View source for All I Want For Christmas by Amy Silver

{{infobox1
|title=All I Want For Christmas
|author=Amy Silver
|reviewer=Jo Heffer
|genre=Women's Fiction
|summary=Christmas is the time of festive cheer – or is it? As Christmas approaches, three young women view it in very different ways. Bea, Olivia and Chloe all have good reasons to view the oncoming festivities with trepidation but, you never know, this could just turn out to be the best Christmas ever!
|rating=4.5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=336
|publisher=Arrow Books Ltd
|date=November 2010
|isbn=978-0099553229
|cover=0099553228
|aznuk=0099553228
|aznus=0099553228
}}


In Amy Silver's 'All I Want for Christmas', the reader meets three very different women. Bea, who runs the local delicatessen, The Honey Pot, is facing Christmas alone with her young son Luca but is determined to make it as good as she possibly can. Olivia has somewhat rashly offered to host all of her fiancé's family from Ireland and it looks like it will be chaotic. On the other hand, Chloe will be celebrating alone, as her boyfriend will be sitting down to Christmas dinner with his wife and family. Although on the surface, the three women appear to have little in common, as Christmas approaches they start to form a bond that is likely to last well beyond the festive season.

It did take me a while to get into this book but I am glad that I stuck with it because, by the end, I loved it. I loved the way that the characters developed over the course of the book and by the end, I decided that they were all very likeable. (I did not think this about them all at the start). I really enjoyed the way the three women each had their own individual storyline and how these were interwoven throughout the book. The contrasting stories really complemented each other extremely well too.

The book started on the 14th December and went up to the end of Christmas Day so it only spans a short amount of time. The book was divided into twelve chapters each covering a different day and each of these was split up to cover what was happening to all three women. I liked the way it was set out like this and it felt that the story really gained momentum as Christmas Day drew nearer.

The characters were very believable and as I got to know them I really wanted things to turn out well for them. There were enough differences between the three women to make them interesting and entertaining for the reader, and with a varied assortment of minor characters, Amy Silver managed to build a wonderful cast.

I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to The Bookbag.

All I Want for Christmas is a light and enjoyable read. It won't stretch you too much as a reader, but in the run-up to Christmas, with so much else going on, it could be perfect reading material. Also, if this book appeals, you will probably enjoy [[Last Christmas by Julia Williams]].  You might also enjoy [[A Merry Little Christmas by Julia Williams]].

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