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The Holiday
Curl up with three enchanting and beautifully written stories, about falling in love and second chances . . .If you had one wish this Christmas, what would it be?Sarah wishes that she didn't feel so lonely.And she shouldn't be - not with her husband Eddie, and their two children.But since she waved goodbye to the bright lights of the big city and moved to the country, her marriage is missing its usual sparkle.And then Eddie's job takes him away from home just before Christmas.Will his absence make her heart grow fonder? And if so, for whom?As seasonal cheer begins to flow, Sarah discovers rather a lot can happen in one holiday . . . especially when it's Christmas.You'll love this novella from No. 1 bestselling author Jane Green - and this edition also includes two more festive short stories by authors Jennifer Coburn and Liz Ireland.________'Would be a lovely book to read at Christmas' 5***** reader review'Excellent' 5***** reader review
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Published November 8, 2012
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About the author
Jane Green
86 books8,749 followersJane Green's twenty first novel, Sister Stardust, is out April 5th 2022.
She is the author of eighteen previous New York Times Bestselling novels, and known as one of the world's leading authors in women's fiction, with over ten million books in print, and translations in over 25 languages.
Previous novels have included The Beach House, Second Chance, Jemima J, and Tempting Fate.
She joined the ABC News team to write their first enhanced digital book— about the history of Royal marriages, then joined ABC News as a live correspondent covering Prince William’s wedding to Kate Middleton.
A former journalist in the UK, she has had her own radio show on BBC Radio London, and is a regular contributor on radio and TV, including as well as regularly appearing on television shows including Good Morning America, The Martha Stewart show, and The Today Show.
Together with writing books and blogs, she contributes to various publications, both online and print, including anthologies and novellas, and features for The Huffington Post, The Sunday Times, Cosmopolitan and Self. She has taught at writers conferences, and does regular keynote speaking, and has a weekly column in The Lady magazine, England’s longest running weekly magazine.
A graduate of the French Culinary Institute in New York, Green is bringing out her first cookbook: Good Taste , with Berkley in October 2016.
She is a storyteller for The Moth radio hour on NPR,
and lives in Westport, Connecticut with her husband and their blended family. When she is not writing, cooking, gardening, filling her house with friends and herding chickens, she is usually thanking the Lord for caffeine-filled energy drinks.
Jane's Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jane-Gr...
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
She is the author of eighteen previous New York Times Bestselling novels, and known as one of the world's leading authors in women's fiction, with over ten million books in print, and translations in over 25 languages.
Previous novels have included The Beach House, Second Chance, Jemima J, and Tempting Fate.
She joined the ABC News team to write their first enhanced digital book— about the history of Royal marriages, then joined ABC News as a live correspondent covering Prince William’s wedding to Kate Middleton.
A former journalist in the UK, she has had her own radio show on BBC Radio London, and is a regular contributor on radio and TV, including as well as regularly appearing on television shows including Good Morning America, The Martha Stewart show, and The Today Show.
Together with writing books and blogs, she contributes to various publications, both online and print, including anthologies and novellas, and features for The Huffington Post, The Sunday Times, Cosmopolitan and Self. She has taught at writers conferences, and does regular keynote speaking, and has a weekly column in The Lady magazine, England’s longest running weekly magazine.
A graduate of the French Culinary Institute in New York, Green is bringing out her first cookbook: Good Taste , with Berkley in October 2016.
She is a storyteller for The Moth radio hour on NPR,
and lives in Westport, Connecticut with her husband and their blended family. When she is not writing, cooking, gardening, filling her house with friends and herding chickens, she is usually thanking the Lord for caffeine-filled energy drinks.
Jane's Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jane-Gr...
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 3, 2025
The Holiday contains three different short stories by authors: Jane Green, Jennifer Coburn and Liz Ireland.
Story 1: Sarah is feeling unhappy and lonely in her marriage and life in general but is she really ready to go it alone?
Story 2: Sarah is newly married to her husband Reilly but she can’t help stressing about his ex wife - does she want him back?
Story 3: Holly is finally looking forward to Christmas this year as she has a boyfriend to bring home. But things aren’t looking that Christmassy when they arrive...
The Pro's:
1) There are 3x different stories one from each author
2) Obviously you get the Christmassy vibes as each story is set around the holidays
3) It’s a great mix of stories
The Con's:
1) One story seemed to end a bit too abruptly for me - I felt like it needed a bit more of a follow up
2) One story was a bit OTT with the FMC’s behaviour but weirdly I liked it!
3) In two of the stories the FMC is called Sarah... would have made it less confusing if they had different names.
The Quotes:
1) Story one: Holiday by Jane Green
Sarah hasn’t got the energy for another fight. She’s only just got the energy to get through each day intact. She now knows what single parents must go through, how hard it must be, yet in some ways she thinks she has it harder because she has this added extra burden.
2) Story two: The Second Wife of Reilly by Jennifer Coburn:
Sarah, this is absurd. If there is something wrong with you or this marriage, focus on that - not a phantom ex-wife who poses absolutely no threat to you.
3) Story three: Mistletoe and Holly by Liz Ireland:
I may be twenty-eight, but I’m a five-year-old when it comes to Christmas. The sight of a trimmed tree fills me with unrealizable expectations holiday bliss, an affliction I blame it on overexposure to those schmaltzy TV commercials and Christmas movies.
The Summary:
The Holiday is a mix of three different stories set over the Christmas holidays. I definitely got the Christmas vibes but the stories obviously have different focuses. They do all centre around their relationships and both the joys and stresses of them and the Christmas holidays. In the story Holiday I really understood Sarah’s thoughts on her marriage and how she felt - it was told so well. In the story The Second Life of Reilly, it shows Sarah (different character) obsessing over her new husbands ex-wife and how it can make you do crazy things - it’s a bit OTT but I weirdly liked it lol. Then the 3rd story Mistletoe and Holly focused on Holly bringing home a new boyfriend, looking forward to a Hallmark Christmas but it’s not looking too Christmassy when they arrive...
Whilst I wouldn’t say the book was a must read, I did enjoy the stories.
Summed up in a sentence?:
3x short Christmas stories by 3x different authors.
I rated the book 3 stars.
Story 1: Sarah is feeling unhappy and lonely in her marriage and life in general but is she really ready to go it alone?
Story 2: Sarah is newly married to her husband Reilly but she can’t help stressing about his ex wife - does she want him back?
Story 3: Holly is finally looking forward to Christmas this year as she has a boyfriend to bring home. But things aren’t looking that Christmassy when they arrive...
The Pro's:
1) There are 3x different stories one from each author
2) Obviously you get the Christmassy vibes as each story is set around the holidays
3) It’s a great mix of stories
The Con's:
1) One story seemed to end a bit too abruptly for me - I felt like it needed a bit more of a follow up
2) One story was a bit OTT with the FMC’s behaviour but weirdly I liked it!
3) In two of the stories the FMC is called Sarah... would have made it less confusing if they had different names.
The Quotes:
1) Story one: Holiday by Jane Green
Sarah hasn’t got the energy for another fight. She’s only just got the energy to get through each day intact. She now knows what single parents must go through, how hard it must be, yet in some ways she thinks she has it harder because she has this added extra burden.
2) Story two: The Second Wife of Reilly by Jennifer Coburn:
Sarah, this is absurd. If there is something wrong with you or this marriage, focus on that - not a phantom ex-wife who poses absolutely no threat to you.
3) Story three: Mistletoe and Holly by Liz Ireland:
I may be twenty-eight, but I’m a five-year-old when it comes to Christmas. The sight of a trimmed tree fills me with unrealizable expectations holiday bliss, an affliction I blame it on overexposure to those schmaltzy TV commercials and Christmas movies.
The Summary:
The Holiday is a mix of three different stories set over the Christmas holidays. I definitely got the Christmas vibes but the stories obviously have different focuses. They do all centre around their relationships and both the joys and stresses of them and the Christmas holidays. In the story Holiday I really understood Sarah’s thoughts on her marriage and how she felt - it was told so well. In the story The Second Life of Reilly, it shows Sarah (different character) obsessing over her new husbands ex-wife and how it can make you do crazy things - it’s a bit OTT but I weirdly liked it lol. Then the 3rd story Mistletoe and Holly focused on Holly bringing home a new boyfriend, looking forward to a Hallmark Christmas but it’s not looking too Christmassy when they arrive...
Whilst I wouldn’t say the book was a must read, I did enjoy the stories.
Summed up in a sentence?:
3x short Christmas stories by 3x different authors.
I rated the book 3 stars.
December 2, 2025
Liked all 3 stories… think the 2nd was my fave. Or the 3rd. lol they were all quick read Christmas stories that I enjoyed.
December 12, 2023
Nice collection of books - I preferred the first and third books the most though. It's a nice easy Christmas read!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews