Simona's Corner of Dreams: Every Time a Bell Rings

Friday, 11 December 2015

Every Time a Bell Rings – by Carmel Harrington

Original Cover

My own copy

The blurb:

An angel gets its wings…

Belle has taken all the Christmas decorations down. This year they won’t be celebrating.

As foster parents, Belle and Jim have given many children the chance of a happier start in life. They’ve loved them as if they were their own. They shouldn’t have favourites but little Lauren has touched their hearts. And now her mother is well enough to take her back and Belle can’t bear the loss.

Hence, Christmas is cancelled.

So when Jim crashes his car one icy December night, after an argument about Lauren, Belle can only blame herself. Everything she loves is lost. And Belle finds herself standing on The Ha’Penny Bridge wishing she had never been born.

But what happens to a Christmas wish when an angel is listening…

Will Belle realise, before it’s too late, that her life is the most wonderful life of all?

Inspired by the timeless tale of beloved Christmas movie, It’s a Wonderful Life, Carmel Harrington’s next book tells the story of Belle, a young woman and foster carer from Dublin who faces the hardest decision of her life this Christmas on The Ha’Penny Bridge.

Full of Irish charm, magic, and the warmth of the festive season this is an emotional, heartwarming story that will stay with you long after you’ve reached ‘The End’. Perfect for fans of Cecelia Ahern & Jojo Moyes.

Carmel is the bestselling author of The Life You Left & Beyond Grace’s Rainbow, voted Romantic eBook of the Year 2013.

My Opinion:

*Book provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

The prologue is the perfect beginning of this book. It introduces us the happy couple Belle and Jim. They are so cute together and I just couldn’t wait to get to know them better. This opening is gripping and sweet.

When the actual story starts we jump some years back, a lot actually, back to when Belle and Jim were kids. Belle was living at her newest foster home with Tess and then she wished for a best friend. Suddenly there he is: Jim. The become best friends and have the most wonderful time together at Tess’, until his mother is in the picture again and he leaves. I adored the two of them as kids, they had some cute little moments.

Then we jump ahead, Belle is 25 now, independent and a teacher. Her and Jim haven’t stayed in touch, but then he is back. Belle is distant at the start, but then they spend an evening together and it all ends with a kiss… From the moment they met again their feelings for each other are really obvious and the chemistry is electric. Soon later he proposes to her.

A last jump happens. They are still happily married and they are foster parents now. Both of them are really enjoying that and especially Belle gets really attached to the kids, for her it’s hard to let go when they leave again. The most special of these kids is Lauren, she is so adorable. The scenes with her were probably one of my faves. Lauren’s mum is ready to take her back and so Belle is really really sad and when she also kind of starts fighting/arguing with Jim about having their own kids, it’s just too much.

Just then Jim ends up in hospital after a car crash and Belle wishes to never have been born. Only a little angel can show her the way. Belle sees a whole different world and starts thinking about her life, her feelings and about what she wants. Can she let go of her fears, or is it too late?!

The characters in this book are amazing. Belle and Jim are perfectly well lined out and they have something warm surrounding them. Then there is Tess, she is the best “mum” to Belle and she just always has the right thing to say, I loved her. The story Carmel created around them is beautiful, thoughtful, warm, festive, romantic and adorable! I love how Carmel included the topic of Foster Care in this book, treating it in a very sensitive way, which made this book very emotional. Other important topics are touched as well and I think Carmel found a perfect balance between them. Her descriptions of the story and the settings are spot on.

This book is gorgeously written, touches your heart and gets you right into a festive and warm mood. I went through a mixture of feelings in this book and I just got hooked! MAGICAL!!!

Rating: