Twelve Days of Christmas by Trisha Ashley

This Christmas Trisha Ashley book is much better than The Magic of Christmas. I felt like I really connected with the main character, Holly, and loved finding out about her Gran's life as she did through reading her journals. I also really liked all of the other characters which Holly got to know throughout the book: particularly Becca, Jess, and of course all of the animals. There was a really festive feel to the book, which was added to by the descriptions of the snow, the cooking, the decorations, etc. The main love interest, Jude, was a slight disappointment for me. I can't put my finger on why, but I never really warmed to him as a romantic figure, and even after Holly admitted she had feelings for him, I was still not convinced. However, overall the book was excellent, and I give it 9/10. A really nice Christmas read!

Last Christmas by Julia Williams

I really enjoyed this book because it felt warm, festive and delivered a nice Christmassy message. There were ups and downs for all of the characters throughout the book - as in real life - and because these characters were so loveable, I found myself hoping things would work out for the best. The village that the book is set in (Hope Christmas) sounds idyllic, and the various characters found within it were well written and charming. Ralph Nicholas was a particular favourite because of the mysteriousness behind him. The only negative I have to say about this book is some of the names chosen for the characters, such as Cat Tinsall, Noel Tinsall and Gabrial North. It seems a bit of a cheesy way to make the story more Christmassy, but I don't think it needed this touch. However, other than that I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I give it 9/10.

The Magic of Christmas by Trisha Ashley

I really wanted to love this book, because I have loved all of the other Trisha Ashley books I have read before. But there was something about this one that didn't quite click. I couldn't connect with the written style - the first person didn't work for me as it was very bitter and sarcastic in tone and, although I know Trisha hates this piece of criticism, she did use too many exclamation marks. This made it hard for me to connect with the main character, Lizzy. Other more appealing characters to me, such as Annie, did not feature enough and characters I did not like, mostly Nick, featured a lot. Nick was supposed to be the main love interest in the story but I found him totally unappealing. I know I sound like I'm really criticising this book, but I did enjoy some parts of it. It just wasn't for me on the whole, when the synopsis suggested it would be perfect, which was a little disappointing. I give this book 5/10.

Audiobook: The Wedding Planner by Melanie La'Brooy

This audiobook took me a while to get into for a couple of reasons. Firstly, being set in Australia meant that the narrator put on an Australian accent for the characters, which was a little irritating, particularly the voice for Mimi. And secondly, it was partly about celebrity, which is something that I am not that interested in. However, as the story progressed and I began to get to know the characters, I started to enjoy the story. There were some interesting revelations about various characters, and whilst the main character, Mimi, annoyed me quite a lot, I could see why her character was this way. I give this audiobook 5/10.

The Secret of Happy Ever After by Lucy Dillon

This book is definately going on my list of all-time-favourite books. I've always enjoyed reading Lucy Dillon's books but this is my favourite so far. That may be because one of the subject matters is a bookshop (because I work with books), and another involved dogs (because I have a dog!). But it was also very well written and had some lovely and warming story lines. The two main characters were different types of women but I felt I could relate to both of them and always wanted to find out more. As Michelle's past slowly revealed itself, I couldn't help but read on because I was so intrigued by the events in her life that had made her who she was. And because I shared a love of children's books and reading with Anna, I felt as if I knew her like a best friend. There was not one bad point to this book and I couldn't put it down, so I give it 10/10!

To the Moon and Back by Jill Mansell

I really enjoyed this book. I immediately felt connected to the main character, Ellie, and felt for her because of her husband's death. Even though conjuring up her husband in her mind and having conversations was a little strange, it was her character's way of dealing with his death and it made me sympathise with her. I didn't feel so connected to the character Roo. Firstly, the name is a bit of a strange choice, and secondly her circumstances of being with a married man were a lot less easy to sympathise with, as was her methods of repenting for her past actions. At first I liked Todd's character but I did not like his storyline as it progressed, especially how he acted towards Roo. However, the main storyline which revolved around Ellie was really enjoyable to read, as was the sub-plot involving her father-in-law, and the style of Mansell's writing is easy and pleasant to read as always. I give this book 8/10.

Audiobook: Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult

I really enjoyed this story as it was very gripping. As Jodi Picoult usually does, the story is told from the perspectives of several characters, which I feel helped me get to know and understand them all well. Deliah was my favourite character and her chapters were always the most enjoyable. Andrew's chapters, I felt, were often very dark and told of some traumatic scenes from prison, which I did not personally enjoy but could see why they were important. The only character I could not really feel connected to was Fitz. Although this may have been because the narrator reading his part sounded very angry and sounded as if he was shouting all the time. There were parts where I started to lose interest, but I was glad to have stuck it out as there was a really good ending with some interesting twists towards the end. I give this audiobook 7/10.