Christmas Reading Challenge – 07 – Claude’s Christmas Adventure – Sophie Pembroke

Delighted and excited to announce that @BookElfLeeds has a brand new reading challenge!

Jess had decided to seek out the Christmas Spirit in contemporary fiction. And like all good reading challenges; there’s a strict criteria to be followed.

The book must have Christmas in the title.
Some one has lost the Christmas Spirit.
A Christmas Miracle will therefore have to occur.
Some one will then regain the Christmas Spirit.

So please, make yourself comfy and enjoy the 7th review!

Who has lost the Christmas Spirit?

The residents of Maple Drive, especially former solder-turned-postman Jack and craft-obsessed primary school teacher Holly.

In what form does the Christmas Miracle occur?

The cute greedy snuffly French Bulldog, Claude.

I borrowed this book purely for the cover. I have a very soft spot for bulldogs in general, and their grumpy faces, and I figured I’d already read a cat-themed Christmas book, so needed to even out the scale a bit.

The McCawley family, Daisy, Oliver and their three children, are on their way to spend Christmas in France with Daisy’s parents. After packing up their dog, Claude, in his crate he accidentally escapes, chasing next door’s cat Perdita. The family leaves, and Claude is left alone, at the mercy of the rest of the residents of Maple Drive.

Through a series of adventures, Claude ends up bringing the normally lonely residents of the street, who would be spending Christmas either alone, or with families that hate each other, together.

This was just such a cutesy, but heart warning read. It had every single ingredient of the Christmas Miracle Bingo-stressed out mum who needs to reconnect with her husband (who needs to stop being a shit), heartbroken singles who just happen to be very very attractive, lonely older lady who has Christmas Spirit coming out of her pores, if only someone would care enough to find it, community coming together…. Even the dog and the cat end up with a truce.

Funny in parts, written from multiple points of view without falling apart at the seams, and relatable characters who actually learn from each other, but maintain their own personalities throughout, this is my favourite so far, and I would actually recommend it! This also has Hallmark Movie written all over it, I predict madcap Christmas Film Adaptation in the next few years. Sophie Pembroke is a Harlequin Romance writer who has a fair few Christmas romance books out. I enjoyed her writing, and will be seeking out more of her stuff in the future-I think I’ve found my 2018 beach read book already!

Listen to @BookElfLeeds and I introduce the Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge – HERE

Or just click here!