What I Read: November

I've actually finished a book. From cover to cover, I've finished a book. Today I'm back with my monthly What I Read rundown. Last month I didn't read anything so was determined to get back into the swing of reading again. And I did it, I finished a book which I can now share my feelings about it with you.

This month's book is a festive read in preparation for a post I have coming in December. I actually started this book last Christmas but for some reason found it hard to get into. Yet I picked up again this year and with a slight delay thanks to work related exhaustion, I finished it. Set around a Chocolate Shop in Warkton By The Sea, this story tells the tale of chocolatier Emma and her little Chocolate Shop By The Sea. Playing out over a year, Christmas to Christmas, this festive, easy read takes you through Emma's highs and lows, her battle to keep her quaint little chocolate shop and taking the leap to fall in love again.

I really liked this book. As I said it's an easy read that will have you losing track of time but it's not one I'd sit up til late to finish. The characters were relatable, the setting sounded picturesque and the descriptions of the chocolates had me watering at the mouth but some of it did fall short for me. A few of the chapters felt slightly rushed or ended abruptly, plot lines that could have been expanded on fell short and it took away slightly from how much I liked this book. The ending is what did disappoint me though. It consisted of several short chapters that loosely tied everything up, again cutting off some good plot lines that could have been expanded upon. Overall the ending just felt rushed and it was slightly disappointed. I admit, it was the last ten/fifteen chapters that I stayed up late reading, waiting to see where the romantic sub plot went but after I read the final word, I felt slightly disappointed. I don't know if that's just because I'm used to plot lines like that carrying on later into a book or if because I had high hopes from the beginning. If you're looking for a cute Christmas read then this is perfect but it's not for those who like a bit of build up, a bit of tension throughout. Fingers crossed the next set of Christmas set books I read live up to the hype a bit more.