THE CERTAINTY OF CHANCE

An American woman and an Englishman find love during the week before Christmas in Middleton’s romance.

Madeleine Joy, who works for a music-streaming service, didn’t expect to be in London during the holiday season. She was supposed to be in Paris with her sister, Shantelle, but planes are grounded due to a cloud of ash from an Icelandic volcano. The first anniversary of the death of her best friend, Kellie, is coming up on Dec. 23, so Madeleine isn’t feeling the Christmas spirit. But she figures that she might as well see the beautiful city, as she’s never been there before. Fortunately, she meets cab driver Julian Halliwell, who’s not only skilled at quickly getting people to their destinations, but also provides tours with trivia about London’s history. He happens to be very attractive and has excellent taste in music, as well; as it happens, he’s a former music journalist—one whose reviews Madeleine used to avidly read. As they spend more time together, Madeleine remembers her good times with the friend she lost. The tourist and the cabbie start to meet up during Julian’s off hours, and it’s clear that love is blooming. But what will happen when Madeleine finally leaves for her Paris trip and eventually returns to Boston? In this sweet modern romance, Canadian author Middleton ably portrays the beauty of festive London, but she also depicts the heartbreaking pain of the grieving process in detail; the book treats the deep sadness that accompanies the loss of a loved one in a fair and accurate way while showcasing how the protagonist seeks professional therapy. The author also clearly has ample knowledge of the city’s past and present as well as of English music, and although such facts feature heavily in the story, she works them into the text with a relatively light touch.

A charming story for Anglophiles and music lovers.