Kiltie’s Advent Book Calender – 23rd Dec

Make a Christmas Wish by Julia Williams; Avon Books

Page Count (e-book) – 385

 

The Blurb:

Last Christmas, when Livvy was knocked down in the supermarket car park she certainly wasn’t ready to actually be dead! For months now she’s floated on the edge of the afterlife, generally making a nuisance of herself.

And she’s not ready to go just yet! She’s furious about the new woman in her husband’s life and she’s worried about her beloved son who doesn’t seem to be adjusting to life without her at all.

This Christmas, Livvy is given one last magical chance to make everything right. Will she take it and give her family the perfect Christmas?

 

My Review:

This is a book which my Kindle and I had a little argument over. I was convinced I’d read it but, due to the lack of little black dots underneath, my Kindle was equally convinced I hadn’t. It turned out I was right and, what’s more, it was one I’d really enjoyed. I can tell you now, it was just as good second time around.

Charles Dickens first introduced us to ghosts in our Christmas stories and it’s a concept which has been used many times since – some quite successfully, some less so. ‘Make a Christmas Wish’ does it well in my opinion.

Livvy is a character whom you love and hate in equal measure. She can annoy the hell out of you one minute and have you almost in tears the next. She loves her husband so much but, due to being dead, she can no longer tell him so… Or can she?

Adam is / was her long-suffering husband who, over the years, has struggled to find his place in Livvy’s life and Emily is the woman who has helped him heal his bruised and damaged heart. Joe is Adam and Livvy’s son who has learning difficulties but Livvy’s constant battles for his well-being have begun to bear fruit although she has only finally begun to realise the cost of her single-minded devotion.

Livvy is desperate to find a way to become a part of their lives once more and the path there, along with the final results, actually had the wet stuff sprouting from my eyes! I highly recommend tissues be close to hand as you reach the final chapters because you will be smiling and crying in at the same time.

This lovely book is now firmly on the ‘Read Every Christmas’ pile (which has doubled in size since beginning this exercise!) and I think, once you’ve read it too, you’ll put it there too.

Oh, and it also has a talking cat called Malachi! What else do you need to persuade you?

 

Available in e-book and paperback on Amazon