Author : Scarlett Bailey
Publication date : 25th October 2012
Publisher : Ebury
Source : Sent by the publisher for review, thank you!
All she wants is perfect Christmas Eve wedding...
It’s been on Anna’s wish-list since she was a little girl, dreaming of a far happier family life than she’d ever experienced.
But now - only two weeks before her big day - her perfect husband-to-be drops a bombshell...
Only nothing’s going to stop Anna’s plans - not even the pesky inconvenience of discovering her groom already has a wife!
I never got the chance to read Scarlett Bailey's debut novel, The Night Before Christmas, but I envied the reviewers who got to read it last year and saying how good it was, so I decided to try and see if I could get a copy and thankfully, the author agreed! Since Scarlett's books, so far two of them, are mainly about Christmas, (secretly, I think she's Lady Santa, she's only active and out and about during the festive season), I thought it was fabulous, warm - what Christmas should be - but in a form of a sparkly, RED book!
Before I go into discussing about what a lovely book it is, can we take a minute to appreciate the gorgeous, Christmassy cover of the book? I know it's wrong to "judge a book by its cover", but come on, who wouldn't pick up a book with an outstanding, attractive cover which screams, "BUY ME!"? Kudos to the design team for whipping up something so beautiful and festive, perfect for Christmas! (Like, duh.)
First of all, what I really like Scarlett's book is that, she has a real, genuine flair for words and her passion to write, not many authors give me this feeling. The way she writes, with a significant flow, allows me to understand, that she enjoys writing as much as her readers enjoy reading. Maybe it was my over-analysing, as I'm a literature student, but by reading Married By Christmas I know for one: she loves to write and she loves Christmas.
Married By Christmas is about Anna Carter, a perfectionist, a crazed-list maker who can't stand things not going her way. What I loved about Anna is how organised the lady is! Jeez, making lists of list, determined to get things going her way! And ta-da, her boyfriend proposes, yay! Only to unleash the bridezilla she is, which was such a treat to read about. Especially her custom-made, sparkly, snowflake wedding gown. Scarlett writes with such clear, well-observed detail, even describes the minute, intricate snowflake design of the wedding dress, capturing the beauty of it. Many have tried writing in such a way, only managed to do half the job.
I won't reveal what Anna does, whether she does a completely crazy, out-of-the-world attempt to save her wedding, upon discovering her fiancé's AWOL wife or cries her sorry heart out. I'll leave it to you to discover what Scarlett has cleverly written with careful plotting. I admit, I was caught up in the story that I deprived sleep for a few days just to race to the ending, but that was really tiring, demanding school schedule, classes and assignments and impending examinations. However, I got the chance to finish reading it last night, at 2!, to tell you what a wonderful book it is. If you believe, the magic of Christmas would sweep you along and you'd be so caught up by Anna's complicated predicament!
Honestly, if I want to, I'd gush endlessly about how I loved the setting and the characters and the hunt for a particular someone, all to save her one and only Christmas wedding. But do not take this story lightly, don't think of it as a light, fun and fluffy chick lit, which you could easily read and feel happy about it, because Married by Christmas is really, really deep. In the façade, you might think it's about an control-freak, perfectionist turning into a bridezilla to walk down on the aisle in her Christmas-inspired dress and live happily ever after. No, it deals with loss, crushed hopes and believing yourself and opening up to new things you never thought you'd want to.
All in all, if I have to pick the best Christmas read this year, Married by Christmas would be the top contender to bag the title. I really enjoyed reading Scarlett's orchestra of words, bringing beautiful harmony to the Christmas spirit, and the plot was really what you'd want to read about, to light up the feeling of dull, wintry snowy days. Although it doesn't snow here in Malaysia, but I could literally feel the heartwarming atmosphere Christmas could offer.
Rating : 5/5
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