Make My Wish Come True

Make My Wish Come True by Fiona Harper

Paperback, 384 pages

Published 1st November 2013 by Mills & Boon

Shelves: adult-fiction, arc-or-review, awful-cover, books-i-own, chick-lit, christmas-books, read, read-in-2013, realistic-fiction

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Description via Goodreads:

Family-orientated and Christmas-dinner cook extraordinaire Juliet is trying to keep it together in the wake of her marriage breakdown two Christmases ago, but the cracks are beginning to show.

Bright and vivacious Gemma was always the favourite daughter…So she has no qualms about leaving Christmas in her sister Juliet’s capable hands; and escaping the pressures of her glamorous job, and the festive madness by jetting off to somewhere warm. 

When Gemma shirks responsibility once too many and announces she’s off to the Caribbean (again!); Juliet finally snaps. Gemma offers her sister the perfect solution - to swap Christmases: she’ll stay home and cook the turkey (how hard can it be?) and Juliet can fly off into the sun and have a restorative break.

In the midst of all the chaos, there’s Will, Juliet’s dishy neighbour who’s far too nice to float Gemma’s boat and may secretly harbour feelings for her sister; and Marco, the suave Italian in the villa next door, who has his own ideas about the best way to help Juliet unwind. 

Will the sisters abandon caution and make this a Christmas
swap to remember?

I love books that set a traditional winter scene, something to get me in that festive mood, featuring snowy weather, warming up by the fire. So naturally, as soon as  I heard about Make My Wish Come True, a new book based around two sisters and their rather different Christmases, I had to pick it up. I loved the sound of the stay at home, traditional English country Christmas, though I can't say I was keen on the thought of a Caribbean Christmas. However, I picked the book up and was excited to start reading. 

This story focuses on two sisters - Juliet and Gemma. Juliet and Gemma are quite different characters, mainly reflected in the very different lives at they lead. Juliet is a single mother, highly organised but always running flat out doing everything she can for her children and community. Gemma is an actress, not often staying in one place and not one who takes on many responsibilities. Juliet is planning a big traditional Christmas, cooking a big meal for all invited. When Gemma tells her sister that she will be flying out to the Caribbean for the big day, a quick and somewhat crazy decision is made - for Juliet to take the break she needs by going alone to the Caribbean, whilst Juliet takes over the big festivity that was planned at home.

My Christmas book wishes were more than fulfilled with the experience of Gemma's quite dysfunctional English Christmas. With this Christmas I got everything I asked for for, from the little mentions of the decorations to the children's excitement and squabbles. Harper did fantastically well creating a real sense of festive spirit. Her half of the story really showed the spirit of the community around her as they all pulled together to make the day a good one.

Although I personally find the thought of a Caribbean Christmas awful, thankfully it was certainly not bad to read about. Harper was able to switch me from the a chilly cottage in England to the sweltering beaches in just a turn of the page. I thought it may be a bit difficult getting into two different main settings but it was surprisingly easy and it was actually really enjoyable to see the difference between the two and makes the festivity a little less 'full on' for those who just like general chick-lit. Of course, it also allowed for character reflection and for more, different character relationships.

I came to really like both Juliet and Gemma as the book progressed. From the beginning, I found Juliet nice enough and she had a real sense of realism - she is the character that I think that most will prefer at the beginning of reading. I didn't particularly like Gemma at the beginning of the book (though I didn't particularly dislike her, either) mainly because I didn't really get much of a sense of who she was. I most certainly warmed to Gemma throughout the book, as did other characters, by seeing her in a different light. The author did a really good job of helping us to understand how and why the sisters didn't fully understand or appreciate each other.

As with most chick-lit books, there were of course love interests for our two protagonists. I was completely caught up in the atmosphere with Gemma and Will, they worked surprisingly well together, though I admit I would haven't have been best pleased if I was Juliet. Juliet's relationship with the charismatic Marco was so fantastically written - though I was cautious, I was sucked in and I felt like I'd been punched in the stomach towards the end - but that's what good writing does! For me, it was the family relationship that really made this book what it was - seeing the family and friends come together definitely shone through the pages.

Make My Wish Come True is definitely on my recommended reads list, for anyone who is a fan of well written chick-lit. Whether you'd like a traditional country christmas or one in the sun, this book shows you what Christmas really is about, without losing any of the fun!