Everyone agreed that this was a very suitable book to read over the Christmas period although not everyone enjoyed it as much as they had hoped. Those who did not like it thought the writing was not as good as it might have been and that there were just too many characters with too many different story lines to make a cohesive whole. None of the characters were particularly likeable and some thought that the portrayal of the role of women at that period of time was perhaps exaggerated. However, we all felt that the depiction of the living and social conditions prevailing at the time in which it was set was realistic and well described and we enjoyed the part at the end where the author displayed her knowledge of the real history of Quality Street confectionery itself. It was easy enough to read overall although it would not encourage us to read any other work by this author. We gave it a 6 out of 10.