Scan barcode
bookmadjo's review against another edition
5.0
Reading a book by Milly Johnson is like riding a rollercoaster whilst wrapped in a snuggly throw, holding a hot drink in one hand and a book in the other. This book is no exception, I experienced a gamut of emotions from cover to cover. I laughed, I cried, there was intrigue, and drama, death and babies. The title comes from the three main characters, three women who become friends when they join an antenatal group called The Christmas Pudding Club, where all the members are expecting their babies around Christmas.
Interspersed throughout the story were excerpts from a local newspaper, The Daily Trumpet, notorious within the story for having a reputation for unfortunate typos. The excerpts were corrections to articles, and were absolutely hilarious. I laughed out loud so much reading those, some articles relating to the characters within the book, and some completely unrelated. It was a charming addition to a wonderful story, and complemented the book to perfection. I will be buying this book on November 15th 2018 to add to my collection.
I was given this book via Netgalley and Simon & Schuster in exchange for an honest review.
Interspersed throughout the story were excerpts from a local newspaper, The Daily Trumpet, notorious within the story for having a reputation for unfortunate typos. The excerpts were corrections to articles, and were absolutely hilarious. I laughed out loud so much reading those, some articles relating to the characters within the book, and some completely unrelated. It was a charming addition to a wonderful story, and complemented the book to perfection. I will be buying this book on November 15th 2018 to add to my collection.
I was given this book via Netgalley and Simon & Schuster in exchange for an honest review.
harrietrose98's review against another edition
4.0
This is a long book, especially considering that it is a holiday themed romance. But it was really sweet and emotional. A lot of sensitive issues were addressed and it was done well. I felt quite attached to the characters.
I nearly gave this only a 3 star because I didn't really enjoy Effin's storyline and I felt like the plot point involving Clint seemed unrealistic and a bit soap opera-esque. I also felt like some of the descriptions of the characters and their situations fell slightly into stereotypes and prejudices. However, the ending pulled it back for me and I ended up enjoying it a lot more.
I don't think I was really the target audience for this book - I am not a mother, have not been and am not currently pregnant, and am not planning to be any time soon. Those are really the groups of people that this book would be best aimed at I think, as it would be a far more emotional and relatable read!
I nearly gave this only a 3 star because I didn't really enjoy Effin's storyline and I felt like the plot point involving Clint seemed unrealistic and a bit soap opera-esque. I also felt like some of the descriptions of the characters and their situations fell slightly into stereotypes and prejudices. However, the ending pulled it back for me and I ended up enjoying it a lot more.
I don't think I was really the target audience for this book - I am not a mother, have not been and am not currently pregnant, and am not planning to be any time soon. Those are really the groups of people that this book would be best aimed at I think, as it would be a far more emotional and relatable read!
the_secret_librarian's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
rhino's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
toofondofbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I’m fully immersed in my Christmas reading now and my most recent festive read was The Mother of All Christmases by Milly Johnson!
This is a lovely novel following three women. Palma has agreed to act as a surrogate for a couple as she desperately needs money. She’s such a sweet young woman and all through the novel I was wanting life to work out for her. Annie runs a Christmas cracker factory with her husband. She’s in her late 40s and is living with the sadness that comes with having been unable to have a child and now seems to be starting the menopause. Eve owns Winterland, a Christmas theme park and finds herself pregnant and planning her vow renewal service for the festive season!
All three women were such great characters and I enjoyed reading about all of them. The peripheral characters were all so brilliant too – I especially loved Iris! Milly Johnson is so good at writing really believable characters, all of the people in this book felt real and that gave it such warmth.
This book isn’t set entirely at Christmas, it’s more the few months leading up to it but it does still feature a reasonable amount of the holiday period and Christmas planning. There are such gorgeous friendships formed in this book that it felt like it really embodied the Christmas spirit and I loved it!
This is a light-hearted read but it has some real heart-felt moments in it too. The sad moments are handled so sensitively and the real Yorkshire spirit that comes from some of the characters helps bring the novel back to being light, without ever dismissing the harder times. This is my new favourite Milly Johnson book, I very much enjoyed it! I definitely recommend this one!
This review was originally posted on my blog https://rathertoofondofbooks.com
This is a lovely novel following three women. Palma has agreed to act as a surrogate for a couple as she desperately needs money. She’s such a sweet young woman and all through the novel I was wanting life to work out for her. Annie runs a Christmas cracker factory with her husband. She’s in her late 40s and is living with the sadness that comes with having been unable to have a child and now seems to be starting the menopause. Eve owns Winterland, a Christmas theme park and finds herself pregnant and planning her vow renewal service for the festive season!
All three women were such great characters and I enjoyed reading about all of them. The peripheral characters were all so brilliant too – I especially loved Iris! Milly Johnson is so good at writing really believable characters, all of the people in this book felt real and that gave it such warmth.
This book isn’t set entirely at Christmas, it’s more the few months leading up to it but it does still feature a reasonable amount of the holiday period and Christmas planning. There are such gorgeous friendships formed in this book that it felt like it really embodied the Christmas spirit and I loved it!
This is a light-hearted read but it has some real heart-felt moments in it too. The sad moments are handled so sensitively and the real Yorkshire spirit that comes from some of the characters helps bring the novel back to being light, without ever dismissing the harder times. This is my new favourite Milly Johnson book, I very much enjoyed it! I definitely recommend this one!
This review was originally posted on my blog https://rathertoofondofbooks.com
loudgls89's review against another edition
5.0
My love for Milly Johnson grows with every book I read. After queuing up for over an hour and a half in a Tesco in South Yorkshire to meet her and get this book signed, I made myself wait until closer to Christmas to read it, so I could feel properly festive!
The Yorkshire Pudding Club was the first book of Milly’s that I read (10 years ago now!), and this book is very closely related. In fact, the book’s working title was The Christmas Pudding Club. For that reason, it felt very familiar.
Another reason that this book felt familiar was that characters from so many previous booked cropped up in this one. It was really comforting to see the characters again, like old friends, and catch up on their lives, even if some of the glimpses were all too brief.
For a Christmas themed book, it wasn’t quite as ‘snowflakes and happiness’ as I had expected – there was a fair bit of grief and angst that pulled at my heartstrings and had me desperate to give the characters a hug – characters that felt like new friends from the moment we were introduced to them.
Dear, dear Palma was my book-best-friend, I could totally see myself being friends with her, her character was so sweet and thoughtful despite her background. But Annie and Eve were delightful too, even with their own non-perfect back stories, they still just seemed like lovely people to be around.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Milly book without some romance, and I felt like this book had the perfect amount. Rooting for the characters right from the start, with no lying or cheating or anything, just perfect. But for me, the romance wasn’t the main focus of the book, it all boiled down to the beautiful blossoming friendship between Palma, Eve and Annie, and that was the best part for me, you can never underestimate the power of good friends.
The Yorkshire Pudding Club was the first book of Milly’s that I read (10 years ago now!), and this book is very closely related. In fact, the book’s working title was The Christmas Pudding Club. For that reason, it felt very familiar.
Another reason that this book felt familiar was that characters from so many previous booked cropped up in this one. It was really comforting to see the characters again, like old friends, and catch up on their lives, even if some of the glimpses were all too brief.
For a Christmas themed book, it wasn’t quite as ‘snowflakes and happiness’ as I had expected – there was a fair bit of grief and angst that pulled at my heartstrings and had me desperate to give the characters a hug – characters that felt like new friends from the moment we were introduced to them.
Dear, dear Palma was my book-best-friend, I could totally see myself being friends with her, her character was so sweet and thoughtful despite her background. But Annie and Eve were delightful too, even with their own non-perfect back stories, they still just seemed like lovely people to be around.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Milly book without some romance, and I felt like this book had the perfect amount. Rooting for the characters right from the start, with no lying or cheating or anything, just perfect. But for me, the romance wasn’t the main focus of the book, it all boiled down to the beautiful blossoming friendship between Palma, Eve and Annie, and that was the best part for me, you can never underestimate the power of good friends.
emmalynn's review against another edition
4.0
Milly Johnson really has a gift to create the most endearing stories. I was gonna say feel-good but, although this book gave me a lot of fuzzy feelings indeed, there's also very (VERY) sad parts (I feel like I should add a TW but the TW itself would be a spoiler so not sure what to do).
Anyway, I was super excited when I noticed Eve from Winterwonderland was one of the 3 main characters in The Mother of All Christmases but it turned out the parts about Eve are in fact much more about one of the workers at Winterwonderland, Effin and his niece Cariad. And I never really cared about either of them and would have wanted more of Eve herself.
This said the stories about Annie and especially Palma more than made up for this slight disappointment. They were so perfect and gave me ALL THE FEELS. I can't help hoping maybe there will be another book about the continuation of Palma's journey because I really would like to hear more about her and her new family.
Worth noting that all the secondary characters like Iris, Gil, Astrid, all the women from the Xmas Pudding Club were great as well and felt like real characters not just fillers.
Anyway, I was super excited when I noticed Eve from Winterwonderland was one of the 3 main characters in The Mother of All Christmases but it turned out the parts about Eve are in fact much more about one of the workers at Winterwonderland, Effin and his niece Cariad. And I never really cared about either of them and would have wanted more of Eve herself.
This said the stories about Annie and especially Palma more than made up for this slight disappointment. They were so perfect and gave me ALL THE FEELS. I can't help hoping maybe there will be another book about the continuation of Palma's journey because I really would like to hear more about her and her new family.
Worth noting that all the secondary characters like Iris, Gil, Astrid, all the women from the Xmas Pudding Club were great as well and felt like real characters not just fillers.
More...