Author: Chrissie Manby
Publisher: Notting Hill Press
Publication Date: October, 2013
Genre: Chick-Lit
Description: What if you got exactly what you wished for?
It’s the 1st of December and Milly Arnold is facing a miserable Noel. Newly single, the last thing she wants to do is join her settled sister and her young family for the first of their traditions: the writing of the Christmas lists. However Milly’s nephews have other ideas and insist she writes a list of her own (with illustrations to help Father Christmas decipher her terrible handwriting). Milly duly makes a request for a bunch of flowers, a kitten, and a heartfelt declaration of love. She doesn’t expect to get any of them.
However, the following day, a bunch of flowers duly appears. They were sent to the wrong address but the florist says Milly can keep them. And when Milly somehow gains custody of a puppy just a couple of days later (her nephews had complained that her picture of a cat looked like a dog), she begins to wonder if there’s something in this Christmas cosmic ordering. However, as Christmas gets closer and the items Milly requested appear in increasingly unexpected ways, she starts to worry that Santa might be taking her list just a little too literally.
My Thoughts: This book was provided to me by the author and publisher in exchange for an honest review. As soon as I saw the cover, I knew this was going to be a lot of fun. How could it be anything but fun, when Santa’s backside is front and center?
I liked Milly immediately and felt a lot of empathy for her. An unexpected break-up is very traumatic, but to have it happen right before the Christmas holiday celebration is worse, especially since Milly has to put on a brave face and carry on with the celebration when all she wants to do is hide out in her sister’s house until after the New Year. Who could blame her?
Instead, Milly finds herself spending time with her family, including her young nephews are happily carrying on the family Christmas tradition of writing letters to Santa and sending them up the fireplace. When her nephews insist Milly had to also write a letter, Milly makes a half-hearted attempt not really believing any of it. Things begin to get interesting when Milly quickly begins to receive the items on her list through very unexpected circumstances.
I really liked this book and had a lot of fun while reading it. The only problem I had with this book is the book’s description. For the life of me, I cannot recall anywhere in the story of Milly gaining custody of a puppy and it doesn’t mention anything about a car being on her list. This is just a minor snag that took me out of the story only long enough to scratch my head, wrinkle my forehead and go back to the book.
My Final Verdict: Overall, this was a fast and charming read. If you are looking for Christmas themed titles to add to your holiday reading list this year, you can’t go wrong with this book. I recommend this one with some eggnog on the side.
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