Reviewed by Annika
TITLE: When Christmas Lights are Blue
AUTHOR: Harper Fox
NARRATOR: Tim Gilbert
PUBLISHER: Audible Studios
RELEASE DATE: January 2, 2018
LENGTH: 1 hour, 36 minutes
BLURB:
Rob and Karan are a great couple, but they’re tearing apart under the pressures of modern life. They both work as paramedics for the NHS, and just before Christmas, their plans for the future are in jeopardy.
Rob knows he’s on thin ice with the man he loves more than anyone else in the world, and he’s at a loss to fix it. The job is getting tougher, and Karan, who’s of Sikh descent, is facing violence on the streets in the wake of Britain’s decision to leave the EU. Financial problems, hostile families on both sides… Their troubles seem insoluble.
An emergency callout stops them on the brink of a final and heartbreaking row. In a forest on the bleak northern hills, Rob loses control of the van in the snow. The only gleam of light comes from a strange, lonely house among the trees. Lost, cut off from the world they know, can they find their way back to one another? It’s the longest night of the year, and spirits are abroad among the pines…
REVIEW:
This short story is set just before Christmas during one wintry and cold night. Rob and Karan, both paramedics, are called out on an emergency when suddenly everything changes. Things take a dangerous turn when Rob loses control of the ambulance. Then it turns for the strange, down memory lane of the love they shared. The good and the bad.
I couldn’t quite get a grip on the story, or at least it took me almost the entire book to know what was really going on. I spent too much time actively trying to hang on, figure out what was going on and not enough time to really listen or enjoy the story. It wasn’t a bad story but I feel like it wasn’t ideal as an audiobook. I’m guessing there were some kind of visual cues for change in timeline etc in the print version, but it was a bit muddled while listening – and not to any fault of Gilbert’s or Fox. It’s just that some books works better in print, and this is one of them.
I love Tim Gibert’s narrations, he was absolutely brilliant narrating the Tyack & Frayne series and he did a wonderful job with this novella as well. I love his voice and accent, I can happily listen to it all day so a book under two hours wasn’t nearly enough for my tastes.
RATING:
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