Everyone loves Christmas – don’t they?
Carrie Blake loves her job as a nanny but, while her friends are settling down, all of Carrie’s spare time is spent with other people’s families. Though it breaks her heart, her New Year’s resolution is to embark on a new career and fix her love life.
As Carrie starts her last job, she’s sure she’ll be going out on a high – the house is amazing , the kids are adorable, and she’s in charge of decorating the tree!
The only problem could be her boss… single-dad Adam Fletcher might be both handsome and successful, but he’s always working. Doesn’t he realise he’s missing out on precious moments with his son and daughter?
As Adam’s family arrive for Christmas including his sensitive sister, Sharon, and his fun-loving elderly Grandpa, Walter, Carrie realises that she might just have found the perfect allies in her quest to persuade Adam to loosen up. There’s still time for Carrie to make this the best Christmas ever… after all, Christmas is the time for miracles, isn’t it? Let the festivities begin!
What better way to start off December, a Christmas-filled month here at my blog, with a review of a lovely festive novel that will definitely get you in the Christmas mood? Thanks to the wonderful Kim at Bookouture I received a review copy of Jenny Hale's 'A Christmas to Remember' and I couldn't wait to read it. Not only is the cover absolutely gorgeous, I also got the chance to read and review Jenny's other Christmas novel 'Coming Home for Christmas' last year (click here to read my review), a book which I really enjoyed, so I already had my fingers crossed I would enjoy this one just as much!
Thirty-something Carrie Blake has a successful career as a nanny, having spent most of her time with other families instead of building up her own. Because she wants nothing more than a family and children of her own, Carrie decides it is time to finally focus on her own wishes and has taken on her very last position with the Fletcher family in Virginia. Adam Fletcher is a workaholic and divorced father of two children, David and Olivia, whom he hardly has time for. It breaks Carrie's heart to see the children don't really have a relationship with their father and she decides to try her best to make Adam spend time with his kids, to build a relationship with them. When Adam's family comes to stay for the holidays, the house is filled with joy and laughter. Carrie wants to make sure her last job is brought to a successful end; but will she be able to unite Adam and his children, and most importantly, will she be able to let them go and really focus on herself after this last job?
Wow, another fabulous Christmas read from Jenny Hale! As I was already hoping, the wonderful story inside fits the stunning cover of this novel perfectly; it's warm, enthralling and I couldn't stop enjoying it! It was incredibly easy to warm to Carrie; she's a great nanny who is fantastic with children, but as a person also down-to-earth and easy to relate to. Carrie has some anxiety issues and depends a lot on self-help books (each chapter also starts with a quote from a self-help book), and the novel really focuses on Carrie and how she has to make some pretty important life decisions. Next to Carrie, there's a great cast of secondary characters, most importantly the Fletcher family. Adam is an interesting and handsome leading man, his kids David and Olivia are really cute, and the other members of the family are just as fascinating and bring their own special something to the storyline.
I personally really liked the plotline; I thought it was quite original, perfect to get into the holiday spirit, and not as predictable as you might expect. Jenny Hale's writing is really well-paced, easy to read, and warm, resulting in me not wanting to put the novel down but at the same time not wanting it to end either! This author clearly knows how to warm people's hearts before the holiday season and if I wasn't already looking forward to Christmas, I definitely am now. 'A Christmas to Remember' is an absolutely lovely, warm-hearted, and thoroughly enjoyable Christmas novel that will straight away get you into a festive mood. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the future, hoping we will get a Jenny Hale Christmas novel every year!
Rating:
9,5
/10
For more information about this book: Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Goodreads
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
A few days before Christmas Tess Williams rushes into Albert Payne's tobacconist shop, with two boys in hot pursuit, saying she's a thief. Albert chases the boys away, and though Tess does not realise it, this incident changes her life.
Tess lives with her grandmother, Edie, in a small flat on Heyworth Street in Norwich.She has recently returned from Bell Farm, where she was evacuated during the war, and is being bullied by her schoolmates, but when the handsome Snowy White comes to her rescue she thinks her troubles are over, and returns for a working holiday to Bell Farm and her old friend Jonty.
This leaves Edie to her own devices, however, and Tess is jealous of the friendship which blossoms between her grandmother and the tobacconist.Yet though Tess resents Albert, it is to him she turns when things start to go wrong.
Thanks to the lovely people at Random House I received a review copy of Katie Flynn's 2013 Christmas release, 'A Christmas to Remember.' I hadn't read anything by Katie Flynn before, so was curious to start reading, especially since it was another Christmas read to keep that festive holiday spirit going during the last days of December!
'A Christmas to Remember' focuses on Tess Williams, a teenager living together with her grandmother Edie in Liverpool, several years after the Second World War. Before she came to live with her grandmother, she spent a few years working at Bell Farm together with her friend Jonty, but is now back in the city and back at school. Tess is being bullied, but as soon as she meets Albert Payne, a tobacconist, and Snowy White, a handsome older boy, her life starts to change. As Tess grows up, she tries her best to protect the relationship she has with her grandmother (she's not quite ready to share her with someone else just yet), but at the same time Tess herself starts to notice boys are giving her more attention than before...
Tess is a lovely and enthusiastic main character who really turned this into a great novel for me. I loved her relationship with her gran, Edie, and how the reader gets to experience her growing up and making all kinds of important decisions in her life. Next to Tess, there are some well-written and enjoyable other characters, such as Edie, Albert Payne (the tobacconist), and Jonty, who works at Bell Farm. The storyline of the novel took a bit of time to get going, but after about 60 pages I found myself immersed in the book, curious about what would happen next and where Tess would eventually end up (and with whom!).
I really liked the scene setting of the book; part of it is set in the city and part of it in the country, which resulted in a good mix. I also loved the older feel of the story being set just after World War II, when times were still relatively hard. 'A Christmas to Remember' is a feel-good, warm and easy read, which can be read throughout the year, because overall Christmas only plays a small role in the story. This novel was definitely a great introduction to Katie Flynn's writing and I look forward to picking up some of her other novels!
Rating:
7,5/10
