One Family Christmas
One Family Christmas
By Bella Osborne
A festive read full of love, laughter and heartache that will leave you feeling all festive and warm inside.
Published: 15th October 2020 in both ebook, paperback & audio. (Avon UK)
Book Review, no spoilers I swear!!!
First off this is my first Christmas book of 2020 and boy am I excited for the winter period now. After everything that has happened this year, a festive read is exactly what we need and a bloody good one at that. Well look no more my fellow bookworms for this Christmas read written by Bella Osborne is the book for you! If you love a romantic, funny read with family dramatics and plenty of intrigue then this is definitely a book you should look into and maybe add to your wish list?
But before I tell you more about how much I loved this book perhaps I should tell you what its about...
The Blurb:
A big family. A whole lot of secrets. A Christmas to remember…
This year, Lottie is hosting one last big family Christmas at the home she grew up in – just like her Nana would have wanted.
But when her relatives descend on the old manor house, Lottie gets more than she bargained for. Every family has its secrets, but in this family, everybody has one!
So, between cooking a Christmas dinner, keeping tensions at bay and a stray dog out of mischief, she has plenty on her plate (and not just misshapen sausage rolls and a frozen turkey). And then her first love shows up – nine years after he walked out of her life.
Can Lottie make their last family Christmas one to remember… for the right reasons?
A festive treat to curl up with this Christmas, perfect for fans of Milly Johnson and Trisha Ashley.
Thoughts:
Well. It's fair to say that I loved this book! I loved the writing, the concept and how in fact every time I read Osborne's books they just seem to get better and better!
I have a rather large family and I can safely say that Chrimbo with the Daniels is very similar to the Christmas with the Collins except we seem to wind each other up so much that some members go outside to have a sneaky cigarette, whereas other sneak off to the pub, or if you're me, hide in the kitchen to calm down and steal some pigs in blankets while petting the very large, mischievous, golden lab, Nell.
So reading about the Collin's family Christmas I couldn't help but laugh along at the antics and misfortune that seems to follow them throughout the Christmas period. One Family Christmas is a book about family, friendship and the highs and lows of exposing hidden secrets and is a book that I think we can all relate to in terms of big family gatherings.
The book starts with Lottie Collins who is trying to have one final family Christmas before everything changes but that it easier said than done as soon as family member after family member shows up does Lottie begin to see that cooking, hosting and keeping the peace between certain family members is going to be a lot harder than her Late Nana had shown.
What I love about Osborne's writing is that not only does the story follow Lottie but also other family members which allows us as a reader to see each character individually in a way that makes the story flow with ease. Another thing which I liked about exploring the range of characters over the Christmas period was that I got to create a judgement of these characters and learn about them. Therefore, when the secrets were eventually spilled, I got to see the characters in different light, a flawed and unpolished side which unveils these characters in an unfiltered way making them relatable and real.
The secrets are a mixture of funny and sad. The fun secrets had me laughing so loud and the humour and quick wit of Osborne's writing delivers this perfectly while the sad secrets are painfully real and brings heartache and sorrow into the story. Dealing with grief and loss. The secrets in which our characters hold make you question why they are afraid of telling them and I believe its just like any other reason why we don't tell our own family our secrets and its because of judgement. Lottie and the rest of the Collins are afraid of judgement from there loved ones.
I mean I haven't told my grandad that I have a tattoo (he hates them!) I've kept it a secret for two years, my Aunty got away without him knowing about her's for seven years until she went into labour, I'm aiming for eight years without him knowing.
Anyway! What can I say without spoiling this book?
I can say that I loved it.
I wished there was more.
Dave was my absolute fav, alongside Zach followed by Jessie and Lottie and the rest of the clan.
So if you love Christmas, family dramas and romance then this is the book for you. It has everything a Christmas should be and more and I would love to see this as a film like just the way Osborne writes it felt like I was watching a film play out in front of me and I loved it ever so much! I'm literally in the festive mood now and really don't want to read anything that isn't festive until the new year now.
Overall a cracking festive read that if you are to read this might I suggest you get wrapped up in your favourite Christmas pjs, a hot drink and some biscuits as this is the only way to read a festive read like this, (in my experience anyway). Again, thank you to Netgalley and Avon for the ARC, all opinions have been my own and unbiased.
Rating: 4.5* out of 5
I'd read a sequel!
I'm also going to buy the paperback too because it'll be a book I'll be revisiting.
After all tomorrow is another day spent reading,
Till next time,
Phoebe x
You can pre-order One Family Christmas now from Amazon in a range of formats here.