The Night Before Christmas [Paperback]

I have to say the cover does give a festive feel and the title of the book couldn't have been more perfect. One thing I have noticed with many Christmas books is just because they have a festive cover doesn't always mean the story has the same festive feel to it but I am happy to say that this was not the case with this book.

The story is set over the week of Christmas and Scarlett Bailey sets the scene for us with a group of friends celebrating Christmas together in a remote setting and being snowed in already giving us that cosy feeling. This is a traditional realistic Christmas feel to this book rather than the magical Christmas feeling.

There is a real mix of characters in The Night Before Christmas and I have to say it must be the first book I have read where I have liked each and every one of them. Sure they all have their bad moments where we can hear the pantomime boo in the background but because all of the characters are developed so well we just have the attitude that well everyone makes mistakes and HEY its Christmas so we can forgive and forget!
Lydia who is our main character is very down to earth giving that girl next door feel and although she seems to have men dropping at her feet we still feel sorry for her situation. The mix of male characters is very generous in this book so ladies there is a man for each of us hidden in this book. For me this has everything a book needs for a full 5 star rating.

The pace of this book flows nicely with the storyline getting off to a fast pace. For me The Night Before Christmas is a real contender in our Competition despite this being Scarlett Bailey's debut book. For any men reading this review you are on to a winner if you wrap this up for your partner this Christmas!

I am a huge fan of Christmas novels, I love the cheesiness of them, the stories, the settings, they're fab. In fact, Christmas novels are some of the only ones I keep on my bookshelves as I like to come back to them again and again. It's even better when you get a debut author as you don't know what you're going to get, and when I received a copy of Scarlett Bailey's debut book As I said, I was really pleased when it arrived on my doorstep, and despite the fact Christmas is still a few months away, I couldn't resist getting stuck in! It was a fantastic read, and if Bailey's book continue in this vein, then it is going to be a successful writing career because I for one loved it!

The best thing about this book is the fact that it is a Christmas book that is actually set at Christmas. I've read quite a few books in the past with Christmas covers and titles that are slightly mis-leading in that they aren't actually all that festive once you start reading, going back to the summer or being set over a whole year so just the beginning and/or end are the Christmassy part. But this one is set over the few days before Christmas, in a beautiful old country house with some great characters and it really was a joy to read - one I am sure I'll reread over the real festive season actually. Bailey hasn't gone too overboard with the Christmas feeling, but there is just enough description in there to make you know its a Christmassy book, and to give you a bit of a warm glow when you're reading!

The main character is Lydia, who seems to be happily in a relationship with her boyfriend. I really liked Lydia, she was a woman who was quite afraid of commitment despite having a loving boyfriend, but I really liked her anyway. Some of the things she does in the book are a little bit questionable and I wondered exactly what she thought she was doing to be honest!! However, in spite of these controversial choices, she's a nice character and I really enjoyed the way the book followed her. I really did want Lydia to have a happy ending, and although this seems unlikely throughout the book, I had my fingers crossed for her! There are quite a few other characters though, because of the fact it's a group of friends coming together at Christmas, but they were easy to follow and there was just enough of them to create some good stories without being many for the reader to handle.

I really enjoyed the fact that I actually liked the stories of the other characters as well as Lydia's. Quite often in a book with lots of characters, they can all blend into one and become a bit blurred, so that not only can you not keep up, but you consequently don't care about them either. This so wasn't the case for this book. I loved how she covered Alex's pregnancy and its pitfalls at Christmas (no drinking!!) and how her husband mollycoddles her, the disintegrating relationship between the hosts Katie and her husband, and the newly developing one between her other friends Janie and . There is a bit of a twist with Janie's new boyfriend, and I liked how this was done in the book, with its funny moments but also more serious things too. It just added up to making for a great read with lots going on at all times, and it really did keep me hooked.

If you love Christmas chick lit that actually takes place at Christmas, then look no further than picking up a copy of Scarlett Bailey's new novel The Night Before Christmas! For a debut book, it's really well written with a great cast, a wonderful setting and I really wasn't sure how things were going to pan out because of the multiple problems Lydia manages to create for herself! I really enjoyed every page of this book, and really didn't want to put it down, I was so keen to find out what was going to happen next. It's an extremely enjoyable book, and a fantastic debut that I am sure will do very well in the festive fiction market! I definitely recommend The Night Before Christmas, so look out for it now the cold winter nights are drawing in!

Words cannot say how much I loved this book! Lydia, who had always longed for her perfect Christmas is hoping that she might be about to get it at last, by spending the festive period in The Lake District with her best friends and their men. But, already uncertain about her own boyfriend, when an old flame turns up out of snow as the guest of one of her friends, her life becomes very, very complicated - especially when sexy and mysterious Will also arrives on the scene. Full of believable, likeable characters, and actually set at Christmas - unlike many of the other Christmas books, The Night Before Christmas is a funny, heartwarming and romantic tale that is perfect for this time of year.