A review by effy
Make the Season Bright by Ashley Herring Blake

5.0

 

5 years ago, Charlotte Donovan was about to marry her best friend and the love of her life when instead she was left at the altar with no explanation from her fiancee. Brighton Fairbrook has been living in Nashville since she left Charlotte at the altar, hoping to make her music take off but instead finding herself booted from the band that she started and serving drinks at one of Nashville’s many venues. When Charlotte’s friend discovers that she had planned to spend Christmas alone in New York, she is dragged to spend Christmas with her family; unfortunately for her, Brighton’s parents aren’t going to be home this year so her friend has also invited her to spend Christmas with her. Things are about to get really awkward.

Ashley Herring Blake has such a great way of writing books with compelling characters and complex dynamics that feel so believable. I was immediately sucked into this story and enjoyed the way that it started in media res so we got a great grasp on just who Charlotte is and how she feels as though she has a Christmas curse, partially perpetuated by Brighton leaving her at the altar five years ago. Having not read the blurb before jumping into the book, I was surprised that our second perspective was Brighton herself and wasn’t sure how I felt about her getting another chance but Blake does an incredible job of building the narrative throughout the story so readers understand that things aren’t quite as black and white as they first seem.

I really adored the fact that the resolution of the story wasn’t an abandoning of their dreams for either woman but rather a gradual understanding that they could both get what they wanted with a little bit of a new perspective. Seeing these character come to a compromise that meant they were both winning was so beautiful to see and a really satisfying ending.