The stockings have been taken down from the fireplace (at least metaphorically, since they are still up in my house). Christmas is over, and a new year is here. Last time I wrote to the dear readers of Trill Mag, I was reading A Heart for Christmas by Sophie Jomain, an Advent book in which readers open a new chapter in the love story of April and Augustin for each day of Advent.
The book follows April, a 19-year-old girl who is extremely scared of life after her heart surgery. She’s staying with her dad for the first time since her ski accident at the resort where he lives. Growing frustrated with her parents’ behavior, she reconnects with her best friend Eva’s brother, Augustin.
My last article left off with Eva telling April a shocking story. Apparently, Augustin had casual relations with a girl who wanted more, and the girl hurt herself in extreme ways after he rejected her. Quite the cliffhanger.
Mia, you must have immediately read the next chapter!
No. No, I did not. In fact, for the sake of transparency, I will admit to you, dear readers, that I hadn’t touched that book again until right before writing this article. Why? Because I just wasn’t invested.
The plot was mediocre at best, and I had little motivation to continue. Granted, I also work in customer service, which gets incredibly busy during the holiday season. This certainly compounded my lack of motivation, but if the story had been more compelling, I would have still been excited to read.
The book had so much promise, but it incorporated too many half-baked tropes and ultimately failed to deliver.
What happens?
After finding out about the girl from Eva’s school, April goes snowshoeing with Augustin, and they decide to pursue a relationship. However, they keep it secret so Eva won’t find out. April’s father, Etienne, starts to express concern over changes in April’s behavior, which feels abrupt to both April and the reader.
Eva eventually catches April and Augustin, and the best friends have a major fight. April cries to her dad, and Etienne advises her to reconsider the pace of her relationship with Augustin.
The remaining events can essentially be summarized in bullet points:
- April gets mad at her father.
- April goes skiing out of anger.
- While skiing, she faints like she did before her surgery.
- April goes to the hospital.
- April’s parents are mad at her.
- Her dad is more upset with Augustin.
- Eva forgives April. Yay!
- April’s mom talks with her about being careful, prompting April to break up with Augustin since she will be returning home once she recovers.
- April’s parents rekindle their romance???
- Augustin goes missing, and they think he may have ventured onto the off-map trails he sometimes takes.
- April texts him, calling him stupid but admitting she still loves him.
- Augustin shows up at April’s balcony.
- It is implied that Augustin and April do “the deed” in her bedroom. Next door to her parents. After her recent reckless ski accident. Bold move.
- April tells Augustin to come down and join her parents for breakfast after Augustin accidentally sleeps over???
- April girl, what?
- Etienne is angered by the relationship. April tells him that he must accept their relationship if he wants to be in her life.
- This is Chapter 23, by the way. There is only one more chapter in the story, and we leave off with this tension.
- Christmas. The end.
Here’s my take.
As I said, this book had potential. There’ a girl who needs to fall in love with life again and a forbidden romance with her best friend’s brother. The setting was chock-full of opportunities. And there were certainly times that Jomain made some wise plot choices.
I predicted that April’s heart palpitations throughout her time at the resort would serve as a checkov gun, and I appreciated how the author intentionally pushed the concept of “heart skips” beyond mere attraction. I didn’t love how it ultimately played out, but I’ll take what I can get. I also fully considered the possibility that Augustin might have gone missing on the off-map trails. I didn’t anticipate that it was a fake-out, which proved to be a welcome surprise. Finally, I was glad to see April fell in love with life again.
Other elements were simply not given the time or attention that they warranted. I mean, look at the bullet point list! That’s a lot to unpack in a short amount of time. And the list only covers the main plot points. One of my biggest pet peeves as a reader is an action-packed plot in a compressed timeframe, and this book certainly had that problem.
April’s arguments with her parents both escalated and resolved far too quickly. They also happened at strange junctures in the story. Overall characters’ goals, motivations, and actions felt two-dimensional and inconsistent.
All in all, I didn’t love this book.
The book’s main selling point is undoubtedly the advent chapters. However, between the ripped edges, the pressure of opening each day during the busiest time of year, and the lackluster story, the chapters just weren’t enough to make the read feel worthwhile. (Though I did enjoy the occasional glimpses into French culture that came with reading a translated book.)
Unlike The Last Ship, I won’t steer readers away from reading the book. There may be someone out there who would enjoy it. But I’m very picky about my plot structures especially when actively approaching a book with an analytical lens. So if you want to give this one a read next holiday season, you should hit up Barnes and Noble. (By the way, the book is currently 50% off on their website.)
If you’re looking for a less holiday-centric book, check out this article: 5 Wintry Reads to Chase Away the Cold This January.
Happy Reading!
