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24 December 2013

Review: 'I Heart Christmas' by Lindsey Kelk (2013)

Angela’s planning her very own fairytale of New York…

• Enormous Christmas tree
• Eggnog
• Eccentric British traditions
• Gorgeous man

But Santa’s throwing her a few curveballs – new job (as if it’s not mental enough already), new baby-craze from her best friend Jenny, and Alex determined they should grow up and settle down. Once friends start turning up uninvited on her doorstep (and leading her astray), can Angela really have a merry little Christmas? So much for happy holidays – something’s got to give…

One of the reasons why 2013 has been a brilliant year for all chick lit lovers is the fact that Lindsey Kelk has treated us with not just one, but two fabulous new releases. In the summer, the first of her brand-new series hit the shelves, ‘About a Girl’, which introduced us to a new Kelk heroine, Tess (click here to read my review of the book). It was soon announced that in December we would be treated to the next part in the beloved ‘I Heart...’ series, and I think I wasn’t the only one who unashamedly jumped up and down as soon as I heard this news. Not only am I a big fan of Lindsey Kelk’s ‘I Heart...’ books, but I also absolutely love everything related to Christmas, so as soon as my Amazon order including ‘I Heart Christmas’ arrived, I couldn’t wait to get stuck in!

Angela Clark has done a pretty good job organising her life: she is now happily married to the incredibly handsome love-of-her-life Alex Reid, they have a nice apartment in Brooklyn, she has a job at a women’s magazine she helped launch... And to give everything that extra bit of sparkle it needs, Christmas is coming! Angela is extremely excited to celebrate Christmas with Alex in New York: relaxing in their own decorated Christmas paradise with all the yummy foods and useless television a girl could possibly need. However, things turn out slightly different from Angela’s original planning. Big changes at work, unexpected visitors on her doorstep, a best friend who suddenly decides she wants a baby, and a husband who unexpectedly starts dropping hints about expanding the family... Out of the blue, Angela’s Christmas seems to become a complete disaster and she’s not sure what she can do to save it (unless continuing to eat mince pies in front of your Christmas tree would actually miraculously solve all your troubles)...

The combination of an ‘I Heart...’ novel and Christmas was simply destined to be a recipe for success. At certain moments I was a tiny bit afraid my excitement for this novel would be too much and it would result in a book that couldn’t possibly meet my expectations, but I once again learned to never doubt Lindsey Kelk’s abilities to deliver a thoroughly entertaining and wonderful story. It is so good to be back with this fantastic cast of characters: Angela, Alex, Jenny, Louisa, James... I couldn’t wait to find out what they had been up to and what would happen to them next. In the book, the relationships between on the one hand Angela and Alex and on the other hand Angela and her best friends Jenny and Louisa are explored even further, and Angela finds herself in new, exciting (but also scary) situations. As soon as I started reading I was taken in by everything that was happening and I couldn’t put the book down until I had read the very last words (while shedding tears from laughter multiple times along the way).

Lindsey Kelk is a magnificent author, and I quite simply can’t ever get enough of her novels. They are quick-paced, witty, entertaining and laugh-out-loud funny, and with each part of the ‘I Heart...’ series she manages to drop Angela at the centre of a completely new adventure which I can’t put down. I have only nice things to say about this book, and want to urge any chick lit fan out there to get a copy or to add it as a last-minute gift to your Christmas wish-list. ‘I Heart Christmas’ is a wonderfully festive, laugh-out-loud hilarious, and sparklingly splendid addition to the ‘I Heart...’ series. Definitely one of my favourite reads of 2013, and I sincerely hope there will be just as many books starring Angela and her friends as there are James Bond films!

Rating:10/10


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