Blog Tour: Keith Stuart's "Days of Wonder."

Amazon.com:    https://amzn.to/2KiRDvH

Amazon UK:      https://amzn.to/2vTbcHS

Synopsis:

A story about family, love and finding magic in everyday life, Days of Wonder is the most moving novel you'll read all year.

Tom, single father to Hannah, is the manager of a tiny local theatre. On the same day each year, he and its colourful cast of part-time actors have staged a fantastical production just for his little girl, a moment of magic to make her childhood unforgettable.

But there is another reason behind these annual shows: the very first production followed Hannah's diagnosis with a heart condition that will end her life early. And now, with Hannah a funny, tough girl of fifteen, that time is coming.

Hannah's heart is literally broken - and she can't bear the idea of her dad's breaking too. So she resolves to find a partner for Tom, someone else to love, to fill the space beside him.

While all the time Tom plans a final day of magic that might just save them both.

Review: Surj 

There's a reason the cover of Keith Stuart's "Days of Wonder" says "The most magical and moving story of the year." Because it really was just that but so much more. This was such a stunning piece of literature that was so enchanting, so captivating and so uplifting I begrudged putting it down when life got in the way. Although this is only this authors second book, he really does have a way with words and a knack of telling such quirky yet heart felt stories that are just so relatable and such a joy to read. Keith stuart has already been added to the automatic one click list. 

"Sometimes you have to let go. but sometimes you don't.

Sometimes you stay and you fight." 

I'm used to reading romance but it was so refreshing to step away from that genre and dive into this slow burner of a story where I became so invested in the lives of each and every character I met. They were just such a normal bunch of folk who were just so relatable. I laughed with them. I cried for them. I felt their happiness, their sorrow, their hopes and at times their despair. Each character had their their own story to tell, each dealing with their own trials and tribulations but all of them were connected by one thing, The Willow Tree Theatre. I loved how this theatre brought such a diverse group of people together. I loved how it gave the whole story a sense of community, a feeling of family and I adored how it offered this group of people an unconditional support network when times got tough. 

Hannah's script read like a tragedy, but we were determined

to play it as a life affirming Hollywood romcom.

"Days of Wonder" was a book full to the brim with feel good factor which was fabulous considering some of the subject matters covered. In a genius move, instead of Hannah, Tom and the gangs story being a sad, angst filled one, Keith Stuart  Keith Stuart added a shed load of wit, a bucket load of humour and of course sarcasm to really lighten the mood. I read so much of this book with a grin on my face. Equally the britishness of the story and of the setting really shone through which made it feel like home.

.... you must measure life in moments - because unlike hours 

or days or weeks or years, moments last forever. 

Congratulations to this author and to the publishers for a job well done with "Days of Wonder." I can sense a best seller on your hands with this one. I rated "Days of Wonder" ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Author Bio:

Days of Wonder is a story about love, life and magic, but I hope it deals with all three of these things in unusual ways. After finishing A Boy Made of Blocks, I knew I wanted to write another novel about families in crisis, but this time with a very different set of characters – and a very different crisis. As a Manchester City supporter, I was greatly affected by the death of midfield player Marc-Vivien Foé from a rare form of cardiomyopathy. He was 28. Later, I noticed other news reports about the same heart condition, which often struck young people seemingly out of nowhere. I wondered how you would live your life as a teenager with such a serious condition. What would it take to get you through? 

The obvious answer is a lot of love and support and belief and passion. As an ex-drama student who loved my time directing and acting in plays, I thought that a small local theatre would be an interesting, supportive place for my protagonist Hannah to grow up in. I loaded her life with quirky, eccentric characters and I brought in fairy tales and comic books to accentuate the value of stories and myths in our lives. I just wanted to write this big, warm, funny book about something potentially tragic. I think in a lot of ways this comes from my own experience of grief. When my dad died of cancer in 2003, my mum, my sisters and me sat around and told each other stories about his life; we swapped memories and it was almost like we created a narrative of his life - that's how we coped. Memories are the stories we tell about our lives, and I think we all – in a lot of ways - live through stories. It's love, laughter and imagination that gets you through. This is what Days of Wonder is about. 

Keith Stuart is an author and journalist. His heartwarming debut novel, A Boy Made of Blocks, was a Richard and Judy Book Club pick and a major bestseller, and was inspired by Keith's real-life relationship with his autistic son. Keith has written for publications including Empire, Red and Esquire magazine, and is the former games editor of the Guardian. He lives with his wife and two sons in Frome, Somerset.