Ten years ago, Norah met a wonderful man, Andrew, on holiday in Italy who she fell for. But after work circumstances got in the way and the two lost contact. But Andrew made a promise back then, that if life got in the way, then he would meet her under the clock outside Bewley’s cafe in Dublin on Christmas Eve. Ten years later, it’s 2019 and Secondary school music teacher Norah Jones was expecting to spend Christmas with her mother and younger brother – as she has every year since her father’s death – but a last-minute change of plan is forced upon her by her mother’s impulsive decision to do something else.

With nowhere to go, Norah finds herself thinking of Andrew and the promise he made. So, hoping for a Christmas miracle, she heads to Dublin. To that clock. And, maybe, to Andrew. Realising she will have time on her hands before the planned meeting, Norah persuades Joe, the one other singleton amongst her friends, to accompany her to Dublin for some sightseeing before the meeting with Andrew. This leads to an adventure filled with Christmas Surprises for the pair.

As the story unfolds, the author gives us both a story of what is happening in these last days before Christmas Eve, as well as some flashbacks to Norah’s past. During these flashbacks set in 2009, we get to know more about how she met Andrew and why Norah feels so strongly about him. At the same time, we also get introduced to Norah's friend circle through these flashbacks as we take on the adventure with Norah and Joe in the present.

The Dublin-at-Christmas setting is the perfect backdrop for this So, to conclude, it is a festive and very entertaining read, filled with interesting characters. While the plot is pretty predictable and within the first 30% of the book you sort of know how the book will end, the journey there is very enjoyable. Glad to have read this one and happy to recommend it to holiday romance lovers.