Bespoke: A Tiny Christmas Tale

Dykes’s debut novel is a lighthearted tale of finally requited love set on the fictional Isle of Espoir in the English Channel. Aria St. John and her father, famous composer Giovianni St. John, return to the island after 15 years for what the famous maestro says will be his last performance, to take place on Christmas Eve. Although Aria has never been to one of her father’s symphonies and is eager to help, she returns to Espoir with additional plans of her own. James Shaw, a blacksmith and her childhood friend, has been waiting for a decade and a half to set things right with her. After an accident takes away her ability to play music, Aria hatches a plan to melt down her former instruments to make Giovianni a bicycle to ride to his final symphony. Will the enigmatic Giovanni forgive James’s youthful indiscretions and accept the gift? With Aria’s design skills and James’s metal-working ability, the two set off to change the course of their unfinished romantic history. Though the juxtaposition of music and bicycles may seem a stretch, Dykes pulls it together well, creating a rich tale that carries readers into the heart of love. Agent: Wendy Lawton, Books and Such Literary Management. (BookLife)