🎄 Novel Of The Week [Christmas Edition]: Twelve Days of Christmas by Trisha Ashley

As the book cover says: the countdown has begun... It's 4 weeks to Christmas day! Have you already bought all the presents or are just starting to decide what to buy?

Christmas isn't exactly the best time of the year for Holly Brown: is a young widow (just like her homonym in P.S. I Love You by Cecilia Ahern) and she just lost her grandmother, the woman who raised her. She lost everyone who was dear to her in this particular time of the year, so all she wants is to be left alone with her grief. Plus she grew up without celebrating Christmas like everyone else: there were no Christmas dinners nor presents exchanges when she was younger, so that why she’s more than happy to work during Christmas festivities as house-sitter, even if she’s an affirmed chef.

After her Scotland job got canceled, Holly gets a last minute call for house sitting in Lancashire: she has to take care of an enourmous house while his owner (a renowned artist, with a very inconstant nature) along with his old dog, Merlin, a horse named Lady and...who the hell is Billy?

What should have been a two weeks of light work and resting turn in a Christmas marathon: meals to prepare, unexpected and unwanted guests and a lot of family's dramas and secrets!

What I liked

It has good detailed descriptions, characters with individual personalities and it's a fluent and easy read. Long story short: technically, it's a excellent written and structured novel.

What I did not like

It has a lot of characters and I think the novel would have worked just fine (if not better!) with half of them...I found myself confused in a lot of parts, asking myself "who is this one again?". The only positive character is the old dog! There're 8 adults and a 13 years old girl and none of them (not even the leading female and male protagonists) is kind or altruistic: they're all egocentric and selfish, wanting nothing but their own win over the others.

The Christmas atmosphere is there, you can feel it, but it gets lost under the anger and rancor that drive all the characters choices. Even so, I truly liked this novel, it's perfect for an early winter season read and it makes you appreciate the good things in your life even more, but to get to that you'll to go through a lot of hate towards some characters.

My Vote: 7/10

Photo credit: amazon.com & homesoftherich.net