My Synopsis in a Nutshell

A Christmas to Remember is a wonderful holiday story about love, life and learning to say yes to the things that matter most in your life. I absolutely adored this novel, it’s the perfect holiday romance!

The Details

A Christmas to Remember by Jenny Hale

Release Date: October 10, 2014

Publisher: Bookouture

Kindle Edition: 316 pages

What’s the Story?

A beautiful story about the magic of childhood Christmas memories, the strength of family and falling in love when you least expect it.

Everyone loves Christmas – don’t they?

Carrie Blake loves her job as a nanny but, while her friends are settling down, all of Carrie’s spare time is spent with other people’s families. Though it breaks her heart, her New Year’s resolution is to embark on a new career and fix her love life.

As Carrie starts her last job, she’s sure she’ll be going out on a high – the house is amazing , the kids are adorable, and she’s in charge of decorating the tree!

The only problem could be her boss… single-dad Adam Fletcher might be both handsome and successful, but he’s always working. Doesn’t he realise he’s missing out on precious moments with his son and daughter?

As Adam’s family arrive for Christmas including his sensitive sister, Sharon, and his fun-loving elderly Grandpa, Walter, Carrie realises that she might just have found the perfect allies in her quest to persuade Adam to loosen up. There’s still time for Carrie to make this the best Christmas ever… after all, Christmas is the time for miracles, isn’t it? Let the festivities begin!

My Review

Carrie Blake has been a nanny for ten years and although she adores caring for children, she yearns for the one thing she hasn’t managed to find yet; a family of her own. Although Carrie is an expert at caring for children, her own personal life is a mess. At 33 she has no semblance of a social life, spends all of her time with children and hasn’t had a romantic interest in ages. Where will she find the time to meet her match if she never spends time with other adults? Carrie turns to self-help books to try to organize her life and ease her anxiety. ‘With children, Carrie was a natural – but in her own life, she felt helpless. When it came to her personal life, Carrie felt as though she could never quite get it right.’ ‘Perhaps that was why she read so many of her self-help books. She was always looking for a way to make her life work.’

When she takes a job with a new boss Adam Fletcher, Carrie decides this will be her last job as a nanny before she figures out what she’s going to do with her life. As she begins to care for Adam’s children, Carrie knows in her heart that she needs to not only change the behavior of his children, but that Adam needs some adjustments too. Will she be brave enough to tell him what he needs to hear? ‘His two children and that lovely house were there, just waiting for him to make memories, and it seemed that he didn’t even realize it.’

Carrie slowly becomes more comfortable in the Fletcher’s home and gains confidence to put Adam in his place by telling him what his family needs and craves most; his love and affection. While things might be looking up in the Fletcher household, her personal life is still non-existent. Will she ever feel comfortable with who she is enough to just be herself? Above all, she genuinely craves a man that she can be herself around and create a family with, but will she realize that that’s not something that a book can teach you and do for you? ‘She’d learned about things like how to focus when under pressure, how to fall asleep quickly, and how not to organize a closet, but no matter how much she read, she found something else about herself that needed fixing.’

A Christmas to Remember is a heart-warming, touching story that made me feel like I was actually there, taking it all in. The most beautiful concept of the novel is the importance behind making memories and that we only have one chance to make each moment a memory that will last forever. I’ll admit that there were many laughs and even a few tears on my end while reading this novel. This isn’t the first holiday novel I’ve read this season, and it certainly won’t be the last, but it is definitely one that is completely necessary, entirely wonderful and is sure to be enjoyed by all. It’s the perfect holiday story and I highly recommend it to anyone that enjoys holiday romance novels!

Side note: All quotes have been pulled from a pre-published review copy. I apologize if any excerpts did not make it into the final published novel, however, they will give you a sense of the overall feel of the book and I’m sure that you will absolutely love it!

My Rating: 5/5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review!

About the Author

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Jenny Hale