Emma's Review: Winter's Wishfall by Ceri Houlbrook

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

You're never too old to believe . . .

After losing her job, boyfriend and flat just a few weeks before Christmas, Ellie Lancaster makes some resolutions:

1. Exact revenge on ex.
2. Be unboring.
3. Find a job. 

With #1 complete, Ellie manages to tick off #2 and #3 simultaneously by accepting a mysterious archiving job on a tiny Scottish Island that doesn't seem to exist on any map. 

In the new year, her equally new bosses - celebrity baker Clementine Jones and her straight-laced twin brother Cole - introduce Ellie to the archives: a vast network of underground caverns, filled with scrolls dating back centuries, each addressed to the same person, in a multitude of languages: Dear Father Christmas . . .

Despite the strangeness of it all, Ellie quickly falls in love with her new life - but things are never simple, and just as she and Cole seem to be overcoming their mutual distrust, Ellie makes a fourth resolution - one that threatens everything she's come to hold dear. As the big day itself draws near, she has one chance to put things right and bring about her own Christmas miracle . . .

Book Links: Kindle or Paperback

Many thanks to Black and White publishing via NetGalley for my copy of Winter’s Wishfall to review and to Sharon for Having my review on the blog.

What an utter treat and absolute delight Winter’s Wishfall, the debut novel from Ceri Houlbrook,  turned out to be. I went into this one completely blind not knowing what to expect having not read the blurb as it was the gorgeous cover that first attracted my attention. I thought if the cover is like this than surely the story between the pages would be wonderful and I was very much proven correct. I had thought it would be the usual Christmas rom com – of which I can’t get enough of at this time of year but it’s not at all. In fact it’s so much better than that. Admitedly, if I had known about some aspects of the story I probably would have laughed and tossed my eyes to heaven and not bothered reading at all but that would have been my loss as the story that unfolded was truly magical and gave me all the feels.The author draws on her work as a folklorist and weaves a story that lives long in your mind once you have reached the final word. There are elements of magical realism which initially I did have to suspend my disbelief for but soon I was totally caught up in the story. Yes some things are incomprehensible or ungraspable but that all added to the enchanting atmosphere created throughout and I couldn’t get enough of everything and I was bitterly disappointed when it ended.

Ellie Lancaster is not having a good time of things. She has been dumped by her boyfriend for reasons she had never thought possible meaning she now has no place to live. Redundancies are being made in her job as an archivist which leaves her jobless and she has no idea what to do next. At the moment she is staying with her brother Toby, his partner Mike and her niece Izzy but she can’t go on like that forever. A job opportunity presents itself and she attends a café where she is met by the exuberant celebrity baker Clementine and her complete opposite her twin Cole. The interview is strange to say the least. It’s not like any interview Ellie has been at before and infact she doesn’t even really know what the job is for other than the pair need an archivist. The exact details surrounding the job are very hush hush and Cole doesn’t come across well at all. 

Clementine loves Ellie at first and is bubbling over with enthusiasm for her to join their team. Whereas Cole is strait laced and very professional, that’s the way he comes across for the majority of the story. Pedantic, pompus, brusque, intense, blunt and abrupt are just some of the adjectives that spring to mind when it comes to Cole but Ellie also finds him very handsome. Cole has very good reason to be the way he is as he has something major at the forefront of all that he says and does and when the reader becomes aware of this you do tend to warm much more to him as does Ellie. Ellie decides to take a risk and accept the job and she signs a confidentiality agreement which means no one not even her family can know where she is or what she is doing. This all sounded very intriguing and I was dying for the book to really get going in order to discover much more.

There is so much secrecy surrounding Ellie’s journey to her new work place. She travels the length of the British isles to the Shetland island of Unst but her journey doesn’t end there. She meets Aidan Haw who has also been employed by Cole and Clementine for his ability to digitally archive things. The duo are whisked away on a boat to a small island called Osk inhabited only by Clementine and her family. There is no internet or phone signal and they are completely cut off from the world. I was surprised by how quickly Ellie adapted to everything considering she had come from the hustle and bustle of the city. But the author had a brilliant way of describing the island, its isolation and ruggedness that it seemed like the perfect place to heal from the recent upheavals in her life whilst at the same she got to indulge her love of archiving as she loved getting a glimpse delving back into the past. 

I really felt like I was transported to another time and place whilst reading Ellie’s story. I could visualise the island so clearly in my mind and wished that it was real so I could visit all the characters and get to experience what Ellie and Aidan did. There are endless mysteries and secrets that surround the island and they are not given up in a hurry. Usually I would be so impatient to discover exactly what was going on but here I was savouring every page and eking things out for as long as I possibly could because I didn’t want the magic, beauty and meaning of the story to end. The actually meaning behind everything was just so special, joyful and heart-warming when it was finally revealed but there were a few dark elements thrown in towards the end, but they only served to heighten the message behind the entire plot.

The plot itself was extremely well executed in the way there was such a clear beginning, middle and end and a few surprises thrown in along the way with lots of emotion and bit by bit I could see a much bigger picture starting to emerge. There aren’t many specific details that I can say about the plot as it would give too much away and ruin the magical realism element. It’s almost like the reader signs a confidentially agreement similar to Ellie. I am loving this magical realism element in Christmas books at the moment. This is the second book in a row where this is present but in both books it has worked so well that it feels really believable and not at all far fetched and that’s the sign of a truly great writer. Clementine reveals bit by bit why Ellie and Aidan have been chosen to work on the island and in between she bakes the most wonderful cakes and treats that will have your mouth-watering. So you definitely need to have something sweet and tasty by your side as you read this delectable story.

Ellie and Aidan are introduced to a vast cavern beneath the cottage on the island which is filled with scrolls addressed to a certain someone. There they meet Uncle Joe and his two ravens. At first it all seems very strange and sinister but I admired how Ellie just went with the flow and didn’t overly question anything. It was almost as if she knew that with time all would be revealed. She sets about archiving the scrolls but this is a mammoth task and strange things start to occur which does eventually lead to her questioning things. As for the wishfall of the title, at the risk of over using the word magical - I’ll use bewitching, mythical and otherworldly instead. Well that was what it truly was and just the most beautiful thing ever. As for some romance yes it was here but it wasn’t the dominate focus of the plot and nor did it need to be but I was happy to see its inclusion all the same.

I sincerely hope that Winter’s Wishfall finds its way to lots of readers. It’s a real gem of a book infused with such magic, warmth and human understanding.I was gutted to finish it and could have happily read on for several hours more but the ending was deeply satisfying and rewarding. Everything demonstrated that Cei Houlbrook is a talented author with a strong and vivid sense of imagination and I adored the historical and myths, legends and traditions that were scattered throughout. This is a fantastic and astonishing story that you will want to read in one go and I can’t recommend it enough. I hope Ceri is hard at work on her next book because I am eager to see where she will take us next.