A Christmas to Remember: The festive feel-good romance from the Sunday Times bestselling author, Anton Du Beke (The Buckingham Hotel)

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Although this is the third book in the series it could easily be read as a standalone - there is enough backstory of the characters for the plot to make sense. I’ve loved this series since the first one back in 2018 and fell in love with the wonderfully endearing characters. Using the real life experience of the years in the book made the story more believable and interesting. ANTON DU BEKE, household name and all-round entertainer, brings the charm and style he's famous for to his writing.

This grossly oversimplified understanding has created many complexities in our lives and taken away from us the very fundamentals of the joy of living. Helene the female lead dancer has her own secrets- a child with a black husband now dead and her family disowned her as it “would bring shame on their good name”.Now Caine delves into the real stories behind the gangs we think we know so well, revealing the hidden realities behind the myths. To say I blooming loved my time spent reading this book - to say that I consider some of the characters to be friends - to say that I felt bereft leaving them at the end - would all be an understatement. Yes, there is dancing, yes there is a ballroom but the main story is based around the staff who live and work in the Buckingham Hotel. Most purchases from business sellers are protected by the Consumer Contract Regulations 2013 which give you the right to cancel the purchase within 14 days after the day you receive the item. But I did find it a slog - it was hard going in places and took me much longer to read than a book often does.

I can see how how his books might become a bit of a secret pleasure for me, and that they can bring joy and pleasure to those who read them.Inside the spectacular Grand Ballroom of the exclusive Buckingham Hotel, the rich and powerful, politicians, film stars, even royalty, rub shoulders with Raymond de Guise and his troupe of talented dancers from all around the world. Saying this, I’m sure Anton’s legion of hard core fans will love it and older readers who enjoy a gentle, heartwarming tale set in the 1930’s but on this occasion it didn’t hit the mark for me.

Anton Du Beke, King of the Strictly ballroom, television personality and now best selling author, continues his elegant Mayfair based, Buckingham Hotel series with “A Christmas to Remember. Behind the scenes, the staff work tirelessly, ensuring the smooth operation of the hotel, guarding the secrets of their guests – but they have many of their own that they fear will be revealed. And so far I haven’t been disappointed, my only gripe is that I wished I had read his previous books to get a proper portrayal of the characters, that said the book does go into a slight background on each character so you can get a grip of each of them, I am only about three quarters of the way through so I hope the ending is as good as the rest as been so far. If this is your first visit to the Buckingham Hotel, I’m sure that you could quite easily read this as a stand-alone.

My only gripe - and this is a gripe I have with a lot of authors who are not authors by trade - is the excessive use of names when they are not needed as it's obvious who is talking to whom (this does fade out as you go through the book) and the overuse of the word "But". Behind the scenes, the staff work tirelessly, ensuring the smooth operation of the hotel, not only keeping theconfidences of their guests, but also protecting their own secrets .

I have to say I was very impressed as the book was very well written and very easy to read - I flew through the book as it was very enjoyable and I didn’t want to put it down. Do you feel weighed down by stress and pressure, held back by judgement and lack of opportunity, and critcised by everyone – including yourself? As the band strikes up in the Grand Ballroom to celebrate Nancy and Raymond's wedding, one thing is certain - this will be a Christmas to remember. This is the first book of this series that I have read, and I will now be putting the other two on my list to santa.are preparing for a once-in-a-lifetime event – the marriage of chambermaid Nancy Nettleton to debonair demonstration dancer Raymond de Guise. What a wonderful continuation of the life and lives of all at the Buckingham Hotel, I have like the two books before, been unable to put this book down till I finished it. Du Beke on - a man of many hats to be sure, and he can easily inhabit the mind of a dancer and make a reader feel the sway and rhythm of dance.