Review // With Love at Christmas - Carole Matthews

Published - 25th October 2012

Published by - Sphere

Format - Paperback
Goodreads Synopsis -
Can the imperfect family really have the perfect Christmas?
Juliet Joyce adores Christmas. She loves the presents, the tree, the turkey, the tinsel, everything. Already the festive spirit is upon her, which is just as well as this Christmas things are starting to get out of hand.Her son Tom is out of work and bringing home a slew of unsuitable partners; pregnant daughter Chloe and her little boy have moved back in; Juliet's father, Frank, is getting over a heartbreak of his own and Rita, her eccentric mother, is behaving more erratically each day. And has the chaos got too much for Juliet's husband Rick?
With the big day fast approaching, Juliet hopes that she can stop everything spiralling out of control, because the only thing she wants is her family all around her and her home to be filled.

With Love at Christmas was bought for me as a gift. These aren't the type of books I usually read but at Christmas I just have to have an easy, festive read! Honestly, this one wasn't that easy and didn't feel a whole lot festive either. It felt like I was reading someone's diary - especially as the characters didn't talk like normal people would (in my experience, anyway). I don't really know how to explain it, it just felt odd and actually quite sad. It didn't put me in the mood for Christmas but it definitely had me wanting to curl up in bed with the lights off.

That being said, I did like the book. I liked Juliet and Rick and found myself getting emotional at all of their trials and tribulations. There were parts where I actually laughed out loud and nodded along, thinking that's exactly what my family does. Although Juliet loves Christmas and as assuming from the book title it's a Christmassy novel, I felt that this could have been set any time of the year. It just didn't have enough pull as a Christmas book for me. As a normal every day quick read though, it was great. Probably not a book i'll want to pick up again next Christmastime but it was good as a one-off.

Bookish Survey (Broke & the Bookish)

From Broke and the Bookish's blog - to cure the Monday Blahs!

1. The book I’m currently reading: Devil's Bargain  by Rachel Caine - I love Caine's writing and as I keep going on (and on and on...) I am a huge fan of her Morganville series. This book is so different though and it's taking me a while to finish it due to other commitments so i'm concerned i'm not giving it the proper attention. It is good though!

2. The last book I finished: Exposure by Askew & Helmes - The Twisted Lit series is great! I might be biased as I love Shakespeare but I definitely recommend you checking this and Tempestuous out.

3. The next book I want to read: Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick - A little bit of a lie. This isn't a book I *want* to read but more of a *need*. The books are terrible and make me so ANGRY! But for some reason they're also addictive. I have this insane urge to keep reading and finding out everything I can! I guess that means they're not as terrible as I make out but really..I can't wait until i've read them all so I can move on...

4. The last book I bought: Bitter Blood by Rachel Caine - I'm so surprised that this was the last I bought. It was so long ago now but i'm back on the infamous book buying ban just in time for Christmas. My TBR list is longer than Santa's 'naughty or nice' list...*deep breaths*. It was incredible as always though.

5. The last book I was given:  With Love at Christmas by Carole Matthews -This was a present and I cannot wait to read it! I love reading Christmassy books (the last few years I picked Trisha Ashley) so i'm looking forward to seeing what this one is all about. I haven't read Matthews before either. The Holidays are coming!