Reviewed by Emma Crowley
Wanted: experienced writer to record the history of one house and its family.
Bed and board provided, the successful applicant must love Christmas.
Elle is rudderless, jobless and she's soon to be homeless. When she spies an advert that looks like it could answer all her problems, she's devastated to see one huge catch: Elle definitely does not love Christmas.
On Mistletoe Square, an eccentric elderly woman and her unconventional housekeeper have an enormous Christmas tree and a box of delicate decorations collected over what must be centuries. With each decoration comes a story and with each story a breath-taking glimpse of a Christmas past.
One Christmas at a time, the house's history is brought vividly to life for Elle. But the more she sees of the family's past, the more she wonders where and how their story might end. And what of her own story? Is it possible that what felt like an ending might have been leading her here . . . to a new beginning?
Many thanks to Little Brown UK via NetGalley for my copy of It Always Snows on Mistletoe Square to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
Sadly, I didn’t get around to reading as many Christmas books as I would have liked for 2023 but of the few I did read, It Always Snows on Mistletoe Square was definitely a stand out. Technically, it still is Christmas as here in Ireland Little Christmas or Women’s Christmas takes place on the 6th January so at the time of writing this review you could still read this fabulous, magical and very special book. But to be honest I have been known to read Christmas books in the summer as they are really quite addictive. The cover for this book is simply beautiful and very inviting and right from the start I was drawn into the story.
I fell back in love with Ali McNamara’s writing last summer, having not read anything by her in a number of years, when she published Cornish Clouds and Silver Lining Skies. I realise now that there is always an element of magical realism in her books and to be honest I usually find this too far fetched and over the top as I like having something solid that can be explained to be present in a book. But here and with the previous book, the author makes it work and despite that niggling feeling of wanting a definitive answer even towards the end regarding one aspect of the overall storyline, it really only was a niggle and I loved every minute of the time that I spent with Elle, Ben, Estelle and Angela.
There was a brief prologue where we are introduced to children’s author Elle who has a little quizzical moment occurring in London in December 2023. Yes the opening was slightly strange but I have come to expect the unexpected from the author but very much in a good way. We are then taken back to December 2018 and Elle describes herself as being in a miserable quagmire of her life after having a run of bad luck. She is in a pit of despair with problems enshrouding her. She has lost her job, home, best friend and fiancée. I mean could it get any worse for her?
Elle is sitting on a bench staring out at the Thames and trying to figure out her next move. She is in a deep and dark place when a stranger sits next to her and she somehow starts to share her story. The man says these wise words ‘If you have the courage to trust and follow your own path, Elle, instead of fighting it, you’ll never be truly lost in life’. With this said he disappears leaving a newspaper behind him in which Elle discovers a job highlighted. It sounds like the ideal job for her considering her current circumstances.
An experienced writer is wanted to write the story and history of a house. Accommodation will be provided and above all else the successful candidate must like Christmas. Elle arrives at Mistletoe Square and it’s like stepping back in time. It’s as if all around it London has moved on into the present but Christmas House and the Square have retained the charm and magic that they have had since they were first built. Estelle, along with her dog Alvie, lives in Christmas house and it has been in her family for over 250 years. Her housekeeper Angela is more like a sister to her than a servant.
Estelle doesn’t want her family’s history to disappear. The stories need to be written down and this is where Elle comes in and from this point on Elle forgets about her own worries as she becomes completely caught up in the numerous stories that Estelle shares. It was almost as if Estelle knew that Elle was at the end of her tether and things could really have gone either way for her and that this opportunity would transform her life in so many ways. Amidst the light and laughter there were some dark moments but they all perfectly balanced each other. Ben has recently moved into Holly House next door and he too has suffered with relationship troubles. Before long, he is drawn into the stories that begin to unfold.
Elle sets about her task of writing the history of the house and she learns lots of information through Estelle sharing the stories. The stories are told in a flashback format and I loved the historical element that began to come into the story alongside the fantasy/magical aspect. There are too many stories to go into but each details a family in the house and there are a lot of characters to keep track of and you are constantly asking yourself could there be a connection between them all or even to the present day? The manner in which Estelle begins the stories and the strange events that occur well it is rather unbelievable but I’ve learned to just go with the flow when it comes to the authors writing as I knew it would all eventually make sense and have a reasonable explanation which for the most part it does. There is a method behind Estelle’s madness and I found her to be a very clever and intuitive character. She is showing Elle how one little moment can change a life. The only one constant throughout the story is the Christmas tree. It makes its appearance every year despite the changes the residents have gone through.
I have been intentionally vague throughout this review for to detail each story would be too much and it would give too much away. I’ll admit there was a point where I was questioning where was everything going or would things just turn into a big anti climax? I needn’t have worried at all as I was in capable hands and when things started becoming clearer I quickly came to realise how clever the author had been and how brilliantly plotted the entire book was with such a special message and themes being explored. Elle soon comes to understand that ‘Family is everything, whether that’s the family you’re born into, or the family you chose to live with, and we need to appreciate it while we can. Especially at Christmas’. That’s what Elle is missing in her life and I sincerely hoped that Elle, Angela and Ben might offer what had been missing from her life.
It Always Snows on Mistletoe Square was a unique, special and memorable read that I devoured in short order. When I wasn’t able to read it due to work and life commitments I found myself itching to get back to it to discover what would happen next and what stories would be revealed. The characters and their messages will live long in your mind once you have read the final page and you will be reluctant to leave the but the ending is deeply satisfactory. Ali McNamara is now firmly back on my reading radar and I hope she is hard at work on a summer book for this year if not another Christmas book would be brilliant.
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