Sunday 29 November 2015

Review: The Mince Pie Mix Up by Jennifer Joyce




‘I wish I could live your life. I’d happily swap lives with you.’
’Tis the season to be jolly but for Calvin and Judy the usual festive bickering has already begun! Judy’s convinced that her husband has it easy – no glittery wrapping paper, no playground gossip and absolutely no Christmas baking.
Calvin wishes he could trade in his obnoxious boss and dull nine-to-five job to spend more time kicking back with his kids – how hard can Judy’s life really be?
But after a magical mince pie mix-up, one thing’s for certain – by Christmas Day, life for Judy and Calvin will never be the same again. Perhaps the grass isn’t always greener after all…
A hilarious, feel-good festive read, perfect to curl up with this Christmas. Fans of Carole MatthewsJane Costello and Mandy Baggotwill love this story!

I've just finished reading The Mince Pie Mix Up and have a warm fuzzy feeling inside and a smile across my face.

Why?

Well, not only does this book have a catchy title and adorable cover - just look at the gorgeous colours - it was a utter page turner that had be laughing throughout and brought a heart warming tear to my eye at the end of the book. 

Meet the Neil family - Dad Calvin is a workaholic with an arrogant boss, he is physically incapable of putting his dirty clothes in the laundry basket, loves a kick around and pint with his mates and thinks his wife, Judy, has life easy.
Judy on the other hand is run off her feet with getting up at the crack of dawn to bake for the village cafe, where after she has walked the dog, got the kids (Scott and Charlie) up and ready for school and made pack lunches, works as a waitress. In the evenings she nags the children on their homework, sorts the washing and cooks a family meal... clearly and surely, Calvin must have the easier life?

After an argument their go to bed with a bad taste in their mouths, quite literally as they had eaten a burnt mince pie and made a wish to the Christmas Fairy that they wanted to trade lives... surely its all a dream, right?

Its clear the next morning when they wake that it was no dream and Judy is in Calvin's body and vice versa... one of my favourite lines from the book came from this point where they are discovering their personalities are in the wrong bodies - " Judy! Stop playing with my knob and take this seriously"

As Calvin and Judy spend the next 10 or so days in the run up to Christmas eve as each other they go on an unforgettable journey, realising that not all is as it seems.
When Calvin ends up with numerous blisters and utterly shatter he appreciates just how much of a military operation Judy is running, whilst she blags her way as him through a super important presentation at work and learns to appreciate just how stressful his job can me.

When I started reading The Mince Pie Mix Up, I thought that the book would be confusing but Jennifer Joyce has written this well, the story flowed and highlighted true accounts of a busy family life.

There were moments of hilarity which had me giggling aloud and gaining strange looks from the other half!

The book was jam packed with festive events, school politics and mince pies... lots of mice pies!

A feel good festive book, with a heart warming story to appreciate what we have at this time of year.


I would like to thank the publishers for providing a review copy via NetGalley, this was my honest opinion.

I have read What Happens At Christmas as part of the #CarinaChristmas feature run by Rachels Random Reads
For more reviews, please check out the twitter hashtag.




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