Some Like It Cold by Elle McNicoll (2024)
Falling into (and for) this book was kind of like being enveloped in a long, loving warm hug...... or maybe binge watching multiple seasons of 'Gilmore Girls'.
Like the TV show, we're in a snow-globe, never-neverland sweet little picture postcard town, filled with quirky characters who practically all know each other on a first name basis. And so obviously well-named......Lake Pristine.
There's royalty of sorts......the well to do Montgomery clan, which include two completely opposite sisters.......the imperious, bossy (and now raging Bridezilla) Christine and the town's much beloved unofficial Princess, younger sister Jasper, just returned from college to attend Christine's grand New Year's Eve wedding.
But neurodivergent Jasper's both exhausted and worried about all the secrets she's been keeping. The sweet-natured girl, forever fearful of people finding her autism odd and repellent, has always overplayed her role as a selfless people pleaser., hence her reputation. And she's no longer able to tolerate her parents' bullying her into pursuing law school, so she's secretly quit college and plans with apply to design school.
If that isn't enough for Jasper, there's renewing her contentious encounters with grumpy Arthur Lancaster, that one boy in town who doesn't seem to like her.......or does he? Just a little? Maybe more than just a little? Could it be he's bonkers for her?
Arthur and his brother run the town's main venue, the Arthouse multi-plex cinema and he and his cousin Marcus are filming a documentary on Lake Pristine at the very height of the town's winter activities - the 'Nutcracker' ballet, directed by Jasper and the wedding-frenzied Christine storming through town like a tornado. Amidst all this chaos, Arthur and Jaster frequently find themselves thrown together in one situation after another..........and this is where 'Some Like It Cold' will have you in perpetual heartache, sighing out loud and cheering on these two hurting souls to reach their inevitable conclusion.
There's no other way to read this other than to surrender to it as it plays on your heartstrings with no mercy whatsoever until the end. It has the snap and crackle of 'Gilmore Girls' combined with the dreamy look of a small town in a Hallmark Christmas movie. If all that sounds enticing at all, then by all means treat yourself.. (True confession : this may be something I'd return to re-read just to re-visit and town and characters again.)
Like the TV show, we're in a snow-globe, never-neverland sweet little picture postcard town, filled with quirky characters who practically all know each other on a first name basis. And so obviously well-named......Lake Pristine.
There's royalty of sorts......the well to do Montgomery clan, which include two completely opposite sisters.......the imperious, bossy (and now raging Bridezilla) Christine and the town's much beloved unofficial Princess, younger sister Jasper, just returned from college to attend Christine's grand New Year's Eve wedding.
But neurodivergent Jasper's both exhausted and worried about all the secrets she's been keeping. The sweet-natured girl, forever fearful of people finding her autism odd and repellent, has always overplayed her role as a selfless people pleaser., hence her reputation. And she's no longer able to tolerate her parents' bullying her into pursuing law school, so she's secretly quit college and plans with apply to design school.
If that isn't enough for Jasper, there's renewing her contentious encounters with grumpy Arthur Lancaster, that one boy in town who doesn't seem to like her.......or does he? Just a little? Maybe more than just a little? Could it be he's bonkers for her?
Arthur and his brother run the town's main venue, the Arthouse multi-plex cinema and he and his cousin Marcus are filming a documentary on Lake Pristine at the very height of the town's winter activities - the 'Nutcracker' ballet, directed by Jasper and the wedding-frenzied Christine storming through town like a tornado. Amidst all this chaos, Arthur and Jaster frequently find themselves thrown together in one situation after another..........and this is where 'Some Like It Cold' will have you in perpetual heartache, sighing out loud and cheering on these two hurting souls to reach their inevitable conclusion.
There's no other way to read this other than to surrender to it as it plays on your heartstrings with no mercy whatsoever until the end. It has the snap and crackle of 'Gilmore Girls' combined with the dreamy look of a small town in a Hallmark Christmas movie. If all that sounds enticing at all, then by all means treat yourself.. (True confession : this may be something I'd return to re-read just to re-visit and town and characters again.)
5 stars (*****) Best comfort read of the year, so far.
No comments:
Post a Comment