Book Review - A Christmas Caroline by Camilla Isley

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Title: A Christmas Caroline

Author: Camilla Isley

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Author Supplied Copy

Publisher: Pink Bloom Press

Publication Date: 26th October 2021

Rating: 5 Stars

Caroline is a cynic career woman living the high life in Manhattan where love and relationships are but a distant memory of the past.

But after a freak accident on Christmas Eve, Caroline receives a visit from a cheeky spirit of Christmas Past, Present, Yet to Come, and—most importantly—Christmas That Could Have Been.

When she wakes up on Christmas Day suddenly married with three kids and living two doors down from her parents in New Jersey, Caroline has a chance to experience the life she would’ve had if she’d made a different choice.

Will small-town life as a mother and a wife make her fall in love again and rediscover what’s really important in life and?

A modern-day retelling of A Christmas Carol…

Given how many times a festive season I tend to watch a variant of Scrooge, or Muppets Christmas Carol, I think it's rather safe to say I really enjoy the story, and love the modern day versions such as Scrooged just as much. 

So I was rather excited to see Camila Isley had penned her own modern-day retelling. I'm not always a fan of re-tellings in fiction, but wow this one worked and it worked well, although I suppose familiarity with the base story helped. 

And what a story it is, the themes are still present, there is a spirit, and the way it all unfolds is rather clever.  In fact I really loved the way this modern day spirit has of trying to make Caroline see the error of her ways, and show her an alternate way of life. 

And then the ending just had me great big smiling, while also wishing with all my heart that there was an epilogue set a few years later! 

Seeing how Caroline grows over the course of the book, in confidence with her new reality, and in terms of personal development it is really something lovely to see. 

This story was everything I wanted it to be and more.  A wonderful re-telling of a much loved classic story, that I thoroughly enjoyed, and deviates just enough from the original to feel original. 

I'm still thinking about the characters a day later, I enjoyed it that much. Another simply fabulous book from Camilla Isley. 

Thank you to the author for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.