#carriefletcher

Author: Carrie Hope Fletcher

Published by: Sphere

Pages: 360

Format Hardback

My Rating ★★★★★

Theatres have a certain kind of magic. When the curtain rises, we are all enraptured by the glare of the lights and the smell of the greasepaint, but it’s when the curtain falls that the real magic begins…

In 1952, two young lovers, Fawn Burrows and Walter Brown, meet backstage in a beautiful West End theatre during a production of When The Curtain Falls. Between clandestine meetings and stolen moments, they must hide their love from the one person who will stop at nothing to keep Fawn for himself. But life in the theatre doesn’t always follow the script, and tragedy and heartache are waiting in the wings for all the players…

Almost seventy years later, a new production arrives at the theatre, bringing with it Oscar Bright and Olive Green and their budding romance. But no sooner has the new cast settled into their dressing rooms than strange things begin to happen. Ghosts of productions past haunt the theatre, or so the story goes. Can Oscar and Olive get to the truth of the matter before tragedy strikes once more?

Moulin Rouge meets Phantom of the Opera in this spellbinding and magical story of unrequited love and revenge, When The Curtain Falls is Carrie Hope Fletcher at her romantic best – it will take your breath away.

My thoughts:

This book had me totally gripped within the first few pages. It was a very easy read and a quick page-turner that had me hooked early on. I simply couldn’t put the book down, and was so intrigued to see the plot develop.

Fast moving, fun to read and full of emotion, Carrie Hope Fletcher’s latest book effortlessly provides everything we have come to expect from her fiction storytelling. It is clear this was written with a lot of love, enthusiasm, and of course a touch of magic within the story.

Carrie Hope Fletcher’s books generally offer escapist fun, often with a big heap of fantasy that almost makes you feel as if you’re reading some kind of fairy-tale. The best thing to do in these moments is to roll with the magic, not take things too seriously, and just allow yourself to get swept up in the storytelling.  

In When The Curtain Falls, two timelines, between 1952, and present day, run parallel to each other seamlessly and provide two separate love stories surrounded by very different circumstances and complications, along with a touch of mystery and magic.

I must admit that I’m not usually a big fan of romantic relationships in books, but the writing definitely won me over this time. I felt an instant bond and affection for each of the key characters, which is so important for a book like this. It all felt perfectly balanced to me, and the feelings came across as very believable and genuine. The emotions throughout the whole book, the atmosphere, the characters...everything was created wonderfully and I loved it. Ultimately, this is a lovely story mixing romance, mystery and theatre.

The setting in particular was so important to the story, and really appealed to me as a lover of theatre. I appreciated every little behind the scenes moment, and it was obvious here that the author was writing from experience. Having worked in theatres since she was young, Fletcher clearly knows her craft and loves the surroundings of working, rehearsing and performing in various theatre productions.

I would describe When The Curtain Falls as an enchanting, magical and heartfelt read, all set within the wonderfully atmospheric setting of a West End theatre. I found it charming, warm and immensely entertaining. Excited to see what Carrie Hope Fletcher will come up with next!

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