Twelve Days of Christmas
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Twelve Days of Christmas
Christmas has always been a sad time for young widow Holly Brown, so when she's asked to look after a remote house on the Lancashire moors, the opportunity to hide herself away is irresistible – the perfect excuse to forget about the festivitiesChristmas has always been a sad time for young widow Holly Brown, so when she's asked to look after a remote house on the Lancashi...more
ebook, 416 pages
Published
October 28th 2010
by HarperCollins Publishers
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I was a bit dubious about this book before I read it because I disliked 'Chocolate Wishes', the book I had previously read by the same author but as it's Christmas, I had to give it a read and I'm very glad that I did - I didn't even mind the mention of Chocolate wishes themselves! I adored this book from start to finish. The book was certainly festive and I really enjoyed the plot. I found the writing style a bit hard to get used to at first as I kept forgetting it was written in first person, ...more
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Christmas has always been a sad time for young widow Holly Brown, so when she's asked to look after a remote house on the Lancashire moors, the opportunity to hide herself away is irresistible – the perfect excuse to forget about the festivities.
Sculptor, Jude Martland, is determined that this year there will be no Christmas after his brother runs off with his fiancée and he is keen to avoid the family home. However, he will have to return by the twelfth night of the festivities, whe...more
Sculptor, Jude Martland, is determined that this year there will be no Christmas after his brother runs off with his fiancée and he is keen to avoid the family home. However, he will have to return by the twelfth night of the festivities, whe...more
The prologue to the book sets the scene. Holly Brown is a young widow whose husband was killed in a tragic accident just before Christmas. Holly's parents died when she was young and she was raised by her Grandparents. Holly's Grandmother had been ill and as she passed away she mentioned a name of Ned Marland. A name completely unfamiliar to Holly.....
Holly housesits for a living during the winter and works as a chef during the rest of the year. Due to her upbringing and her deepset ...more
Holly housesits for a living during the winter and works as a chef during the rest of the year. Due to her upbringing and her deepset ...more
This was my second seasonal read, and I really liked it. The plot is fairly simple and it plods along quite contentedly. I've seen other reviewers criticise this book because not a lot happens, I found myself enjoying the book for this very reason. The book is set in a tiny sleepy village full of mildly eccentric characters, I think this is the reason I got so drawn into the book - as a country girl I could really identify with the book.
I enjoyed Holly as a character though I couldn't ...more
I enjoyed Holly as a character though I couldn't ...more
Not the normal genre of book I’d read; blame it on jetlag or the cold weather. Yet if a book hits The Sunday Times Bestseller list, there must be a reason...
The style of writing appeared to change the further through the book I got. The first few chapters were stuffed with great words like Avarice, Grinch, Miasma, Sepulchrally, and Stoical; their meaning I needed to find. Also Trisha Ashley, the author attempted to crack a joke at every opportunity; which soon became a little tires...more
The style of writing appeared to change the further through the book I got. The first few chapters were stuffed with great words like Avarice, Grinch, Miasma, Sepulchrally, and Stoical; their meaning I needed to find. Also Trisha Ashley, the author attempted to crack a joke at every opportunity; which soon became a little tires...more
I am quite disappointed to have finished this book as I was enjoying it so much.
Holly the central character is a house sitter and chef who wanted to escape Christmas but instead gets 'snowed in' with her clients family. To fill in her time Holly is exploring her late Gran's diaries and soon realises that there is a reason why so many of the villagers 'think she is part of the family'.
There are a few comedy parts as well, with some sarcastic swipes thrown in by the little girl Jess, who along wi...more
Holly the central character is a house sitter and chef who wanted to escape Christmas but instead gets 'snowed in' with her clients family. To fill in her time Holly is exploring her late Gran's diaries and soon realises that there is a reason why so many of the villagers 'think she is part of the family'.
There are a few comedy parts as well, with some sarcastic swipes thrown in by the little girl Jess, who along wi...more
I will have to admit that for an impulse buy, I was very pleasantly surprised with this. I saw Twelve Days of Christmas listed on Amazon for 99p and with it being the season and all that, I felt like reading something festive and so bought it. And am glad I did.
It tells the tale of Holly Brown, a woman who doesn't celebrate Christmas due to her upbringing as a Strange Baptist and the fact that her husband died in the season as well. So to avoid this, she works as a professional house s...more
It tells the tale of Holly Brown, a woman who doesn't celebrate Christmas due to her upbringing as a Strange Baptist and the fact that her husband died in the season as well. So to avoid this, she works as a professional house s...more
When I picked this up I was looking for something light, frothy and cosy. After too many textbooks, and with Advent beginning, I always feel the need to curl up with something safe and unthreateningly happy to read and this book really fit the bill.
There are a couple of things I found confusing- like the tense of the main character, or most of the baby talk, but the characters were all well-written and enjoyable to read about. Holly is an excellent protagonist, developing more as the s...more
There are a couple of things I found confusing- like the tense of the main character, or most of the baby talk, but the characters were all well-written and enjoyable to read about. Holly is an excellent protagonist, developing more as the s...more
Christmas is not a happy time for widower Holly Brown. When she gets the chance to look after a remote house on the Lancashire Moors, she jumps at the chance to escape the festivities and be alone. However, as the family of the owner descends, the blizzards set in and the owner himself returns, Holly finds that the escape she planned is not going to go to plan.
Christmas and romance; what else do I need. This book has a nice gentle start. The characters are introduced well, are likea...more
I really enjoyed Trisha Ashley’s Twelve Days of Christmas for its wonderfully portrayed characters and the festive heart-warming storyline. This isn’t a short book and I’ve read some of the reviews where readers felt that not enough was happening, but for me, Holly Brown’s daily – and often very funny – routines of preparing meals and dealing with the family thrust upon her kept me turning the pages.
Holly, a widow who lost her husband at Christmas time, and more recently the grandmothe...more
Holly, a widow who lost her husband at Christmas time, and more recently the grandmothe...more
Holly doesn't celebrate Christmas. She was brought up by her Strange Baptist grandparents, who disapproved of the Xmas trimmings,, and her beloved husband Alan died just before Xmas several years earlier , so she doesn't do seasonal stuff. Instead she house sits, and enjoys the peace and quiet.
Except this year's house sitting assignment is destined not to be so quiet. The home owner is abroad and when bad weather looms, Holly feels responsible for his elderly family and decides to c...more
Except this year's house sitting assignment is destined not to be so quiet. The home owner is abroad and when bad weather looms, Holly feels responsible for his elderly family and decides to c...more
Unfortunately, the style of writing employed by the author really didn't suit my taste. It was virtually all tell, rather than show - including the dialogue which felt extremely stilted and unrealistic. I couldn't Understand why Holly would need to explain the reasons why she wanted to house-sit over Christmas to her best friend of many years and the spiky, rude exchanges between her and Jude just didn't seem to make sense, resulting in making holly a less sympathetic character to me.
T...more
T...more
Susanne
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
someone who wants to read a cozy Christmas story
This book is a sweet Christmas story, a little bit like milk chocolate but without a sharp edge. Although I really enjoyed reading this book and it was a charming story - it didn't "wow" me.
Holly Brown is a sweet widower who spends Christmas alone, trying to forget the loss of her husband at Christmas several years ago. This year she's set on going to a house in the remote part of England, looking forward to some quiet time. On the contrary, she ends up in the middle of the ...more
Holly Brown is a sweet widower who spends Christmas alone, trying to forget the loss of her husband at Christmas several years ago. This year she's set on going to a house in the remote part of England, looking forward to some quiet time. On the contrary, she ends up in the middle of the ...more
Not the sort of book I would usually choose, but I'm going through a phase of reading the "fastback" books at the local library (recently published, 2 week loan period, not renewable) and when I went in on November 30th I'd just dropped my daughter off to sings carols at an old people's home, the library staff were putting up decorations and it was actually snowing outside, so I was feeling cosy and festive. It leapt off the shelf at me.
The writing was a little annoying, due ...more
The writing was a little annoying, due ...more
I started reading this, not normally a fan of chick lit,but seeing the 5 star reviews, I was pleasantly surprised with the first half of the book. I started to feel really warm and fuzzy with all the cosy references to food, snow and animals. I loved Merlin, Lady and Billy. Holly became very irritating to me half way through the book with her sheer rudeness to others, ie the dreadful Coco (vastly overplayed character) and Jude. I liked the diaries of gran and feel more should have been made of t...more
This book not only has a great seasonally designed cover, it also contains a great story inside! Trisha Ashley has done it again by producing another five star read. I have recently become a fan of Trisha Ashely's writing and I think Katie Fforde has got it right when she states that Trisha Ashley is, 'one of the best writers around'.
'Twelve Days of Christmas' is a romantic comedy, full of the fun for the festive season and some delicious tales about cooking as well! The book tells t...more
'Twelve Days of Christmas' is a romantic comedy, full of the fun for the festive season and some delicious tales about cooking as well! The book tells t...more
What first attracted me to Twelve Days of Christmas was that it sounded very much like one of my all-time favourite Christmas films “The Holiday” with it being about house sitting over Christmas time so I was very excited to start reading this when the snow started to fall and I was really getting into that Christmas Spirit, and well, I guess I’m just going to come out and say it. I didn’t like this book.
The story centres around 35 year old Holly Brown and the main problem I had with t...more
The story centres around 35 year old Holly Brown and the main problem I had with t...more
Didn't want to put this one down! Such a lovable, wonky cast of characters (including the house)all of which came alive with a little TLC from the aptly-named Holly. I became quite exhausted just reading about the animal care and the sherry-swigging, indefatigable geriatrics but best of all was the hero, swooping from his red-eye flight and surprising Holly at the generator. Trisha Ashley must have a direct line to the Big Snowmaker in the Sky to have written in the kind of conditions the UK has...more
This was my choice for my 'Christmas read' out of the festive books that I'd recently purchased and the rest will have to wait until the run up to next year now. It did deliver the trick of getting me in the mood for such a season and I have to say that I was looking forward to mine rather more than the poor main character of this novel when she agreed to do a house-sitting that involved looking after the animals and then, the rest of the family etc. To be honest, it did seem a bit much at times...more
Holly doesn't celebrate Christmas. Firstly being bought up by her Strange Baptist Grandmother following the death of her mother during childbirth. It's also her birthday 25th December. Then many years on her husband died around this time.
A part time housesitting job turns into a Christmas bonanza when the Martland family decend upon the old family home only to be snowed in forcing Holly to take care of not only the Martland clan but much of the small village they live in.
The...more
A part time housesitting job turns into a Christmas bonanza when the Martland family decend upon the old family home only to be snowed in forcing Holly to take care of not only the Martland clan but much of the small village they live in.
The...more
When I started the book, I really didn’t like Trisha Ashley’s writing style.
I got bored at several occasions. The author was often stating the obvious (“I hugged her – but cautiously, because of her prominent bump”. Yes, we know the girl is pregnant, you said it earlier). And all her unnecessary comments were quite annoying. It felt like she needed to explain to the reader every slightly ambiguous thing, just in case he/she wouldn’t understand.
Some dialogues were not ve...more
I got bored at several occasions. The author was often stating the obvious (“I hugged her – but cautiously, because of her prominent bump”. Yes, we know the girl is pregnant, you said it earlier). And all her unnecessary comments were quite annoying. It felt like she needed to explain to the reader every slightly ambiguous thing, just in case he/she wouldn’t understand.
Some dialogues were not ve...more
With me, when this author gets it right, she gets it REALLY right and this book was just wonderful!
There are no big romance fireworks and there is no sex in this book, which quite frankly is normally enough to put me off! However, the reason I keep reading Trisha Ashley is that I just absolutely love her anecdotal style of writing and I find myself drinking it in without even trying. I love getting to know her quirky cast of characters and I am always very sad to leave them. I smi...more
There are no big romance fireworks and there is no sex in this book, which quite frankly is normally enough to put me off! However, the reason I keep reading Trisha Ashley is that I just absolutely love her anecdotal style of writing and I find myself drinking it in without even trying. I love getting to know her quirky cast of characters and I am always very sad to leave them. I smi...more
Twelve Days of Christmas is a fantastic read which will definitely put you in the festive spirit. With colourful characters and a strong plot, Trisha Ashley tells a heart warming story of a young widow, trying to throw herself into her work to come to terms with the many losses in her life.
Holly Brown is asked to do a house sitting job over the festive season at a remote location in the Lancashire Moors. Still trying to come to terms with her husbands death over the Christmas period, ...more
Holly Brown is asked to do a house sitting job over the festive season at a remote location in the Lancashire Moors. Still trying to come to terms with her husbands death over the Christmas period, ...more
OK, so this is predictable schmaltzy nonsense and fluff - who cares, it's Christmas! To be honest, it's not up there with Julia Williams' Last Christmas for me. There are little bits that irritated - the "you can't afford me" theme from Holly, the repeated calls to her friend as a device to recap the story, the witty repartee that sometimes jars a little... But it's all set in a manor house cut off by snow, there's lots of animals around (Merlin the lurcher is by far my favourite char...more
I thought it would be fun to read some Christmassy books during December, and this one was in the Kindle sale, so I picked it up without any real idea of what to expect. It's a very sweet book, with an entertaining cast of characters snowed in at a country house, and I really enjoyed it (although the style bugged me a bit - too many exclamation marks! Everywhere!). And then, just as I was finishing it, I learnt that this is going to be one of my mum's PhD texts - I can't wait to hear what she ha...more
I've read crime thrillers for so long, that I was really loathe to read a romance.
But the Christmas books in the supermarket beckoned to me two years ago, and I bought 4 that day.
This was one of them.
I read this first of the four, and enjoyed it more than I can say - so much that I bought the Kindle version this last Christmas!
There isn't a lot to it, indeed it's fairly predictable. But it just makes you feel good, and that's more than good enough for me.
But the Christmas books in the supermarket beckoned to me two years ago, and I bought 4 that day.
This was one of them.
I read this first of the four, and enjoyed it more than I can say - so much that I bought the Kindle version this last Christmas!
There isn't a lot to it, indeed it's fairly predictable. But it just makes you feel good, and that's more than good enough for me.
This was a cute read for this time of year. Having picked up a used UK version, everything in it screamed cosy. Heroine Holly Brown works for Homebodies, a housesitting organization. A remote job up near the Lancashire moors is perfect for Holly, as she doesn't celebrate Christmas anymore. The Martland home quickly becomes the site of an extended house party for nearby relatives when the snow comes and all are pretty much at the mercy of the icy roads. The book was a bit long, but enjoyable.
I really enjoyed this book, it was a really easy read but quite funny in places.
I thought that the characters were very believable and likeable. The plot was good and after the Christmas that we had last year a very likely story (if only I had the big house etc). I think reading it at this time of year has probably enhanced my enjoyment of the book when I can see parallels of things I am trying to do mirrored in Holly's efforts.
If you are looking for a light read definite...more
I thought that the characters were very believable and likeable. The plot was good and after the Christmas that we had last year a very likely story (if only I had the big house etc). I think reading it at this time of year has probably enhanced my enjoyment of the book when I can see parallels of things I am trying to do mirrored in Holly's efforts.
If you are looking for a light read definite...more
I love love love this book. it was so amazing , though I have to say was slow at the beginning but it was so amazing. my mum gave it to me to read, normally I just put it down and leave it for a while but this I was so glad to read. It was a page turner and so lovely especially at Christmas time. Definitely read this book. I really hope that there will be a sequel fingers crossed . xoxo
I read this book right before Christmas and it was my favorite holiday book this year. The characters were well developed, the plot was interesting and I found myself wanting to stay up all night so that I could finish it. (But then was disappointed when I did because I wanted to read more about this town!) Kudos to you, Trisha Ashley, as we say in the south- "You did good!"
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Trisha Ashley is now a full-time novelist, but she has been known to work for stained glass makers and/or plumbers. She likes to paint, eat, drink, and read literary biographies. Her previous hobbies included getting divorced and packing to move. She claims to have once actually eaten Bronte burgers at the Branwell café, but her publisher declines to verify this. She lives in North Wales.
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