Publication Date: 20th Oct 2023
Genre: Contemporary Small Town Fiction
3.25 Stars
One Liner: An okayish read
Blythe doesn’t like it when a fellow agent records more sales than her. She is determined to be the Real Estate Agent of the Month and, in a desperate attempt, manages to sell a house to Sam Ashton (by hiding certain truths). While Sam loves the house, he doesn’t like Christmas.
With the house being the center of the village’s Christmas activity (which they take very, very seriously), things get difficult for Sam and Blythe. Holly Cross Village has a chance to win the title of Britain's Most Perfect Christmas Village if not for Sam. The responsibility falls on Blythe to fix things. Maybe a Christmas Miracle can help her.
Vicky is a single mother to a five-year-old Eden and Blythe’s best friend. She is trying to manage her boring part-time job and the new business venture. But her happiness is threatened with the news of an ex. Can Christmas bring hope for her?
The story comes in the third-person POVs of Blythe and Vicky.
My Thoughts:
Though the official blurb doesn’t mention Vicky anywhere, her story takes up over 30% of the book. She also gets her own POV, which Sam doesn’t.
The story occurs over seven months, starting at the end of May and ending on Boxing Day (December 26th). While this gives enough time for the lead couple to get to know each other and fall in love, the results are mixed.
I do love the setting and the enthusiasm they have for Christmas. There’s quite a lot of competitiveness and almost military-style planning to set up the annual event. The stakes are higher this time due to the contest.
The village has an array of characters to bring enough variety to the setting. They add to the warmth and humor.
Turpin is the highlight of the book. He is a semi-feral who wipes to take a swipe at anyone or anything he doesn’t like. All scenes with Turpin are my favorite (and he did save the book).
The premise of Grumpy vs. Sunshine and Grinch vs. Christmas (or something like that) is fun. However, I’m not that convinced by the execution. While Blythe and Sam have a fine banter, I couldn’t feel any chemistry between them for most of the book.
While I understand Blythe’s character (and how her relationship with her father shaped her life), I didn’t like how she kept pushing Sam despite repeatedly telling her he didn’t like Christmas. TBH, if someone sells me a house without revealing certain info and expects me to jump into the local madness, I will kick them out and lock the door. There’s a thin line between being persuasive and forcing a relative stranger to do something they don’t want (if the roles were reversed, it’d be called harassment).
In a way, I liked Vicky’s character a little better. She is a single parent with some not-so-good business ideas to make more money for her child. She’s a flawed character but someone who gives good ideas to Blythe. However, her track with Owen is not well-structured. Though it makes some good points, characters cannot move on without acknowledging their past. Important discussions should occur on the page.
Everything ends well, of course. The mystery around Murray is solved, and we get HEA. The ending is stronger, but the path to it is rocky and not as enjoyable as I expected. Furthermore, the pacing is slow and seems to have substantial filler content.
To summarize, The Perfect Christmas Village might have a perfect Christmas at the end but doesn’t manage to inspire the same level of feelings. It’s a decent read but not something I would add to my top seasonal reads.
Thank you, NetGalley and Aria & Aries, for the eARC.
#NetGalley #ThePerfectChristmasVillage
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