Book Name: My Christmas Darling
Author: Vivien Mayfair
Genre: Christmas, Holiday Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: Bramble House Books
Publication Date: September 15, 2019
Book Acquired: ARC, Booksirens
Ratings: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Don’t put your wishbone where your backbone should be”
A true line for those who needed to hear it. Certainly, I did. In a simple sense, it means that you just can’t keep wishing for something to happen, you also need to take some action for all the wishing that you’re doing.
That’s exactly what Lucy Carpenter did.
She put her backbone in place of the wishbone.
And all hell broke loose.
To be honest, this story brought out a lot of emotions from within. All the emotions were real. The book seemed real. This is something a normal person would do in an urgent situation. Not saying it must be done, but it feels real. Sort of ordinary.
Synopsis: Lucy Carpenter is a single, struggling, guilt-ridden woman who works as a manuscript reader in Big Apple Books. The ghost of a past accident looms over her whenever she sees her blind mother. Lucy blames herself for everything that happened with her mother. To provide for her mother, Lucy commits a book hoax when she submits her own manuscript under a false identity after several rejections of her own. What she doesn’t expect is that her boss, William Harcourt enjoys her book and starts emailing Lucy via the false name. Amid the lies of Bibi Roquette, Lucy falls for William. But William has his own battles to fight. To please his father, William creates a plan for Bibi that is bigger than anything anyone has seen. What happens after is a series of lies, betrayal, confessions, love, courage and most importantly, the path to being happy without any guilt.
What I liked: I enjoyed this Christmas setting book thoroughly. At first, it took me a while to get hooked but then it was a delightful read. The plot is brilliant. Every imagery, scene, feel, emotion is real and vivid. The words played in the form of a movie in my head. Vivien has done an exceptional job of bringing out the characters strengths and weaknesses. Seeing William fighting for his father’s approval and being brought to tears is as real as it gets. Watching Lucy finding the courage to submit her manuscript, put up the book hoax and then confessing in front of several people shows how strong Lucy is.
Not only this, but Lucy and William are both broken from the inside with the pressure of their respective burdens and seeing them find a way through them together is a prime example of reality.
Apart from a few repetitive thoughts, dialogues and scenes, the book is seamless. I recommend My Christmas Darling for those who love Christmas, and all the drama that comes with it. ‘Tis the season to be jolly, right? 😉
[Disclaimer: I received an advance copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.]
All the love, R.
