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All I Want #1
All I Want For Christmas
ASIN moved from less recent edition
This Christmas, Tori Hammond is on a mission to find love.
Her ideal present under the tree would be a shiny new girlfriend, so Tori gives herself one month to find that special lady by December 25th. Christmas spells romance and she’s going to grab some.
Love Christmas? Love romantic comedies? Then you need to read All I Want For Christmas and prepare to be swept off your festive feet! From the author of international smash-hits London Calling and This London Love, Clare Lydon has crafted another page-turner, bursting with seasonal attitude & wit. Buy it now and get your Christmas on!
This Christmas, Tori Hammond is on a mission to find love.
Her ideal present under the tree would be a shiny new girlfriend, so Tori gives herself one month to find that special lady by December 25th. Christmas spells romance and she’s going to grab some.
Love Christmas? Love romantic comedies? Then you need to read All I Want For Christmas and prepare to be swept off your festive feet! From the author of international smash-hits London Calling and This London Love, Clare Lydon has crafted another page-turner, bursting with seasonal attitude & wit. Buy it now and get your Christmas on!
260 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 27, 2015
71 people are currently reading
1039 people want to read
About the author
Clare Lydon
43 books1,583 followersClare Lydon is a London-based writer of contemporary lesbian romance. She's a No.1 best-seller on lesbian fiction charts around the globe with five full-length novels to her name, as well as writing the All I Want series, set to continue throughout 2016. If you love romantic comedies, prepare to fall head over heels in love.
If you like books shot through with witty dialogue, 3D characters and sharp observations of modern lesbian life, why not give Clare's books a try?
More at: www.clarelydon.co.uk
Get a copy of my free Christmas novella 'It Had To Be You' by signing up to my mailing list here:
www.clarelydon.co.uk/it-had-to-be-you
If you like books shot through with witty dialogue, 3D characters and sharp observations of modern lesbian life, why not give Clare's books a try?
More at: www.clarelydon.co.uk
Get a copy of my free Christmas novella 'It Had To Be You' by signing up to my mailing list here:
www.clarelydon.co.uk/it-had-to-be-you
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 117 reviews
December 20, 2021
Christmas girlfriend.
I can provide a number of reasons to justify why I shouldn't like this book. For example, I think the main character is weak, the romance does not gain any traction until pretty late into the book and there is some borderline cheating involved. But the truth is, I enjoyed this book a great deal.
Tori wants a girlfriend for Christmas so she embarks on a mission to find one a month before. She goes on a series of disastrous dates before finding the right one for her. I've read a couple of books with almost similar storylines, but the difference is that this book is actually funny. I've said before that I really love Lydon's humour. I just click with it and Tori's failed dates left me in fits of laughter multiple times. Lydon also knows how to turn up the heat and not only did I enjoy the passion between the main couple, I'm almost shy to say that I also secretly enjoyed Tori's sexual encounters with the wrong woman. Oops.
The main romance came too abruptly and could have been better developed but what the hell... I enjoyed this too much, I didn't mind one bit.
I can provide a number of reasons to justify why I shouldn't like this book. For example, I think the main character is weak, the romance does not gain any traction until pretty late into the book and there is some borderline cheating involved. But the truth is, I enjoyed this book a great deal.
Tori wants a girlfriend for Christmas so she embarks on a mission to find one a month before. She goes on a series of disastrous dates before finding the right one for her. I've read a couple of books with almost similar storylines, but the difference is that this book is actually funny. I've said before that I really love Lydon's humour. I just click with it and Tori's failed dates left me in fits of laughter multiple times. Lydon also knows how to turn up the heat and not only did I enjoy the passion between the main couple, I'm almost shy to say that I also secretly enjoyed Tori's sexual encounters with the wrong woman. Oops.
The main romance came too abruptly and could have been better developed but what the hell... I enjoyed this too much, I didn't mind one bit.
September 25, 2016
I'm rating this book far off the current average, so it's fair enough to ask 'why'. So I better put something in this review box, eh?
Simple enough reason - and one of the main risks of writing things from only one perspective. In the 'I did this, then I did that' way, deep into this person's thoughts we went. And that simple reason is this: I just plainly did not like Tori, the main character. The others were just side characters during her journey through this book. It is true that it would be accurate to say that there were at least four important characters in this book, but only one has enough 'there' for a reader to get a good idea of who they might be. And, unfortunately, as already noted - I didn't like them.
Those four important characters are: Tori the narrator (27 year old who, because of the actions of a woman who was Tori's last important girlfriend (though not most recent ex), prompts Tori to go down the path this book follows - more later); Holly (27 year old roommate and long time friend of Tori's - to a certain extent a reader, as in me, learned mostly that she's super tall, otherwise I didn't learn much about her in this book); Melanie (the ex who is getting married); and finally Nicola (the woman who Tori kind of thinks of as being her true love - a former BFF (best friend forever) who 'went missing' from Tori's life when they share a kiss at the tender age of 16).
Which leads us to the plot. Picture it, November 25th - a woman learns that one of her ex's is engaged to be married. She, Tori, is currently single. Tori decides that she is going to change this situation - no not go after Melanie, no, she's going to change her single status. She's going to get a girlfriend by Christmas. A tall order considering she has no current prospects. So she goes on a bunch of on-line dating experiences (not sure if it is a positive or negative that none of the dates turned out to be stereotypically bad (or good), nor, for that matter, funny). So that's the plot. Get a girlfriend by Christmas.
This is the book that has lead me to take a break from romances. Because I'm tired of the lead up. That's what most romances are, a long ass lead up to a coupling then poof, let's read another long ass lead up. Which is somewhat ironic since that is why I read this book here, no not for the long ass thing, but because this is the first in a series that involves the same couple. So I'd finally get what I wanted - more time with the same couple after they become a couple. Problem being that I don't want to spend any more time with Tori. I've already spent too much time with her.
One last thought before I go - I might have to stop reading British books. I'm not sure if the things that kept pulling me out of this story were British English things, or just errors. It annoyed the hell out of me that the people in the book kept 'sat' instead of 'sitting'. mmphs.
By the way, I'm sure the answer that will come back, if anyone does 'answer' my annoyance, would be 'well, that's dialect. The author was writing in dialect, and that's just how Tori would speak.' Fair enough. Bloody drove me mad, but fair enough.
Sorry, I'm just being stupid and petty. I just . . . kind of hate Tori. So . . . I'm being stupid and petty.
Selfish full of herself Tori. Ah well. I have the omnibus so I'll probably read at least the second book in the story. Though I'd not otherwise.
Oh, and the whole Nicola thing was annoying.
September 24 2016
Simple enough reason - and one of the main risks of writing things from only one perspective. In the 'I did this, then I did that' way, deep into this person's thoughts we went. And that simple reason is this: I just plainly did not like Tori, the main character. The others were just side characters during her journey through this book. It is true that it would be accurate to say that there were at least four important characters in this book, but only one has enough 'there' for a reader to get a good idea of who they might be. And, unfortunately, as already noted - I didn't like them.
Those four important characters are: Tori the narrator (27 year old who, because of the actions of a woman who was Tori's last important girlfriend (though not most recent ex), prompts Tori to go down the path this book follows - more later); Holly (27 year old roommate and long time friend of Tori's - to a certain extent a reader, as in me, learned mostly that she's super tall, otherwise I didn't learn much about her in this book); Melanie (the ex who is getting married); and finally Nicola (the woman who Tori kind of thinks of as being her true love - a former BFF (best friend forever) who 'went missing' from Tori's life when they share a kiss at the tender age of 16).
Which leads us to the plot. Picture it, November 25th - a woman learns that one of her ex's is engaged to be married. She, Tori, is currently single. Tori decides that she is going to change this situation - no not go after Melanie, no, she's going to change her single status. She's going to get a girlfriend by Christmas. A tall order considering she has no current prospects. So she goes on a bunch of on-line dating experiences (not sure if it is a positive or negative that none of the dates turned out to be stereotypically bad (or good), nor, for that matter, funny). So that's the plot. Get a girlfriend by Christmas.
This is the book that has lead me to take a break from romances. Because I'm tired of the lead up. That's what most romances are, a long ass lead up to a coupling then poof, let's read another long ass lead up. Which is somewhat ironic since that is why I read this book here, no not for the long ass thing, but because this is the first in a series that involves the same couple. So I'd finally get what I wanted - more time with the same couple after they become a couple. Problem being that I don't want to spend any more time with Tori. I've already spent too much time with her.
One last thought before I go - I might have to stop reading British books. I'm not sure if the things that kept pulling me out of this story were British English things, or just errors. It annoyed the hell out of me that the people in the book kept 'sat' instead of 'sitting'. mmphs.
We were sat on our bench at the top of our hill, looking up at the charcoal sky- I would have written that as 'we were sitting on our bench . . . '. I'm the person who is wrong here, right? Well, regardless, that sat thing happened 96 times in this book - well no, the word appears 96 times, but then I actually read the omnibus version that also has books 2 and 3, so some of those sats might be in those books.
Holly was sat at her usual table with a few of her workmates when I walked in.- Again I'm wrong to be annoyed by this, right? Well I'd have written that as 'Holly was sitting at her usual table . . .', but maybe that's wrong in all versions of English. Maybe 'was sat' is perfectly acceptable in American English and every other English out there. *shrugs*
I sat down on the sofa, but couldn't shake the nagging feeling that was sat right beside me.- and I do not even know what that means. The second sat. What the bloody hell is going on here? A feeling sat beside her? Is that it? Oh. Right. Sorry, that's it. A feeling was sitting with her. A nagging feeling. Right. 'was sat'. Was . . . bloody sat. WAS SAT. AAARRGGGH
By the way, I'm sure the answer that will come back, if anyone does 'answer' my annoyance, would be 'well, that's dialect. The author was writing in dialect, and that's just how Tori would speak.' Fair enough. Bloody drove me mad, but fair enough.
She shifted across the sofa so she was sat next to me to emphasise her point.- course it wasn't actually used in conversation but in the thoughts. Or something like that. I think these are supposed to be Tori's thoughts.
Forty minutes later, we were sat on a Tube, clutching cups of hot coffee, eyes wide open.- That's horrible. Get on the train. And someone sits on you. They should have knocked them off. Whoever it was who sat on them. 'We were sat on'. Who sat on you? Was it the coffee. Did the coffee sit on them?
Sorry, I'm just being stupid and petty. I just . . . kind of hate Tori. So . . . I'm being stupid and petty.
Selfish full of herself Tori. Ah well. I have the omnibus so I'll probably read at least the second book in the story. Though I'd not otherwise.
Oh, and the whole Nicola thing was annoying.
September 24 2016
January 11, 2020
funny, fluffy, festive and extremely feel good friends to lovers.
I cannot praise this book enough. It was hilarious and never had a dull moment thanks to our comedian MC and her disaster of a love life.
“Are you honestly trying to sell me insurance on a blind date? ”
This actually happened and it was so funny. All her dates were this level of ludicrous and i loved every minute of it.
"But instead of sitting opposite my date, being charming and laughing at all of her jokes, I was dribbling on a toilet with my trousers around my ankles."
she accidentally dozed off in a toilet stall while her date was waiting outside, once 'sleeping raccoon' woke up from a 35 minute nap who does she run into, you ask? her first love and her friend who are engaged now.
"Note to self: must take steps to try not to become a serial arsonist."
Her one liners kill me. The whole book was so funny i lost the count of how many times i burst out laughing. I will definitely be reading the whole series and then more by Clare Lydon.
I cannot praise this book enough. It was hilarious and never had a dull moment thanks to our comedian MC and her disaster of a love life.
“Are you honestly trying to sell me insurance on a blind date? ”
This actually happened and it was so funny. All her dates were this level of ludicrous and i loved every minute of it.
"But instead of sitting opposite my date, being charming and laughing at all of her jokes, I was dribbling on a toilet with my trousers around my ankles."
she accidentally dozed off in a toilet stall while her date was waiting outside, once 'sleeping raccoon' woke up from a 35 minute nap who does she run into, you ask? her first love and her friend who are engaged now.
"Note to self: must take steps to try not to become a serial arsonist."
Her one liners kill me. The whole book was so funny i lost the count of how many times i burst out laughing. I will definitely be reading the whole series and then more by Clare Lydon.
February 8, 2017
[Sigh. So, this has to be a honest review.]
No matter how I’d liked to, I couldn’t really appreciate this book.
I loved the cover and the idea. An adorable, and a bit crazy girl, in a frenzied Christmas girlfriend quest, running into weird ladies, was working perfectly for me.
But unfortunately, I didn’t like the main character Tori. I could not. During the story, she was superficial, egoistical, petty, disloyal and at twenty-seven she behaved like an immature teenager. The aim was showing a good hearted, flawed young lady, growing up, learning from errors, going from an obsession to the true dream of a healthy, sincere relationship. Again, a nice idea, but it wasn’t successfully pictured.
On one side, the protagonist went too far, without paying any consequences. On the other she was two-dimensional, she totally lacked depth.
At the cost to be considered a prude, there was far too much alcohol for me, gratuitous, occasional sex, and even when sex was intended to be significant, with the right person, it had a vulgar connotation for my taste .
More intensity, more motivation, more remorse, more tact could make this story better. As it is, maybe it could work as a comic strip, but not as a novel.
No matter how I’d liked to, I couldn’t really appreciate this book.
I loved the cover and the idea. An adorable, and a bit crazy girl, in a frenzied Christmas girlfriend quest, running into weird ladies, was working perfectly for me.
But unfortunately, I didn’t like the main character Tori. I could not. During the story, she was superficial, egoistical, petty, disloyal and at twenty-seven she behaved like an immature teenager. The aim was showing a good hearted, flawed young lady, growing up, learning from errors, going from an obsession to the true dream of a healthy, sincere relationship. Again, a nice idea, but it wasn’t successfully pictured.
On one side, the protagonist went too far, without paying any consequences. On the other she was two-dimensional, she totally lacked depth.
At the cost to be considered a prude, there was far too much alcohol for me, gratuitous, occasional sex, and even when sex was intended to be significant, with the right person, it had a vulgar connotation for my taste .
More intensity, more motivation, more remorse, more tact could make this story better. As it is, maybe it could work as a comic strip, but not as a novel.
January 4, 2016
There were parts of this I loved and parts I hated, which leaves me feeling like this is a solid okay. The main romance, when it finally happens, is great and they are super hit together. I wish there were more of it.
Unfortunately, the bulk of the book focuses on Tori trying to find a girlfriend when we all know who she's going to end up with. I'm a HUGE sucker for friends to lovers romances, which is why I read this. The series of dates with the wrong people were great and worked well.
I'm currently on a tear through a bunch of lesfic holiday romances and I suspect this will end up somewhere near the middle of the pack. If you have money to burn and desperately want a sweet and sexy holiday romance, you could do a lot worse than this.
Unfortunately, the bulk of the book focuses on Tori trying to find a girlfriend when we all know who she's going to end up with. I'm a HUGE sucker for friends to lovers romances, which is why I read this. The series of dates with the wrong people were great and worked well.
I'm currently on a tear through a bunch of lesfic holiday romances and I suspect this will end up somewhere near the middle of the pack. If you have money to burn and desperately want a sweet and sexy holiday romance, you could do a lot worse than this.
December 18, 2021
I kept thinking I should get around to reading a Clare Lydon book, but with such a big catalogue I just didn’t really know where to start. When I found this one for free I figured it was a sign to start here. And I have to say, I am happy I did.
This is a good book, but I had some issues with the main character. Tori is just such a drama queen, for lack of a better description. And that just isn’t something I can deal with. I saw the relationship coming from miles away, and I was rooting for it. I also hoped for it to happen sooner and deal with some of the issues that would probably come out of the situation. As it is it’s just more light and fluffy and some dating drama/ fun.
It’s a fun Christmas story that could have had a bit more in the actual relationship department. As for a first introduction to Lydon’s writing, it’s great. The writing flows nicely, the story is fun and it is as just a nice and comfortable read.
I’d recommend this to anyone wanting a fun Christmas story that might be slightly different.
This is a good book, but I had some issues with the main character. Tori is just such a drama queen, for lack of a better description. And that just isn’t something I can deal with. I saw the relationship coming from miles away, and I was rooting for it. I also hoped for it to happen sooner and deal with some of the issues that would probably come out of the situation. As it is it’s just more light and fluffy and some dating drama/ fun.
It’s a fun Christmas story that could have had a bit more in the actual relationship department. As for a first introduction to Lydon’s writing, it’s great. The writing flows nicely, the story is fun and it is as just a nice and comfortable read.
I’d recommend this to anyone wanting a fun Christmas story that might be slightly different.
December 10, 2017
I do love a lighthearted romance. And this was lighthearted.
Let me introduce you to Tory, notorious Christmas lover and creator of drama. Next to her sits a very tall and fashionable character, who had the misfortune to be born on Christmas, hence she is named Holly. She's Tory's roommate and they've been friends forever.
Early on we learn that Tory's adoration for Christmas stems from her deceased father, that she's had two loves in her life: her first crush when she was sixteen, Nicola, who'd turned her back on her after an earth shattering kiss in the library and Amy who was just too mature wanting kids and marriage and all.
Now Tory has been living with Holly recovering from Amy for more than a year. It is the end of November and Tory has the brainy idea to go on search for a girlfriend who will spend Christmas with her because All she wants for Christmas is a girlfriend. This whole idea is triggered by the wedding announcement of crazy Melanie, a friend of both Tory and Holly.
So some interesting and slightly funny but not very successful dates occur. On one of these unsuccessful dates Tory runs into Melanie with her fiancée. And guess who that is. Tory's long lost crush Nicola.
Now some cringe worthy decisions and actions ensue. And through it all Tory shows herself to be a not very introspective and quite thoughtless person. But if I were to give the price for asshole to anyone, it would probably be Nicola. Holly features as the very forgiving voice of reason.
Now the only way I could still laugh and enjoy this was because we all make questionable decisions once in a while and it's nice to know someone is even worse and because it all was written so lighthearted and without (given the angsty circumstances) any angst at all.
Now that is something that needs to be praised but it also ties into the problem I have with the book. I failed to connect to anyone. Until the end, I was on the outside looking in.
Let me introduce you to Tory, notorious Christmas lover and creator of drama. Next to her sits a very tall and fashionable character, who had the misfortune to be born on Christmas, hence she is named Holly. She's Tory's roommate and they've been friends forever.
Early on we learn that Tory's adoration for Christmas stems from her deceased father, that she's had two loves in her life: her first crush when she was sixteen, Nicola, who'd turned her back on her after an earth shattering kiss in the library and Amy who was just too mature wanting kids and marriage and all.
Now Tory has been living with Holly recovering from Amy for more than a year. It is the end of November and Tory has the brainy idea to go on search for a girlfriend who will spend Christmas with her because All she wants for Christmas is a girlfriend. This whole idea is triggered by the wedding announcement of crazy Melanie, a friend of both Tory and Holly.
So some interesting and slightly funny but not very successful dates occur. On one of these unsuccessful dates Tory runs into Melanie with her fiancée. And guess who that is. Tory's long lost crush Nicola.
Now some cringe worthy decisions and actions ensue. And through it all Tory shows herself to be a not very introspective and quite thoughtless person. But if I were to give the price for asshole to anyone, it would probably be Nicola. Holly features as the very forgiving voice of reason.
Now the only way I could still laugh and enjoy this was because we all make questionable decisions once in a while and it's nice to know someone is even worse and because it all was written so lighthearted and without (given the angsty circumstances) any angst at all.
Now that is something that needs to be praised but it also ties into the problem I have with the book. I failed to connect to anyone. Until the end, I was on the outside looking in.
December 11, 2018
Some laugh out loud moments in the early chapters but not enough to keep me cheering for Tori and her quest to find a girlfriend before Christmas. An okay read.
December 12, 2016
2.5 stars
This started out as quite a sweet Christmassy story and I was enjoying myself laughing along with the bad date and dialog however around 30% there was some real moral ambiguity and I ended up losing all respect for the protagonist. Her actions then went on to become very strange in my eyes… i.e (Spoilers) offering the Dixie chick tickets to Nicola.. then slapping her later on in what read as a really odd confrontation .. about nothing really as well I was confused basically and pretty disgusted by Tori’s actions .. I really didn’t know what I was meant to make of it all….
The near end wasn’t much better and I actually felt awkward reading on as I’d really invested in Holly and Toris friendship which felt real.. it sort of regained a bit right at the end but the damage was done unfortunately
This started out as quite a sweet Christmassy story and I was enjoying myself laughing along with the bad date and dialog however around 30% there was some real moral ambiguity and I ended up losing all respect for the protagonist. Her actions then went on to become very strange in my eyes… i.e (Spoilers) offering the Dixie chick tickets to Nicola.. then slapping her later on in what read as a really odd confrontation .. about nothing really as well I was confused basically and pretty disgusted by Tori’s actions .. I really didn’t know what I was meant to make of it all….
The near end wasn’t much better and I actually felt awkward reading on as I’d really invested in Holly and Toris friendship which felt real.. it sort of regained a bit right at the end but the damage was done unfortunately
December 29, 2016
I adored this book. I love Christmas and this book was a perfect way to get me in the mood, I even had my Christmas playlist playing in the background whilst reading… perfection personified. The writing was tight and very descriptive in the parts it was needed, which help with imagining the characters better. The book is written in first person point of view and if you read my reviews often you will know this is not my preferred writing style but with this book it works perfectly. All the characters had their key moments to shine that gave enough insight into their personality that a second POV wasn’t required.
The humour floored me, possibly because it was good old British humour and I do adore a good bit of British banter in a book. This book is the first in the All I Want series and I can tell you right now that January is going to be filled with the Clare Lydon Series. There are currently five books published in the series but from what I’ve read, a 6th book is to be released early 2017.
This is definitely my No.1 Christmas book and I will be pulling it out again next December. I think this would be a great book to start on Christmas Eve…
5 Festive Stars and Partridge in a Pear Tree.
https://lesreveur.com/2016/12/23/all-...
The humour floored me, possibly because it was good old British humour and I do adore a good bit of British banter in a book. This book is the first in the All I Want series and I can tell you right now that January is going to be filled with the Clare Lydon Series. There are currently five books published in the series but from what I’ve read, a 6th book is to be released early 2017.
This is definitely my No.1 Christmas book and I will be pulling it out again next December. I think this would be a great book to start on Christmas Eve…
5 Festive Stars and Partridge in a Pear Tree.
https://lesreveur.com/2016/12/23/all-...
October 28, 2015
Another great read from Lydon. I loved Tori's story, sweet, funny and of course Christmassy. It has everything you'd want in a feel good read.
Lydon is one of my favourite authors because of her ability to write likeable characters, ones you root for while enjoying the story.
I don't want to give away too much about the story but I would definitely recommend giving this book a go. I know I'll be reading it again, you can't beat a bit of romance at Christmas.
Lydon is one of my favourite authors because of her ability to write likeable characters, ones you root for while enjoying the story.
I don't want to give away too much about the story but I would definitely recommend giving this book a go. I know I'll be reading it again, you can't beat a bit of romance at Christmas.
March 25, 2017
Loved this! A happy book for a wet day.
February 10, 2016
Fantastic Christmassy story guaranteed to melt hearts. Now I'm longing for Christmas.
December 3, 2025
A Christmas book where someone gets slapped round the face and there’s still a super cute and happy ending?! Sign me up. Probably took me longer than it should to realise that Nicola was low level trash, I kept giving her benefit of the doubt but as an individual who’s often a sucker for a woman in uniform, I’m not judging myself too harshly. Anyways, good choices were made in the end. Thank God for spilled seasonings.
This really was all about the Christmas spirit too!
This really was all about the Christmas spirit too!
May 23, 2021
The writing was very witty, but there were several unlikeable characters.
October 27, 2015
Detailed score – 3.75 rounded up to 4
I was given an ARC of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review.
I always have such mixed feelings when writing a review on an ARC - a feeling of excitement and honour mixed with trepidation: because I really really REALLY want to like it but – what if I don’t? I either lie (but what’s the point of reviewing if you’re going to do that) or I tell it as I see it and feel like I’m pulling apart a child’s toy in front of them – or something equally horrific - no matter how kind or constructive my review.
So after reading the first 20% or so of Clare Lydon’s new book All I Want for Christmas I was doing a little sick in my mouth. The book is written through a single, first person, lens throughout and Tori, our ‘lens’ was driving me bonkers. Plus it was really bloody obvious who she was going to end up with by the end of the book and I wasn’t looking forward to reading through however many pages of angst and wrong and ugh without any guarantee that the struggle would pay off in the end.
Thank goodness it does.
One thing I don’t understand about the author’s work is the amount of time she spends where our main protagonist angsts about / spends time with / is influenced by the person she’s not going to end up with by the end of the book. It happens again this time around with more of the book spent on the ‘wrong’ one then the right one. And it’s so not necessary. It’s so frustrating because it shadows the good. The smart writing. The tongue in cheek references. The beautiful descriptions of London in full Christmas winter bloom. Grumph. Bah humbug etc etc
So thank Santa and all his elves that when Lydon FINALLY gets around to the real romance she does it really. Bloody. Well. Her pwoarrr moments are particularly well done – just the right blend of romance and connection and heat and passion and…pwoarrr. I would have liked much more of the novel to focus on Tori and Holly and the history of their relationship – even though we were told they were best friends & had been since school I was still left feeling like I didn’t know them well enough to be totally invested in their relationship . Having said that, I was happy to put these thoughts aside for a bit of romantic-comedy esque swoon.
Overall this book is a bit clunky and there are some tropes that I know are going to drive some of you nuts (first person view, a little bit more telling than showing than I’d like, our lead is a bit of an emotionally immature drongo) Having said that, despite its clunks, I liked this book and I’d suggest you could do much worse then shelling out the $$ for this as an early Christmas present ☺
I was given an ARC of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review.
I always have such mixed feelings when writing a review on an ARC - a feeling of excitement and honour mixed with trepidation: because I really really REALLY want to like it but – what if I don’t? I either lie (but what’s the point of reviewing if you’re going to do that) or I tell it as I see it and feel like I’m pulling apart a child’s toy in front of them – or something equally horrific - no matter how kind or constructive my review.
So after reading the first 20% or so of Clare Lydon’s new book All I Want for Christmas I was doing a little sick in my mouth. The book is written through a single, first person, lens throughout and Tori, our ‘lens’ was driving me bonkers. Plus it was really bloody obvious who she was going to end up with by the end of the book and I wasn’t looking forward to reading through however many pages of angst and wrong and ugh without any guarantee that the struggle would pay off in the end.
Thank goodness it does.
One thing I don’t understand about the author’s work is the amount of time she spends where our main protagonist angsts about / spends time with / is influenced by the person she’s not going to end up with by the end of the book. It happens again this time around with more of the book spent on the ‘wrong’ one then the right one. And it’s so not necessary. It’s so frustrating because it shadows the good. The smart writing. The tongue in cheek references. The beautiful descriptions of London in full Christmas winter bloom. Grumph. Bah humbug etc etc
So thank Santa and all his elves that when Lydon FINALLY gets around to the real romance she does it really. Bloody. Well. Her pwoarrr moments are particularly well done – just the right blend of romance and connection and heat and passion and…pwoarrr. I would have liked much more of the novel to focus on Tori and Holly and the history of their relationship – even though we were told they were best friends & had been since school I was still left feeling like I didn’t know them well enough to be totally invested in their relationship . Having said that, I was happy to put these thoughts aside for a bit of romantic-comedy esque swoon.
Overall this book is a bit clunky and there are some tropes that I know are going to drive some of you nuts (first person view, a little bit more telling than showing than I’d like, our lead is a bit of an emotionally immature drongo) Having said that, despite its clunks, I liked this book and I’d suggest you could do much worse then shelling out the $$ for this as an early Christmas present ☺
November 28, 2017
Disappointing
The book started pretty well, it was cute and Christmas-y and the failed dates were embarrassingly hilarious. But then the 'almost' girl from the past showed up and the main character turned completely unlikable. Her obsession with her teenage crush was irritating at best. I wish the story was more focused on the relationship that actually turned out to be the right one instead of putting it in the back until probably around 3/4 into the book and then rush it.
The book started pretty well, it was cute and Christmas-y and the failed dates were embarrassingly hilarious. But then the 'almost' girl from the past showed up and the main character turned completely unlikable. Her obsession with her teenage crush was irritating at best. I wish the story was more focused on the relationship that actually turned out to be the right one instead of putting it in the back until probably around 3/4 into the book and then rush it.
January 4, 2017
A charming and humorous Christmas romance. The main character isn't perfect and at times, it's difficult to cheer for her, but it's hard not to. Will read more by this author.
December 12, 2024
It was fine I guess 🤷♀️ I wasn't really a fan of any of the characters
December 25, 2022
I really enjoyed this book. Tori's dating escapades were hysterical! Holly is wonderful. Melanie and Nicola are important to the story. Nicola being Tori's first love, but it's been a long time since they've seen one another, do they really know one another? Clare has woven a good story! 5 stars!
April 18, 2018
So I am not a fan of Christmas, but I do enjoy holiday books. It makes no sense because I do not get fired up about holidays in general. For me this book was a 3.5 rounded up. I thought it was funny in places, but not as funny as some of Lydon's other books. I thought the characters were okay, and I enjoyed it enough to continue the series. I typically love the friend to lover romance but this one isn't a favorite. Just kind of a light romance, something I would consider a quick read. If you want some easy entertainment, with a few laugh and chuckle moments this would be the perfect book. If you are a fan of Lydon this one will not disappoint. I can easily see why this could be a favorite of theirs.
December 16, 2018
Eh. It was okay on balance I guess. More like a 2.7/5. Here’s some more thoughts, vaguely organised:
The characters don’t have any continuity when it comes to emotions or emotional reactions to other people or situations. Not in a real-people-are-messy kind of way, in a this-writing-is-messy kind of way. It’s constant whiplash because the characterisations aren’t steady. Like the book was written scene by scene without examining how those characters interacted previously. It also did the typical Lesfic™️ thing and totally erased bisexuality, which sucked; and everyone was extremely judgemental, often about looks, which also sucked; Holly and Victoria continually referred to one of their friends as being “crazy” which ALSO sucked; but there was a fairly well-sized collection of queer characters which was a nice change from a lot of ones I’ve read, where everyone is the Token Queer in their life and they associate mainly with non-queers.
The most annoying thing about this for me was a bunch of little clumsy mistakes: like the absolute statement about pre-teen kissing, froth on flat whites, mistaking the trachea for the oesophagus, a professor at Oxford dressing like a hippie fortune teller at a carnival and that this was something she “learned at professor school” — that one especially sounds fake. (Most of these were expanded upon in my reading updates.) In Once Upon A Princess it was chipped plates and mugs being constantly reused in a cafe like that was fine and not a major health code violation. The whole time I was reading I was like, where is the editor?? Why is no one checking the little things, there’s SO MANY small inaccuracies but they add up until it seems not only clumsy but lazy. There’s nothing wrong with the grammar but it needs, idk, life-picking, the way fanfics of British media by Americans often need Britpicking.
Also, it seems none of Clare Lydon’s main characters can look at any attractive women without getting aroused; that’s a whole thing. Twitching clits and rushing between the legs and descriptions of breasts on what feels like every second page, and that also doesn’t feel very realistic. Maybe I’m wrong, but I just roll my eyes every time it happens. And while we’re on the topic of unrealistic: the resolution of Victoria’s love life woes was all at once predictable, unbelievable, ridiculous and fitting. I can’t decide how I feel about it even though I called it halfway. Like there wasn’t enough lead up but any more would have been TOO obvious. It’s usually one of my favourite tropes but it just wasn’t executed very well because there was too much other shit going on at the same time.
It was good that Holly called Victoria out on the fact that she constantly made absolutely terrible decisions that only led to more drama, and it was a conversation that should have led to character development, but we didn’t really see any because of the turns the plot took afterwards.
Anyway. Contrary to appearances, I didn’t hate reading this one. It was a bit of a chore by the end when I could see how everything was going to turn out and I was just waiting to get there but it wasn’t hard to read. And for once an author actually wrote believable dialogue, and the banter was great. But I don’t think Clare Lydon is for me and I won’t be reading any of her other books because I don’t really actually enjoy them.
The characters don’t have any continuity when it comes to emotions or emotional reactions to other people or situations. Not in a real-people-are-messy kind of way, in a this-writing-is-messy kind of way. It’s constant whiplash because the characterisations aren’t steady. Like the book was written scene by scene without examining how those characters interacted previously. It also did the typical Lesfic™️ thing and totally erased bisexuality, which sucked; and everyone was extremely judgemental, often about looks, which also sucked; Holly and Victoria continually referred to one of their friends as being “crazy” which ALSO sucked; but there was a fairly well-sized collection of queer characters which was a nice change from a lot of ones I’ve read, where everyone is the Token Queer in their life and they associate mainly with non-queers.
The most annoying thing about this for me was a bunch of little clumsy mistakes: like the absolute statement about pre-teen kissing, froth on flat whites, mistaking the trachea for the oesophagus, a professor at Oxford dressing like a hippie fortune teller at a carnival and that this was something she “learned at professor school” — that one especially sounds fake. (Most of these were expanded upon in my reading updates.) In Once Upon A Princess it was chipped plates and mugs being constantly reused in a cafe like that was fine and not a major health code violation. The whole time I was reading I was like, where is the editor?? Why is no one checking the little things, there’s SO MANY small inaccuracies but they add up until it seems not only clumsy but lazy. There’s nothing wrong with the grammar but it needs, idk, life-picking, the way fanfics of British media by Americans often need Britpicking.
Also, it seems none of Clare Lydon’s main characters can look at any attractive women without getting aroused; that’s a whole thing. Twitching clits and rushing between the legs and descriptions of breasts on what feels like every second page, and that also doesn’t feel very realistic. Maybe I’m wrong, but I just roll my eyes every time it happens. And while we’re on the topic of unrealistic: the resolution of Victoria’s love life woes was all at once predictable, unbelievable, ridiculous and fitting. I can’t decide how I feel about it even though I called it halfway. Like there wasn’t enough lead up but any more would have been TOO obvious. It’s usually one of my favourite tropes but it just wasn’t executed very well because there was too much other shit going on at the same time.
It was good that Holly called Victoria out on the fact that she constantly made absolutely terrible decisions that only led to more drama, and it was a conversation that should have led to character development, but we didn’t really see any because of the turns the plot took afterwards.
Anyway. Contrary to appearances, I didn’t hate reading this one. It was a bit of a chore by the end when I could see how everything was going to turn out and I was just waiting to get there but it wasn’t hard to read. And for once an author actually wrote believable dialogue, and the banter was great. But I don’t think Clare Lydon is for me and I won’t be reading any of her other books because I don’t really actually enjoy them.
December 18, 2023
A bit of a mixed bag, since there were some things I liked and some things I hated.
I really liked the wacky, shamelessly Hallmark-y premise of a disaster British lesbian trying very hard to get a girlfriend before Christmas, and that led to some very hilarious failed dates xD It's short, it's easy to read, and Clare Lydon really capitalized on the holiday tone and made it, like, as Christmas-y as possible.
The protagonist, Tori, started to get very aggravating in the middle, though. She's a year older than I am but she acts like a horny teenager. Which honestly, you can make a strong case for that being the whole point of the way she's acting in the middle. But her behavior still went too far, especially since she and another character -- trying to avoid too many spoilers here -- kinda do the exact same thing. The other character is correctly dragged through the mud for it, but the narrative brushes off Tori doing the exact same thing aside from a few quick sarcastic remarks about it in the last quarter. It made her seem ridiculously hypocritical. Thankfully, Tori does shape up and start getting better, which was basically what saved this book from a two-star rating.
The main romance itself is very cute and sweet, I was on board with it. It did take a lot of time to get up and running, though. I always appreciate a good slow-burn and I respect the author for making this a more unpredictable romance and giving us a red herring, but the narrative spent so much time fleshing out the red herring plotline that when it came back around to the main romance, its development felt lacking by comparison.
In the end I do think it was cute despite being flawed. It's good if you want a quick sapphic Christmas romance that's more comical and over the top.
I really liked the wacky, shamelessly Hallmark-y premise of a disaster British lesbian trying very hard to get a girlfriend before Christmas, and that led to some very hilarious failed dates xD It's short, it's easy to read, and Clare Lydon really capitalized on the holiday tone and made it, like, as Christmas-y as possible.
The protagonist, Tori, started to get very aggravating in the middle, though. She's a year older than I am but she acts like a horny teenager. Which honestly, you can make a strong case for that being the whole point of the way she's acting in the middle. But her behavior still went too far, especially since she and another character -- trying to avoid too many spoilers here -- kinda do the exact same thing. The other character is correctly dragged through the mud for it, but the narrative brushes off Tori doing the exact same thing aside from a few quick sarcastic remarks about it in the last quarter. It made her seem ridiculously hypocritical. Thankfully, Tori does shape up and start getting better, which was basically what saved this book from a two-star rating.
The main romance itself is very cute and sweet, I was on board with it. It did take a lot of time to get up and running, though. I always appreciate a good slow-burn and I respect the author for making this a more unpredictable romance and giving us a red herring, but the narrative spent so much time fleshing out the red herring plotline that when it came back around to the main romance, its development felt lacking by comparison.
In the end I do think it was cute despite being flawed. It's good if you want a quick sapphic Christmas romance that's more comical and over the top.
December 28, 2019
Quick, fun holiday read. I do enjoy Clare Lydon's humor. Yes - Tori's character is lacking in some ways (she did one really terrible thing that I was ready to strangle her for - which she did remedy in the end) - but she is young and still figuring things out. And let's face it - the "not seeing what's right in front of you" trope has been done many times before. I thought the Nicola engagement part of the story line was real and honest and was glad Lydon wrapped that up the way she did. It's one of those stories where you know almost instantly who the MC is going to end up with - and that's okay. Holly was so damn likable and patient - but wasn't a doormat. Read it all in one sitting and am happy I did. Enjoyed it.
July 25, 2018
I really enjoy reading anything by Clare Lydon- her books have a great 'feel good' vibe and I love the humour: this is no exception!
February 24, 2019
This was a sort of cute story but I found the main character Tori to be insuffereable. I didn't really want her to find happiness because of how much I disliked her by the end.
March 28, 2019
This was fun.
March 25, 2016
This is not really a lesfic-version of a whodunnit (or a whosgoingtobeit), even though it might look like it at first. We know very soon who Tori is going to end up with – we know before she does. But they take their time, so we are allowed to watch how the romance unfolds, and to enjoy Tori’s attempts to reach her goal, while we already know the perfect Christmas present for her. And it is quite a joy watching them with each other before … and then after.
„All I want for Christmas“ seriously is a sweet love story and very christmasy. It is a perfect feel-good-read. As funny and as romantic as Clare’s previous books, has it (very) quickly become my favourite of hers. Therefore I’m really happy I don’t yet have to give up on the loveable main-characters, but am allowed to keep reading about them in not only an additional chapter (available to download via newsletter), but also in follow up novels.
(It is Good Friday, while I am writing this, so I can testify that this story also works at Easter).
„All I want for Christmas“ seriously is a sweet love story and very christmasy. It is a perfect feel-good-read. As funny and as romantic as Clare’s previous books, has it (very) quickly become my favourite of hers. Therefore I’m really happy I don’t yet have to give up on the loveable main-characters, but am allowed to keep reading about them in not only an additional chapter (available to download via newsletter), but also in follow up novels.
(It is Good Friday, while I am writing this, so I can testify that this story also works at Easter).
November 19, 2017
My like and dislike of this book came in waves set off by the main character. Tori sets herself a challenge to have a girlfriend by Christmas and sets about her task by signing up with a dating site. This is complicated by the surprise reappearance of her old school friend who was her first lesbian kiss. The premise is fun and the execution is often entertaining. The problem for me was that Tori irritated me. Written in first person point of view, all the other characters are coloured by Tori vision. I would have liked more insight into Holly but mostly I would have liked Tori to have more insight in general. Fortunately towards the end of the book I found her more tolerable and in the end it wasn't a bad book at all.
December 25, 2016
Not being a Christmas-sy person, I was skeptical about reading this book, but I ended up quite liking it. Christmas romance read on Christmas eve. Although I kind of saw the ending coming a couple chapters into the book, the journey Tori took in her quest for a Christmas girlfriend was very entertaining.
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