Book Review: You Never See Rainbows at Christmas by Elaine Spires

Like a rhinestone Miss Havisham Eloise plans to spend Christmas alone, lying on the settee, crying her eyes out and listening to Dolly Parton’s Greatest Hits. 

But a fall in the sleet two nights before Christmas lands her at the feet of rough sleeper Adam who is fighting his own demons. 

Limping, cut and bruised, she has no alternative but to accept his offer of help. And instead of rejection and solitude there’s friendship and company and the festive season suddenly seems brighter.  Eloise’s never seen a rainbow at Christmas… Until now.

Eloise plans to spend Christmas alone as she nurses a broken heart. However, a fall outside a corner shop results in her meeting Adam, a rough sleeper who, like Eloise, is fighting events in his past.

Before she knows it, she’s accepted his offer for help and friendship develops. Eloise has never seen a rainbow at Christmas… yet.

If you’ve followed this blog for a while, then you know I love a Christmas themed novel so I jumped at the chance to be included in the one day blog blitz for You Never See Rainbows at Christmas by Elaine Spires.

I have to mention this beautiful cover. It’s so pretty and it sets the tone for the story well.

There are two very complex and deep characters at the centre of this book, Eloise and Adam.
Both are fighting, trying to deal with aspects from their past and both running away from facing it. These events caused hurt, pain, grief and shame and I really felt for both these characters. I wondered what could have happened to Eloise and Adam prior to this point. Nothing is ever black and white.

The story itself is perfect for a Christmas novel. A friendship develops which is one of the most important aspects of this season. It’s easy, especially at this time of year, to write off homeless people and through the book, it was interesting to see how these two characters evolved around each other. It dealt with this theme with sensitivity whilst putting across an important message.

This book is not a long read but even taking that into account, I blasted through it. I wanted to know what became of these two endearing people. I didn’t see the end coming either.

You Never See Rainbows at Christmas is a perfect addition to any festive book list. The Christmas setting is wonderful and adds additional magic but beyond that, it’s about love, friendship and forgiveness. It’s a reminder that it’s never too late to change your mind about people as well as your own perception of yourself regardless of the time of year.

About Elaine Spires

​Elaine Spires is a novelist, playwright and actress.

Extensive travelling and a background in education and tourism perfected Elaine’s keen eye for the quirky characteristics of people, captivating the humorous observations she now affectionately shares with the readers of her novels.

Elaine spends her time between her homes in Essex and Five Islands, Antigua (W.I.).

​Say hello to Elaine on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Click to view You Never See Rainbows at Christmas on Amazon UK and Amazon US.

by

Laura

I'm Laura. I started Novel Kicks back in 2009 as I wanted a place to discuss books and writing - two loves of my life. As someone who has anxiety, these two things give me, and I am sure countless others, a much needed escape.
There is a monthly book club, writing exercises, prompts, reviews, author interviews, competitions and guest posts. I cover many genres and I hope there is something for everyone.
I grew up by the sea in Dorset and currently live in Poole with my husband, Chris and three cats. I love writing and have a BA (Hons) in Creative Writing from Falmouth University. I am writing my first book. If only I could stop pressing delete. Chris has threatened to stop it from working. Haha.
I have always loved creative writing since I was in first school and would very much like to meet my teacher, Miss Sayers, to say thank you for all the encouragement she gave me then.
When not writing, I love reading, cats, Disney, singing (I can't sing but this doesn't stop me,) and falling into a good TV show or film. If I could step into any fictional world, it would be amongst the characters in ABC's Once Upon a Time.
I love reading many genres and discovering new authors.