It’s the day after Christmas, and Felicity Grant is at a gorgeous ski chalet in St. Moritz for the biggest fashion show of her career. Felicity is a rising star on the bridal design scene, and this is her best collection yet. But when her boyfriend gives her a spa day instead of a diamond ring for Christmas, she has to face the possibility that she may never walk down the aisle in one of her own stunning designs.
And then there’s Nell, the top model headlining Felicity’s show. Nell is planning her dream wedding to her wonderful fiance with one catch: her divorced parents can’t stand each other and threaten to no-show if the other is there.
Add to that Felicity’s race against the clock to create a special gown for a prestigious bridal salon, and what both girls need is a Christmas miracle. What better place to find one than in the Swiss Alps with its dark forests and sparkling vistas?
But for Felicity it’s hard to recognize a miracle even when it’s right in front of her, and for Nell one miracle might not be enough to fix the past. Can dreams really come true or is that the stuff of Swiss fairy tales?
Title: Christmas at the Chalet
Series: — stand alone title —
Author: Anita Hughes
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Published: October 16, 2018
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
My Rating: 4 stars
Christmas at the Chalet actually takes place the week between Christmas and New Years on location in St. Moritz, Switzerland for a fashion show that both Felicity and Nell are taking part in. Both ladies are not only dealing with the chaos of the fashion show, but their own personal troubles as well. Felicity was expecting far more from her boyfriend of six years than she got this Christmas and she’s rethinking their entire relationship. Nell should be on top of the world right now planning her wedding, yet her divorced, feuding parents are making what should be a happy occasion a pure nightmare with the fighting and threats of not showing up if the other is at Nell’s wedding. Loving parents indeed, putting their child before their pettiness… not really. Add in a few mishaps and romantic entanglements and you have a very hectic week for these ladies.
While I enjoyed Christmas at the Chalet for the most part, I did find it awfully crowded with characters and threads of different stories to keep track of along the way… and, for me, not always successfully. For me, personally, Nell’s parents were a constant distraction and annoyance. Two people who once were madly in love certainly cannot think beyond their own selfish needs to set aside their differences for their daughter, were not the supporting secondary characters that I enjoy very much. However, we’re given the characters so we deal with them.
It would be very easy to sit here at my desk and pick apart what I liked and didn’t like… and I’m not going to give in to that. I really think that Christmas at the Chalet is a story that everyone who reads it will view and experience differently. I’m going to step back and simply say that I enjoyed much of this story and suggest that each reader makes up their own mind on this one. I left this review to the very last minute while I let this story settle in my mind – and I’m still divided on it. So, it’s a good story, the descriptions of the location are beyond breathtaking and the characters are well defined…. even if I had trouble liking many of them. I will leave the rest up to your own opinion.
*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*
Available for the Kindle
