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Married By Christmas
All she wants is a perfect Christmas Eve wedding...
It’s been on Anna’s wish-list since she was a little girl, dreaming of a far happier family life than she’d ever experienced.
But now – only two weeks before her big day – her perfect husband-to-be drops a bombshell...
Only nothing’s going to stop Anna’s plans – not even the pesky inconvenience of discovering her groom already has a wife!
It’s been on Anna’s wish-list since she was a little girl, dreaming of a far happier family life than she’d ever experienced.
But now – only two weeks before her big day – her perfect husband-to-be drops a bombshell...
Only nothing’s going to stop Anna’s plans – not even the pesky inconvenience of discovering her groom already has a wife!
400 pages, Paperback
First published October 25, 2012
53 people are currently reading
1235 people want to read
About the author
Scarlett Bailey
13 books173 followersA lover of Christmas, romance and old movies Scarlett wrote her first Christmas romance 'The Night Before Christmas' in 2011. Her second novel 'Married by Christmas' and a digital novella 'Santa Maybe' are out now.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews
October 26, 2012
Scarlett Bailey is back again this Christmas with her second release and after she swiped first place last year with The Night Before Christmas I was really looking forward to this book.
The countdown to her winter wedding has begun...
Anna Carter wants the perfect Christmas Eve wedding. It's been on her 'to-do' list since she was a little girl stuck living in a children's home and dreaming of a far happier family life than she'd ever experienced. Now she's found the perfect Georgian country manor as a venue, to which she will be taken in a reindeer-drawn sleigh. She's got a show-stopping designer ivory-beaded wedding dress. And she's even found her groom. Three years ahead of schedule, funny, sexy, handsome journalist, Tom, had swept her off her feet.
Only, now, two weeks before the wedding, Tom drops a bombshell that threatens to ruin everything.But nothing is going to stop Anna's plans - not even the pesky inconvenience of discovering her perfect husband-to-be already has a wife...
What I love most about Scarlett Bailey is she manages to create such loveable and full bodied characters who stay with you even when you finish reading the book. Anna is a loveable character who you warm to from the start of the book after reading about her upbringing and although she feels like a delicate character at the beginning of the book as the story progresses and she goes on her journey we begin to see another side of her, a fun side where she begins to let her hair down and begins to find her true self. I also loved Liv, your heart goes out to her when you discover her well kept secret, it is a shame that we don’t get to see more of her character especially alongside her best friend Anna just to see the friends interacting and having fun together.
The storyline is very easy to fall into and is very exciting, never quite knowing if Anna’s dream wedding will take place. I love the setting Scarlett creates in New York it is some where I have never been but she writes with such excitement and energy the place feels so alive I am now eager to visit although not looking for a missing ex wife I hope!
The only thing this book was lacking for me is the festivity, I was hoping for a more Christmassy feel to it but I am a bit over enthusiastic when it comes to Christmas, and I think we were spoilt with last years The Night Before Christmas which was overflowing with festivity.
Another great read by Scarlett Bailey which would make a great little stocking filler!
The countdown to her winter wedding has begun...
Anna Carter wants the perfect Christmas Eve wedding. It's been on her 'to-do' list since she was a little girl stuck living in a children's home and dreaming of a far happier family life than she'd ever experienced. Now she's found the perfect Georgian country manor as a venue, to which she will be taken in a reindeer-drawn sleigh. She's got a show-stopping designer ivory-beaded wedding dress. And she's even found her groom. Three years ahead of schedule, funny, sexy, handsome journalist, Tom, had swept her off her feet.
Only, now, two weeks before the wedding, Tom drops a bombshell that threatens to ruin everything.But nothing is going to stop Anna's plans - not even the pesky inconvenience of discovering her perfect husband-to-be already has a wife...
What I love most about Scarlett Bailey is she manages to create such loveable and full bodied characters who stay with you even when you finish reading the book. Anna is a loveable character who you warm to from the start of the book after reading about her upbringing and although she feels like a delicate character at the beginning of the book as the story progresses and she goes on her journey we begin to see another side of her, a fun side where she begins to let her hair down and begins to find her true self. I also loved Liv, your heart goes out to her when you discover her well kept secret, it is a shame that we don’t get to see more of her character especially alongside her best friend Anna just to see the friends interacting and having fun together.
The storyline is very easy to fall into and is very exciting, never quite knowing if Anna’s dream wedding will take place. I love the setting Scarlett creates in New York it is some where I have never been but she writes with such excitement and energy the place feels so alive I am now eager to visit although not looking for a missing ex wife I hope!
The only thing this book was lacking for me is the festivity, I was hoping for a more Christmassy feel to it but I am a bit over enthusiastic when it comes to Christmas, and I think we were spoilt with last years The Night Before Christmas which was overflowing with festivity.
Another great read by Scarlett Bailey which would make a great little stocking filler!
January 10, 2016
Gillade verkligen den här boken, verkligen en typisk chicklit. I loved it!
November 26, 2020
Really enjoyed good read
November 11, 2012
Review originally on I Heart.. Chick Lit.
www.chicklitkevinxx.blogspot.com
I never got the chance to read Scarlett Bailey's debut novel, The Night Before Christmas, but I envied the reviewers who got to read it last year and saying how good it was, so I decided to try and see if I could get a copy and thankfully, the author agreed! Since Scarlett's books, so far two of them, are mainly about Christmas, (secretly, I think she's Lady Santa, she's only active and out and about during the festive season), I thought it was fabulous, warm - what Christmas should be - but in a form of a sparkly, RED book!
Before I go into discussing about what a lovely book it is, can we take a minute to appreciate the gorgeous, Christmassy cover of the book? I know it's wrong to "judge a book by its cover", but come on, who wouldn't pick up a book with an outstanding, attractive cover which screams, "BUY ME!"? Kudos to the design team for whipping up something so beautiful and festive, perfect for Christmas! (Like, duh.)
First of all, what I really like Scarlett's book is that, she has a real, genuine flair for words and her passion to write, not many authors give me this feeling. The way she writes, with a significant flow, allows me to understand, that she enjoys writing as much as her readers enjoy reading. Maybe it was my over-analysing, as I'm a literature student, but by reading Married By Christmas I know for one: she loves to write and she loves Christmas.
Married By Christmas is about Anna Carter, a perfectionist, a crazed-list maker who can't stand things not going her way. What I loved about Anna is how organised the lady is! Jeez, making lists of list, determined to get things going her way! And ta-da, her boyfriend proposes, yay! Only to unleash the bridezilla she is, which was such a treat to read about. Especially her custom-made, sparkly, snowflake wedding gown. Scarlett writes with such clear, well-observed detail, even describes the minute, intricate snowflake design of the wedding dress, capturing the beauty of it. Many have tried writing in such a way, only managed to do half the job.
I won't reveal what Anna does, whether she does a completely crazy, out-of-the-world attempt to save her wedding, upon discovering her fiancé's AWOL wife or cries her sorry heart out. I'll leave it to you to discover what Scarlett has cleverly written with careful plotting. I admit, I was caught up in the story that I deprived sleep for a few days just to race to the ending, but that was really tiring, demanding school schedule, classes and assignments and impending examinations. However, I got the chance to finish reading it last night, at 2!, to tell you what a wonderful book it is. If you believe, the magic of Christmas would sweep you along and you'd be so caught up by Anna's complicated predicament!
Honestly, if I want to, I'd gush endlessly about how I loved the setting and the characters and the hunt for a particular someone, all to save her one and only Christmas wedding. But do not take this story lightly, don't think of it as a light, fun and fluffy chick lit, which you could easily read and feel happy about it, because Married by Christmas is really, really deep. In the façade, you might think it's about an control-freak, perfectionist turning into a bridezilla to walk down on the aisle in her Christmas-inspired dress and live happily ever after. No, it deals with loss, crushed hopes and believing yourself and opening up to new things you never thought you'd want to.
All in all, if I have to pick the best Christmas read this year, Married by Christmas would be the top contender to bag the title. I really enjoyed reading Scarlett's orchestra of words, bringing beautiful harmony to the Christmas spirit, and the plot was really what you'd want to read about, to light up the feeling of dull, wintry snowy days. Although it doesn't snow here in Malaysia, but I could literally feel the heartwarming atmosphere Christmas could offer.
Rating : 5/5
www.chicklitkevinxx.blogspot.com
I never got the chance to read Scarlett Bailey's debut novel, The Night Before Christmas, but I envied the reviewers who got to read it last year and saying how good it was, so I decided to try and see if I could get a copy and thankfully, the author agreed! Since Scarlett's books, so far two of them, are mainly about Christmas, (secretly, I think she's Lady Santa, she's only active and out and about during the festive season), I thought it was fabulous, warm - what Christmas should be - but in a form of a sparkly, RED book!
Before I go into discussing about what a lovely book it is, can we take a minute to appreciate the gorgeous, Christmassy cover of the book? I know it's wrong to "judge a book by its cover", but come on, who wouldn't pick up a book with an outstanding, attractive cover which screams, "BUY ME!"? Kudos to the design team for whipping up something so beautiful and festive, perfect for Christmas! (Like, duh.)
First of all, what I really like Scarlett's book is that, she has a real, genuine flair for words and her passion to write, not many authors give me this feeling. The way she writes, with a significant flow, allows me to understand, that she enjoys writing as much as her readers enjoy reading. Maybe it was my over-analysing, as I'm a literature student, but by reading Married By Christmas I know for one: she loves to write and she loves Christmas.
Married By Christmas is about Anna Carter, a perfectionist, a crazed-list maker who can't stand things not going her way. What I loved about Anna is how organised the lady is! Jeez, making lists of list, determined to get things going her way! And ta-da, her boyfriend proposes, yay! Only to unleash the bridezilla she is, which was such a treat to read about. Especially her custom-made, sparkly, snowflake wedding gown. Scarlett writes with such clear, well-observed detail, even describes the minute, intricate snowflake design of the wedding dress, capturing the beauty of it. Many have tried writing in such a way, only managed to do half the job.
I won't reveal what Anna does, whether she does a completely crazy, out-of-the-world attempt to save her wedding, upon discovering her fiancé's AWOL wife or cries her sorry heart out. I'll leave it to you to discover what Scarlett has cleverly written with careful plotting. I admit, I was caught up in the story that I deprived sleep for a few days just to race to the ending, but that was really tiring, demanding school schedule, classes and assignments and impending examinations. However, I got the chance to finish reading it last night, at 2!, to tell you what a wonderful book it is. If you believe, the magic of Christmas would sweep you along and you'd be so caught up by Anna's complicated predicament!
Honestly, if I want to, I'd gush endlessly about how I loved the setting and the characters and the hunt for a particular someone, all to save her one and only Christmas wedding. But do not take this story lightly, don't think of it as a light, fun and fluffy chick lit, which you could easily read and feel happy about it, because Married by Christmas is really, really deep. In the façade, you might think it's about an control-freak, perfectionist turning into a bridezilla to walk down on the aisle in her Christmas-inspired dress and live happily ever after. No, it deals with loss, crushed hopes and believing yourself and opening up to new things you never thought you'd want to.
All in all, if I have to pick the best Christmas read this year, Married by Christmas would be the top contender to bag the title. I really enjoyed reading Scarlett's orchestra of words, bringing beautiful harmony to the Christmas spirit, and the plot was really what you'd want to read about, to light up the feeling of dull, wintry snowy days. Although it doesn't snow here in Malaysia, but I could literally feel the heartwarming atmosphere Christmas could offer.
Rating : 5/5
October 27, 2018
3.5 stars, 2 heat
<
Well, Married by Christmas was quite the surprise...seeing as how the groom is already married. Oops!
The Gist: Anna's almost made it to her big day but her groom? Well, Tom is being squirrely. When she finally figures out why well her big day might not happen after all. Unless she can track down his long lost wife and get her to sign annulment papers in time. Even if it means heading across the pond to New York to track her down. And maybe finding a man who understands her better than her fiance along the way.
Anna is a handful. She's a bit on the neurotic side. She had a hard childhood and as a result she's all about control, making lists, never stepping out of line or doing the unexpected. I loved watching her basically lose it as she finally stepped out of her mold and went on the hunt for Tom's stripper bride. And Miles? Well, I loved him, too. He was a surprise for sure. Her unexpected tripmate. Her exact opposite. A musician who is all about taking risks and chasing a dream. He's solid, cheeky, sexy, talented. I enjoyed him and how he brought Anna out of her shell.
The story was fun. Anna and Miles taking an adventure around New York looking for the lost bride. Opening up and sharing with each other. It was very intimate but never went into cheater territory. I liked how it was done.
And how the book turned out with getting two romances instead of one. Figuring out who you're really supposed to be with. Taking a risk. It was nicely done.
The editing, though. It was a spot rough. There's also a quirk since it's a UK release in that when people talk it uses single marks ' instead of double marks ". Which gotta say was one hell of a thing to get used to. Whew!
<
Well, Married by Christmas was quite the surprise...seeing as how the groom is already married. Oops!
The Gist: Anna's almost made it to her big day but her groom? Well, Tom is being squirrely. When she finally figures out why well her big day might not happen after all. Unless she can track down his long lost wife and get her to sign annulment papers in time. Even if it means heading across the pond to New York to track her down. And maybe finding a man who understands her better than her fiance along the way.
Anna is a handful. She's a bit on the neurotic side. She had a hard childhood and as a result she's all about control, making lists, never stepping out of line or doing the unexpected. I loved watching her basically lose it as she finally stepped out of her mold and went on the hunt for Tom's stripper bride. And Miles? Well, I loved him, too. He was a surprise for sure. Her unexpected tripmate. Her exact opposite. A musician who is all about taking risks and chasing a dream. He's solid, cheeky, sexy, talented. I enjoyed him and how he brought Anna out of her shell.
The story was fun. Anna and Miles taking an adventure around New York looking for the lost bride. Opening up and sharing with each other. It was very intimate but never went into cheater territory. I liked how it was done.
And how the book turned out with getting two romances instead of one. Figuring out who you're really supposed to be with. Taking a risk. It was nicely done.
The editing, though. It was a spot rough. There's also a quirk since it's a UK release in that when people talk it uses single marks ' instead of double marks ". Which gotta say was one hell of a thing to get used to. Whew!
December 30, 2014
‘This is the time of the year when good things are meant to happen.’
I finished this book last night, and when I was starting on my review a few minutes ago, I didn’t feel quite like it. But after documenting some quotable quotes, and I was given a bit of a glimpse of how the story went again, I kind of fell in love with it… again. I’m not sure though if I would feel the same, if I read it in electronic format. There is always something much more to reading, when you’re holding an actual book.
Married By Christmas is about Anna’s dream of having a Christmas Wedding. But two weeks before her big day, she learns that her fiancé has a wife already! And so she travels to New York, on an impulse, to look for this wife and get her to sign the divorce papers so she can get married, as originally planned!
I like Anna’s character. I kind of see myself with her character. Not the boobs. (Never the boobs, hay. Haha!) She’s this “freaky organizer” who seem to have a list of anything, even a list of lists! And I love reading about her! She’s OC, but not unreasonable. She’s great, and real! (Yes, I’m really justifying her. Hahaha!)
The romance was not wow, but it’s okay. It has enough scenes to make me feel like having butterflies in my stomach. :D
Unlike the earlier book of Scarlett Bailey, where I love the friendship between the characters, in the book, I like the takeaways that of knowing who you are, and how to take on life. It’s quite a little like a personal discovery, and that is why I find myself enjoying it much more than I initially thought.
I like Scarlett Bailey! Now, I need to read of Rowan Coleman! :)
I finished this book last night, and when I was starting on my review a few minutes ago, I didn’t feel quite like it. But after documenting some quotable quotes, and I was given a bit of a glimpse of how the story went again, I kind of fell in love with it… again. I’m not sure though if I would feel the same, if I read it in electronic format. There is always something much more to reading, when you’re holding an actual book.
Married By Christmas is about Anna’s dream of having a Christmas Wedding. But two weeks before her big day, she learns that her fiancé has a wife already! And so she travels to New York, on an impulse, to look for this wife and get her to sign the divorce papers so she can get married, as originally planned!
I like Anna’s character. I kind of see myself with her character. Not the boobs. (Never the boobs, hay. Haha!) She’s this “freaky organizer” who seem to have a list of anything, even a list of lists! And I love reading about her! She’s OC, but not unreasonable. She’s great, and real! (Yes, I’m really justifying her. Hahaha!)
The romance was not wow, but it’s okay. It has enough scenes to make me feel like having butterflies in my stomach. :D
Unlike the earlier book of Scarlett Bailey, where I love the friendship between the characters, in the book, I like the takeaways that of knowing who you are, and how to take on life. It’s quite a little like a personal discovery, and that is why I find myself enjoying it much more than I initially thought.
I like Scarlett Bailey! Now, I need to read of Rowan Coleman! :)
December 18, 2012
I truly had a love/hate relationship with this book. There were times I really enjoyed it, and times I put it away and started doing laundry. The primary source of my irritation was the main character Anna. She grated on my nerves with her OCD to have the perfect wedding on the perfect day and Lord help anyone foolish enough to want to change anything. Except she discovers something that might ruin it all - her soon to be husband is already married. So she does what any pscho-bride would do. She heads to NY to track down Tom's first wife and force an annulment out of her. Why does Anna go and not Tom? Because Tom had no spine. He was Irritation #2 for me. I really had to struggle to get through the first half of this book.
By the second half it did improve (enter Miles, my favorite character). It had some funny lines and tender moments. But I still found myself holding a grudge against Anna for the making me suffer through the beginning. Don't even get me started on Anna making a choice between having a really great life, or a really great wedding. The ending was predictable but good, and came just in time to save me from deleting this book from my Nook.
By the second half it did improve (enter Miles, my favorite character). It had some funny lines and tender moments. But I still found myself holding a grudge against Anna for the making me suffer through the beginning. Don't even get me started on Anna making a choice between having a really great life, or a really great wedding. The ending was predictable but good, and came just in time to save me from deleting this book from my Nook.
July 1, 2015
1 star.
why would anyone want tom when he really has no redeeming qualities?
spoilers.
ummm...why would you marry a man as crappy as Tom?
1) he doesn't tell his fiance that he's still married from a person he married in Vegas (that he used to love...)
2) he doesn't go chase after Anna when she flies to NY to find his ex to sign the annulment papers
3) he leads Liz on when he's with Anna and quite frankly Liz is kind of a shite friend. when they are in NY instead of trying to find Anna she tries to get tom's mind off Anna and professes that she likes/loves him (has feelings for him).
4) tom jilts Anna at the alter, in front of the congregation tells them he's in love with Liz and hooks up with Liz. he didn't have the decency to tell Anna he's changed his mind BEFORE she was at the alter
5) Anna just let's it happen, all breezy.
yeah.
what makes a book great is likeable characters. if the writing isn't that great but the characters are likeable then it's a little more palatable than Unlikeabke shallow characters.
why would anyone want tom when he really has no redeeming qualities?
spoilers.
ummm...why would you marry a man as crappy as Tom?
1) he doesn't tell his fiance that he's still married from a person he married in Vegas (that he used to love...)
2) he doesn't go chase after Anna when she flies to NY to find his ex to sign the annulment papers
3) he leads Liz on when he's with Anna and quite frankly Liz is kind of a shite friend. when they are in NY instead of trying to find Anna she tries to get tom's mind off Anna and professes that she likes/loves him (has feelings for him).
4) tom jilts Anna at the alter, in front of the congregation tells them he's in love with Liz and hooks up with Liz. he didn't have the decency to tell Anna he's changed his mind BEFORE she was at the alter
5) Anna just let's it happen, all breezy.
yeah.
what makes a book great is likeable characters. if the writing isn't that great but the characters are likeable then it's a little more palatable than Unlikeabke shallow characters.
January 20, 2013
After reading the first few chapters I was more confused and disenchanted with the story than I was interested in what would happen. I mean really. Female A gets engages to Male A. Female B, best friend of Female A, admits to the readers that she is in love with Male A. Male A ends up being already married to Female C. Female A agrees to still marry Male A as long as they can get an annulment/divorce before the wedding on Christmas Eve. Like really?!?!?!?! Can this get anymore confusing. I was sitting on my couch looking at my kindle and asking myself, 'Who am I supposed to be rooting for at this point? Who do I care about living happily ever after?'. The simple answer is that I didn't care, I was already fed up with these characters. I continued reading, but I never became real impressed with the story or became real emotionally involved. The author lost my interest when I became emotionally detached from the story and that is a big no no. My recommendation is to skip it.
February 5, 2013
Loved this wonderful story but never could bring myself to feel sympathetic to Anna. She was just to whiny and self absorbed for me to like her. So what if she had issues as a child...alot of kids have had issues and come out just fine and not used their pasts as a crutch to try to make the world bow at their feet and just give them everything they want because they "have to have to have to" stick to a life's planned list!
Now her best friend Liv I have all the compassion for because she constantly put up with Anna's crap even to the extent of giving up her own happiness to basically hand over her own crush and Anna was either to dumb or to self obsorbed to realize it!
Don't even get me started on Tom...I just think he should go home to his mommy. I had a sort of love/loathe relationship going on with him.
Read it! It was a great story! Yes I couldn't stand Anna but that sometimes makes a good story for me when it has those people in it that you can't help disliking. LOL
Now her best friend Liv I have all the compassion for because she constantly put up with Anna's crap even to the extent of giving up her own happiness to basically hand over her own crush and Anna was either to dumb or to self obsorbed to realize it!
Don't even get me started on Tom...I just think he should go home to his mommy. I had a sort of love/loathe relationship going on with him.
Read it! It was a great story! Yes I couldn't stand Anna but that sometimes makes a good story for me when it has those people in it that you can't help disliking. LOL
March 3, 2023
Anna the girl left by her mother at age nine is a perfect characterization of an excessive compulsive person with her list, organization and excessive planning of every detail of her life. Not an easy person to live with but under all the excessive behavior is a nice person wanting out of her self-imposed obsessions. She started planning her perfect wedding as a child and goes to the other side of the Atlantic to reach her goal of the perfect Christmas wedding and goal of being Married By Christmas.
The big problem with all her plans is she has the wrong bridegroom, who is already married. The future rock star enters the crazy trip to New York City, and the fun begins as Anna unravels, forgets her lists and feels free for the first time.
The twist at the actual wedding made way for the happy ending for all in this funny story about a perfect Christmas wedding.
The big problem with all her plans is she has the wrong bridegroom, who is already married. The future rock star enters the crazy trip to New York City, and the fun begins as Anna unravels, forgets her lists and feels free for the first time.
The twist at the actual wedding made way for the happy ending for all in this funny story about a perfect Christmas wedding.
February 8, 2013
A quick-read, entertaining, occasionally funny chick-lit romance fiction. The premise is not original, but the story has good elements, and the cast of characters is likeable and easy to relate to. For such novels, there are usually no surprises or suspense, and you read it to see how the characters arrive at their happy ending by the end of the book. For me, the ending fell just a little flat because it was not convincing or realistic enough. Perhaps, if more page time were devoted to the emotional development concerning Liz and Tom (whom I happen to like better than the other couple), I would have enjoyed the book considerably more.
December 11, 2015
DNF around 20%?
My first book that caused me to create a DNF shelf.
I don't mind chick lit. They kind of rely on you ignoring real world things, and I am a sucker for a good story. And if this was about a woman freaking out because her fiancé was previously married and didn't realize it, that's one thing. But freaking out because she couldn't have a wedding on Christmas Day? (Eve? I can't tell.)
Guess what honey. YOU CAN HAVE THE WEDDING WITHOUT BEING OFFICIALLY MARRIED. Just don't sign the paper!
No, I'm sorry, I couldn't.
My first book that caused me to create a DNF shelf.
I don't mind chick lit. They kind of rely on you ignoring real world things, and I am a sucker for a good story. And if this was about a woman freaking out because her fiancé was previously married and didn't realize it, that's one thing. But freaking out because she couldn't have a wedding on Christmas Day? (Eve? I can't tell.)
Guess what honey. YOU CAN HAVE THE WEDDING WITHOUT BEING OFFICIALLY MARRIED. Just don't sign the paper!
No, I'm sorry, I couldn't.
October 27, 2012
Despite the title have "Christmas" in it, there was very little in the story about Christmas itself! Did this prove a problem? No!
The story was full of likeable characters, glimpses of what you wanted the the ending to be (Not giving that away here!!), it did keep you guessing right up until the last moment!
I really enjoy Scarlett Bailey's way of telling stories, and engaging the reader to be part of what is going on, not just an outsider looking in.
The story was full of likeable characters, glimpses of what you wanted the the ending to be (Not giving that away here!!), it did keep you guessing right up until the last moment!
I really enjoy Scarlett Bailey's way of telling stories, and engaging the reader to be part of what is going on, not just an outsider looking in.
February 19, 2014
I don't think I can honestly give the book 4 stars. I definitely think it falls more in the 3.5 range. While the story line wasn't avant garde, it was entertaining. There were a handful of spelling and grammatical error which surprised me but weren't too horrifying. Scarlett Bailey writes enjoyable stories. If you're looking for an fun-ish read with some laughs and a holiday setting, try this book.
December 18, 2012
DNF
I read about 20% of this book, and realized I was skimming more than I was reading. Its not a bad story, but it is very wordy. I ended up skipping to the last chapter to see if it would end the way I thought it would, and even that last chapter seemed to drag.
I read about 20% of this book, and realized I was skimming more than I was reading. Its not a bad story, but it is very wordy. I ended up skipping to the last chapter to see if it would end the way I thought it would, and even that last chapter seemed to drag.
December 4, 2014
I love christmas stories especially love stories.. The characters of Anna, Miles, Liv and Tom are such great people who love and care about each other. Great story
November 19, 2016
i loved this book. Anna is a brilliant character I'm so glad she got her happy ending
February 12, 2013
Anna Carter has planned her entire life since she was 9 years old. She dreamt of a magical, fairytale Christmas wedding and nothing is going to stand in the way of it. Not even the fact that fiancé Tom forgot he’d already been married to someone else, and forgot to divorce her afterwards. Anna has less than a week to fly to New York, find Tom’s forgotten wife and demand an annulment in time to save her perfectly planned wedding.
Anna likes structure and predictability and making plans and writing lists. She has done ever since she was abandoned as a child by her drug addicted mother. The last thing the two of them did together was have a magical Christmas where they planned how Anna’s life would turn out, including her magical Christmas wedding. So when things stop going according to plan, Anna is desperate to set everything right again, because she has spent the last two decades waiting for this Christmas wedding to cure all of the things that went wrong in her childhood.
“I don’t really think of myself as good. I think of myself as…taxing.”
“But why? Because you like to make a few lists and you prefer when things going your way? That doesn’t make you weird, that just makes you you. And, by the way, you should realise that for a person to be really scared, and still get up and face the world every day with a sword-rattling battle cry, well ,that makes them also really brave, and pretty amazing. What have you been through, Anna?”
I was really worried at the beginning that Anna’s obsession with lists, along with her intense reliance on one day to make everything okay in the world, would make Anna a really unlikeable person. I was concerned that what seemed like some seriously unhealthy obsessive behaviour and a lack of perspective would simply be passed off as “delightfully quirky” by every male that instantly falls in love with her. Instead, I found Anna quite likeable, especially as she opens up more and learns to be more adaptable during her time in New York.
While sitting on the plane to NYC and feeling miserable and desperate, Anna runs into the last person she wants to see. Of course, because how could Anna’s day get any worse, he takes the last open seat on the plane: the one right next to her. Miles, a disastrous set up from a few years ago when he unintentionally sent her into anaphylactic shock, is just the person Anna needs to help her find the balance in her life.
Miles is a musician who has just sold all his possessions for a chance to audition for a famous band in New York. He’s fun, relaxed and his only plan for his life is to stay happy playing his music. Miles is definitely the kind of fun loving, easy going love interest you want in a nice fluffy story, but I really loved the way he got to know Anna. Whenever Anna was lying about her past, or was trying to decide if she was ready to tell him more, Miles would just sit there and wait patiently for her to explain just a little bit more, then carry on as normal when she needed him to.
{Liv was} wondering exactly how many times Tom could unwittingly crush her to smithereens without her actually turning to dust.
Liv, Anna’s best friend, is the character that really shone for me. Having befriended Anna while she was living in a home, encouraged her family to adopt her at Christmas. Ever since, Liv has been caring and worrying for Anna and it was wonderful to see someone be so caring and self-sacrificing for another person. However, this dedication has come at great personal cost to Liv, who is in love with Tom, and had hoped to tell him so the night he met Anna. Ever since, Liv has been struggling to be happy for Anna while at the same time feeling devastated that she lost her moment, and Tom. Liv has never told anyone else and I just felt so sad for her having to help plan the wedding, and get more and more involved in their relationship despite what it was costing her personally. When Tom admits he was interested in Liv before he met Anna, I wanted to punch him for her, despite the fact that she’s an excellent kick boxer, just because I felt so strongly for her.
“I should have fallen in love with you instead of Anna. It would have been so much less complicated.”
”Oh my God, Tom, are you really so shallow that it takes a net skirt and bucketload of sequins to make you look at a woman properly?
The characterisation of Tom was a bit of a let down. He’s not really developed as a character beyond “nice” and “dependable” and being fairly attractive. It was hard to see why it was that Liv, Anna and the previous wife Charisma were so keen on getting him and then keeping him. On Anna’s part, I suspect that it’s more to do with him being the first to stick around long enough to ask her and make her fairytale wedding dreams come true. However, Charisma, Liv and Anna are three very different women, and I found it very hard to understand what it was about Tom that managed to appeal to all three.
There’s just the right amount of happy ending to finish this story off in a really enjoyable way. Anna has learnt to be a lot more impulsive, or even just to let a day go by without a rigid plan, and is having a lot of fun in a life that is nothing like her life plan. Liv also gets her happily ever after, and her man, though I personally would have rather seen her kick the fickle bastard to the curb. Though this book didn’t actually end up being overly festive or Christmassy, I really enjoyed the light hearted adventure to the point that I didn’t really notice the lack of festive atmosphere.
Anna likes structure and predictability and making plans and writing lists. She has done ever since she was abandoned as a child by her drug addicted mother. The last thing the two of them did together was have a magical Christmas where they planned how Anna’s life would turn out, including her magical Christmas wedding. So when things stop going according to plan, Anna is desperate to set everything right again, because she has spent the last two decades waiting for this Christmas wedding to cure all of the things that went wrong in her childhood.
“I don’t really think of myself as good. I think of myself as…taxing.”
“But why? Because you like to make a few lists and you prefer when things going your way? That doesn’t make you weird, that just makes you you. And, by the way, you should realise that for a person to be really scared, and still get up and face the world every day with a sword-rattling battle cry, well ,that makes them also really brave, and pretty amazing. What have you been through, Anna?”
I was really worried at the beginning that Anna’s obsession with lists, along with her intense reliance on one day to make everything okay in the world, would make Anna a really unlikeable person. I was concerned that what seemed like some seriously unhealthy obsessive behaviour and a lack of perspective would simply be passed off as “delightfully quirky” by every male that instantly falls in love with her. Instead, I found Anna quite likeable, especially as she opens up more and learns to be more adaptable during her time in New York.
While sitting on the plane to NYC and feeling miserable and desperate, Anna runs into the last person she wants to see. Of course, because how could Anna’s day get any worse, he takes the last open seat on the plane: the one right next to her. Miles, a disastrous set up from a few years ago when he unintentionally sent her into anaphylactic shock, is just the person Anna needs to help her find the balance in her life.
Miles is a musician who has just sold all his possessions for a chance to audition for a famous band in New York. He’s fun, relaxed and his only plan for his life is to stay happy playing his music. Miles is definitely the kind of fun loving, easy going love interest you want in a nice fluffy story, but I really loved the way he got to know Anna. Whenever Anna was lying about her past, or was trying to decide if she was ready to tell him more, Miles would just sit there and wait patiently for her to explain just a little bit more, then carry on as normal when she needed him to.
{Liv was} wondering exactly how many times Tom could unwittingly crush her to smithereens without her actually turning to dust.
Liv, Anna’s best friend, is the character that really shone for me. Having befriended Anna while she was living in a home, encouraged her family to adopt her at Christmas. Ever since, Liv has been caring and worrying for Anna and it was wonderful to see someone be so caring and self-sacrificing for another person. However, this dedication has come at great personal cost to Liv, who is in love with Tom, and had hoped to tell him so the night he met Anna. Ever since, Liv has been struggling to be happy for Anna while at the same time feeling devastated that she lost her moment, and Tom. Liv has never told anyone else and I just felt so sad for her having to help plan the wedding, and get more and more involved in their relationship despite what it was costing her personally. When Tom admits he was interested in Liv before he met Anna, I wanted to punch him for her, despite the fact that she’s an excellent kick boxer, just because I felt so strongly for her.
“I should have fallen in love with you instead of Anna. It would have been so much less complicated.”
”Oh my God, Tom, are you really so shallow that it takes a net skirt and bucketload of sequins to make you look at a woman properly?
The characterisation of Tom was a bit of a let down. He’s not really developed as a character beyond “nice” and “dependable” and being fairly attractive. It was hard to see why it was that Liv, Anna and the previous wife Charisma were so keen on getting him and then keeping him. On Anna’s part, I suspect that it’s more to do with him being the first to stick around long enough to ask her and make her fairytale wedding dreams come true. However, Charisma, Liv and Anna are three very different women, and I found it very hard to understand what it was about Tom that managed to appeal to all three.
There’s just the right amount of happy ending to finish this story off in a really enjoyable way. Anna has learnt to be a lot more impulsive, or even just to let a day go by without a rigid plan, and is having a lot of fun in a life that is nothing like her life plan. Liv also gets her happily ever after, and her man, though I personally would have rather seen her kick the fickle bastard to the curb. Though this book didn’t actually end up being overly festive or Christmassy, I really enjoyed the light hearted adventure to the point that I didn’t really notice the lack of festive atmosphere.
July 30, 2018
Slow Moving
A really wacky heroine suffers from abandonment issues. A week before her Christmas wedding she finds out that her fiance has been married for six years. So she flies to NYC to get annulment papers signed by her Fiance's wife who is an exotic dancer. From then on its like the movie "it's A Mad,Mad World" where everybody is a little crazy. It's not a bad book and has some sad parts as well as some comedy.
A really wacky heroine suffers from abandonment issues. A week before her Christmas wedding she finds out that her fiance has been married for six years. So she flies to NYC to get annulment papers signed by her Fiance's wife who is an exotic dancer. From then on its like the movie "it's A Mad,Mad World" where everybody is a little crazy. It's not a bad book and has some sad parts as well as some comedy.
September 30, 2018
A Christmas romance
In the beginning I thought this book was silly, and why was I reading it. Anna had planned a Christmas Eve wedding her entire life. Things started happening to screw it up. Well come hell or high water she was getting married no matter what! It had a surprised ending, and I enjoyed it!
In the beginning I thought this book was silly, and why was I reading it. Anna had planned a Christmas Eve wedding her entire life. Things started happening to screw it up. Well come hell or high water she was getting married no matter what! It had a surprised ending, and I enjoyed it!
October 7, 2017
I thought I would really love this book, but it was predictable and slow. Ended up skipping through a lot to the end, and still feel like I didn't miss anything.
December 9, 2017
I don't know how I feel about this book. It reads to me very unrealistic. I really dislike books with this type of nature and I don't think I will be picking up another book by her.
November 4, 2018
This story was a bit of fun.
December 12, 2018
Great read
This book would make an amazing film. Lots of twists and turns together with lots of humour. Loved all of the characters especially charisma who for me stole the show.
This book would make an amazing film. Lots of twists and turns together with lots of humour. Loved all of the characters especially charisma who for me stole the show.
December 18, 2019
Really enjoyed reading this book, again another book where I wasn't expecting a ending like that.
November 17, 2021
This is the cutest book I have ever read and certainly ruined my plan to keep my emotions in check 😂
November 24, 2021
It was ok
This just dragged. I had not make myself finish this book. I didn't like Tom at all. And Anna was self absorb. Liv was idk but not good. Miles was high light.
This just dragged. I had not make myself finish this book. I didn't like Tom at all. And Anna was self absorb. Liv was idk but not good. Miles was high light.
January 15, 2023
Started ok but then was quite slow in the middle. Picked up again so I managed to finish it but it didn't have much of a Christmassy feel to it.
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January 17, 2023Review can be found here:
https://nordie.wordpress.com/2022/12/...
https://nordie.wordpress.com/2022/12/...
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