With Love at Christmas by Carole Matthews

Summary from Goodreads

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.

Paperback, 432 pages

Published October 25th 2012 by Sphere
 

My Review
 

You know that warm fuzzy feeling you get when you start to get in that Christmas mood? Well, With Love at Christmas is the perfect kick-start to get you in that mood. I thoroughly enjoyed this warm, welcoming & wonderful book. Carole Matthews has managed to write a different sort of Christmas tale here and really there is never a dull moment with this highly dysfunctional family who are very down-to-earth and easily like able. There is a real mix of  emotions throughout the book, you will be highly entertained by all the drama, highs and lows. I had so much fun while reading this but the book was balanced really well with some really emotional and heartfelt scenes. It had me sitting back and thinking, is there really such a thing as the perfect family or the perfect Christmas for that matter? And who's to say what's perfect anyway?
 

Juliet Joyce is one of them people who take great delight in all things Christmas. She really does adore everything about it and is always super organised buying tons of food and presents. But this year things take a bit of a hectic turn, her pregnant daughter has moved back home with her young son in toe,  her son is drinking and bringing home both men and women to entertain, her mother is starting to forget things and her father is suffering from his own heartache. Can her poor husband Rick cope with everything that's going on under his roof? Well Rick has some secrets of his own....

Can Juliet manage to be the much needed glue that holds this bonkers family together? Juliet just wants to have her family together at Christmas and to kick back and have a great day but will it be possible with things spiralling so rapidly out of control?

The whole ending is truly heart-warming. The characters in the book are what really made it for me, they were all so different and highly entertaining. Juliet in particular is a pillar of strength that I couldn't help but admire, I think everyone needs a Juliet in their lives.

If you only read one Christmas themed book this year, make it With Love at Christmas and you will be in for some fun, laughter and some heart-felt moments.

*Special thanks to Sphere for the review copy*

4/5 Stars

Carly :)