I recently attended a blogger, author and publisher party thanks to lovely Sara-Jade, Project Manager at Books and the City, and in my goody bag was a copy of Mince Pies and Mistletoe at the Christmas Market by Heidi Swain. Mince Pies and Mistletoe at the Christmas Market was published by Simon and Schuster on 17th November 2016 and is available for purchase in e-book and papaerback here.

Mince Pies and Mistletoe at the Christmas Market

Christmas has arrived in the town of Wynbridge and it promises mince pies, mistletoe and a whole host of seasonal joy.

 Ruby has finished with university and is heading home for the holidays to save up for her trip around the world in January. Against her father’s wishes, she takes on a stall at the local market, and sets about making it the best Christmas market stall ever. There’ll be bunting and mistletoe and maybe even a bit of mulled wine.

But with a new retail park just opened on their doorstep, the market is under threat. So together with all the other stallholders, Ruby devises a plan to make sure that Wynbridge is the first port of call for everyone’s Christmas shopping needs.

The only thing standing in her way is Ruby’s ex, Steve. It’s pretty hard to concentrate on saving the world when he works on the stall opposite, especially when she realises that her feelings for him are still there…

This Christmas make time for some winter sparkle – and see who might be under the mistletoe this year…

My Review of Mince Pies and Mistletoe at the Christmas Market

Ruby is back in Wynbridge having dropped out of her masters degree. The trouble is, she hasn’t moved on as much as she’d hoped from her small Fenland town.

I really enjoyed this entertaining festive read. Firstly the setting of Mince Pies and Mistletoe at the Christmas Market really appealed to me as I live in a small Fenland market town not far from the Peterborough mentioned in the story and I felt Heidi Swain had captured the essence of the area very authentically. I could easily picture the settings in my mind’s eye so which helped the story feel very realistic.

Whilst the narrative has a romantic theme and there is, as one would expect, a heavy reliance on the traditions of Christmas, I also thought there was a real depth to the story too. The sub-plot of Ruby’s Dad, Robert, was very well handled and surprising so that this wasn’t just a will they/won’t they chick lit. There is an honesty to the plot – life is not all wonderful in these settings and people do have to work hard to make a go of such places as the market featured in this story.

I appreciated the range of characters too. There is a sufficiently large cast to ensure enough variety, but somehow each character earns their place in the story and doesn’t feel extraneous, meaning that these become people the reader cares about. I really wanted Ruby and Steve to have a happy ending, but you’ll have to read the book to find out if that’s the case.

An element that surprised me in a way was the quality of ideas for small town regeneration. I think many a struggling market town could benefit from reading what initially appears a chick lit Christmas read. In Mince Pies and Mistletoe at the Christmas Market there are some excellent and achievable ideas that actually inspired me to want to be more creative. This is very effective writing.

So, if you’re looking for a romantic seasonal Christmas read that has conflict, depth and creative ideas to keep your attention throughout, you can’t go wrong with Mince Pies and Mistletoe at the Christmas Market by Heidi Swain.

About Heidi Swain

Although passionate about writing from an early age, Heidi Swain gained a degree in Literature, flirted briefly with a newspaper career, married and had two children before she finally plucked up the courage to join a creative writing class and take her literary ambitions seriously.

A lover of Galaxy bars, vintage paraphernalia and the odd bottle of fizz, she now writes contemporary fiction and enjoys the company of a whole host of feisty female characters.

Heidi can be found at the keyboard at all hours of the day and night and quite often scribbling longhand in her car during her lunch break. She lives in stunning south Norfolk with her wonderful family and a mischievous cat called Storm.

Her debut novel, The Cherry Tree Cafe, was published on July 16th, 2015 and became an Amazon bestseller.

All Heidi’s books are available here. You can follow Heidi on Twitter and visit her blog.