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A review by thebritishbibliophile
Formula One Noel: A Steamy Contemporary Holiday Romance by Christina Braver
5.0
'A Christmas novel that truly puts you in the spirit of the season. A brilliant introduction to Christina Braver' -The British Bibliophile
Thank you to Grey's Promotions for sending me an ebook Advanced Readers Copy for me to read and and leave an honest review.
Formula One Noel by Christina Braver is a standalone Christmas romance read that was packed full of both feels and surprises. I was drawn to this novel for two reasons. One, Christmas. I'm a massive Christmas romance fan and I cannot resist the novels if I tried. Two, something different. I'm not usually drawn to novels with a racing theme/sub-theme, but the blurb enticed me in to give this book a chance.
This was also my first time reading a Christina Braver novel, so it was great to discover someone new to me and to get to know their work and the feel for it, for the first time.
Based off the blurb without diving in too deep, we were promised two tropes straight off the bat. Strangers-to-Lovers and Opposites Attract. The former is obvious, as Nora and Walker are indeed strangers. The latter is again obvious. Nora is a nurse, and Walker was a Formula One racing driver. Two very different career paths. There was much fun to be had in discovering why they both chose those careers, and if the two would or wouldn't declare them to one another because as strangers only meant to be in each other's company for a short amount of time. Or is it?
The two of them are on the verge and tipping point in their careers and destiny paths, but it's their time together that will determine which path they will take both together, and alone respectively. When a snowstorm creates the perfect opportunity for the two to spend time together, one night might lead to something more that neither saw coming. Praise to Christina for injecting much humour into these situations. Despite where we knew these two would end up at the end of the night, it was great to get there through times where I could laugh and smile while getting to know Nora and Walker. Their meeting was in not exactly ideal circumstances, but thank goodness for the snowstorm!
Speaking of getting to know people, let me talk abut Walker Hewitt. What. A. Man! Considering he and Nora are strangers, the lengths he went to, the things he did...those kinds of things truly only happen in romance novels and thank goodness for the authors who create them for us! Christina made a character that literally made me swoon and fall head over pages for him, and that takes a lot considering how many book men--and husbands--I've been through this year. I would absolutely have no objection to a real life freak snowstorm if it was Walker Hewitt that I was happily stuck with. None at all! Nora is equally as admirable as a character. In most romance novels that I've read, it's usually the male main character who is the doctor and the female the assistant or some sort of role below/serving a doctor, but it was refreshing to see an independent female character here in Nora. Like some of us, we're still discovering things out and figuring out who we are and where we want to be, breaking away from trying to please others and doing it for ourselves instead. She's a strong character many will admire.
The journey that I went on while reading this--much like the journey inside the novel--was far from straightforward and was plenty surprising. I was kept on my toes and went with the flow, as did Walker and Nora, towards that sweet, sweet Happily Ever After.
I really enjoyed getting to grips with the kind of story Christina Braver weaves, and I'll eagerly be on the look out for more of her sign-ups in the future.
Five stars!
Thank you to Grey's Promotions for sending me an ebook Advanced Readers Copy for me to read and and leave an honest review.
Formula One Noel by Christina Braver is a standalone Christmas romance read that was packed full of both feels and surprises. I was drawn to this novel for two reasons. One, Christmas. I'm a massive Christmas romance fan and I cannot resist the novels if I tried. Two, something different. I'm not usually drawn to novels with a racing theme/sub-theme, but the blurb enticed me in to give this book a chance.
This was also my first time reading a Christina Braver novel, so it was great to discover someone new to me and to get to know their work and the feel for it, for the first time.
Based off the blurb without diving in too deep, we were promised two tropes straight off the bat. Strangers-to-Lovers and Opposites Attract. The former is obvious, as Nora and Walker are indeed strangers. The latter is again obvious. Nora is a nurse, and Walker was a Formula One racing driver. Two very different career paths. There was much fun to be had in discovering why they both chose those careers, and if the two would or wouldn't declare them to one another because as strangers only meant to be in each other's company for a short amount of time. Or is it?
The two of them are on the verge and tipping point in their careers and destiny paths, but it's their time together that will determine which path they will take both together, and alone respectively. When a snowstorm creates the perfect opportunity for the two to spend time together, one night might lead to something more that neither saw coming. Praise to Christina for injecting much humour into these situations. Despite where we knew these two would end up at the end of the night, it was great to get there through times where I could laugh and smile while getting to know Nora and Walker. Their meeting was in not exactly ideal circumstances, but thank goodness for the snowstorm!
Speaking of getting to know people, let me talk abut Walker Hewitt. What. A. Man! Considering he and Nora are strangers, the lengths he went to, the things he did...those kinds of things truly only happen in romance novels and thank goodness for the authors who create them for us! Christina made a character that literally made me swoon and fall head over pages for him, and that takes a lot considering how many book men--and husbands--I've been through this year. I would absolutely have no objection to a real life freak snowstorm if it was Walker Hewitt that I was happily stuck with. None at all! Nora is equally as admirable as a character. In most romance novels that I've read, it's usually the male main character who is the doctor and the female the assistant or some sort of role below/serving a doctor, but it was refreshing to see an independent female character here in Nora. Like some of us, we're still discovering things out and figuring out who we are and where we want to be, breaking away from trying to please others and doing it for ourselves instead. She's a strong character many will admire.
The journey that I went on while reading this--much like the journey inside the novel--was far from straightforward and was plenty surprising. I was kept on my toes and went with the flow, as did Walker and Nora, towards that sweet, sweet Happily Ever After.
I really enjoyed getting to grips with the kind of story Christina Braver weaves, and I'll eagerly be on the look out for more of her sign-ups in the future.
Five stars!