The Snow Angel

by Dilly Court

Genres: Historical Fiction

480 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2025

About the author

Dilly Court grew up in North-east London and began her career in television, writing scripts for commercials. She is married with two grown-up children and four grandchildren, and now lives in Dorset on the beautiful Jurassic Coast with her husband. She is the author of eighteen novels and also writes under the name of Lily Baxter.

Reviews

[Dan Hooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it and poor rose didn’t half go through it but came out in the end

[Rose Kealy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the book.
Riveting read.
Would recommend.

[Jackie Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

All I can say is another fantastic read by Dilly Court . I now readily await the next book .

[Lesley Puncher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost 5 stars, but it went on a little bit long and some of the scenarios were a little far fetched.
The author has used names which while quite common are used in several of her other books.

[Rebecca Lawton · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book started really well, but I gave up reading about 100 pages from the end as it was just getting more and more far fetched. I normally enjoy Dilly Court books but this wasn't for me. There were too many coincidences.

[Louise Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

As snow falls outside Abbotsford vicarage on Christmas Eve, Rose Northwood finds a child lying destitute in the manger of the town's nativity display. Reminded of her younger brother, who died at Christmastime, she is determined to nurse the young boy back to health. But the child has lost his memory and can't recall where he came from....

Will Rose discover the boy's true identity and reunite him with his family this winter?

Dilly Court is one of my favourite authors. I love the way she describes her stories. This book is quite lengthy, around 480 pages. Some of the chapters are quite long. Rose Northwood didn't know what lay ahead when she found a young boy in the manger of the town's nativity display. He has been badly beaten and suffering from lying in the freezing cold. She sneaks the boy into the house as she does not want to upset her mother who goes into a depression at Christmas as that was when her brother died. When a man turns up, claiming to be the boy's relation, Rose never thought she would end up in France with him. The characters are well fleshed out, the pace is steady, and I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Published 10th October 2024

I would like to thank #NetGalley #HarperCollinsUK #HarperFiction and the author #DillyCourt for my ARC of #TheSnowAngel in exchange for an honest review.

[Rachel Quinlan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook.
Rose finds a young teenager in the crib asleep at church. She gets him back to the vicarage, her father in the vicar, and the family nurse him back to health. He’s a little confused and has amnesia, he seems scared and yet doesn’t know why. He so resembles the brother that died, that’s why Rose is so fascinated with him.
Historical fiction set in Abbotsford, Dorset (which is a lovely place by the way), on the English south coast.
Rose tries to help him find his family.
On the way she makes some rather foolish decisions and doesn’t learn from previous mistakes - that was a little frustrating, but I guess the story needed it? In some places she seems so worldly wise and in others so innocent and trusting.
On the whole a good listen. Well narrated.

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and the main character of Rose irritated me in equal measure. How many times can one person fall for a strangers lies and be kidnapped, taken hostage etc etc and how many times in one book/plot can it be allowed to happen before it borders on ridiculous. I did like Rose’s determination and willpower, she wasn’t meek and mild or boring.
It was all rather predictable, but I enjoyed it nonetheless and was glad of the ending.

[Lynda Meyers · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book but don't think it was Dillys best.It was a bit far fetched in places and I have to admit I was glad when I reached the end of it.I must say Iv never felt this way about any of Dillys other books and have always given them 5stars.I shall still look forward to any other books in the future.

[LN English · Rating 4 out of 5]

Typical Dilly Court. Set in the 1850's, tells the story of Rose and how she come about, being kidnapped, going to France and then finding love. Dilly Court is a brilliant writer. What I really liked was each chapter had a different cliff hanger. It was hard to put it down, as I wanted to know what happened next.

[Angela Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you for the chance to read this ARC in return for my honest opinion

This is the second book I have read by Dilly Court and won't be my last.

Its well written with great characters - some likeable and some not so.

A heart warming story for this time of year

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

The characters are well-developed and relatable, making it easy to empathize with their struggles and triumphs. The descriptions of the snowy countryside and bustling streets of London add a magical, atmospheric quality to the story.

[Annarella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Festive, heartwarming, poignant. Another compelling and well plotted story by Dilly Court
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

[Justine Hodgson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I normally love Dilly Court more than I did in this book. But I've heard the next book brings back the Rockford characters so I'm looking forward to that one.

[Janice Spaulding · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another amazing read from Dilly Court

[Wendy Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

couldn't put it down

[Angela Kulcsar · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't read it all. it was a bit boring

[Mabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! - just what you expect from Dilly! Dilly’s novels are one of first I choose to read- I always get completely immersed in the story transporting me away to another world. Wonderfully atmospheric, good plot and great characters.