Home For Christmas by Cally Taylor: A Review

Home For Christmas by Cally Taylor

When Was It Released?:  10th November 2011

Where Did I Get It From?: From the publishers in exchange for a review. Thankyou!
Who Published It?: Orion
Number Of Pages: 368 pages

When Christmas time rolls around each year, I love to read as many Christmas chick lit novels as it is physcially possible to do so. After reading and being captivated by Cally Taylor's novel Heaven Can Wait, I knew that Cally's latest novel Home For Christmas would be on the top of my reading pile as soon as I received a copy.

Beth Prince, a twenty-four year old romantic, works in the Picturebox, a charming independant cinema. Beth has a boyfriend she believes is her dream man, theres just one problem, none of her boyfriends have ever told her they love her. Desperate to be told 'I love you' for the first time Beth decides to take matters into her own hands and then wishes she hadn't. With Beth feeling low, bad news arrives in the handsome shape of Matt Jones, the regional director of a chain cinema who is determined to get his hands on the Picturebox.

Home For Christmas is told from two different viewpoints; Beth and Matt's, with each chapter alternating between the two characters. I really enjoyed being able to gain two perspectives on events that unfolded throughtout the novel. Usually in chick lit novels, the male characters feelings and emotions are not portrayed, so this was a refreshing change that I would love to see in more novels. At many points in the novel I did find myself literally laughing out loud. I really enjoy any book that I read to be humourous, even if only in a subtle way. Home For Christmas really excelled with the humour injected into the characters, adding an extra spark to the novel. Cally Taylor's wit is one of the reasons she is such a fantastic author that I will always look out for. The characters were another contributing factor as to why I enjoyed Home For Christmas. Cally Taylor has managed to create characters that I really cared about by really bringing them to life. Beth, while at times being a little naive was caring and extremely likeable. I couldn't help hoping that she would find love and be able to keep her job at The Picture Box cinema. I also really enjoyed reading about Carl, although I detested him as a character, he definatly made certain moments within the novel very entertaining.

I did find that unlike Cally Taylor's previous novel, Heaven Can Wait, Home For Christmas was a little cookie cutter for my tastes. While I, and most chick lit lovers, enjoy a romance story that is neatly wrapped up, I do enjoy a little originality, and in my option that is where this novel lacks. I also would have liked to see a little more of the Christmas theme within the story. While the novel ends at Christmas time, there is very little mention of Christmas for a book entitled Home For Christmas.

Home For Christmas is a very enjoyable, quick and charming read, that I managed to devour in just one sitting. I would reccomend this book to anyone looking for a cozy Christmas read over the holidays. I will be looking out for more of Cally Taylor's novels in the future.