A Merry Mistletoe Wedding by Judy Astley

It is almost a year since Sean and Thea met and it's been a roller-coaster ride: they're getting married on Christmas Day!

Neither Thea or Sean want a big fuss - a simple wedding, with Christmas lights and just a few sprigs of mistletoe for decoration is all they need. But before they know it, things begin to get complicated.

Trying to manage a long-distance relationship in the build-up to their Christmas wedding is one thing, but as one challenge after another comes their way, the happy couple begin to wonder if they'll ever make it down the aisle . .

I was looking forward to catching up with the characters from It Must Have Been the Mistletoe in Judy Astley’s new release A Merry Mistletoe Wedding. I love revisiting old characters and this book is set a year on from the previous book and is set over the months leading up to Christmas and more importantly Thea and Sean’s winter wedding.

I was a little worried that I had forgotten who was who and what had happened in the previous book but within the first couple of chapters my memory had been jogged and everything fell into place and it soon felt like I had been reunited with friends.

There have been many changes in a year for the family and they have experienced highs and lows. Judy brings a difficult topic in post-natal depression into the storyline and she has dealt with this subject beautifully, it opens our eyes as to how it affects not just the new mum but also the surrounding family members. There are exciting and life changing plans for Mike and Anne and their enthusiasm and excitement could be felt through the pages.

There is a perfect balance between each of the characters storylines in this book and because each couple had something different going on in their lives I found my attention was gripped the whole way through this book.

This book wasn’t overly festive but then It Must Have Been the Mistletoe was very festive so we can’t be greedy and expect the same with this book but this was still a wintery read to curl up with at this time of year. I personally felt like the ending has been left open for the possibility of a third book and because of all the changes the characters were facing in their lives in this book I totally think a third book would work and it would be great to visit the characters one last time.

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It Must Have Been the Mistletoe by Judy Astley

Today it is my stop on the It Must Have Been the Mistletoe blog tour.

We are joined by the lovely Judy Astley to talk about her new 

book and all things festive!

We also have my review of this festive read and

also thanks to the lovely elves at Transworld we have a copy

of this book up for grabs ( UK Only).

Hi Judy thank you for stopping by the blog today and congratulations on the release of another great read, I hope you plan to celebrate is style!

1) Your characters all come together in It Must Have Been The Mistletoe for a traditional family Christmas, how do you typically spend your Christmas Day?
A typical Christmas for us is often the entire family getting together on the day. That’s my husband, me, our daughters, the four grandchildren plus some or all of his three sisters, brother and their various partners and offspring and a couple of strays with nowhere else to be. I think our record was 27, all at our house. It takes a lot of furniture re-arranging and food preparation sharing-out but it works. Just! 

2) This book is set in the gorgeous setting of Cornwall which is where a number of your books are set, if you could travel to any country/city for research for a festive book where would you like to go?
I’d probably just stick with London. I hate it that Christmas starts too early in the shops but I do like the glitter and bustle of Christmas shop windows and the buzz of urgent shopping. I’d quite happily spend all of Christmas in Liberty’s. 

3) What time of year did you begin writing this book and how did you get yourself in the Christmas spirit?
I started planning it just before last Christmas and actually writing it in late January. It felt odd, getting into this kind of book just after Christmas was over and I could feel spring coming along fast. I didn’t finish till the end of May and it was pretty warm by then but I’d got into the mood of the book and it just about worked, I hope. 

4) If you were approached for this book to be made into a film who would you pick to play Thea, Sean and Charlotte?
I don’t really see that many films so I’m not exactly up on which actors are which but for Thea I’d love Sheridan Smith. Everything she does is brilliant. Sean – tricky. Maybe Orlando Bloom? They’d have to scuzz him up a bit. I don’t like ‘tidy-looking’ men. I prefer them a bit rock n’roll. Charlotte – I’d want someone curvy and funny, possibly Isla Blair? Though she’d have to fatten up a bit. 

5) Have you started writing your next book and have you got anything you can tease us with?
I haven’t started one yet but I am at the stage of putting together a lot of ideas. All I can really say is that it will probably involve houses (think Location, Location etc) and a very annoying ex-husband.


It Must Have Been the Mistletoe is out now on Kindle and on paperback on the 6th November.

My Review

I have just sat here and devoured It Must Have Been the Mistletoe by Judy Astley, it does feel a little wrong to be reading a Christmas read in October but I really don't mind because this author has actually brought us a festive cover with a real festive storyline too!

As Christmas approaches Anna and Mike have something they need to discuss with their adult children and so they want to create a prefect family Christmas and book for them all to spend Christmas at a holiday let in Cornwall. Thea, Emily and Jimi all have problems of their own but they are looking forward to taking their families down to Cornwall for the festive season but will the arrival of two unexpected guests put a strain on the family Christmas?

I loved this family they were so down to earth and like many families have many ups and downs but always come together as a family and do the traditional things associated with Christmas. I did find the book quite predictable I have to say but it didn't effect my enjoyment of this book because it was a perfect warm festive storyline with a fabulous group of characters and all of this was set in a beautiful setting too, I just think a little bit of a twist would have been the icing on the cake.

Thea really took centre stage in this book and she was a loveable character and she seemed to be the core of the family, someone who all the family members gravitate to. She has had a difficult time recently but she is embracing Christmas with her family rather than wallowing and this I admire her for. 

The whole of the book is set around Christmas so it is a real traditional festive family read which is nice to see.

Festive Storyline

Overall Rating

Festive Cover

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If you can't wait to get your hands on a copy then here are the links to Amazon so you can get your copy quick!

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In The Summer Time by Judy Astley

It's twenty years since Miranda, then sixteen, holidayed in Cornwall and her life changed for ever. Now she's back again - with her mother, Clare, and the ashes of her stepfather, Jack, whose wish was to be scattered on the sea overlooked by their one-time holiday home. The picturesque cove seems just the same as ever, but the people are different - more smart incomers, fewer locals, more luxury yachts in the harbour. But Miranda and Clare both find some strangely familiar faces, and experience the emotions they both thought had disappeared.


In the Summertime is the first Judy Astley book I've read, although I have heard of this author before I have never picked one up but I do love to try new authors so I was looking forward to trying In The Summer Time.

Our main character is Miranda who is a single mother, returning to her roots in Cornwall on holiday but this isn’t just a family holiday, it is also the place where they will be scattering her stepfathers Ashes. During her stay in Cornwall, her past creeps up on her when she reconnects with her friends and also her ex lover Steve. Could changes lay ahead for Miranda.

I never knew until I mentioned to a client of mine that I was reading In The Summer Time that this is actually a sequel to Just for Summer, although this is a sequel I had no trouble what so ever reading this book and getting to know the characters so this can be read as a stand alone book, you don’t feel like you are missing something at any point during the book. I can only assume that we would have known more about an incident that happened to Miranda and also about the previous relationship that Miranda and Steve had.

The cover of this book gives a true summery feel and luckily the storyline is a very Summer friendly feel to. It is a very light, breezy read that you can easily pick up and put down making it an ideal holiday read. The author has a brilliant writing style especially in setting the perfect scene. She describes the setting so well that you feel as though you have visited the same places because they feel so life like. I loved how both the storyline and the characters were very realistic and I even liked the characters of Bo and Silva who are Miranda's children, which is a rarity for me as I do find younger characters are often not written very well but this wasn’t the case here.

I really enjoyed this book there was no big shocking twists or big dramas but I think that was what made this book work it was just a very gentle, warm enjoyable read and I will be sure to read another book by Judy Astley.

Kindle