Anton Du Beke

Combining the glamour of the ballroom with the horror of the beaches of Dunkirk, this thoroughly engaging story set mainly in a luxury hotel had me in a whirl! 💃 It’s the fourth in the Buckingham Hotel series of books and although I haven’t read the previous three, it didn’t spoil my enjoyment. I thought it was well written and captivating with a remarkable array of fascinating characters. There are some serious threads running through it but there are also moments of pizazz and excitement. I do intend to go back and read the earlier books. All in all a surprisingly delightful read which did bring a tear to my eye.… (més)

Anton du Beke has been a familiar face on Saturday evening television for years, dancing and then judging on Strictly, and I have to admit that I have a soft spot for him. He's an entertaining and old fashioned character who was born to wear a top hat and tails, but dear lord, I should have known better than to read a book touted at fans of Downton Abbey!

This book, admittedly overlong at 400 pages, took me an absolute age to finish, after I got caught in the dreaded reader's limbo of being too far in to abandon but falling asleep after ploughing through a couple of pages. There is an interesting kernel of a story buried in amongst all the clichés and internal monologues, about the staff of a posh London hotel in the years just before World War Two, but nothing that hasn't already been written by better authors. The clunky writing and cardboard characters don't help, either. Raymond de Guise, the Cockney rough diamond turned gentleman dancer - hm, who could he be based on? - and Nancy Nettleton, the hard-working but caring new chambermaid from Lancashire lead the cast, along with Hélène Marchmont, Raymond's glamorous dance partner, troubled rich miss Vivienne Edgerton, and pompous hotel manager Maynard Charles. Everyone is hiding a secret, or a 'story', of course, most of which are revealed, clumsily and slowly, but without advancing the story.

I think there are at least three more books in the Buckingham Hotel series now, but even at 99p, I don't think I'll be tempted. Sorry, Anton darling, it's a three from me.… (més)

Don't be taken in by the cover, this book actually has more to it than a simple romance.

I picked this up because I wondered how well TV dance celebrity, Anton Du Beke, would do as a storyteller. I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised. Set in a London hotel in 1936, I found its backdrop of fascism historically interesting, and in my opinion the main characters were adequately filled out, their stories keeping me turning those pages.

As with any book, my advice is to read it yourself and make your own judgment.… (més)

I was tossing up between two or three stars for this book and decided on three stars (just) because it had a number of positives. The first was the front cover - it was so romantic and enchanting, I adored it. I also loved the setting - the glitz and glamour of the Buckingham Hotel during the 1930s with the focus on their magnificent ballroom. Then there were the dance sequences - you could tell the author know what he was talking about and they were just magical.

However, I found "One Enchanted Evening" terribly slow and the chapters dragged. Not much happened a lot of the time and I found myself losing interest. The characters lacked depth and weren't that interesting, and the romance between Nancy and Raymond fell flat. Also, the overuse of full names was tiresome. As for the alliteration . . . Billy Brogan, Nancy Nettleton . . . really??!!!

When I first picked this novel up, I was hoping to be swept off my feet and transported to a glamorous, magical, by-gone era but, alas, that wasn't the case. Instead, I found it just a mediocre read.… (més)