The Christmas Wish: Book Review
If you’re looking for a holiday book to add to your holiday reading list, then look no further! The Christmas Wish, the latest novel by Lindsey Kelk, is pitch perfect. Filled with lots of laughs and complicated feelings, this holiday read is one you won’t soon forget. Find out why this family dramedy should be on the top of your Christmas book stack!
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The Christmas Wish: Synopsis
The past few months have been the worst of Gwen Baker’s life. Not only did relationship end abruptly, she’s probably about to lose her job, the same job she sacrificed the past 10 years of her life to get and keep! How could Michael have cheated on her? Better yet, how dare he ask her to move out?
Now she’s living in a terrible flat and surviving off takeout and tubs of ice cream. To make matters worse, she got into a smidge of trouble at work when she chucked a stapler at one of the firm’s biggest clients. More time in that tiny flat did nothing for her already crabby mood.
Needless to say, she’s not in the merriest of moods. But there’s no getting out of a Baker family Christmas. Maybe being with her family will help elevate her mood, but chances are it will do just the opposite. She gets along well enough with her parents, and her and Manny, her cousin/brother, are thick as thieves. But Gwen and her sister, Cerys, are sworn enemies. They’re likely to fight before you can say Jack Frost.
Sure enough, Christmas Day is a nightmare. Not only does her sister and brother-in-law spill the beans about her work hiatus, she totally blows it with Dev, her childhood crush who happens to live next door. Lucky for Gwen, she’ll get a chance to relive Christmas Day again…and again…and again.
Read More Holiday Book Reviews
That’s right! Gwen’s somehow gotten stuck in a time loop, destined to relive the same disastrous Christmas Day over and over until she figures out how to get out of this nightmare. Someone must have wished this on her, but who? Whoever found the sixpence in the Christmas pudding, that’s who!
Determined to break the spell, Gwen sets out to discover what each of her family member’s Christmas wish would be. What she learns about her family is eye-opening. But what she learns about herself is life-changing. Turns out it’s her own Christmas wish that’s destined to come true!
The Christmas Wish: Musings
OMG, this book is SO good! I can’t tell you the number of times I laughed aloud (quite loudly) at Kelk’s writing. Sharp, sarcastic British humor is my jam, and this book served it up in a supersize tub. More of a family dramedy than romcom, this book delivers on the holiday hijinks. It’s like every Christmas comedy you ever loved made a baby with a Hallmark movie. Seriously though, The Christmas Wish is everything I wanted in a holiday book and more!
Most will presume this is a romcom. While it is a romance book at it’s core, I suspect most hardcore romance readers will be disappointed by the lack of steam. I loved that the romance, while a key part of the book, was not the main focus. I enjoyed the slow burn relationship between the two love interests, made better by the replay effect. It reminded me of 50 First Dates, a movie I absolutely love. In the end, this hometown romance between childhood best friends brings a lot of warmth to an already heartfelt story.
At the heart of the book is Gwen’s own self-discovery journey. Gwen must find her way back to her true self before she can move forward in time. And through her experience, the reader gets to reflect on their own choices in life. Her journey felt so relatable, and her existential crisis, while fictional, was not unlike what most 30-year-olds experience. I, for one, know what a brutal post-breakup Christmas feels like. Answer = not good.
Kelk’s use of magical realism works really well in The Christmas Wish, adding drama to the plot. At the center of this family is a lot of love but also lots of resentment and hurt. While hysterically funny, the time loop spurs Gwen to analyze her own life and her relationship, or lack thereof, with her family. We’ve all felt disconnected from loved ones at times, and what better time than Christmas to reconnect.
The Christmas Wish: Rating
I absolutely adored The Christmas Wish and want EVERYONE to read this book. Having never read any of Kelk’s work before, I can honestly say I had no idea what to expect. But this heartfelt and heartwarming story is perfect for the holiday reading list! I am forever a Lindsey Kelk convert! Thanks to Harper 360 for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion!
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