I stumbled upon Tempest’s first ever global Reading Challenge and considered it a humble opportunity to pitch them a book review of one of my favourite chic lit rom-coms.
“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.”
Christina Jones, an award-winning author of romantic comedy novels, won the hearts of many fiction readers when her new novel Never Can Say Goodbye came to the scene in 2011. It was a magical blend of romance and fiction which received five-star reviews on Amazon and left the audience wonderstruck.
Never Can Say Goodbye is a perfect winter read to enjoy with a mug of hot chocolate. It will make your heart burst with joy, warmth and sparkles. The story highlights the importance of consistency and commitment to the tenacity of love and relationships. It also portrays the significance of beautiful relationships that are developed throughout our lives, as a result of emotions like affection, empathy and humanity.
The story opens up into a retro frock shop in Kingston Dapple. Rita owns this cosy Rent-a-Frock shop that is always filled with people of all taste and style, digging into the bulk of clothes and apparels from all ages. Rita is moving away from Kingston Dapple with her beloved, to live in a dream tavern in Greek Island. She left her shop in the hands of her friend Francesca Meredith, who has always had a penchant for vintage dresses. Francesca aka Frankie is recovering from a heartbreak trauma, but as soon as she recovers the shock, she decides that it is the right time to pursue her passion. She donates all the old clothes and opens the vintage dress shop that she has always adored.
Never Can Say Goodbye is a perfect winter read to enjoy with a mug of hot chocolate. It will make your heart burst with joy, warmth and sparkles. The story highlights the importance of consistency and commitment to the tenacity of love and relationships. It also portrays the significance of beautiful relationships that are developed throughout our lives, as a result of emotions like affection, empathy and humanity
She re-named “Rita’s Rent-a-Frock” as “Francesca’s Fabulous Frocks.” It was better than winning a lottery. She decorated every inch of the shop with love and perfection. Her vintage dresses caught the attention of all the ladies in the town and soon her frocks embellished every wardrobe.
The story takes a beautiful twist when a masculine figure sets up a flower shop next to Francesca’s Fabulous Frocks-heart-throb florist, Dexter Valentine. Dexter is a womanizer with a shady past that is yet to be revealed. The story unfolds slowly and gradually as Dexter starts unleashing himself page by page. Dexter and Francesca develop this bond of trust and friendship between them that leads them to more adventures and pending responsibilities. It is a unique love story where two friends transformed beautifully into lovers, over a cup of coffee and greasy bacon rolls.
The magic dust is sprinkled in the book with the appearance of the amateur village medium, Maisie, who insists that the Francesca’s Fabulous Frocks is haunted. Right after this, Frankie starts witnessing some very strange shenanigans. Frankie then meets Ernie Yardley, a dead soul of an old man, who points out his dead wife’s wedding dress on one of the clothes rails. Frankie listens to his stories all day long and develops an affection for him.
Dexter and Frankie ask for Maisie’s help in sending the old man back to his world, but they end up with much more troubles by inviting more ghosts at the shop. They both then help Ernie in reuniting with his wife eternally. Two lovers re-united the two lovers from a different age which gives us the hint of the timelessness of love. Love has existed from ages, and love never gets old, and rusty.
Beautiful imagery is used in this novel which makes you feel every bit of the weather, emotions, taste of the hot chocolate that they glug and bacon rolls that they ate from the Greasy Spoon. This imagery will unusually appeal to your senses while allowing a bigger room for imagination and interpretations by the readers. There is no chick-lit without a splash of romance, and there is plenty in here.
Never can say Goodbye is a perfect embodiment of cascading transitions in life. Jones has beautifully described the mental rejuvenation of the characters. How Dexter changed himself for the true love of his life, Frankie. How Francesca had to say a bitter goodbye to her best friend and turned the old shop into a marvellous vintage frock shop. The moral awakening of characters can be positively seen with every turning page.
Though this book seems to be quite underrated for one reason or more, but this book will quickly swirl you into the whirlpool of magic and romance, where you will encounter quirky characters, weird vintage spirits, heart-throb guy figure, light mystery, humour and delicious imagery of greasy spoon café that will make you drool all over. It is a marvellous rom-com for all the lovers of vintage picturesque, and a perfect book to savour on a cold winter night while snuggling in your cosy blanket.
The writer is a blogger, researcher, freelancer and a social worker. She’s currently a student of Bachelors at Air University and can be reached at [email protected]