Is ‘The One That Got Away’ The One?

Synopsis

The only thing preventing Beth’s perfect family Christmas? Her family!

Television presenter Agatha Holly has built her career on telling viewers how to have the perfect Christmas. A Holly Jolly Christmas has been screened every December for twenty years and her entire family are involved, including her daughter Beth—the unwilling star of a thousand memes and gifs. But Beth has finally had enough of public ridicule. All she’s ever wanted is a traditional family Christmas away from the television cameras. If she can’t persuade her family to change, should she consider celebrating Christmas without them?

My review

Nick is living in his parents’ house, trying to let the house not crumble down. But when his brother Aidan is determined to sell the house, Nick is ready fight to keep his home!
Nick thinks that he has found the solution so that Aidan will sell him his share of the house: let Aidan fall in love again with the Girl That Got away, so many years ago. Nick believes that an in love Aidan will be solution to all his problems.

At the same time, Beth Holly wants to have a traditional family Christmas. And not one in the spotlight of ‘A Holly Jolly Christmas’, a show her mother is determined to make every year, telling viewers how to have the perfect Christmas, involving the whole family.
When she can’t persuade her family to have her perfect Christmas, is she ready to celebrate Christmas without them?

If you are looking for a rollercoaster of emotions and need to be submerged Christmas feelings, this is the perfect book for it!

For both Beth and Nick I felt sympathy. From the very start is clear they find themselves in a position they don’t want to be.
Yet they are determined to have it for once their way. For Beth it means just disappearing and for Nick playing a little bit dirty.

By a trick played by fate (or Chloe? 😁) Beth is staying at Nick’s place, in the hope to have her perfect Christmas.
And here the real story begins…

But it’s not only Beth’s and Nick’s story, because otherwise it would be a story like so many. When Beth’s family suddenly appears at Nick’s house, it is just perfect for us readers.

Every character has things I loved but also a few things I didn’t like at all. But even the not so nice things are a necessity to understand why they are acting the way they do. And even if Beth’s sister Lucy seems just a workaholic, not taking in account her sister’s feelings, there is so much more to her. And even Aidan, who just seems in search of gaining more money, is far more protective towards his brother than I thought!

There are lovely moments, perfect for a Christmas scene, I could imagine it clearly in my mind. These moments made me wish I was right there.

This story showed me that the things we wish for, can be right in front of you and you just don’t realize it.
No family is perfect, as both showed by Beth’s and Nick’s family. But it’s hard to understand someone else’s reasoning and feelings, and it takes courage to open up completely.

It’s hard to tell at which point I fell in love with this story. It was Christmas, it was Myra Abbey and its history, it was Beth and Nick spending time together. But also Chloe and her schemes, Lucy, Aidan, and okay, even Agatha Holly made this perfect mix to dream away.

Stop looking for a book that would be perfect for the upcoming holidays! This book will thick all your required boxes!