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The Mother of All Christmases
THE MOST PERFECT CHRISTMAS FEEL-GOOD READ!
Eve Glace - co-owner of Winterworld - is pregnant. This sends the whole of the theme park into baby mania, especially as the baby’s due date is 25th December. But their joy is soured by the fact it appears someone is trying to sabotage the Christmas celebrations.
Annie Pandoro and her husband Joe own a small Christmas cracker factory, are well set up and happy together despite life never blessing them with a much-wanted child. Now, Annie thinks she is going through the menopause and any vestige of hope has been extinguished.
Palma Collins has agreed to act as a surrogate, hoping the money will give her a helping hand out of the gutter in which she finds herself. But when the couple split up just after she finds out she is pregnant, she is left carrying a baby she never wanted in the first place.
Annie, Palma and Eve all meet at the ‘Pudding Club’, a new directive started by a forward-thinking young doctor, who was Palma’s first love at school. Though their lives have gone in very different directions, will this group help each other to find happiness and peace as Christmas approaches?
Eve Glace - co-owner of Winterworld - is pregnant. This sends the whole of the theme park into baby mania, especially as the baby’s due date is 25th December. But their joy is soured by the fact it appears someone is trying to sabotage the Christmas celebrations.
Annie Pandoro and her husband Joe own a small Christmas cracker factory, are well set up and happy together despite life never blessing them with a much-wanted child. Now, Annie thinks she is going through the menopause and any vestige of hope has been extinguished.
Palma Collins has agreed to act as a surrogate, hoping the money will give her a helping hand out of the gutter in which she finds herself. But when the couple split up just after she finds out she is pregnant, she is left carrying a baby she never wanted in the first place.
Annie, Palma and Eve all meet at the ‘Pudding Club’, a new directive started by a forward-thinking young doctor, who was Palma’s first love at school. Though their lives have gone in very different directions, will this group help each other to find happiness and peace as Christmas approaches?
528 pages, Paperback
First published November 15, 2018
575 people are currently reading
1497 people want to read
About the author
Milly Johnson
52 books2,137 followersMilly Johnson was born in Barnsley, raised in Barnsley and still lives in Barnsley. She writes about strong women, often having a renaissance, all ages and has just released her 22nd novel Same Time Next Week. Do check out her website for up to date news and appearance dates.
As well as a novelist she is a professional joke writer, performance poet, newspaper and magazine columnist and also after dinner/motivational speaker.
She is on insta as @themillyjohnson, facebook as @millyjohnsonauthor, Twitter as @millyjohnson and a ridiculous presence on TikTok @millyjohnsonauthor. Do give her a follow - even if it's just out of sympathy!
As well as a novelist she is a professional joke writer, performance poet, newspaper and magazine columnist and also after dinner/motivational speaker.
She is on insta as @themillyjohnson, facebook as @millyjohnsonauthor, Twitter as @millyjohnson and a ridiculous presence on TikTok @millyjohnsonauthor. Do give her a follow - even if it's just out of sympathy!
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December 21, 2024
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The Book Review Crew Blog
At the moment when a child is born, a mother is born also.
I really liked this book even though it wasn't as festive as I had hoped. It was very funny in parts but it also broke my heart. Three women find themselves on the unexpected path to motherhood all are due around Christmas so they meet up at a group for expectant mothers. What follows is a funny and heartbreaking take on the road to having a baby. They're all first-time moms and it was hilarious. A couple of the women work at a Christmas cracker plant and I had no idea how much work went into making them!
I love it when books can make me feel and this one made me feel every emotion imaginable. I felt like these ladies and the other female characters were from a playgroup I went to with my youngest son over thirty years ago. It was called The Young and the Tireless. We met with our children to have coffee and talk about pregnancy and child-rearing. It just goes to show how little times have changed in that aspect. There are lots of characters in this book but they're all very well drawn and it was easy to tell them apart. It was very clear which character was speaking because of their different personalities. None of these ladies are perfect but that was perfectly fine with me.
It would be a shame not to mention that some of the chapters start with articles from the local paper and they're filled with comical errors. I laughed so hard.
Although I've heard about this author and her books this is the first time I have read one and it won't be my last. She has one called I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day that I have my eye on, I also like the sound of The Woman in the Middle . That's the best compliment I can give an author, that I want to read more of their books.
The Book Review Crew Blog
At the moment when a child is born, a mother is born also.
I really liked this book even though it wasn't as festive as I had hoped. It was very funny in parts but it also broke my heart. Three women find themselves on the unexpected path to motherhood all are due around Christmas so they meet up at a group for expectant mothers. What follows is a funny and heartbreaking take on the road to having a baby. They're all first-time moms and it was hilarious. A couple of the women work at a Christmas cracker plant and I had no idea how much work went into making them!
I love it when books can make me feel and this one made me feel every emotion imaginable. I felt like these ladies and the other female characters were from a playgroup I went to with my youngest son over thirty years ago. It was called The Young and the Tireless. We met with our children to have coffee and talk about pregnancy and child-rearing. It just goes to show how little times have changed in that aspect. There are lots of characters in this book but they're all very well drawn and it was easy to tell them apart. It was very clear which character was speaking because of their different personalities. None of these ladies are perfect but that was perfectly fine with me.
It would be a shame not to mention that some of the chapters start with articles from the local paper and they're filled with comical errors. I laughed so hard.
Although I've heard about this author and her books this is the first time I have read one and it won't be my last. She has one called I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day that I have my eye on, I also like the sound of The Woman in the Middle . That's the best compliment I can give an author, that I want to read more of their books.
October 19, 2018
Milly Johnson has a gift. There's no two ways about it. Her writing draws you in from the very beginning and just when you think that these characters are going to be happy finally - BAM! Something happens that turns their world upside down. This is the point where you do not want to put the book down and you take it absolutely everywhere with you. This book is no different to the others I've read by Milly. I absolutely loved it.
The cover is wonderfully festive, I love the colours, the cute little shop cabins and the beautifully lit Christmas trees. The title is extra special too. It's a novel that you can't wait to dive into. And dive into it I did! I really enjoyed reading about the three women, it was nice to read about women who were pregnant, as with most of Milly's novels they do not include children. Also with most of Milly's other novels, we get to know three main characters with a side bonus of visiting some other characters too. In this novel, we focused on Eve (from previous novel A Winter Flame), Annie and Palma. All three ladies are absolutely lovely and I couldn't wait to read their stories and about their pregnancies. We also touched in briefly with Effin (One of Eve's workers) and Caraid (Think that's how it's spelt!!! Effin's niece).
The story slowly builds up, and at about half way through - that's it - you're hooked. There's no going back and you feel as though you have to finish it - and soon! What I find with Milly's novels, is that every chapter is left with a big cliffhanger, so if you're reading before bed, that 'one more chapter' idea that you usually tell yourself never works and you end up reading 6 more before you finally convince yourself to put it down. Then, when you're eating breakfast you find yourself reading it again! I wouldn't say it was overly festive though, there wasn't much mention of Christmas, although this didn't really matter because the storyline was just so good.
It's honestly impossible to dislike this book. It has everything and you find yourself relating to the characters quickly. I think Palma was my favourite in this novel, I really felt for her and all that she had been through - I found myself thinking on more than one occasion 'Can't this woman catch a break?!', just a quick side note, you WILL need tissues when you start reading about her giving birth! I was soooo emotional it's unreal! Milly Johnson what have you done to me! Crying into my porridge. Although having said that Annie was really cute too and I was so pleased that her and Joe finally got what they've always dreamed of! Overall, it was an utterly brilliant novel and I am so pleased I managed to read this before it was released. It's definitely put me in a festive mood and it's not even November yet!
Thank you to the publisher for a chance to read this novel, which I have reviewed honestly.
The cover is wonderfully festive, I love the colours, the cute little shop cabins and the beautifully lit Christmas trees. The title is extra special too. It's a novel that you can't wait to dive into. And dive into it I did! I really enjoyed reading about the three women, it was nice to read about women who were pregnant, as with most of Milly's novels they do not include children. Also with most of Milly's other novels, we get to know three main characters with a side bonus of visiting some other characters too. In this novel, we focused on Eve (from previous novel A Winter Flame), Annie and Palma. All three ladies are absolutely lovely and I couldn't wait to read their stories and about their pregnancies. We also touched in briefly with Effin (One of Eve's workers) and Caraid (Think that's how it's spelt!!! Effin's niece).
The story slowly builds up, and at about half way through - that's it - you're hooked. There's no going back and you feel as though you have to finish it - and soon! What I find with Milly's novels, is that every chapter is left with a big cliffhanger, so if you're reading before bed, that 'one more chapter' idea that you usually tell yourself never works and you end up reading 6 more before you finally convince yourself to put it down. Then, when you're eating breakfast you find yourself reading it again! I wouldn't say it was overly festive though, there wasn't much mention of Christmas, although this didn't really matter because the storyline was just so good.
It's honestly impossible to dislike this book. It has everything and you find yourself relating to the characters quickly. I think Palma was my favourite in this novel, I really felt for her and all that she had been through - I found myself thinking on more than one occasion 'Can't this woman catch a break?!', just a quick side note, you WILL need tissues when you start reading about her giving birth! I was soooo emotional it's unreal! Milly Johnson what have you done to me! Crying into my porridge. Although having said that Annie was really cute too and I was so pleased that her and Joe finally got what they've always dreamed of! Overall, it was an utterly brilliant novel and I am so pleased I managed to read this before it was released. It's definitely put me in a festive mood and it's not even November yet!
Thank you to the publisher for a chance to read this novel, which I have reviewed honestly.
October 30, 2018
If like me and you have read as far as I know ever Milly Johnson book to date.. don't keep reading, go out and buy this book now and read that instead of this review. For the ultimate fans of the authors there are references to many familiar names and characters from assorted of her books.
To start with I thought I was imagining that some names felt familiar, and very shortly after starting there were two things that struck me and had me running to Amazon to check I wasn't going completely mad.
The Daily Trumpet makes a triumphant return, complete with all the funny errors you have come to expect from that newspaper. And Eve Glace and Winterworld were first seen in A Winter's Flame which was until this book one of my favourite books from the author and the characters associated with it the ones I remember the most clearly despite it being many years since I read it.
Now clearly I am holding my hands up to being a fangirl and absolutely loving seeing blasts from the pasts, but even if you haven't read anything from this author, this is a complete standalone book, and a fabulous story with it.
For a book with a theme park called Winterworld and people working in a Christmas Cracker factory, it can easily be read at any time of year, as although there is a festive themed backdrops the book predominately takes place over a 9 month period.
Conveniently the same length of time that the three leading ladies have to deal with completely different pregnancies - one miracle baby, one that was a very pleasant surprise and one that came about in what could be considered controversial circumstances.
And that is just one of the more serious themes that are touched on this book, that has a whole cast of characters that will make you laugh, smile and cry. There are in fairness a lot of names to learn, so depending on how you cope with lots of characters it may take a while to get into but I had no problems.
I was whizzing through the the pages utterly absorbed by this genius of a book. I loved every moment of it so so much. At no point did I want to put it down. This is Milly Johnson at her finest and its a shame I reached the end.
If you love your books full of romance, female friendships, interesting themes, quirky characters, realistic characters and situations, humour, some corny jokes and brilliant story lines that will grab you and make you engrossed in reading, then this is the book for you.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.
To start with I thought I was imagining that some names felt familiar, and very shortly after starting there were two things that struck me and had me running to Amazon to check I wasn't going completely mad.
The Daily Trumpet makes a triumphant return, complete with all the funny errors you have come to expect from that newspaper. And Eve Glace and Winterworld were first seen in A Winter's Flame which was until this book one of my favourite books from the author and the characters associated with it the ones I remember the most clearly despite it being many years since I read it.
Now clearly I am holding my hands up to being a fangirl and absolutely loving seeing blasts from the pasts, but even if you haven't read anything from this author, this is a complete standalone book, and a fabulous story with it.
For a book with a theme park called Winterworld and people working in a Christmas Cracker factory, it can easily be read at any time of year, as although there is a festive themed backdrops the book predominately takes place over a 9 month period.
Conveniently the same length of time that the three leading ladies have to deal with completely different pregnancies - one miracle baby, one that was a very pleasant surprise and one that came about in what could be considered controversial circumstances.
And that is just one of the more serious themes that are touched on this book, that has a whole cast of characters that will make you laugh, smile and cry. There are in fairness a lot of names to learn, so depending on how you cope with lots of characters it may take a while to get into but I had no problems.
I was whizzing through the the pages utterly absorbed by this genius of a book. I loved every moment of it so so much. At no point did I want to put it down. This is Milly Johnson at her finest and its a shame I reached the end.
If you love your books full of romance, female friendships, interesting themes, quirky characters, realistic characters and situations, humour, some corny jokes and brilliant story lines that will grab you and make you engrossed in reading, then this is the book for you.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.
December 18, 2021
The power as a reread! As you can see from my review below I liked it enough for a 3.5 stars the first time. I had completely forgot that I've read this the year before and started to read it again and I'm glad I didn't put it down without giving it a second chance. This time around I very much enjoyed it more. It was an emotional touching story and while motherhood never been interesting for me it did definitely walk on my emotions. A very good read and a highly recommend this.
3.5 stars. Such a sweet and heartwarming story about family and motherhood during the Christmas period. A real feel good. Was lured in by the cover and the promise of a Christmas story. I wouldn't normally have picked it up otherwise as motherhood isn't something that really speaks to me in literature. But I'm glad I picked it up!
3.5 stars. Such a sweet and heartwarming story about family and motherhood during the Christmas period. A real feel good. Was lured in by the cover and the promise of a Christmas story. I wouldn't normally have picked it up otherwise as motherhood isn't something that really speaks to me in literature. But I'm glad I picked it up!
April 24, 2023
April 24, 2023
Whew! I forgot what a tear-jerker this one was! I loved all the reappearances of the characters from previous books. I just wish I remembered more about them. It's hard to reflect on and research some of the characters when you're listening on audio.
**Original Review**
I've read 4 1/2 Milly Johnson books so far and I've learned to expect certain things. You will both laugh and giggle throughout. At the end, you will sigh with satisfaction. With some you will cry, with some you will be scared, with some you will stand up and cheer, and with some, you will be angry. With The Mother of all Christmases you will do all of those. I agree with Bookworman who I credit with introducing me to this wonderful English author that it is one of her best. Milly Johnson, where have you been the last 10 years of my life? I don't understand why she is not more well known in the United States!
One of the extra bonuses of her books is that you meet and catch up with characters from previous novels. this book probably incorporates more of this than the previous ones I have read. A few I have met before, and some, I can't wait to meet in future books.
Whew! I forgot what a tear-jerker this one was! I loved all the reappearances of the characters from previous books. I just wish I remembered more about them. It's hard to reflect on and research some of the characters when you're listening on audio.
**Original Review**
‘I’m pregnant,’ she blurted out because the words were too big to keep in. It wasn’t what she meant to say, which was Joe, can I have a private word with you, but somehow the delivered words raced past the intended ones queueing in her voice box.
‘And your Granny Ferrell is your family,’ Jacques threw back at her. ‘Talk about the enemy within.’ It was a bullseye point. Eve’s Granny Ferrell was the most wicked old bag on the planet. She made the Antichrist look like Anne of Green Gables.
I've read 4 1/2 Milly Johnson books so far and I've learned to expect certain things. You will both laugh and giggle throughout. At the end, you will sigh with satisfaction. With some you will cry, with some you will be scared, with some you will stand up and cheer, and with some, you will be angry. With The Mother of all Christmases you will do all of those. I agree with Bookworman who I credit with introducing me to this wonderful English author that it is one of her best. Milly Johnson, where have you been the last 10 years of my life? I don't understand why she is not more well known in the United States!
One of the extra bonuses of her books is that you meet and catch up with characters from previous novels. this book probably incorporates more of this than the previous ones I have read. A few I have met before, and some, I can't wait to meet in future books.
September 1, 2025
I just love this story! One of Milly Johnson’s best! There’s something so special about her writing that I find myself re-reading her books multiple times.
Another wonderful book by Milly Johnson. Great characters, wonderful story... OK, yes, there’s a formula but that’s not always a bad thing. I love that Johnson has included characters from prior books so we can find out what happened to them next. My favorite characters, however, are Palma and Tommy. Their story touched me so much that every time I read certain parts, it makes me get all choked up both with joy and with tears.
Another wonderful book by Milly Johnson. Great characters, wonderful story... OK, yes, there’s a formula but that’s not always a bad thing. I love that Johnson has included characters from prior books so we can find out what happened to them next. My favorite characters, however, are Palma and Tommy. Their story touched me so much that every time I read certain parts, it makes me get all choked up both with joy and with tears.
January 19, 2025
*Life’s Journeys*
This was a great read, I would say it was more about the women involved in the story more than it was about Christmas.
The story is mainly about three different women.
Eve Glace
She and her husband Jacques own a theme park and her baby is due to be born near Christmas. They had a quiet wedding, originally more her idea but to make things up-to Jacques who wanted the pomp and ceremony she is planning for them to renew their vows in style. All the babies in her family have all arrived 10 days late so it will be a breeze, will mother nature have other ideas?…
Annie Pandora
She along with her husband Joe own a small Christmas Cracker Factory. The only thing lacking in their lives is a child. But, she has a surprise when her menopause symptoms seem odd. Not menopause but something else…
Palma Collins
She is the youngest of the three women. She is living in a rough area and wants more for her life. She sees an opening and has decided to become a surrogate for a couple and the money she will receive should hopefully get her out of the area she lives in and make a fresh start. Things do not go to plan…..
The three women meet at a Christmas pudding club for pregnant women to share their experiences.
As the book progresses, there is laughter, a cast of mainly likeable characters and there is heartbreak and sheer bravery on display. It brought me to tears. A great mix of characters each realising that they are stronger than they ever thought.
This was a great read, I would say it was more about the women involved in the story more than it was about Christmas.
The story is mainly about three different women.
Eve Glace
She and her husband Jacques own a theme park and her baby is due to be born near Christmas. They had a quiet wedding, originally more her idea but to make things up-to Jacques who wanted the pomp and ceremony she is planning for them to renew their vows in style. All the babies in her family have all arrived 10 days late so it will be a breeze, will mother nature have other ideas?…
Annie Pandora
She along with her husband Joe own a small Christmas Cracker Factory. The only thing lacking in their lives is a child. But, she has a surprise when her menopause symptoms seem odd. Not menopause but something else…
Palma Collins
She is the youngest of the three women. She is living in a rough area and wants more for her life. She sees an opening and has decided to become a surrogate for a couple and the money she will receive should hopefully get her out of the area she lives in and make a fresh start. Things do not go to plan…..
The three women meet at a Christmas pudding club for pregnant women to share their experiences.
As the book progresses, there is laughter, a cast of mainly likeable characters and there is heartbreak and sheer bravery on display. It brought me to tears. A great mix of characters each realising that they are stronger than they ever thought.
December 13, 2018
I was really excited to see that Milly Johnson was bringing out a new book for Christmas as I absolutely love festive stories!
This is a book that once you pick it up you will want to stay enconsconsed in it's lovely story until you reach the end. The characters are lovely and it is a book full of Christmas cheer from the offset with a bit of romance intermingled as you follow the journey of the head strong Annie, Eve and Palma.
I read this book in just a couple of sittings as this author has a way of just pulling you in so that you have to keep reading.
If you are looking for a story full of Christmas cheer and that will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy, I would definitely recommend adding this to your TBR pile
This is a book that once you pick it up you will want to stay enconsconsed in it's lovely story until you reach the end. The characters are lovely and it is a book full of Christmas cheer from the offset with a bit of romance intermingled as you follow the journey of the head strong Annie, Eve and Palma.
I read this book in just a couple of sittings as this author has a way of just pulling you in so that you have to keep reading.
If you are looking for a story full of Christmas cheer and that will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy, I would definitely recommend adding this to your TBR pile
October 29, 2022
I’ve so enjoyed reading this. All the characters are totally believable and (in the main) likeable. I was drawn in from the first three chapters which each introduced one of the three main characters. The whole plot is interesting and unpredictable with just enough heartbreak mixed in & a good dollop of unexpected twists along the way. Perfect Christmas read!
November 29, 2018
I love Milly Johnsons books and this one takes you through the real emotional rollercoaster ride. Alternating between tears, chuckles and pure contentment as you lose yourself within the pages. I loved the return to Winterworld- the original book featuring WinterWorld is one of my favourites. We laugh and cry with everyone at the cracker factory- what a wonderful setting for meeting such a great bunch of characters. I loved the Christmas pudding club- with the huge range of emotions from all the members.
You are always guaranteed a wonderful read from Milly and this one is a real page turner, you will enjoy every single page.
You are always guaranteed a wonderful read from Milly and this one is a real page turner, you will enjoy every single page.
December 30, 2018
Time taken to read - in and out over 2 days
Pages - 400
Publisher - Simon & Schuster
Source - Bought signed edition from the author
Blurb from Goodreads
THE MOST PERFECT CHRISTMAS FEEL-GOOD READ!
'Every time you discover a new Milly book, it’s like finding a pot of gold' Heat
Eve Glace - co-owner of the theme park Winterworld - is having a baby and her due date is a perfectly timed 25th December. And she’s decided that she and her husband Jacques should renew their wedding vows with all the pomp that was missing the first time. But growing problems at Winterworld keep distracting them …
Annie Pandoro and her husband Joe own a small Christmas cracker factory, are well set up and happy together despite life never blessing them with a much-wanted child. But when Annie finds that the changes happening to her body aren’t typical of the menopause but pregnancy, her joy is uncontainable.
Palma Collins has agreed to act as a surrogate, hoping the money will get her out of the gutter in which she finds herself. But when the couple she is helping split up, is she going to be left carrying a baby she never intended to keep?
Annie, Palma and Eve all meet at the ‘Christmas Pudding Club’, a new directive started by a forward-thinking young doctor to help mums-to-be mingle and share their pregnancy journeys. Will this group help each other to find love, contentment and peace as Christmas approaches?
My Review
Eve, Annie and Palma all end up in the "Christmas Pudding Club" a new group supporting mums to be. Finding their feet as their bodies change they happen upon friendship which helps as they each battle with things in their personal lives. Palma was a womb for hire for a well to do couple who desperately want a baby. Annie had all but given up hope for having a baby, facing menopause she throws everything into her cracker factory with her hubby Joe. Eve and Jacques have all their focus on a winter theme park and have no time for extending their family, every focus is getting the park up and running yet things seem to be going wrong at every turn!
We meet each of the characters and glimpses into their lives and how they come to be in the club. Each has their own issues in life and we see how they deal with it and how their relationships blossom, struggle and interact.
It is a moving story you can't help but get invested in the characters and end up on a very emotive rollercoaster. Good guys and bad guys, kindness, dregs of humanity, greed, corruption, love, the circle of life it is a busy wee book and it was interesting to read about the cracker process, well I thought so. Each of the women are different and those they meet in the club, it is an interesting bunch of characters and I would have liked to have read more on each of them, the ones who don't play a huge part. The characters however well involved or little flashes all bring something to the tale and are carved out to make the reader want more, well I did. Humour, happiness, fun, sad, quirky and even some hard hitting serious issues dealt with respectfully. I do enjoy Johnson, I have yet to read one of hers I didn't like and I think this is one of her top books, 4.5/5 for me this time!
Pages - 400
Publisher - Simon & Schuster
Source - Bought signed edition from the author
Blurb from Goodreads
THE MOST PERFECT CHRISTMAS FEEL-GOOD READ!
'Every time you discover a new Milly book, it’s like finding a pot of gold' Heat
Eve Glace - co-owner of the theme park Winterworld - is having a baby and her due date is a perfectly timed 25th December. And she’s decided that she and her husband Jacques should renew their wedding vows with all the pomp that was missing the first time. But growing problems at Winterworld keep distracting them …
Annie Pandoro and her husband Joe own a small Christmas cracker factory, are well set up and happy together despite life never blessing them with a much-wanted child. But when Annie finds that the changes happening to her body aren’t typical of the menopause but pregnancy, her joy is uncontainable.
Palma Collins has agreed to act as a surrogate, hoping the money will get her out of the gutter in which she finds herself. But when the couple she is helping split up, is she going to be left carrying a baby she never intended to keep?
Annie, Palma and Eve all meet at the ‘Christmas Pudding Club’, a new directive started by a forward-thinking young doctor to help mums-to-be mingle and share their pregnancy journeys. Will this group help each other to find love, contentment and peace as Christmas approaches?
My Review
Eve, Annie and Palma all end up in the "Christmas Pudding Club" a new group supporting mums to be. Finding their feet as their bodies change they happen upon friendship which helps as they each battle with things in their personal lives. Palma was a womb for hire for a well to do couple who desperately want a baby. Annie had all but given up hope for having a baby, facing menopause she throws everything into her cracker factory with her hubby Joe. Eve and Jacques have all their focus on a winter theme park and have no time for extending their family, every focus is getting the park up and running yet things seem to be going wrong at every turn!
We meet each of the characters and glimpses into their lives and how they come to be in the club. Each has their own issues in life and we see how they deal with it and how their relationships blossom, struggle and interact.
It is a moving story you can't help but get invested in the characters and end up on a very emotive rollercoaster. Good guys and bad guys, kindness, dregs of humanity, greed, corruption, love, the circle of life it is a busy wee book and it was interesting to read about the cracker process, well I thought so. Each of the women are different and those they meet in the club, it is an interesting bunch of characters and I would have liked to have read more on each of them, the ones who don't play a huge part. The characters however well involved or little flashes all bring something to the tale and are carved out to make the reader want more, well I did. Humour, happiness, fun, sad, quirky and even some hard hitting serious issues dealt with respectfully. I do enjoy Johnson, I have yet to read one of hers I didn't like and I think this is one of her top books, 4.5/5 for me this time!
November 17, 2018
I love this time of year, cosying up with a hot chocolate and a festive read while it is cold outside! There have been so many beautiful festive covers that have caught my eye this year but The Mother of all Christmases jumped out at me with its snowy setting and traditional log cabins showcasing festive wares and to top it off it is by a favourite author of mine, Milly Johnson.
This book follows the pregnancy of three women Palma, Annie and Eve who form a new firm friendship after attending the Christmas Pudding Club. Although the book centres around the women and through their 9 month journey to motherhood we also get to know a whole host of other characters in this book many of whom you will recognise if you are a Milly Johnson fan and have devoured all her books. I loved being reunited with much loved characters from her previous books but don’t be put off reading this book if you haven’t read any of Milly’s previous books as this book can easily be read as a standalone without feeling like you are missing something. It does take a while to get to grips with all the characters and how they know each other but before long they all become easily identifiable and play a great part in the storyline.
I loved all three of our main characters, Eve who we have met before is still running Winterworld and as well as her pregnancy she also has her vowel renewal looming too which has a fabulous festive twist to it. Annie and her husband Joe run a Cracker business and it was clear that Milly had obviously researched this subject well giving us the details of cracker making and the importance of a good quality snap! It seemed such a friendly wonderful place to work with great characters in Iris and Gill. Most of all I loved Palma, her story is one that will stay with me for a long time yet. Palma was determined to turn her life around and her pregnancy was a somewhat controversial one but as her character develops and we see her journey through her pregnancy and her determination to stand on her own two feet and get a job of her own I soon warmed to her and wanted her to get her happy ever after. I don’t want to give too much away as something that happens in this book broke my heart in two and brought real tears rolling down my face, something that in all the years I have been reading and enjoying Milly’s books she has never done. Milly has such a lightness to her writing that carries you through the pages feeling uplifted and I think this was why when such a sensitive and devastating event occurred it had such an impact.
There was a gentle helping of festivity in this book but not overly done so this book can easily be read any time of the year. You will laugh and cry along with the characters in this book, it was such an addictive read that had me hooked from the first page and it is the first book in a long time that I have devoured in one sitting as I was eager to reach the end to see how everything panned out. However now I have finished I don’t want to leave these characters behind especially Palma. This book in true Milly form gets another big thumbs up from me.
This book follows the pregnancy of three women Palma, Annie and Eve who form a new firm friendship after attending the Christmas Pudding Club. Although the book centres around the women and through their 9 month journey to motherhood we also get to know a whole host of other characters in this book many of whom you will recognise if you are a Milly Johnson fan and have devoured all her books. I loved being reunited with much loved characters from her previous books but don’t be put off reading this book if you haven’t read any of Milly’s previous books as this book can easily be read as a standalone without feeling like you are missing something. It does take a while to get to grips with all the characters and how they know each other but before long they all become easily identifiable and play a great part in the storyline.
I loved all three of our main characters, Eve who we have met before is still running Winterworld and as well as her pregnancy she also has her vowel renewal looming too which has a fabulous festive twist to it. Annie and her husband Joe run a Cracker business and it was clear that Milly had obviously researched this subject well giving us the details of cracker making and the importance of a good quality snap! It seemed such a friendly wonderful place to work with great characters in Iris and Gill. Most of all I loved Palma, her story is one that will stay with me for a long time yet. Palma was determined to turn her life around and her pregnancy was a somewhat controversial one but as her character develops and we see her journey through her pregnancy and her determination to stand on her own two feet and get a job of her own I soon warmed to her and wanted her to get her happy ever after. I don’t want to give too much away as something that happens in this book broke my heart in two and brought real tears rolling down my face, something that in all the years I have been reading and enjoying Milly’s books she has never done. Milly has such a lightness to her writing that carries you through the pages feeling uplifted and I think this was why when such a sensitive and devastating event occurred it had such an impact.
There was a gentle helping of festivity in this book but not overly done so this book can easily be read any time of the year. You will laugh and cry along with the characters in this book, it was such an addictive read that had me hooked from the first page and it is the first book in a long time that I have devoured in one sitting as I was eager to reach the end to see how everything panned out. However now I have finished I don’t want to leave these characters behind especially Palma. This book in true Milly form gets another big thumbs up from me.
November 8, 2018
I love reading Milly's books. I love the strong female characters who are always there for each other. By the time you finish the book, you feel like you have made new friends! There are some funny parts, some sad and some just brilliant. I can't wait to read the next one.
December 2, 2018
"The Mother of all Christmases" by Milly Johnson - when you read this book you'll appreciate how adequate this title is! - follows stories of three very different women, Palma, Eve and Annie. Palma is the one from the wrong side of the town and with a painful past and finds herself in a very difficult situation. Because of her financial troubles she agrees to become a surrogate for a couple who can't have children. Eve and her husband Jacques run the Christmas themed Winterworld park and are up to their noses with organizing things. Eve knows her husband want a baby with his all heart and well, she doesn't say no as well, but there is never the right moment for a baby, right? And Annie and her husband Joe, who run a cracker company have been desperate for a baby all their life but it just never happened. There were failed IVFs, a failed adoption and well, they came to terms with the fact that it's only the two of them. Until it turns out that it's not the menopause Annie thinks it is.
The three women meet at the Christmas Pudding Club, a club for pregnant women, and they hit it off immediately - their friendship start and they go together through happy and hard times, and there are going to be plenty of those for them.
I don't know how Milly Johnson does it but each and every book of hers is simply brilliant - she for sure keeps her standard high, and "The Mother of all Christmases" is another cracker (pun intended) from this author. This book was so full of surprising moments, there were twists that I haven't seen coming and that broke my heart more than once, but then mended it again. It made me cry ugly tears and it made me laugh out loud. It was clever, poignant, uplifting and simply beautiful.
What I found so brilliant and clever was the fact that we already know some of the characters in the book, and not only this, but also The Daily Trumpet, with all its hilarious spelling errors is back. Eve and Winterworld we've got to know in "A Winter's Flame", as well as some other characters and places from Milly's previous books and it was so nice to be back with them, to see what's happened to them and how they're doing.
However, no worries, it is absolutely a stand - alone novel! But it'll only make you wish you had read the other books as well, so be prepared, and maybe have the books on pre - order already, if not at your side already.
There are relatively many characters being introduced to us in this book but I coped! Actually, very easily. I had no problems to quickly get who is who, why and to whom they belong. All the characters tell their own, beautiful, sometimes very poignant, stories. The female leading characters Palma, Annie and Eve, even though they don't know each other yet, have one thing in common - they're all find themselves pregnant. It took some time for all of them to realize that they're pregnant, especially in Eve's case, and yes, she made me feel desperate at the fact that she didn't notice/didn't want to notice things that were obvious but well, she had her reasons. All the pregnancies were different - one that might be considered a controversial one, then a very unexpected one, and one simply a nice surprise. I loved all of the three characters though, probably not surprisingly, my heart went to Palma. Her story was so heart - breaking and it will probably stay with me for a very long time yet.
And I must mention one of the male characters - Tom. Guys, he was Mr. Perfect. Milly Johnson has so brilliantly captured the essence of him and has made him, a boxer, so human and so vulnerable, and the things he said to Palma... well, if somebody told me such things I'd print them, put them in frames and hang them on the wall.
The thing with Milly Johnson is that, even if it's crystal clear that she herself loves her own characters, she gives them all her whole heart and soul, and she makes their lives happy and lets them look optimistically into their futures - then bang, and something happens. Something unexpected, something that turns their worlds upside down. There is actually a tension detectable through the pages, I personally couldn't shake off the feeling that something bad is going to happen, and I kept everything crossed that it won't happen. It doesn't happen often that I'm so deeply involved in the characters and their lives, but in this book I actually lived and experienced things together with them, I fell for them and I couldn't bear the thought that something could go wrong for them.
"The Mother of all Christmases" deals with many issues, some of them lighter, some heavier, and with Milly Johnson's writing that is full of heart you'll find yourself laughing, crying, smiling and laughing again. It is truly Milly Johnson at her best. She deals with the stuff that life throws at her characters in such a down - to - earth, casual way, she's not afraid of throwing many challenges at her characters, of making their lives complicated and difficult. It is so well written, so full of events and there is not a single flat moment, the story is just flowing and you together with it. It was a story about friendship, sisterhood, loss, love, grief, relationships, second chances and many other things, beautifully and seamlessly binding all the threads and events together. It didn't feel too overloaded, the pace was perfect and you'll quickly find yourself engaged in the characters' lives. Highly recommended!
Copy provided by the publisher.
August 30, 2018
I love Milly's so therefore couldn't wait to read this one and the title really attracted me and certainly didn't disappoint me at all. It's full of fun, laughter and heartbreak while making new friendships and having decisions to make. A great read full of Christmas with everyone expecting a Christmas joy. It's very hard to read at times as heartbreaking but great how it is written to make you realise we can cope with hard situations. The characters are brilliant and it's just a simply brilliant read and worth more than five stars.
It's based around theee main characters who all find themselves pregnant and their young dr has set up a group for mums to be so they can bond and share ideas together and spend longer together before the babies are born so support and help each other in a number of different ways. The group will be called the Christmas pudding club as all babies are due at Christmas will it be a success of a group or not. The three characters are:
Eve who is a co owner of a winter wonderland theme park and she has decided she wants to renew her wedding vowels at Christmas as her wedding was so quiet the first time round but can problems at the theme park hinder her or not also she finds out she is expecting and due just after Christmas so nearer the time will she regret decisions she has made and can she be happy.
Palma has agreed to be a surrogate mother for a couple as she is desperate for the money and thinks it will change her world and she can be happy. When the couple decide to split and they don't want the baby what will she decide to do will she keep the baby or not. She out of work single and can this change for her or not and can she turn her world around now she has a baby she will have to care for. Will she be heartbroken along the way or not and will she need the support of the others.
Annie along with her husband own a Christmas cracker company and have always wanted a child but never been able to and when she one day thinks she's going through the menopause and she visits her dr who tells her she expecting she will be full of joy along with her husband. Can their Buisness keep going with one of their workers leaving or will meeting others at the Christmas pudding club change their business to.
All three ladies build a friendship together and support each other through hard times and joy but just shows with friends we can face anything together. This I simply brilliant book loved it loads.
It's based around theee main characters who all find themselves pregnant and their young dr has set up a group for mums to be so they can bond and share ideas together and spend longer together before the babies are born so support and help each other in a number of different ways. The group will be called the Christmas pudding club as all babies are due at Christmas will it be a success of a group or not. The three characters are:
Eve who is a co owner of a winter wonderland theme park and she has decided she wants to renew her wedding vowels at Christmas as her wedding was so quiet the first time round but can problems at the theme park hinder her or not also she finds out she is expecting and due just after Christmas so nearer the time will she regret decisions she has made and can she be happy.
Palma has agreed to be a surrogate mother for a couple as she is desperate for the money and thinks it will change her world and she can be happy. When the couple decide to split and they don't want the baby what will she decide to do will she keep the baby or not. She out of work single and can this change for her or not and can she turn her world around now she has a baby she will have to care for. Will she be heartbroken along the way or not and will she need the support of the others.
Annie along with her husband own a Christmas cracker company and have always wanted a child but never been able to and when she one day thinks she's going through the menopause and she visits her dr who tells her she expecting she will be full of joy along with her husband. Can their Buisness keep going with one of their workers leaving or will meeting others at the Christmas pudding club change their business to.
All three ladies build a friendship together and support each other through hard times and joy but just shows with friends we can face anything together. This I simply brilliant book loved it loads.
December 1, 2021
I adore Milly Johnson's novels, but this one I mostly skimmed, at least from around the middle of the book. It was not a bad book, there was Johnson's wit, touch, depth (yes, I was crying).
I liked and enjoyed the story of Palma and Effin, but I was fed up with all those pregnancies. I have nothing against the topic, moreover, I loved how the author intertwined the story around them in The Yorkshire Pudding Club, but here I was bored, even annoyed. Probably it is a wonderful book for every woman who is pregnant, who plans to be, and who was already. I am not one of those, so perhaps it was too much to me. To me, it was more like a kind of sequel to A Winter Flame, too long sequel, what was worse, without ending of the Cariad's story.
If it wasn't Milly Johnson's book it would have ended up with 2 stars from me.
I liked and enjoyed the story of Palma and Effin, but I was fed up with all those pregnancies. I have nothing against the topic, moreover, I loved how the author intertwined the story around them in The Yorkshire Pudding Club, but here I was bored, even annoyed. Probably it is a wonderful book for every woman who is pregnant, who plans to be, and who was already. I am not one of those, so perhaps it was too much to me. To me, it was more like a kind of sequel to A Winter Flame, too long sequel, what was worse, without ending of the Cariad's story.
If it wasn't Milly Johnson's book it would have ended up with 2 stars from me.
December 10, 2018
Such a great book. Loved all the characters especially Palma & Effin. Full of humour & very emotional too. My favourite book by Milly Johnson.
December 31, 2018
So I have to admit I totally picked this up on the basis of the cover, very much in the mood for a real Christmassy read (I think I was thinking Carole Matthews and Sarah Morgen at the time!). I sat up on reading the story of Palma, who was acting as a surrogate to get the money to improve her life. It made for a slightly tougher read, as we saw the back door process she went through with a very unlikable couple who were trying to have a baby. At times you rooted for Palma, at times you kind of winced a little at the brashness of her. But then along came an old friend and I was smitten!
As you can see this is a book of many characters, I warmed to some but unfortunately at times struggled with the sheer volume of them and got a bit confused (in particular at all things Winterworld, but from some of the other reviews it would seem some of those characters were from another book so that could be it!). I loved the Christmas Pudding Club, in particular the enthusiasm of the doctor that formed it and in general I smiled at many moments throughout the book. All in all I enjoyed, but would advise this is slightly grittier than the cover suggests. Thanks to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for this book in return for an honest review.
As you can see this is a book of many characters, I warmed to some but unfortunately at times struggled with the sheer volume of them and got a bit confused (in particular at all things Winterworld, but from some of the other reviews it would seem some of those characters were from another book so that could be it!). I loved the Christmas Pudding Club, in particular the enthusiasm of the doctor that formed it and in general I smiled at many moments throughout the book. All in all I enjoyed, but would advise this is slightly grittier than the cover suggests. Thanks to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for this book in return for an honest review.
December 18, 2019
Good read, perfect for Christmas.
March 15, 2020
What a powerful story.
October 21, 2022
Quite a few people have told me that I need to read a Milly Johnson Christmas book as they are so good. When I noticed that Scribd had a few available I decided to give it a try. I jumped into this one, not realising it was part of a series. You can read it as a standalone but there may be a few spoilers from the previous book, not that that will stop me from trying out them out.
The story follows three new, expectant mothers and their different journeys through pregnancy. We have Eve, who isn’t sure how she feels about being pregnant but throws herself into planning the renewal of her vows three days before she’s due! For Annie this pregnancy is a dream come true. After years of trying and failing to get pregnant she thought her window of opportunity was coming to an end. Finally we have Palmer who finds herself pregnant with a baby she didn’t want after the surrogacy falls through.
All three of these women meet at the local Christmas Pudding Club, a club for expecting mothers and they instantly hit it off. I really enjoyed following their different stories and whilst I had predicted a few of the things that would happen I did find myself surprised on more than one occasion. I hadn’t expected to find this so emotional but it definitely brought me to tears numerous times and had me reminiscing about my own pregnancy journeys.
Filled with a whole cast of characters to love, this festive treat was a dream come true. Aside from the pregnancy stories there were plenty of other dramas along the way. We had the cracker factory, Palmer and Tommy as well as the mysterious happenings at Winterworld. I shall be listening to more books by Milly Johnson and adding them to my collection.
The story follows three new, expectant mothers and their different journeys through pregnancy. We have Eve, who isn’t sure how she feels about being pregnant but throws herself into planning the renewal of her vows three days before she’s due! For Annie this pregnancy is a dream come true. After years of trying and failing to get pregnant she thought her window of opportunity was coming to an end. Finally we have Palmer who finds herself pregnant with a baby she didn’t want after the surrogacy falls through.
All three of these women meet at the local Christmas Pudding Club, a club for expecting mothers and they instantly hit it off. I really enjoyed following their different stories and whilst I had predicted a few of the things that would happen I did find myself surprised on more than one occasion. I hadn’t expected to find this so emotional but it definitely brought me to tears numerous times and had me reminiscing about my own pregnancy journeys.
Filled with a whole cast of characters to love, this festive treat was a dream come true. Aside from the pregnancy stories there were plenty of other dramas along the way. We had the cracker factory, Palmer and Tommy as well as the mysterious happenings at Winterworld. I shall be listening to more books by Milly Johnson and adding them to my collection.
December 7, 2018
Loved it as I expected. Milly Johnson never disappoints.
Lovely story with a real sad part to it which was handled in a lovely way.
A good festive read x
Lovely story with a real sad part to it which was handled in a lovely way.
A good festive read x
December 31, 2021
Comfort reading at its finest, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
December 5, 2018
Before I write this review I love Milly Johnson as an author and once again she has written a brilliant work of fiction which relates to any woman who has ever loved. What makes this book different was how the author gives us three women going through the same experiences and made them friends!
I loved this book so much I read it once and immediately went straight ahead and bought the audible version... Yes, it is that good!!
If you read one book this Christmas make it this one, I promise you will laugh and cry in equal measure, with the added advantage if you are anything like me you will reach the last page with a big smile on your face.
Happy to recommend another wonderful work of fiction by one of my favourite authors.
Please, Milly, do not stop writing, your fans need you!!!
I loved this book so much I read it once and immediately went straight ahead and bought the audible version... Yes, it is that good!!
If you read one book this Christmas make it this one, I promise you will laugh and cry in equal measure, with the added advantage if you are anything like me you will reach the last page with a big smile on your face.
Happy to recommend another wonderful work of fiction by one of my favourite authors.
Please, Milly, do not stop writing, your fans need you!!!
November 6, 2018
Oh this brought back such wonderful memories of reading the Yorkshire pudding club for the same time. Women supporting each other, various story lines to get your teeth into and of course that wonderful Yorkshire setting! I cannot stress enough what a salve it is to have Yorkshire dialect and Yorkshire settings mentioned in Milly's books every time. They make me feel like I am visiting home every time I read them and I swear my accent is stronger after I finish each book!
I loved catching up with some old faces as well! It was great to find out how Eve was getting on after the opening of Winterworld and dive back into her world as well. I was so pleased when I found out that she was expecting as well, I enjoyed seeing her journey over the course of the novel. Annie was great to read about as well. I love the fact that she is so in denial about even thinking she could be pregnant initially. I was telling her off a little initially. I love how passionate she is about her business as well!
I think Palma was my favourite character to read about and her thread of the novel definitely had the most drama and had me gasping,. I wanted to mother her and just tell her everything was going to be OK and I am glad that she found some women in her life to befriend and also to give her some of the support that she needed!
There were so many moments that made me laugh throughout this novel. I mean the fact that we have a cracker company in the book means that we have some great cracker jokes but also all of the more embarrassing features of pregnancy and relationships. There are also some very real moments and I think I cried a total of four times. It really was a wonderful read and I really do hope we might possibly get a glimpse of the summer pudding club at some point in the future! If you're a Milly fan then you won't be disappointed and if this is going to be your first then I would definitely recommend ordering her entire back catalogue now-you're going to need it!
I loved catching up with some old faces as well! It was great to find out how Eve was getting on after the opening of Winterworld and dive back into her world as well. I was so pleased when I found out that she was expecting as well, I enjoyed seeing her journey over the course of the novel. Annie was great to read about as well. I love the fact that she is so in denial about even thinking she could be pregnant initially. I was telling her off a little initially. I love how passionate she is about her business as well!
I think Palma was my favourite character to read about and her thread of the novel definitely had the most drama and had me gasping,. I wanted to mother her and just tell her everything was going to be OK and I am glad that she found some women in her life to befriend and also to give her some of the support that she needed!
There were so many moments that made me laugh throughout this novel. I mean the fact that we have a cracker company in the book means that we have some great cracker jokes but also all of the more embarrassing features of pregnancy and relationships. There are also some very real moments and I think I cried a total of four times. It really was a wonderful read and I really do hope we might possibly get a glimpse of the summer pudding club at some point in the future! If you're a Milly fan then you won't be disappointed and if this is going to be your first then I would definitely recommend ordering her entire back catalogue now-you're going to need it!
December 17, 2018
Loved the story
December 13, 2019
Recensione presente nel blog www.ragazzainrosso.wordpress.com
3.5 stelline
Eve, Annie e Palma, tre donne dai caratteri e dalle vite differenti, si ritrovano a essere accomunate dall’aspettare un figlio che nascerà nel periodo natalizio. Le tre si conosceranno durante le riunioni del Christmas Pudding Club, un gruppo di sostegno per future mamme nato dall’ingegno del ginecologo che le segue. Sarà proprio qui che tra momenti imbarazzanti ed esilaranti nascerà un forte legame che le farà sentire unite in una situazione complessa qual è l’aspettare un figlio e le aiuterà a superare le piccole e grandi difficoltà disseminate lungo il cammino.
“Non le importava che non ci fossero più i biscotti, perché il suo cuore era gonfio di gioia, una gioia che lei non avrebbe mai pensato di poter provare. Nulla poteva essere più dolce di quello.”
Il periodo che precede il Natale è, fondamentalmente, un tempo di attesa proprio come se si trattasse di una gravidanza. Il romanzo, infatti, ricalca la gestazione poiché l’autrice suddivide la narrazione in tre parti secondo i trimestri di gravidanza.
Eve gestisce assieme al marito un parco a tema natalizio. Sono sposati da molti anni e l’arrivo di un bambino è un evento decisamente inaspettato. Annie, proprietaria di una piccola azienda che produce crackers natalizi, è quasi in menopausa e vive col rimpianto di non essere riuscita ad avere un bambino. È un’immensa sorpresa per lei scoprire che il suo sogno si è avverato quando ormai aveva smesso di crederci. Palma è una ragazza alla quale la vita non ha quasi mai sorriso. Per lei la maternità non è un evento da festeggiare poiché il suo compito sarà quello di dare il suo bambino a una famiglia che l’ha pagata per farle portare avanti la gravidanza. È indubbiamente la più fragile, quella che si ritroverà più di tutte nel vortice degli eventi quando il piano verrà meno e sarà costretta a fare i conti con la sua condizione.
Originalissima è la trovata narrativa del Christmas Pudding Club, un punto di aggregazione per aspiranti mamme che permetterà alle tre di confrontarsi e di supportarsi a vicenda. Superando le diversità le tre protagoniste potranno trascorrere i mesi di attesa in un clima creato ad hoc per loro circondate da altre future mamme.
Con uno stile scorrevole e fluido, alternando i punti di vista delle tre protagoniste, l’autrice affronta una tematica complessa e delicata, un periodo speciale della vita femminile nella quale non mancano le difficoltà e i momenti bui. Gioia e dolore, progetti di felicità e delusione si intersecano tra le pagine coinvolgendo il lettore, emozionandolo soprattutto dinanzi ad alcuni eventi particolarmente difficili da accettare.
Un romanzo piacevole che profuma di vita.
3.5 stelline
Eve, Annie e Palma, tre donne dai caratteri e dalle vite differenti, si ritrovano a essere accomunate dall’aspettare un figlio che nascerà nel periodo natalizio. Le tre si conosceranno durante le riunioni del Christmas Pudding Club, un gruppo di sostegno per future mamme nato dall’ingegno del ginecologo che le segue. Sarà proprio qui che tra momenti imbarazzanti ed esilaranti nascerà un forte legame che le farà sentire unite in una situazione complessa qual è l’aspettare un figlio e le aiuterà a superare le piccole e grandi difficoltà disseminate lungo il cammino.
“Non le importava che non ci fossero più i biscotti, perché il suo cuore era gonfio di gioia, una gioia che lei non avrebbe mai pensato di poter provare. Nulla poteva essere più dolce di quello.”
Il periodo che precede il Natale è, fondamentalmente, un tempo di attesa proprio come se si trattasse di una gravidanza. Il romanzo, infatti, ricalca la gestazione poiché l’autrice suddivide la narrazione in tre parti secondo i trimestri di gravidanza.
Eve gestisce assieme al marito un parco a tema natalizio. Sono sposati da molti anni e l’arrivo di un bambino è un evento decisamente inaspettato. Annie, proprietaria di una piccola azienda che produce crackers natalizi, è quasi in menopausa e vive col rimpianto di non essere riuscita ad avere un bambino. È un’immensa sorpresa per lei scoprire che il suo sogno si è avverato quando ormai aveva smesso di crederci. Palma è una ragazza alla quale la vita non ha quasi mai sorriso. Per lei la maternità non è un evento da festeggiare poiché il suo compito sarà quello di dare il suo bambino a una famiglia che l’ha pagata per farle portare avanti la gravidanza. È indubbiamente la più fragile, quella che si ritroverà più di tutte nel vortice degli eventi quando il piano verrà meno e sarà costretta a fare i conti con la sua condizione.
Originalissima è la trovata narrativa del Christmas Pudding Club, un punto di aggregazione per aspiranti mamme che permetterà alle tre di confrontarsi e di supportarsi a vicenda. Superando le diversità le tre protagoniste potranno trascorrere i mesi di attesa in un clima creato ad hoc per loro circondate da altre future mamme.
Con uno stile scorrevole e fluido, alternando i punti di vista delle tre protagoniste, l’autrice affronta una tematica complessa e delicata, un periodo speciale della vita femminile nella quale non mancano le difficoltà e i momenti bui. Gioia e dolore, progetti di felicità e delusione si intersecano tra le pagine coinvolgendo il lettore, emozionandolo soprattutto dinanzi ad alcuni eventi particolarmente difficili da accettare.
Un romanzo piacevole che profuma di vita.
December 28, 2018
My first Christmas read this year!
If you have read any Milly Johnson books before you will be familiar with some of the characters. I knew the story of Eve and Jacques from a book called A Winters Tale, this was what drew me to this book initially. Some of the characters are new as well, so it's a good mix of new and old.
The story takes place between the theme park Winterland and the cracker factory. We meet a group of ladies, of varying ages,all with a story to tell.
Right from the start it was easy to connect with the story's characters, and either form a bond or a dislike to them. The story flowed well and it had enough happening to keep my interest and to keep me turning the pages to see what happened and to who.
As someone who had a Christmas baby it made me reminisce, Christmas babies are lovely and bring added poignancy to the Christmas season for many years to come.
The Story.
We meet Eve and Jacque, Palma, Annie and Joe, Tommy, and the girls from the Christmas Pudding Club. All the ladies are having babies around Christmas and we get to find out their stories as the book progresses.
Will all the pregnancies run smoothly? Who will have a boy and who will have a girl or even twins maybe?
A feel good book that makes you feel all the emotions as the characters go through some real ups and downs in their lives. Although it looks and sounds like a Christmas read the Christmas part is not overdone so it could be read at any time without it seeming inappropriate.
Milly Johnson has a real knack of writing books that are just the right mix of fun and poignancy. Worth a read.
If you have read any Milly Johnson books before you will be familiar with some of the characters. I knew the story of Eve and Jacques from a book called A Winters Tale, this was what drew me to this book initially. Some of the characters are new as well, so it's a good mix of new and old.
The story takes place between the theme park Winterland and the cracker factory. We meet a group of ladies, of varying ages,all with a story to tell.
Right from the start it was easy to connect with the story's characters, and either form a bond or a dislike to them. The story flowed well and it had enough happening to keep my interest and to keep me turning the pages to see what happened and to who.
As someone who had a Christmas baby it made me reminisce, Christmas babies are lovely and bring added poignancy to the Christmas season for many years to come.
The Story.
We meet Eve and Jacque, Palma, Annie and Joe, Tommy, and the girls from the Christmas Pudding Club. All the ladies are having babies around Christmas and we get to find out their stories as the book progresses.
Will all the pregnancies run smoothly? Who will have a boy and who will have a girl or even twins maybe?
A feel good book that makes you feel all the emotions as the characters go through some real ups and downs in their lives. Although it looks and sounds like a Christmas read the Christmas part is not overdone so it could be read at any time without it seeming inappropriate.
Milly Johnson has a real knack of writing books that are just the right mix of fun and poignancy. Worth a read.
December 8, 2024
Charming, cosy and captivating, The Mother of All Christmases is another winner from the Queen of feel-good fiction. Exquisitely written, this was a delight to read from start to finish, feeling like I’d been wrapped in a warm, soft blanket of festive joy.
The Mother of All Christmases follows three women: Eve Glace, Annie Pandoro and Palma Collins, who meet at the ‘Christmas Pudding Club’, a group for local mums that are expecting their babies around Christmas. The women strike up friendships, helping each other through not only the ups and downs of pregnancy, but other aspects of their lives. I loved these women. They may be very different people from unique situations, but they found similarities that bonded them and formed genuine friendships. I was rooting for each of them and hope to see more of them in future books.
This was a festive delight and I never wanted it to end. Funny warm and moving, there’s a wonderful, cosy vibe that radiates from these pages and a fabulous sense of community and friendship that runs through the story. I think the secret to some of that is the setting. Like myself, Milly Johnson is a Yorkshire lass and sets her stories here in the North. This gives them a feeling of home and comfort that I love. And I don’t think you can beat the warmth and friendliness of Northerners, which really shines through in this and her other stories. This merges with Johnson’s magnificent storytelling and compelling characters to create stories that never miss time and again.
The perfect Christmas pick-me-up. Add this to your TBR now!
The Mother of All Christmases follows three women: Eve Glace, Annie Pandoro and Palma Collins, who meet at the ‘Christmas Pudding Club’, a group for local mums that are expecting their babies around Christmas. The women strike up friendships, helping each other through not only the ups and downs of pregnancy, but other aspects of their lives. I loved these women. They may be very different people from unique situations, but they found similarities that bonded them and formed genuine friendships. I was rooting for each of them and hope to see more of them in future books.
This was a festive delight and I never wanted it to end. Funny warm and moving, there’s a wonderful, cosy vibe that radiates from these pages and a fabulous sense of community and friendship that runs through the story. I think the secret to some of that is the setting. Like myself, Milly Johnson is a Yorkshire lass and sets her stories here in the North. This gives them a feeling of home and comfort that I love. And I don’t think you can beat the warmth and friendliness of Northerners, which really shines through in this and her other stories. This merges with Johnson’s magnificent storytelling and compelling characters to create stories that never miss time and again.
The perfect Christmas pick-me-up. Add this to your TBR now!
December 6, 2018
When tackling sensitive issues you can always rely on Milly to deliver. There are sensitive and relatable issues in the story that had me in tears. Not being a mother myself I can't understand what these women go through but I have a really good idea. I like the idea of the Christmas pudding club which the doctor comes up with, I still hope that we meet up with these ladies again in another book. They all have their own stories but fate brings them together in this heartwarming and emotional read.
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