The Magic of Christmas: A heartwarming and uplifting christmas romance from the Sunday Times bestselling author
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A gorgeous seasonal and heartwarming tale from the Sunday Times bestseller
In the pretty Lancashire village of Middlemoss, Lizzy is on the verge of leaving her serially unfaithful husband, Tom, when tragedy strikes. Good job she has welcome distractions in the form of her Christmas Pudding Circle, a circle of friends swapping seasonal recipes, and a simmering rivalry with cookery writer Nick Pharamond – a rivalry set to come to boiling point after he snatched the Best Mince Pie prize away from her at the village show.
Meanwhile, the whole village is gearing up for the annual Mystery Play which takes place on Boxing Day. But who will play Adam to Lizzy’s Eve? Could it be the handsome and charismatic soap actor Ritch Rainford, or could someone closer to home win her heart? Whatever happens, it will certainly be a hard act to follow next year!
Previously published as Sweet Nothings, but now with fabulous new extra material.
Readers adore The Magic of Christmas
‘Trisha Ashley’s characters appear as real people that you would love to get to know with heroines that known their own mind … a warm and cosy romance that is perfect for cold, wet and windy days curled up in front of the fire.’ Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Trisha writes beautifully and has a strong comic streak. Her heroine was feisty and all her characters interesting. Totally recommend!’ Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Full of Trisha Ashley’s warm humour and trademark wit … ideal for fireside reading on cold winter evenings with a mince pie beside you.’ Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘I enjoy all of Trisha Ashley’s books, but this is one of my absolute favourites. I return to it again and again when I need a bit of positive escapism!’ Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Trisha Ashley is a brilliant writer that makes her characters spring to life. This cleverly written story has romance, mystery, self sufficiency, recipes and the magic of Christmas all rolled into one! Cannot recommend enough.’ Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Wonderfully written as always. Lots of twists and turns with fantastic characters who come to life as you read.’ Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘The characters are believable and endearing, with the bonus of being down to earth enough to identify with.’ Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
From the Publisher
Customer Reviews
4.5 out of 5 stars 5,940
4.5 out of 5 stars 2,858
4.4 out of 5 stars 4,603
4.4 out of 5 stars 3,785
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ASIN : B005IH01ZY
Publisher : Avon
Accessibility : Learn more
Publication date : 3 Oct. 2011
Edition : UK ed.
Language : English
File size : 1.4 MB
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 402 pages
ISBN-10 : 9781847561169
ISBN-13 : 978-1847563019
Page Flip : Enabled
Best Sellers Rank: 13,878 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store) 117 in Rural Life Humour 276 in Women’s Humorous Fiction 305 in General Humourous Fiction
Customer reviews: 4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 2,900 ratings var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });
Customers say
Customers find this book to be a good Christmassy read with a fantastic feel-good story and strong female characters. The book is humorous and entertaining from the start, with one customer noting how the characters leap off the page as fully formed people. While many customers enjoy the Christmas magic, some feel it’s not very Christmassy considering the title. The pacing receives mixed reactions, with several customers finding it slow going.
11 reviews for The Magic of Christmas: A heartwarming and uplifting christmas romance from the Sunday Times bestselling author
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Original price was: £12.99.£0.00Current price is: £0.00.
Mrs. Chadwick –
Great Read 🙂
I decided to treat myself to another of Trisha Ashley books, (she’s one of my favourite authors).Previously this book was published as “Sweet Nothings”. The author has extensively reworked the original novel with added a lot great new material.This is the second book of her books I’ve read that’s based around Christmas, (the first was “Wish Upon A Star”, which I loved).Lizzy lives in a little village called Middlemoss in Lancashire. She writes “The Perseverance Chronicles” and she’s a member of the Christmas Pudding Circle. Lizzy is married to Tom and they’ve one son called Jasper.Everything was going well and then Tom started having one night stands and affairs, she’d put up with this for years but didn’t want to leave her husband as her son was still young.Over the last couple of years, Tom had got a lot worse, he’d completely changed, he’d started to become violent and even accused her of having an affair with his half-brother. Lizzy had had enough and decided that when her son went to university she’d leave Tom.Just as she’d started to make plans everything changed so quickly and her husband’s secrets were now out into the open!That’s all I’m going to say about the story as I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who wants to read it.The author has done a fantastic job with the story and her characters have plenty of depth.This story catches your attention from the first page and keeps it until the end; it’s a constant page turner, which is how I love my books.At the back of the book, there are two recipes, and a short extract from another one of Trisha’s books.Personally, I think this is a fantastic novel, which will delight all Trisha Ashley fans. If you’ve never read any of her books it’s a great one to start off with. :-)I can highly recommend this book. 🙂
D. Jones –
An enjoyable read
The book opens with Lizzie rushing to hospital with her teenage son Jasper. But unsurprisingly, her waste of space, cheating husband Tom is no where to be found when she needs him. Annie, Lizzies long-time friend stays with her at the hospital and they spend the time reminiscing about their past. These conversations give us an insight into the relationships between Lizzie, Tom and his cousin Nick, a famous chef. I did find, as with many conversations throughout the book, that they felt slightly unrealistic and that they were only there as a means of providing background information.Lizzie and Tom’s relationship becomes increasingly distant and it seems inevitable that it won’t last. As a diversion from her problems Lizzie meets up regularly with the local Christmas Pudding Club and immerses herself with preparations for Christmas baking on a grand scale. However, due to the mince pie saga her long-time friendship with Nick, Tom’s cousin (and Lizzie’s old flame) becomes strained as old rivalries surface. As with all good chick-lits, you can’t help but will the two to put aside their differences and make things work.As Lizzie ponders on what to do in her personal life fate steps in and takes that decision for her leaving her to deal with the aftermath of Tom’s mistresses.The cover of the book is gorgeous, it really gives you a proper Christmassy feel. However, after reading most of Trisha Ashley’s other books I am pretty certain that this is based on her previous book, Sweet Nothings. I think she has taken the original and reworked it. Yes there is quite a bit of new material but if you have read the original and buy this thinking that you have a new Trisha Ashley book then you could be disappointed.As a romantic chick-lit this book is easy to read; the story flows well, it is funny in places and the characters draw you in. I would say that it isn’t Ms Ashley’s best book, it didn’t hook me in and make me want to read it for hours on end like some of her others have done but it is certainly better than many other books in this genre.
M. Ferrett –
Excellent.
Lovely read with great storyline and characters. Really put me in a Christmassy mood. Looking forward to reading more of this author’s books 😁
J. Tancred –
Light read
Found the story predictable. A light read but I found it repetitive and could not attach myself to the characters. A somewhat romantic story but for me I was left lacking.
Carey Robinson –
The Magic of Christmas
Absolutely love Trisha Ashley’s books,her own unique quirky style and humour. Highly recommend. Have loved her books for years,great escapism!
Lis T –
A lovely feel good read
Christmas is an important time of year in the small Lancashire village of Middlemoss. Throughout the year the Christmas Pudding Circle plan for the festive season. The book starts in August when all is not well with Christmas Pudding Circle member Lizzy. Her husband is cheating on her, disappearing for days if not weeks at a time, will Lizzy find happiness again in time for the season of goodwill.I was slightly disappointed as I did read this book with the intention of getting into the festive spirit a bit and given the title you would have thought that the book had more to do with Christmas than the last few chapters. Even so it was an easy, enjoyable read.
Paola –
Good romantic story, a bit too slow
Deborah Porter –
If you buy The Magic of Christmas based on the title and cover because you want something enchantingly delightful set completely at Christmas time, you will possibly be disappointed. However, if you want a fun, slightly quirky, feel-good, enjoyable read set in a small UK village during the seven months leading up to Christmas, you are going to love this book. It was nothing like I expected. It was better.I really don’t quite know what genre to slot this into. It is a little Midsomer Murders, together with a tiny bit of The Vicar of Dibley (as in charmingly quirky local characters). There is romance, but it’s just a part of the overall story as experienced through Lizzie’s eyes. And there is a good dash of light humour.Although there are cooking references, they are a natural part of the story as it unfolds. If the cooking aspect had been overdone, I would have lost interest quickly. Instead, it added to the overall pleasure of this delightful book.I have to admit, my favourite part was near the end during the annual Middlemoss five-hour Mysteries performance on Boxing Day. You know you have a good writer when the scene and characters become alive in your mind. That’s how it was with The Magic of Christmas, particularly during that performance. I could see Lizzie in her “Eve” outfit, and picture the grumpy Moses receiving the 10 Commandments.Pros:1. Light Christmas theme throughout.2. Delightful characters that you grow to care about.3. A little bit of a mystery.4. Feel good ending.Cons:1. If you are expecting this to be 100% Christmas focused, you will probably be disappointed.Recommended for people who enjoy village-set fiction with a few quirky characters and a bit of romance thrown in for good measure.I was actually a little sad when I finished The Magic of Christmas because I had grown very fond of Lizzie and the Middlemoss inhabitants. I wasn’t ready to let them go.I will definitely be on the lookout for more books by Trisha Ashley.
Ghada –
I am a fan of chick lit and this book is an excellent chick lit read. Love Trisha Ashley’s Novels.
Evilyn –
For me a lovely escape into idillyc country life. A fantasy about a life in English village come true. If you dream about different kind of world, more undemanding and less hectic, and especially if you love cooking, baking etc., this should be the book for you. Not an exciting reading; some might find it boring. But I slipped directly into it and lived through it to the end. Unbelievably comforting. I hope there’s more to come.
crazycatvalou –
In Middlemoss lives Lizzy ..her son Jasper and her husband Tom . Lizzy and Tom are not getting on well ..One day something happened to Tom and Lizzy become a widower .Her lovely son leaves for the university so Lizzy is alone at home .But not at all as, there are Ritch and nick looking after her and also her community of CPC (Christmas Pudding Cercle )..Ritch works for the TV and is not often at home .Lizzy is pet sitting his dog when he is can’t do himself .he also likes women in general but he tries to win lizzy heart ..Nick is more down to earth , married but on the way to divorce with his wife .He likes to cook ..so does Lizzy .He usually sends her recipes he finds while he is travelling ..He tries to be always here when Lizzy needs help .He also tried to win Lizzy heartSo who’s gonna win Lizzy heart who is deeply engaged in her CPC group preparing the Christmas celebration with her friends of her placeAnnie her friend will be a great support during all the book and will also have some surprises in her life ..Lots of gossiping are in Middlemoss especially about Lizzy’s last husband tom who has been unfaithful to her with several women ..Even if it’s a rewrite of one of her old book ‘Sweet Nothings’ I was really happy to read this story as it’s always nice to read Trisha Ashley books .We always have additional recipes in the book .In addition to that, reading about cooking is always great .The fact that it is situated in a small place is well explained in the book as really realistic with gossiping, help between the members of the village, small meetings ..I was like absorbed by the story as usual so I can say that it is a great book to me .