Merrily Ever After by Cathy Bramley

 

Merry has always wanted a family to spend Christmas with, and this year her dream comes true as she says 'I do' to father-of-two Cole. But as she juggles her rapidly-growing business, wedding planning and the two new children in her life, her dream begins to unravel.

Emily is desperately waiting for the New Year to begin, so she can finally have a fresh start. She has always put her family first, leaving little time for happiness and love. When her beloved father Ray moves into a residential home, she discovers a photograph in his belongings that has the potential to change everything.

As past secrets come to light, will this be a magical Christmas for Emily and Merry to remember?

Merrily Ever After is Cathy Bramley’s 2022 Christmas release and is a follow on from last year's novel titled The Merry Christmas Project where we met Merry and Cole, they are now back, and things have developed beautifully between them and they are ready to tie the knot but Merry still feels that slice of her heart is missing where the love of her family should be.

We are also introduced to a new character Emily who is struggling to cope with helping her father who has early onset dementia, trying to juggle his care along with holding down a job and carving time out for her boyfriend everything comes crashing to a head and she finds herself having to make a tough decision of her own which is set to open up a secret her father has hidden for a lifetime.

This book although it is the second in a series please don’t be put off if you haven’t read the first book because this can very easily be read as a stand-alone with the author referencing back to Merry’s past and the relationship that began with Cole. Also, although this book is based on the lead up to Christmas again this can be read any time of year because it isn’t overly festive, the storyline focuses more on the emotional struggles both Merry and Emily face.

Cathy Bramley has such an unbelievable writing style that really captures your heart and explores touching issues that affect so many people through our lives which she weaves into her characters’ lives, and she manages to make it feel so tender and believable, surprising me how much I can care for fictional character because they feel like friends of ours in no time. Both Merry and Emily are such warm-hearted selfless souls and I loved reading their stories and wanted a happy ending for the women.

I loved that until around just under halfway through the book I was oblivious to what direction the storyline was going to take and how the two storylines were going to weave together, was Emily going to work for Merry, Merry’s step children going to have an issue at school and Emily meeting Merry that way? So many ideas rolling around in my head!

I absolutely loved Merrily Ever After it is another flawless and compelling novel by Cathy Bramley.

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