Christmas at the Cupcake Cafe by Jenny Colgan

I really enjoyed this book and it was a great sequel to Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe. The characters all came flooding back to me, although Jenny Colgan's reminder of the previous plot did help (and should be done more often!) I loved the main character Issy and her Cupcake Cafe. The other two main women, Pearl and Caroline, were so contrasting and their relationship was funny to read. The children in the book, mostly Louis and Darny, were wonderful. Louis was particularly cute. The Christmas spirit was lovely to read, as were the recipes. The only let down for me was the final few pages, where the plot came to a close. I was very disappointed by Issy's decision at the end of the book. Also, Austin did not appeal to me so much in this book as he did in the last. But overall it was a good book which I couldn't put down, so I give it 8/10.

A Merry Little Christmas by Julia Williams

After reading a few other of Julia Williams's books, I was really looking forward to this one. Although I did enjoy it, it just didn't quite measure up to her previous novels. It took me a while to figure out which characters were which, as there were 3 main couples. I found myself forgetting which kids and husbands belonged to which leading lady! The storyline regarding Pippa's husband, Dan, was a very strange one which I didn't really like. And how it was resolved at the end was not your typical chick lit ending. Although I did prefer this ending due to Dan's drastic personality change. One little thing that really bugged me, however, was that two of the families seemed to have dogs, but these were mentioned only three or four times in the whole novel and seemed to be added in as an afterthought. As a dog lover, I feel that a dog in a novel should have a real character, not just be mentioned in passing. Overall, though, it was an ok read. I give this book 6/10.

The Time of My Life by Cecelia Ahern

I enjoyed this book, which surprised me because I really didn't like it at the start. It took a while for me to get into it because the main character, Lucy, really annoyed me at the start and the whole concept of 'Life' being a person was a bit strange. But as Lucy began to take hold of her life and became a better person, I found myself wanting to read more. I still did not fully understand how all the people in Lucy's life all seemed to take 'Life' in their stride, and I was expecting for it all to be explained a bit more, which it wasn't. But some of the story lines were really fun to read, for example Lucy and Don's wrong number conversations, the antics of Lucy's family and Lucy's blunders at work. So overall, although the concept of the book took me a while to get my head around, it was a funny, sweet and a lovely read. I give this book 7/10.

The Xmas Factor by Annie Sanders

It took me a while to get into this book, but once I did I really enjoyed it. Beth and Carol, the two main characters, were easy to sympathise with and fairly loveable. The different family dynamics were interesting to read about, with characters like Tim and Jenny really adding a nice touch. Beth's situation with her step-daughter, Holly, was a good plot and added to all the pressures that Beth had to overcome throughout the book. When problems with the Christmas Eve party emerged, the characters all coming together at the end really brought to life the Christmas spirit. I liked how Carol and Beth's lives became intertwined, even though they were from different worlds. And Carol's love interest, Nick, sounded amazing! I give this book 8/10.

Audiobook: My Life with George by Judith Summers

This was an absolutely lovely audiobook to listen to. Although it started off on a sad note with the death of Judith's husband, the arrival of George signaled the beginning of a heart-warming series of events. Some of the events involving George literally made me laugh out loud - as a dog owner, some were easy to identify with. And there were some nail-biting moments where I was on the edge of my seat. The voice used for the recording was very good, and expressed the words perfectly. Overall, I enjoyed listening to this story and give this audiobook 9/10.