Guest Post: Ten Things About Christmas by Jules Wake

I'm absolutely thrilled to be joined in my Book Corner today by the lovely Jules Wake as we kick off her blog tour for her book, From Paris With Love This Christmas.
Jules has joined me today and is talking about her top ten festive things!

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Thanks for having me on your blog, Laura.

I love a good Christmas book, perhaps because they take all the best bits of Christmas and remind you of the best bits of your own Christmas holidays. 

My top ten favourite things about Christmas are, in no particular order:

1.Mince Pies

There’s something special about these little golden parcels of pasty with their piping hot contents that say Christmas like nothing else.  

When I was a little girl, I would help my granny make mince pies and as the WI president, she was something of an expert.  Now I make them with my son (not to WI standard) and it’s our special time together (even though he’s now taller than me).  

Making the first batch of mince pies really kicks off the festive season in our house.

2. Window Displays

Christmas brings back so many special memories, one of which is of my much loved Granny (she of WI fame) who used to take me and my sister to London to visit Father Christmas at Selfridges.  

I remember skipping along outside the huge plate glass windows absolutely entranced by the fabulously opulent displays.  

Every year I still make a visit to Oxford Street to see the Selfridges window displays, which are always so clever and imaginative, although these days I give Santa a miss. 

3. Christmas Morning Drinks

On Christmas morning we invite friends and their relatives to the house for drinks.  

The key thing here is ‘their relatives’ – we all know Christmas with the rellies can become a bit fraught, so this gives people a little bit of a break on the day.  

It’s much easier to be sociable with someone else’s Great Aunt Ethel when you know you haven’t got her all day!

4. Champagne Cocktails

My husband makes a mean Champagne cocktail, with a sugar cube, Angostura Bitters, Brandy and Champagne. They can be lethal but go down very well, although one year we almost sabotaged a friend’s lunch when her husband after consuming several glasses was too inebriated to cook.

5. Lights

In the small market town I live in we have an annual Christmas Fayre which marks the official switching on of the town lights.  The high street is decked in white lights, a Christmas tree in the square and illuminations which have been designed by children in local schools.  

Each year the town council holds a competition among the schools to find the best design and each year one new decoration is put up.  It’s such a lovely thing and the growing collection looks absolutely beautiful. Every time I drive through the town, seeing all the lights lifts my heart.

6. Stockings

I love putting together the stockings for my family and I try to make them as fun and inventive as possible.  They have the standard things in like a satsumas, chocolate coins and reindeer, but I also try to include silly things that the children like or will make them smile.  

My son loves jam, so he always gets a pot of jam in his stocking.   

I also try to include lots of practical things like pencil sharpeners, erasers, nail varnish, guitar strings and hair wax. 

7. The Tree

Our Christmas tree is a big deal. It has to be real, the whole family has to be present for it to be decorated and the day it is put up is the official start of Christmas in our house.  

Decorating it is a real family affair and we reminisce about past Christmas’s and relatives who are no longer with us, as we unwrap the decorations which have been ceremonially brought down from the loft.   This is a really special time as it’s like unwrapping a great big memory box.

8. Carols in the Car Park

I can’t sing a note in tune but when you’re in a cold car park, your feet virtually iced to the floor, there’s something rather wonderful about singing along at the top of your voice to Christmas carols with a brass band playing on the back of an articulated lorry.  

This happens every year on Christmas Eve in our local town and it’s a wonderful occasion when generations of families turn up to sing together.

9. Family

My absolute favourite part of Christmas, is Christmas Day breakfast.  We all sit down together to eat our favourite smoked salmon, bagels and cream cheese and no one has to be anywhere else or do anything else in this time.  

It’s such a rarity in modern life, for us all to be together and I really treasure it. 

10. Crisis for Christmas

It might sound a bit strange that one of my favourite things about Christmas is the charity Crisis for Christmas.  

Unfortunately, Christmas is a time of conspicuous consumption and over indulgence for many, while there are lots of people who are not so fortunate, especially the homeless.  

Each year this fantastic charity, transforms several venues around the country to provide temporary shelter for homeless people for just over one week.  

Thousands of people volunteer their time to go and work in the shelters during the festive period to help provide warmth, food and shelter for those people who have ended up on the streets for many, many different reasons.  

Crisis embodies the spirit of generosity that Christmas should be about.  

Thank you Jules for a lovely post - I think most people will agree that family is a priceless time at Christmas due to no-one having to rush off and I love the fact you still put Satsuma's in stockings!

If you would like to know more about

Crisis For Christmas

please click the following link.

http://www.crisis.org.uk/pages/christmas.html

Jules Wake Bio

Bred but not born in Yorkshire, Jules considers herself an honorary Yorkshire woman and despite living in the Chilterns still misses proper hills.  She’s wanted to be a writer forever and blames this on her grandmother taking her at a young age to the Bronte’s parsonage in Haworth.  

Despite early lofty ambitions, the path to published novelist took a wide diversion when after reading English at the University of East Anglia, she found herself in the glamorous and deeply shallow world of PR, which she rather enjoyed, and spent a number of years honing her fictional writing skills on press releases.   

After taking a creative writing course and finding no local writing group, she set up the Tring Writers’ Circle seven years ago.  As a result it was incumbent upon her to set a good example and actually write, which was rather fortunate as with a genuine allergy to cleaning, she finds writing offers the perfect displacement activity.

Jules' Christmas novel, From Paris With Love At Christmas, is available to buy now.

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Review: Every Time A Bell Rings by Carmel Harrington

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An angel gets its wings…

Belle has taken all the Christmas decorations down. This year they won’t be celebrating.

As foster parents, Belle and Jim have given many children the chance of a happier start in life. They’ve loved them as if they were their own. They shouldn’t have favourites but little Lauren has touched their hearts. And now her mother is well enough to take her back and Belle can’t bear the loss.

Hence, Christmas is cancelled.

So when Jim crashes his car one icy December night, after an argument about Lauren, Belle can only blame herself. Everything she loves is lost. And Belle finds herself standing on The Ha’Penny Bridge wishing she had never been born.

But what happens to a Christmas wish when an angel is listening…

Will Belle realise, before it’s too late, that her life is the most wonderful life of all?

Inspired by the timeless tale of beloved Christmas movie, It’s a Wonderful Life, Carmel Harrington’s next book tells the story of Belle, a young woman and foster carer from Dublin who faces the hardest decision of her life this Christmas on The Ha’Penny Bridge.

Every Time A Bell Rings, An Angel Gets It Wings is a saying that I'm familiar with, 

I always turn to the angels when I'm in times of distress and angels automatically make me think of my late granddad. 

That said I was a little apprehensive of reading the book - I refuse to read other bloggers reviews as I don's want them to influence my review, so I tend to just look at their rating and headline and decide if I'm going to read a book from that, occasionally though, you see more of a review that you intend and this book is one of those as I saw a few times the title of the book along with the film 'It's A Wonderful Life' mentioned... judge me all you like but I haven't seen the film and so deciding whether to read this book posed the question on if I needed to watch the film first, would I need to know the similarities etc etc. In the end, I liked the sound of the blurb and decided to just go for it.

Within a chapter or two I was totally and completely hooked. I really don't want to give too much away of this book but in a nutsell we have Belle Bailey. A young lady who was fostered as a child. 

She was moved from foster home to foster home before settling down at Tess' house. Her Christmas was was to have a friend to play with and as if my magic, Santa delivers her just that in the form of Jim Looney (I love that name!). Belle and Jim become inseparable, until Jim's mother proves herself and Jim leaves Tess' home and Belle behind. 

Several years later and Jim is back, instantly him and Belle pick up from where they left off and within no time the book has moved forward to them being married and foster parents themselves. Children of all ages come and go until they meet Lauren who is that extra bit special. That is until its time for Lauren to move on and Belle is once again saying goodbye, this time she takes it harder than normal and during a row with Jim, their car slips and slides on ice resulting in a crash.

At this point the book took a complete turn for me. Belle is scared and runs, when she eventually stops she comes face to face with Nora who is familiar yet they have never met. Nora, as the synopsis hints, is an angel. Over the next few chapters she shows Belle how her life would have been if her wish of "I wish I was never born" came true, and how her being here has enriched the lives of others.

The book was incredibly well written, made up with parts from Belle's childhood, adulthood and present day.

Belle and Jim's story was heart breaking and emotional yet at the same time uplifting and heart warming - the sort of characters that you would love to know in real life - full of love not only for each other but for those around them, people that are always looking for ways to help others.

I loved how Nora was written in to the story, she appears a few times in the early chapters which become clearer when she has her spotlight moment. The other characters, Tess and Bobby, were a testament to the main characters and the descriptions of the book and characters were perfect.

I couldn't put this book down, it made me smile and it made me cry - happy tears. Its a story of love, hope and ultimate happiness, plus its warm and Christmassy which is always a bonus - on that basis I can't give it a 1-5 rating. It goes pride of place on my 'Extra Special Books' page and is awarded my PowerFlower rating!

I have read and reviewed this book to take part with the #HarperXmas event - for more reviews, guest posts and giveaways please search the hash tag!

I would like to thank the publishers for a digital copy via NetGalley - this has been my honest opinion.

Review + Giveaway: Never Kiss A Man In A Christmas Jumper by Debbie Johnson

Today I don't only have a review for you but there is also a chance to win a paperback copy of the book- be quick though, the flash giveaway ends in 24hours!

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You’ve seen Mark Darcy in the reindeer jumper his mother gave him, now meet Marco Cavelli in this season’s hottest Christmas knit!

For single mum Maggie, Christmas has always been a family occasion – her daughter Ellen filling the house with her bubbly warmth and mistletoe, her dad Paddy having one too many festive tipples, and the traditional family Christmas tree looking like a drunken elf vomited a rainbow all over it.

But this year, with both Ellen and Paddy away for the holidays, Maggie’s facing a truly blue Christmas – alone with nothing but a bottle of Baileys and an M&S turkey dinner.

Until walking the snowy streets of Oxford, Marco Cavelli quite literally crashes into her life – and, complete with broken leg, becomes her unexpected house-guest. All dreamy brown eyes and 6’5” of gorgeousness, the man is hotter and more delicious than a freshly baked mince pie.

Though Maggie always thought it’s a truth universally acknowledged that you never kiss a man in a Christmas jumper?

The thing that first caught my eye with this book was the adorable cover and catchy title - it had me instantly intrigued and I started reading even before looking at the blurb.

It wasn't far in to the book, when I clocked the Cavelli name - Rob Cavelli was the hunk in last year's Christmas novel from Debbie Johnson, Cold Feet At Christmas; A book that I have sat on my kindle and a book that I was sure I still had to read... As this book's story unfolded and it touched lightly on Cold Feet At Christmas bits and pieces were forming in my head confirming that I had already read it.

I quickly abandoned Never Kiss A Man In A Christmas Jumper and hopped back to read Cold Feet At Christmas and write a review of which you can read here.

Back to Never Kiss A Man In A Christmas Jumper then...

I loved this book. It was gloriously romantic and set at Christmas time which if you are a sucker for the both like I am, then it equates to a pretty perfect story.

Maggie first comes across Marco Cavelli during a run with her daughter, Ellen, where he is at the park with his nephew Luca and s being drooled over by the other mothers!

Their second encounter. albeit their first with communication, comes when Marco is looking for a suit to be tailored and walks into Maggie's Shop where she is a Bridal Gown designer and maker.

Not expecting to bump into Marco again, Maggie quite literally does that when they collide on slippery road surfaces and both crash off their bikes. Marco comes off worse than Maggie but they both end up at the local hospital. It is here that Maggie starts chatting to Marco's brother and Sister in law, Rob and Leah from Cold Feet at Christmas, and i have to admit it was nice to see how their lives have continued from that book. Maggie and Leah appear to form a quick and strong friendship which over the course of the next chapter or so, results in Maggie somehow agreeing to Leah and Rob's request of having Marco live with her to recoup!

As the story unfolds, it is clear that both Maggie and Marco are falling for each other, yet Maggie is scared of unknown territory - she's only ever been with one man before, and that was a one night stand when she was a teenager resulting in her becoming a single mother to Ellen.

Never Kiss A Man In A Christmas Jumper is a delightful read about feelings and facing your fears, Maggie is convinced it wont work with Marco as she can no longer have children, something she has blocked from anyone for years.

The book was a quick read, with a fast pacing story. The epilogue was a joy to read and wrapped up the book nicely.

Although Never Kiss A Man In A Christmas Jumper can be read as a stand alone book, at points Rob and Leah's story is covered, I would recommend reading Cold Feet At Christmas first if you are planning too as it might be a little weird reading how they got together after already being together in Marco and Maggie's story.

Maggie was a great, caring character but I loved Ellen and her short one liners - she was a little breath of fresh air in amongst the love and romance.... and of course Marco is just what you need at this time of year - tall, dark, handsome!

I have reviewed Never Kiss A Man In A Christmas Jumper as part of the HarperCollins #HarperXmas event - for more reviews, posts and giveaways please search the hashtag!
I would like to thank the publishers and NetGalley for my review copy, this has been my honest opinion.

For your chance to WIN a paperback copy of 

Never Kiss A Man In A Christmas Jumper

please enter below.

Closes: 3/12/2015

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Review: Cold Feet at Christmas by Debbie Johnson

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Running out on your wedding shouldn't be this much fun!

A remote Scottish castle on a snowy Christmas Eve. A handsome husband-to-be. A dress to die for. It should have been the happiest day of Leah Harvey’s life – but the fairytale wedding turns sour when she finds her fiancé halfway up the bridesmaid’s skirt just hours before the ceremony!

Fleeing the scene in a blizzard, Leah ends up stranded at the nearest cottage, where she collapses into the arms of its inhabitant – a man so handsome she thinks she must have died and gone to heaven!

And when Rob Cavelli suddenly finds himself with an armful of soaking wet, freezing cold, and absolutely gorgeous bride on the run, he’s more than happy to welcome her into his snowbound cottage this Christmas…

I've had Cold Feet At Christmas on my kindle for ages and could have sworn that I hadnt read it, however, whilst reading the latest novel from Debbie Johnson, Never Kiss A Man In A Christmas Jumper, there were parts relating to this book that triggered memories of me reading it. And whilst I knew the vague storyline, I quickly abandoned Never Kiss A Man In A Christmas Jumper and re-read Cold Feet At Christmas.

Cold Feet At Christmas starts with Leah Harvey's car breaking down, she's in the middle of nowhere and the car just will not start - not that Leah has a plan on where she is heading anyway.

Just hours ago she should have been saying I Do at her wedding to Doug, however just prior to the ceremony she caught her Groom-To-Be in a rather compromising position with one of the bridesmaids - grabbing bare essentials, Leah fled with no plan.

In the far distance from the broken down car, and across a very heavy snow covered field there is a glimmer of light and Leah heads that way - realising it is a remote cottage she prays that someone be home or she might just die of hypothermia! 

When Rob Cavelli opens the door to a snow covered bride, quite literally, he wonders is his mother has magically sent an angel to him for Christmas in a bid to coax him out of his mundane life - a life of all work and one night stand play, not a life not really being lived since the death of his wife and unborn baby.

Being snowed in to the cottage, Leah ends up having to stay with Rob and they agree to have a no strings attached week full of amazing sex and passion. When it comes to the end of their stay, Rob invites Leah back to America with him, offering her a place to stay and a job to help get her life back in order - but on a strictly friendship basis only.

Trouble is, as time goes on, Leah has fallen for Rob and secretly Rob is heading the same way for her.

Yet both of them have a guilty that is eating them up and stopping them from being really happy.

Its only when Leah is forced out of the country and heads back to the UK that Rob completely loses it and admits to his mother and brother Marco (who coincidently is the main male character in Never Kiss a Man In A Christmas Jumper, in which you can read here!) that he is in love with her.

Cold Feet At Christmas was a great story about new beginnings and taking chances, from the moment Leah and Rob met you could feel their sexual chemistry and the explicit scenes were tastefully written. There was also the flip side of the story, both characters are carrying guilt for loved ones and whilst Leah seems to being trying to move on and live, Rob is stuck in a rut, blaming himself and believing that he doesn't deserve that second chance of happiness.

Although you can read both Cold Feet At Christmas and Never Kiss A Man In A Christmas Jumper as standalone novels, if you wanted to read both then I would definitely read this one first as the second will make a little more sense - however both books were equally good and in my opinion you can never have too much of the Cavelli men!

I have re-read Cold Feet At Christmas to coincide with the #HarperXmas event on twitter, plus it gave me the chance to review it. For more reviews, features and give-aways please search the hash-tag.