One Winter Morning

One Winter Morning

By Isabelle Broom

A tale of love, loss, gain, and finding yourself.

Book Review, No Spoilers I swear!

Published in 2019 by Penguin books.

Let me start by saying that I bloody loved this book! Like I loved it that much I just want to read it all over again and relive it as if it was my first time reading it. I saw this book all over twitter by other book bloggers who had bought and reviewed this book and I just had the need to read it too. I read the blurb and thought "that's right up my street" and here we are.

One Winter Morning follows Evangeline (Genie to her friends) who is struggling this Christmas as it marks one year since she lost her adoptive mother who took her in as a child. Never feeling so alone Genie discovers the identity of her birth mother and where to find her. Travelling thousands of miles to New Zealand to seek out the woman who gave her up and get the answers she needs Genie is about to discover all. But is she ready for what she'll find when she gets there? Will she get the answers she's been looking for, a new family or perhaps someone she could never have expected?

Reading this book was such a delight, Broom takes you from the comforts of all you know and transports you to another world. That world being the beauty and wonder of New Zealand, land of the Hobbits but in this case, it is the land of Genie's adventure. Genie is a character you can really get behind from the very first page. You feel her pain and guilt as she walks among this world without her adoptive mother, Anna. Genie's aura is that of guilt and anger and as a reader you really feel this. A lot of Genie's character is relatable in that we all feel the grief of losing a loved one in our lives and its refreshing to see this, especially since Genie is in her twenties and I think a lot of young people are overlooked when it comes to loss and grief. Therefore, its great to see Genie in New Zealand where she begins a journey of self discovery.

Bonnie, who is Genie's birth mum is also a wonderful character and what I love about how Broom has chosen to portray Bonnie is that she has her own POV chapters. Bonnie looks back on the year when she had Genie at a young age and explains the events in which led her to give Genie away. It's a wonderful way to portray the character as we get to see and feel for Bonnie as she lets us in. In a way Bonnie is one of the most honest character's I have read about, she is true to herself in that she admits her faults but doesn't wish to change a thing of her past, as everything happens for a reason. I'm a firm believer in that and Bonnie's attitude to her past mistakes demonstrate this perfectly, this whole book does to be honest! For if the past didn't happen, if all the heartache and mistakes didn't plague these character's lives, then they wouldn't of found what they were unknowingly searching for. Hope, love and family.

The supporting characters are also to be adored, Tui, Kit and David are spectacular characters that you just can't help but fall in love with. I would talk about these characters and how brilliantly written they are but I will not for I'll end up spoiling the whole book for you. But I will say this, Broom's storytelling is enchanting and so honest it brings these characters to life.

This is a must-read for this Christmas and a perfect book for fans of Carole Matthews and Josie Silver. Its a heart-warming tale that has the power to make you fall in love and even shed a few tears. It's also a book that will keep you up at night as I found it incredibly hard to put it down, saying to myself one more chapter.....

I can't express how much I loved this book only that you need to seek it out and read it because honestly, it's one of the best books I have read this winter. So what are you waiting for? Transport yourself to New Zealand this winter through the words of Isabelle Broom.

My rating out of 5*: 5* (it would be rude not to)

After all tomorrow is another day spent reading,

Till next time,

Phoebe x