So, is that a contest kind of match, or a love match? Both! Their bosses wanted the former, but Ruby and Zach proved more inclined to the latter.
As the story is all in Ruby's point of view, the reader naturally sides with her at first, while quickly finding it hard to dislike Zach (Ruby herself struggles with that from the start). Then, when secrets are revealed and "enemies" turn into friends (as a first step), it becomes entirely impossible to wish anything else than that they could both keep the job. So I spent a big part of the book cursing the bosses who set them against each other, and looking forward to finding out how the problem would be solved - all that while enjoying the author's signature humour (for those who don't know it yet, she's really good at inserting funny sentences even in scenes that are really not funny for the main character).

I hadn’t read any of Jane’s previous work so this was a brand new experience for me, and a positive one at that, her writing is beautiful.

There is something so warming and comforting about reading a wintery Christmas book in the height of summer.

All these happily-ever-after books are quite predictable - which is part of their appeal in my opinion - and this is no different. I could have written the ending within a chapter or two. Some may see this as a complaint but I actually think it allowed me to focus more on the characters themselves and the writing style, rather than worrying what was going to happen like you do with other genres such as thrillers. It means it is a warm, comforting book to curl up with when the rain is tumbling down outside (the joys of an English summer).

Having been made redundant at the end of last year, I could really sympathise with a lot of the secondary characters in this book, and Jane never made them pathetic, benefits-hungry characters just for entertainment value. They were given their own stories and personalities.

York - and York at Christmas time - is a gorgeous city, and Jane paints it in all its glory it’s like there, walking through the shambles, with carols coming from the cathedral and fairy lights twinkling above.

One thing I did like especially was the sensitivity in which Jane approaches depression, anxiety, and mental health in general, which can so often be attributed to villains in novels. So it was really lovely to see a “normal” character going through these struggles.

I will finish by quoting the final line for you, and I think it’s important we all remember it: “Life didn’t have to be perfect to be happy”.