft of traffic, the few cars driving at a snail’s pace in the heavy slush and the gorgeous stylish shops were for once sluggish and quiet, some still closed, as if the snow had spread its calming influence and decreed that today was worth taking things slow and easy.

Elaine held all the cards and I was clueless as to what the game was.

This was cute and sweet - definitely a perfect book for the holidays. It reminded me of Sophie Kinsella although not as madcap.

A lovely little Christmas story that will give you all the happy feelings! Well-written, with a strong heroine and a sweet romance!

I enjoyed this page turning book. It was well written. Glad that I read it. Will be checking other books by this author.

This is a festive romcom with a bit of a twist in that we have a married person as one of the main protagonists.
Musician Viola can’t say no to her family members and as a consequence runs herself ragged and never puts herself first. She’s starting to spread herself too thin and over-committing. Nathan is struggling to be a good dad to Grace whilst his wife is away and he’s working very hard. A school Nativity play brings them together and there’s instant attraction but both have other priorities and calls on them.
The atmosphere is very festive and charming. Rather than an impersonal big city, this area of London comes over as a warm community where people know each other and interact.
The Christmas element is all there with a Nativity play, Christmas trees, decorations, stockings and so on. It’ll make you want to start wrapping presents!
Enjoyable, poignant, a tiny bit edgy this is fabulous, festive novel.

Oh how happy I am that I chose to request this book. This is my first book by this author but not my last. I love the that this book is filled to the brim the Christmas spirit. I love the characters and the story has such a wonderful way about it. Notting Hill in the Snow is a book I will read every holiday season. I high y recommend this beautiful story.

First sentence: ‘Do you have to bring that thing on here at this time of day?’ snapped the woman, whipping round to look at me, her spiky, spider leg mascaraed eyes shooting sheer poison as everyone on the platform at Notting Hill Gate surged forward when the tube doors opened.

Premise/plot: Viola Smith (who plays the viola and works for the London Metropolitan Opera Company) finds herself falling hard and fast for a married man, Nate Williams, in Jules Wake's Notting Hill in the Snow. Williams' marriage is crumbling away; his wife has been gone almost a year leaving him to raise his little girl (Frozen-obsessed little girl), Grace, on his own. Viola steps in to help out. He needs it. She's got experience--plenty of it--with her cousins' children. She knows all the crafts and tools of the trade. She feels the attraction from the first; but doesn't really expect him to as well. And even if they're both attracted to the other--a bit--what could really happen between them? He's super-busy. She's super-busy. The only time they really see each other is when they're both with Grace. Sure she could close her eyes and imagine being with these two FOREVER AND EVER. But it's her imagination, nothing more. It will last a few weeks, until January, perhaps when he can get a full-time nanny. Then her life can return to normal...

My thoughts: Notting Hill In the Snow definitely has a Christmas movie vibe to it. In other words it's simply delightful and a bit predictable. If you've watched any Christmas romance in the last few decades, chances are you'll be able to spot what twists and turns are coming. But I don't mind predictable so long as I get my happily-ever-after.

I really loved this one. Not because he's married and this affair is near-adulterous. But because I loved seeing Viola interact with Grace. I loved Viola's understanding and compassionate heart. I loved how she opened up her heart to Grace and just welcomed her right in. I loved the family-type experiences they had together. Baking. Shopping. Decorating. I loved the writing, the dialogue. It's just a satisfying read.

Is it clean? Is it smutty? Well, there is the whole issue of his being married to someone else when there is a LOT of kissing involved. But. It really doesn't go much further then kissing. (Though there's plenty of wanting to take the next steps. Does lusty daydreaming count as smut if it's not graphic?)