A Parcel for Anna Browne

Why a Booktrail?

2000s : Imagine receiving a string of parcels, anonymous gifts that start to change your life?

ISBN: 978-1447276050
Genre: Romance

What you need to know before your trail

Anna Browne’s life is not a fairytale by any means for although she enjoys her job as a receptionist at a newspaper, has good friends and enjoys life, it’s not until her first surprise parcel arrives that her life really starts to change for the better. For as each gift comes her way, from a scarf to an old record, Anna starts to see life in a new light and those around her start to react to her in a different way. The gifts not only have an affect on Anna it would seem.

That quiet girl who sits behind the reception desk is about to step out in to the fairytale spotlight.

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The romance of the setting is not L

ondon but the way the parcels arrive and for not just what they contain but the way they make Anna feel:

“The moment Anna had waited for all day had arrived. Determined to avoid every minute of its unveiling, she took a deep breath and began to peel away the sticky tape holding down the perfect parcel corners. The paper shivered away across the table, revealing a pale, duck-egg-blue box embossed in the centre with the words Et Voila! in midnight-blue foil. Anna lifted the lid – and lost her breath ”

Turns out a simple gift can inspire a whole range of emotions and feelings from an increase in self confidence to that glowing smile on someone’s face with the fact that they’ve received a gift, an unexpected gift.

The cast of characters from the local and struggling Daily Messenger are varied misfits from a security man named Ted to someone who wants to be a WAG. Belong on the stage if you ask me.

And those parcels! Those gifts….

Booktrailer Review

Clare:

A fairytale with good and bad points I’m afraid. The lovely feel to the book was firmly wrapped up with all kinds of bows and a sense of how lovely it would be to receive anonymous presents like this in real life. Anna Browne lives in the background of life and is quite happy that way, until she is forced to face up to certain things. I mean the guy she likes that she hopes is sending the gifts. Not sure how I felt about that denouement! Anna, Anna, that’s not cool!

The book is overly long for the fairytale led storyline. This dragged out the enjoyment and would have read a lot more magical if it has been as neat and tightly wrapped as the presents.

I did enjoy reading about the presents -how varied they were and the effect they had on Anna and those closest to her. That was a lovely touch and I felt I was distracted by other characters and padding in-between the gifts. The overall feel good factor runs throughout however and the message that we should all think about who we can be and what we can achieve is the overriding message. There are real serious issues in there such as Anna looking into and being reminded of her taunt relationship with her mother and I would have liked the book to have gone down that road.

The idea of the anonymous presents was really something I wished could happen to me!