My Sisters and Me by Lisa Dickenson

When Willow Lake asks her daughters for help renovating the family home, each has a reason to hesitate about returning to Maplewood . . .

For quiet and bookish Emmy going back to the town that ridiculed her fills her with dread.

The youngest Noelle is perfectly comfortable in herself now, but once wanted to fit in so badly that she walked away from her first love. A first love who still lives in Maplewood.

And outspoken Rae is painfully aware of how much the townspeople hurt her little sisters growing up. She didn't protect them then, but there's no way she'll let history repeat itself.

The sisters agree to go home and make the best of it. After all if they've changed over the years, it's possible the townspeople have too . . . isn't it?

Having enjoyed Lisa Dickenson’s previous novels where I have enjoyed her easy flowing wit weaved through the storyline I was thrilled to have the opportunity to read her new release My Sister’s and Me.

The storyline follows three bad ass sisters Rae, Noelle and Emmy who have returned to their childhood home whilst their mother is away travelling to renovate the home. The women have mixed emotions about returning to the village that holds such awful memories for them from their school years where their family had a bad reputation but surely now they have grown up things would have changed and they can leave the past behind them?

Maybe not!

This was a very light storyline compared to the authors previous books which makes for a perfect holiday read. I could still find the authors witty elements sprinkled here and there throughout the storyline especially involving the unfortunate result a party had on the local Mayor!

The sisters have a strong bond and each have their own little traits so I loved getting to know the women. I could relate more to Emmy whereas Rae is the live wire I would have liked to have been more like!

As the girls tackle their past head on they learn more about themselves and see how they have carried their past with them for too long and it has shaped their lives despite their successful careers.

I enjoyed the storyline but not as much as the authors previous books as I didn’t feel this had the depth to the storyline like her previous books however I still found it an enjoyable witty light read with a lovely touch of romance, self-discovery and forgiveness.

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The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Lisa Dickenson

At thirty, Claudia's life is stale and the romance with long-term boyfriend, Seth, has disappeared. Determined to inject some festive spark back into their love life, Claudia and Seth go on their first date in a very long time. But when the night ends in disaster, Claudia suddenly finds herself facing life - and Christmas - alone. Life alone is exciting, scary and full of soon-forgotten exercise regimes and ill-advised attempts at crafting sexy underwear. It's also filling up with dates, surprisingly. With best friends Penny and Nick at her side, a surplus of festive markets, mulled wine and Christmas tunes, Claudia attempts to face all this change with gusto. One thing's for certain: this year, Christmas is going to be very different . . .

Ok there is a part of me that feels a little mad starting my festive reads in October but there are so many sparkly Christmas books coming out so I am starting early to try and get through as many as I can and when The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Lisa Dickenson arrived through the door this beautiful cover didn't take much to convince me to make a start.

Claudia is not living the life she thought she would be living, her job pays the bills but isn't what she wants to be doing and her relationship has a total of 0% romance and after a last awful date night she finds herself single. With Christmas in sight Claudia begins her own adventure of having 12 dates before Christmas but will she still be single for the big day?

What a wonderful start to the Christmas reads. This book was very light hearted, full of romance and humour. From the opening chapter I found myself snorting away much to the disgust of my husband! The humour carried on throughout the book and it flowed so seamlessly without feeling false this is clearly one of the authors strong points in her writing being able to bring humour that will get the reader laughing out loud and it being weaved through out the storyline with ease.

The storyline did have a festive feel which I loved but I still feel that you could read this book outside of the festive season as it isn't overly festive.

I love The trio in this book they were all lovable, fun characters who had a great friendship.

At times I wanted to bump their heads together but ultimately I just wanted a happy ending for them all. The book was a little predictable but this is one of those books that it is about enjoying the journey and watching the amusing events unfold. The chemistry between Claudia and Nick was burning through the pages from early on but being in a tripod friendship group meant that I was a little worried if things developed how it would effect their friendship with the lovely Penny.

I can easily say I enjoyed this book even if it did make my cheeks ache from the smiling and laughing! This book will be a great gift for fans of Lindsey Kelk and Jane Costello.

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