Friday, 19 October 2018

The Mother of All Christmases by Milly Johnson


The Mother of All Christmases
Milly Johnson
Rating: 5 stars

Eve Glace - co-owner of the theme park Winterworld - is having a baby and her due date if a perfectly timed 25th December. And she's decided that she and her husband Jacques should renew their wedding vows with all the pomp that was missing the first time. But growing problems at Winterworld keep distracting them...

Annie Pandoro and her husband Joe own a small Christmas cracker factory, are well set up and happy together despite life never blessing them with a much-wanted child. But when Annie finds that the changes happening to her body aren't typical of the menopause but pregnancy, her joy is uncontainable.

Palma Collins has agreed to act as a surrogate, hoping the money will get her out of the gutter in which she finds herself. But when the couple she is helping split up, is she going to be left carrying a baby she never intended to keep?

Annie, Palma and Eve all meet at the 'Christmas Pudding Club', a new directive started by a forward-thinking doctor to help mums-to-be mingle and share their pregnancy journeys. Will this group help each other to find love, contentment and peace as Christmas approaches?

The brand new novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Perfectly Imperfect Woman; a gorgeous read full of love, life, laughter - and crackers!

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Milly Johnson has a gift. There's no two ways about it. Her writing draws you in from the very beginning and just when you think that these characters are going to be happy finally - BAM! Something happens that turns their world upside down. This is the point where you do not want to put the book down and you take it absolutely everywhere with you. This book is no different to the others I've read by Milly. I absolutely loved it.

The cover is wonderfully festive, I love the colours, the cute little shop cabins and the beautifully lit Christmas trees. The title is extra special too. It's a novel that you can't wait to dive into. And dive into it I did! I really enjoyed reading about the three women, it was nice to read about women who were pregnant, as with most of Milly's novels they do not include children. Also with most of Milly's other novels, we get to know three main characters with a side bonus of visiting some other characters too. In this novel, we focused on Eve (from previous novel A Winter Flame), Annie and Palma. All three ladies are absolutely lovely and I couldn't wait to read their stories and about their pregnancies. We also touched in briefly with Effin (One of Eve's workers) and Caraid (Think that's how it's spelt!!! Effin's niece).

The story slowly builds up, and at about half way through - that's it - you're hooked. There's no going back and you feel as though you have to finish it -  and soon! What I find with Milly's novels, is that every chapter is left with a big cliffhanger, so if you're reading before bed, that 'one more chapter' idea that you usually tell yourself never works and you end up reading 6 more before you finally convince yourself to put it down. Then, when you're eating breakfast you find yourself reading it again! I wouldn't say it was overly festive though, there wasn't much mention of Christmas, although this didn't really matter because the storyline was just so good.

It's honestly impossible to dislike this book. It has everything and you find yourself relating to the characters quickly. I think Palma was my favourite in this novel, I really felt for her and all that she had been through - I found myself thinking on more than one occasion 'Can't this woman catch a break?!', just a quick side note, you WILL need tissues when you start reading about her giving birth! I was soooo emotional it's unreal! Milly Johnson what have you done to me! Crying into my porridge. Although having said that Annie was really cute too and I was so pleased that her and Joe finally got what they've always dreamed of! Overall, it was an utterly brilliant novel and I am so pleased I managed to read this before it was released. It's definitely put me in a festive mood and it's not even November yet!

Thank you to the publisher for a chance to read this novel, which I have reviewed honestly.

2 comments:

  1. What an excellent review! The Mother of All Christmases sounds amazing, perfect for festive reading.
    Cora | http://www.teapartyprincess.co.uk/

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    1. Thanks Cora! It's a tear jerker so I would recommend having tissues at the ready for nearer the end of the book xx

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