Sunday 22 April 2012

Review - The Charm Bracelet by Melissa Hill

Last week I had the pleasure of reading and reviewing Something From Tiffany's by Melissa Hill.  My review can be found by clicking here

As I loved it so much, I decided to pick up The Charm Bracelet to read next to see if it was as good!  It SO was! It was a complete and utter fairytale.
 
Single Mom Holly works in a vintage dress store in New York. One day when looking through an item of clothing which was taken to the store, Holly finds something tucked away in an inside pocket. There she discovers a beautiful charm bracelet very similar to the one she has herself. Because Holly’s charm bracelet contains a whole catalogue of her life with an individual charm marking the very special occasions that have happened to her, she wants to return this charm bracelet to its rightful owner. She starts to hunt across New York to find its owner and return this amazing piece of jewellery using and deciphering the charms as clues. 
 
Meanwhile across town, Greg decides to pack in his job as a high flying stockbroker to become the photographer that he has always wanted to be, much to the disappointment of his girlfriend Karen. He decides to make this up to her in the only way he can think of! When he realises that his mother's charm bracelet is missing, he tries to trace its steps and find this piece of jewellery which he clearly knows means a lot to his mum.
 
This was one of the most delightful, pleasurable books I think I have probably ever read. It was full of romance, love, history, nostalgia; it was just sheer and pure delight!   Each charm tells its own individual story both for Holly and for the owner of the mystery bracelet and it was lovely to learn where and why they had originated. 
 
Melissa Hill has such an amazing way of creating characters and lives and places that make you just throw yourself into the whole of the book and become part of the story.
 
And I do so love it when a fairy tale comes true.  I had a few moments where I caught my breath while reading this amazing story. It was a very emotional book particularly when reading the story from the view of Greg's mother, who was suffering from cancer, a story which I could relate to as this nasty disease is the thief who stole my mom away from me!
 
A beautiful story, fabulously told, and an absolute dream come true with a perfect ending. A book which was exactly as I like a book to be. One that takes you away from the here and now and whisks you away  into a world full of promise, sparkly magic and fairytales. Maybe not every girl's ideal but certainly mine.
 


Melissa Hill lives with her husband Kevin, their daughter Carrie and their dog Homer in Monkstown, Co Dublin. Her previous books including The Last To Know, Before I Forget, Please Forgive Me and The Truth About You have all been bestsellers and are widely translated.

You can find out more about Melissa at her website www.melissahill.info





2 comments:

Keira said...

It’s actually a nice and useful piece of post. I am glad that you simply shared with us. Thanks!

D.J. Kirkby said...

What a delightful idea for a book. Looking forward to reading this one.