A Winter Flame by Milly Johnson

'Tis the season to be jolly...But can Eve find happiness through the frost...? Eve has never liked Christmas, not since her beloved fiance was killed in action in Afghanistan on Christmas Day. So when her adored elderly aunt dies, the last thing she is expecting is to be left a theme park in her will. A theme park with a Christmas theme...And that's not the only catch. Her aunt's will stipulates that Eve must run the park with a mysterious partner, the exotically named Jacques Glace. Who is this Jacques, and why did Aunt Evelyn name him in her will? But Eve isn't going to back down from a challenge. She's determined to make a success of Winterworld, no matter what. Can she overcome her dislike of Christmas, and can Jacques melt her frozen heart at last...?

This was one of the books that got me into the Christmas spirit last year. The main character, Eve, does not look forward to Christmas since her fiance was killed on a tour of duty in Afghanistan. This becomes a problem when, following a visit to her Aunt's solicitor to read her will, she finds out her aunt has been secretly planning and building her own Christmas wonderland. Her aunt left her to continue with her dream, but stipulates that she must work with Jacques Glace, a mysterious man who Eve has never heard of before.

As with all of Milly Johnson's books, A Winter Flame is well written with a female cast who can be related to and feel like friends due to the style of writing Johnson is famous for.  I really enjoyed the storyline - it has a Christmas theme, however it could be read at any time of the year and be enjoyed.

I really enjoyed the puzzle of who the mysterious Jacques Glace was. It added an air of mystery to the story and I enjoyed following Eve's actions into discovering who he was. I also enjoyed remeeting with characters from White Wedding, I hope that Milly Johnson will carry on with this and include past characters in more of her books.

I found this book to be one of those that I didn't want to put down, I had me entranced and I built up my own images into what the Winter wonderland would look like in real life - I would love someone to open up their own Winter wonderland, I know that I for one would visit it. I was able to loose myself in this book for hours at a time and would of finished it in one sitting if family life hadn't taken over!

I am already looking forward to Milly Johnson's next release.

Thank you to the publishers, Simon and Schuster, for sending me the book to review.