Thursday 18 December 2014

A Christmas To Remember – by Jenny Hale

Original Cover
My own copy














The blurb:

A beautiful story about the magic of childhood Christmas memories, the strength of family and falling in love when you least expect it.

Everyone loves Christmas – don’t they?

Carrie Blake loves her job as a nanny but, while her friends are settling down, all of Carrie’s spare time is spent with other people’s families. Though it breaks her heart, her New Year’s resolution is to embark on a new career and fix her love life.

As Carrie starts her last job, she’s sure she’ll be going out on a high – the house is amazing , the kids are adorable, and she’s in charge of decorating the tree!

The only problem could be her boss… single-dad Adam Fletcher might be both handsome and successful, but he’s always working. Doesn’t he realise he’s missing out on precious moments with his son and daughter?

As Adam’s family arrive for Christmas including his sensitive sister, Sharon, and his fun-loving elderly Grandpa, Walter, Carrie realises that she might just have found the perfect allies in her quest to persuade Adam to loosen up. There’s still time for Carrie to make this the best Christmas ever… after all, Christmas is the time for miracles, isn’t it? Let the festivities begin!

My Opinion:

*Book provided by the author and publisher in exchange for an honest review*

When I heard that there was going to be a new book by Jenny Hale, I was really excited! I love her stories and a Christmas book is always a bonus.

The cover is very beautiful and festive – perfect for this story. I’m in love…

Carrie Blake is starting a new nanny job, in Richfield, Virginia. It’s her last nanny job, after that she wants to change her career and study something new. For the first time ever her new boss is a man, a single dad, who is working full time and his children are spending Christmas and the weeks before that with him, at his huge and beautiful house.

Carrie is nervous, but excited as well. When a gorgeous man with dark blonde hair and amazing blue eyes opens the door she is speechless. He’s very attractive and something happens inside her, but she won’t show it, or at least she tries…

Adam introduces her to his children Olivia and David, they seem very cute and adorable and Carrie gets along with them immediately.
Adam is barely at home and always buried in his work. Even when he’s working from home, he hides away in his office. He doesn’t really have a relationship to his children and he doesn’t know what they like. So how can he get them Christmas presents?!

Carrie really feels bad for the children and decides to make Adam see the light. That’s easier said then done though. She tries to include him in some activities, but he always has an excuse. When his family arrives it doesn’t get any better. I loved the way Carrie was always trying and their connection became more obvious from page to page.

Carrie is confused! How can he be so distant to his children, but yet so sweet, sensitive and a good listener when he is with her.

I was very curious to see whether Carrie was able to crack his shell. I really wanted that to be the case, because they clicked immediately and they had so much chemistry throughout the pages. I was just waiting for something to happen between them.

Adam’s children and his whole family added an extra spark to the story. I loved getting to know them and they had their on story to tell as well, especially Adam’s sister Sharon.

Carrie felt her growing feelings for Adam, but at the same time she was struggling with her life, reading a self help book and trying to figure out her future. She was really unsecure and not confident. That changed throughout the story and I was impressed how she always stood up to Adam and told him what she was really thinking. All this made her really likeable and sweet.
I understood her decision towards the end of the decision, but I couldn’t believe it at the same time. This made the book even more attractive. A lot can change in a year and this story shows how.

The epilogue?! One comment: Awwwwwwww!!!!

Oh and we met some old characters again: Robert and Allie from Coming Home For Christmas. It was great reading about them again and to see how their life developed.

This is a very festive, magical and romantic story, full of beautiful moments, an amazing storyline and great characters. I couldn’t put this book down, it’s really about a Christmas to remember and as a reader I felt like being part of it all, with vivid and authentic scenes.

Rating: 









My possible cast:

Carrie: Hilary Duff
















Adam: Chris Hemsworth
















Olivia: Kristina Pimenova














David: boy

Jenny Hale on Twitter: @jhaleauthor
Website: http://itsjennyhale.com

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