Working for a department store where Christmas arrives in August, Eve prefers her own festivities to be low key with nothing more complicated than an oven-ready turkey and frozen peas while she spends the day in her pajamas. Unfortunately, this year her husband has invited his best friend to visit, the glamorous and sophisticated Abby, and Eve reluctantly decides that she needs to inject a little sparkle into their laid back and slightly shabby Christmas. So the celebrations are upgraded to include champagne and canapes along with homemade gravy and organic turkey and plans are made for a Christmas that looks as though it has emerged from the pages of a glossy magazine.

But even the best-laid plans can go wrong and as Eve struggles with her mini Yorkshire puddings and an interfering cat, she is suddenly faced with an unexpected guest and an explosive secret that threatens to put her vision of a perfect Christmas in jeopardy.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

‘She is nice. Most of the time. But that’s not the point!’ Eve wailed. ‘I’ve worked so hard planning for this Christmas and she’s turned up like Mary Poppins with a bag full of magic!’

 

Eve was actually superfluous to requirements, which strangely was how she often felt in the company of Abby.

 

… the masses of beautiful deep green and red berry foliage on her kitchen windowsill had been pushed aside by an indignant cat who liked to sit there to clean his whiskers. Looking at her watch, Eve decided that keeping on top of her beautifully decorated home was becoming a full-time task and she was already starting to slip behind her schedule…

 

There was still a slightly strange smell in the kitchen, a combination of hot chocolate, cat vomit, and the oven sending out wafts of warm air. Eve decided she would ignore it. Hopefully, the delicious smell of her buffet would soon overcome the current slightly rancid smell.

 

I suggest you make it clear to him my darling. And sort your head out… Slap him, don’t feed him for a week but for goodness sake Eve, forgive him…

  

My Review:

 

I gleefully snorted and even barked aloud a few times as I read this delightfully amusing corker of a tale. This is the fourth Julie Butterfield book I have picked up and each one has been unfailingly engaging, crisply written, and laced with clever wit as well as colorful insights that call forth vivid imagery.   I wore a smile the majority of the time I spent with the besieged, beleaguered, and slightly demented Eve; although I will confess, she behaved much better than I would have in her shoes