Simona's Corner of Dreams: Lizzie’s Christmas Escape

Sunday, 11 December 2016

Lizzie’s Christmas Escape - by Christie Barlow

Original Cover

My own copy

The blurb:

A gorgeous country house hotel, a liberal dusting of snow, a cosy weekend away…what more could Lizzie ask for at Christmas?

Every Christmas Lizzie promises herself that things will change and she will leap into the new year a new woman. And yet here she is again, at the beginning of December and nothing is different. Her girls have grown up and left home, her husband Henry is slumped in front of the TV and she is alone in the kitchen, seeking refuge in the cooking sherry and talking to her Gary Barlow calendar. She’s also been very diverted by handsome new neighbour Marcus and she knows she shouldn’t be …

So when best friend Ann suggests a weekend away in the country, Lizzie jumps at the chance. Will this Christmas escape give Lizzie some much needed perspective and allow her to mend her marriage? Or will Marcus prove to be too much of a distraction?

A funny feel good festive read about rediscovering the magic of Christmas - just the thing to curl up with on a cold winters night.

My Opinion:

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

This book follows Lizzie Stevens who is really unhappy at the moment. The girls are out of the house and all her husband Henry is doing is working and sitting in front of the TV. That all changes when neighbour Marcus comes around. She attracted to him, even though she knows that she shouldn’t get to comfortable with him. However, she spends more and more time with him and just can’t resist him. When she hears people talking about him, she gets confused though, what they say doesn’t sound good.

Her best friend Ann is there for her all the way. I really liked the two women together, but I just couldn’t relate to Ann. Sometimes he was kind of encouraging Lizzie to spend time with Marcus and sometimes the opposite.

Ann has her own story to tell as well, which is actually very emotional.

This book is all about family and the relationship between mother and daughters/son and also with their husbands. Lizzie’s daughters come back early for Christmas and that’s when the drama starts. They have news and they find out about Marcus. And then there is Leo, Ann’s son in the middle.

I have to be honest, I wasn’t expecting this, because I was hoping for a real escape in this book. I really enjoyed reading it, especially towards the ending, where everyone was together and it just got so cosy and festive.

Rating: