Simona's Corner of Dreams: All I Want For Christmas

Sunday, 30 October 2016

All I Want For Christmas – by Jenny Hale

Original Cover

My own copy

The blurb:

All I Want for Christmas is a big, cozy Christmas story about the importance of family, the strength of childhood friendships, and learning to trust your heart.

Fans of Carole Matthews, Susan Wiggs and Susan Mallery – and anyone who likes the glow of Christmas lights and the rustle of wrapping paper – will fall in love with this feel-good Christmas treat.

Christmas comes once a year . . . But true love comes once in a lifetime.

Snowflakes are falling, there’s carol singing on every corner, and Leah Evans is preparing for a family Christmas at her grandmother’s majestic plantation house in Virginia. It won’t be the same now that her beloved Nan is gone, but when Leah discovers she has inherited the mansion, she knows she can give her daughter Sadie the childhood of her dreams.

But there’s a catch. Leah must split the house with a man called David Forester. Leah hasn’t heard that name in a long time. Not since they were kids, when Davey was always there to catch her.

Now David is all grown up. He’s gorgeous, successful, and certain of one thing: Leah should sell him her half of the house.

They can’t agree, but as they share memories over wine by the log fire, Leah notices a fluttering in her stomach. And by the look in his eyes, he’s starting to feel it too.

Will it be Leah or David who must give up their dreams? Or, with a little bit of Christmas magic, will they finally understand Nan’s advice to them both about living life without regrets … and take a chance on true love?

My Opinion:

*Book provided by the publisher on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Jenny Hale and Christmas, always a guarantee for a brilliant, festive read! So it’s not surprise that she created another wonderful story! I absolutely adored this one.

We get to follow the story of lovely Leah Evans, mother of seven year old Sadie. She inherited part of her nan’s plantation in Virginia. She first goes there without Sadie and sees David Forester again. They kind of grew up together and now he’s the one who inherited the other half.

Of course they both have totally different plans for it. Leah is really connected to it, it reminds her of her nan and also Sadie is really attached to it. It’s all they have left of nan Nina. David wants her to sell her part, which makes things complicated. And the thing about him?! He is gorgeous, smart, caring, successful and more. They get to spend a lot of time together and get to know each ozther again.

After a while Leah is joined by her best friends Roz and Louise, as well as Sadie. She somehow has to explain to the little girl that they will not move into the house.

Sadie is so sweet and adorable and gives the story so much spark. Both David and Leah are also joined by their families and they are about to find out a lot more about Nina’s past and her reasons for giving the plantation to both David and Leah.

It’s a story full of mystery, but also passion, love, friendship, romance and festive atmosphere. The characters are unique and special and I love the chemistry between Leah and David. It actually takes quite a long time before something happens between them, but the connection is there from the start and Jenny just built it up beautifully.

Her nan is a vibrant part of this story, even though she passed away.

MAGICAL on so many levels!

Rating: