Reading Christmas stories around Christmas is a guilty pleasure of mine, so I was excited to have received a free ARC of this novel to read & review. Unfortunately, this was not as Christmas-y as expected. :/

The only Christmas aspects were that the book was set in the weeks leading up to Christmas & the MC worked a photography job where she has a Christmas themed project. Christmas was mentioned here & there, but not a central theme of the story.

With that being said, I still enjoyed the book & felt the author’s way of writing was interesting & honest. She really captured the essence of what it is like to be a woman in this day & age trying to balance so many facets of life. If you get too into your career & have a family you could risk neglecting them & vice versa. I’m not a parent, but this book really emphasized how hard it must be to be a working mother with your own hopes & dreams & to feel like you’re not crushing any aspect if your life/ headed for a midlife crises.

Bits of the book were cliche & predictable, but the ending did surprise me a bit. Overall a happy read after worrying it might be a more bleak ending. I didn’t hate this book, but not my favorite Christmas read. I give it a solid 3/5 ⭐️ s!

A complimentary copy was provided via Netgalley and Bloodhound Books in exchange for an honest review.

Kate has put all her old aspirations of being a photographer behind her until an old friend reaches out to work on the set of a food shoot. While she’s dealing with an awful boss, she’s also got a distracted husband at home, a demanding pregnant influencer sister and a mum rebuilding a relationship with her estranged father, not to mention her 13 going on 30 year old daughter. In the lead up to Christmas, Kate must face her own insecurities and fears all whilst struggling to play her part of mother, sister, daughter, wife and friend.

There are lots of subplots surrounding the main character which kept this novel engaging with plenty of family and relationship drama yet it was easy to follow. Darcy’s writing is conversational and entertaining. At times it gave me Marian Keyes vibes.

Although there was plenty of humour, this is not a fluffy Christmas read and addressed a lot of true to life family tensions and struggles with relatable and flawed characters.

It’s a reassuring novel with messages of forgiveness, second chances and reminders that things aren’t always as they seem.

Immerse yourself in an Australian summer Christmas and a lot of family drama.

It’s not as Christmassy as the cover and title suggest, so it can and should be read all year round!

This book was fast paced and quite involved with many current issues. Not a heartwarming, cute Christmas story! Christmas was the background event. Different, but very interesting. I recommend it.

Christmas Actually 🎄

Overall: 4⭐️
Plot: 3.5
Characters: 4 🧍🏽‍♀️
Spice: 3 🌶️


General overview: Christmas Actually the story of wife, sister, daughter and mother of two Kate who has been wrapped up in mum life for 13 and a half years. Kate a once a determined excellent photographer decides after a temporary job offer from a friend to get back in the business. Is she having no a mental breakdown or has life just caught up with her?
What I loved: I loved the realism of life making people crazy. There were so many moving parts to this but they all flowed so well! I loved Robyn and her pregnancy journey and would love a second book just on her own journey into motherhood! There were twists and turns laughter and a little bit of spice ;)
What I didn’t love: if I book has Christmas in the title I would like a little more detailed description of festivities 🎄
Would I recommend: Yes most definitely ⭐️

Don’t let the cover fool you.

This is no fluffy Christmas story.

A Festive Drama is probably the best descriptor.

Tackling issues such as family, forgiveness, faithfulness, with the Holidays as the backdrop, this book has it all.

Fully fleshed out characters (though, I can’t admit to liking all of them, all the time), a fun mélange of settings, and relatable interpersonal interactions, all combine to make this a complex read.

This is my first from this author, but it won’t be my last.

I found this a very difficult book to get into as I didn't particularly like the main character and I found that some of the events in the plot were a bit far-fetched. Too much really happened and there wasn't that great a sense of Christmas to it either.

Well written and easy to follow this was a fast paced read. Caught up with so many responsibilities plus the upcoming holidays, Kate is an easy character to relate to.

Christmas Actually is the store of Kate, a middle aged mom to two kids and wife to Matthew. Kate spends her days catering to her family. She had a dream of being a photographer but that's been forgotten years ago. When she gets an offer from an old college friend to work on a magazine for a few weeks before Christmas she can't help but say yes. This might just be what she needs to start her photography career again.

But once she goes back to work the lives of everyone around her starts to unravel and she's the only one that keeps it all together for them. There's a crazy amount of drama that unfolds during these few short weeks which make the story quite fast paced to read but also felt a bit unrealistic that this much could go on in one month.

I really enjoyed Christmas Actually but I don't feel the title suits. Yes, it takes place over the Christmas season but that's about all. It certainly didn't have the Hallmark feel I expected. I understand the Christmas cover but even it seemed like a small part of the story. I also felt the ending was a bit rushed.

Unfortunately, I just couldn’t get into this book. By the eighth chapter, I was incredibly board and just couldn’t stick with it. I wish the book would have picked up a bit faster, or had a stronger opening to really draw the reader in.

Christmas Actually by Lisa Darcy.
I love the cover of this book. It's why i signed up for the tour. I did enjoy it. I got into it straight away. This is not your typical romance book. It deals with every day lives leading up to Christmas. I did like Kate the main character. I felt her every frustration. Every emotion. This was fast-paced and witty. This was very cleverly written. I loved the writing style. I did like the ending. I will definitely be reading more from this author

Love actually is one of my all time favourite films so I had to read this book when I saw the title.
Really enjoyable read for me.

Kate Cavendish is stuck in a rut. That is until a former colleague contacts her and offers her a chance to fulfil her lifelong dream of becoming a successful photographer. With her focus pulled in all directions by her children, her pregnant sister, her newly-dating mother, and the niggling worry that her husband might be having an affair, Kate is filled with self-doubt.

Then as the countdown to Christmas begins, and memories of her own childhood resurface, Kate’s anxiety deepens – both personally and professionally. Can she move on from past events and rebuild her future? And can the power of social media finally stop hindering her family, and help her create something successful?

The best part of this book, for me, is how relatable Kate is. Very real characters, real situations, lovely story. I enjoyed the writing. I highly recommend this if you're looking for a holiday story!

I do think the blurb could be more compelling. It reads too much like normal life to me, but maybe that's just me! 🙂

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

What a fantastic heartwarming book to.cosy up with.
Kate is at a crossroads in life with her work,marriage and family. She gets an unexpected opportunity to fulfil her dream of being a photographer the only thing holding her back is herself.
Christmas is always a hectic time and this year Kate needs to focus on herself.
A festive and heartwarming read.

Christmas Actually caught my eye with the festive cover.
Kate was stuck completely in a rut with her life. She knew it and she knew there had to be a way forward to make life enjoyable again for her.
Kate had an opportunity to become a photographer and be good at it. This is her dream in life.
To get things in line with how she saw it should be in her mind. She has a lot happening being wife- mother- daughter- sister all at the same time is a hurdle many women have in their life – Lisa Darcy did a great job of letting readers know it is normal and the book was written to make these challenges possible to work with in our lives.
Thank you NetGalley, Lisa Darcy and Bloodhound Books for the ARC. This is my personal review.

📖 Book Review 📖 I’ll be honest that I had no idea what a mid-life crisis was growing up. I had an idea of the concept that included sports cars but that was about. Now with that big 4-0 number looming on the horizon and feeling the stress of life in the sandwich generation, I totally get the mid-life crisis and it is not just about a sports car and Lisa Darcy has illustrated it so beautifully in Christmas Actually. Perhaps if I had had a book like this earlier in my life, I would have known what was coming my way but at least I know that I am not alone. Lisa Darcy writes characters that are real, raw, relatable with a complexity and depth that readers will no doubt relate to. Christmas Actually is a beautifully written novel about the hiccups and road bumps that come with life and the opportunity for second chances, no matter how old you are.

I received a free copy of, Christmas Actually, by Lisa Darcy. from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Anxiety can make people stay stuck in a rut, change is hard with anxiety as Kate knows all to well. Kate gets a chance at her dream job, a photographer, but will her anxiety hold her back from achieving her dream. I did not care for this book though, cheating is not o, and anxiety, or being lonely is not an excuse.

Kate is down on her luck and feels stuck until she gets the opportunity to realize her dream of becoming a photographer. quick read

I was drawn to the title and the outline of the story, but as I read on was very disappointed. Christmas was a fleeting idea and both the characters and story were confusing and chaotic. I persevered but quite honestly it was a struggle.

I had a lot of hope for this book based on both the title and the synopsis but it is so poorly written and confusing that I had to force myself to finish it.

I have read a couple of books by this author and I sped through them like the speed of light because they were so compelling, and, this was no different, I absolutely loved it, so festive and wholesome