Enjoy Make My Wish Come True Depicted By Fiona Harper Contained In Copy
book is to be squirrelled away and taken out to read over Christmas with no distractions.
The story of two sisters, Gemma and Juliet, it is heartbreaking but heartwarming enough to light a fire under the cockles of your heart by the end.
Swapping places over Christmas takes them both out of their comfort zones and gives each one a unique perspective on the other for the first time in their lives.
Add in some of the most adorable children on the planet, the glitz of the film industry, a hunky next door dogooder neighbour, an exotic locale, an even hunkier Latin lover and it all boils up the most scrumptiously satisfying holiday read ever.
It's a gem of a story so curl up with a hot choc, or mulled wine and savour it : This was a lovely book to read on Boxing Day, although it would work equally well any time you wanted to curl up with something rather heartwarming.
Juliet and Gemma work really well as siblings with very different experiences of the same family Christmases when they were growing up.
Juliet, anxious to protect her younger sister from a disastrous Christmas as a teenager, continues her obsession with perfection into adulthood.
Gemma, always aware that something wasn't right about those supposedly perfect Christmases Juliet was putting on for her, just wants to get as far away from it all as possible.
Then there's an almighty row when Gemma announces that once again she won't be helping or even visiting Juliet's family at Christmas, a row which is ultimately resolved by the pair swapping places.
Juliet has left Gemma a notebook with all the details of what needs done when, so how hard can it be Assuming, of course that the right boxes and only the right boxes have been ticked on each day's page.
This was a fun story from start to finish, although I did feel that Juliet's happy ending could have done with more foreshadowing, and .
One to reread for definite, though,
A wonderful holiday read! With shades of "The Holiday" in the Christmas swap, I loved watching Juliet and Gemma out of their comfort zones and gaining new insights into themselves and each other.
The characters were wonderfully wellrounded and relatable, and the children had their own distinct personalities and quirks.
Add in a good dollop of romance and holiday cheer, . . and you've got a recipe for a book I couldn't put down, A nice book to read when you don't need anything too challenging to read, Meetsisters and their very different lives, Although it is based on Christmastime, it could be read round the pool in the summer and still be enjoyable.
C'est une très jolie histoire , parfaite en effet pour se mettre dans l'ambiance de l'hiver qui commence c'est léger, agréable à lire et très bien écrit je trouve, une belle découverte.
This is the perfect read for a little contemplation about family and the way we perceive them and perhaps how we fail to understand how we are perceived by others.
The thought behind the story fits well with the Xmas centred plot,
Two sisters who couldn't be more different even if they tried, Juliet is a mother to four with an ex husband and, She lives and plans each day with detailed minutiae of a mathematician solving a quantum physics problem.
Her sister Gemma is the younger and more carefree of the two, Not bound by husband or child, she roams the world and leaves the details of family life to her elder sibling.
Not surprisingly neither one understands the needs, dreams and character of the other very well,
As is often the case with older siblings, Juliet has kept certain events from her sister to keep her safe and free to live her life without the burden of the past.
In difficult family situations the eldest often takes on the role as the pseudoparent when the actual parents are unable to care for their children or they are unaware of how their behaviour is affecting their children.
Juliet sees herself as that standin parent but at the same time wants to be acknowledged for the child she actually is.
When you take over part of the adult role in the family dynamics people tend to expect more from you.
Somewhere in the midst of that the child in the situation loses out on a part of their childhood.
So it is no wonder that Juliet has trouble breaking a habit of a lifetime, She still tries to mother her sister and to make it right for everyone around her, That sounds good in theory but in practice everyone has their breaking point,
That breaking point is at the heart of this story and how the family copes with it.
I liked the fact that Harper didn't end the book with sugar, spice and all things nice.
She managed to leave the reader with a sense of contentment and at the same time kept it realistic.
A very good read,
I received a copy of this book courtesy of the publisher Harlequin UK and Mills amp Boon.
I hadnt read any novels by Fiona harper before so I was really looking forward to seeing what Fiona had in store for me with Make My Wish Come True.
Juliet is a single mother to her children and wants a Christmas that is a joyful family celebration.
Her sister Gemma however, is free and single and has dreams of a Christmas is the beautiful Caribbean sun.
But soon there are new plans involving a Christmas swap Gemma will spend a snowy Christmas with her nieces and nephews and Juliet will be going on a tropical holiday, living Gemmas adventures and life.
I really enjoyed this, I loved the idea of the Christmas swap, and I looked forward to reading about how each sister would cope when living the life of the other sister at Christmas.
And it was fascinating to read as they both threw themselves into their new roles, Gemma having to look after the children and Juliet spending time in the sunshine.
The characters were really wellwritten, the children were personal favourites of mine, and I loved that they played a valuable part in Gemmas Christmas.
I really enjoyed Gemma and Juliets personal journeys and reading about their development as they gained a deeper understanding of what life was like for each other.
At times it really touched my heart and I dont want to spoil it so I wont say anymore but it is a beautifully written story.
Make My Wish Come True is a novel of family, romance and Christmas spirit all rolled into one, making this a wonderful story to curl up with and enjoy! A poignant, thoughtprovoking and highly compelling tale which I couldnt bear to put down, Fiona Harpers mainstream debut novel, Make My Wish Come True, is simply outstanding!
Juliet and Gemma might be sisters, but they are as different as chalk and cheese.
Juliet has always been the sensible, responsible and uptight sibling, whereas Gemma is the laidback free spirit who lives out of a suitcase.
With the festive season fast approaching, Juliets organisational skills are out in force, as she has been planning Christmas day with military precision for months.
With gifts to buy, Christmas lunch to prepare and her kids packed social schedule to juggle, every single minute of the big day is accounted for.
Gemma, on the other hand, is trying to muster up the courage to tell her big sister that she will be spending the holiday season sunning herself in an exclusive resort in St.
Lucia
When she hears of her younger sisters plan to spend Christmas on a sandy beach in the Caribbean, Juliet is absolutely livid.
All her carefully and meticulously laid plans have been thrown into disarray by her selfish sister yet again.
Nobody seems to appreciate the sacrifices and compromises which she makes to ensure that everyone has the perfect Christmas, so when a sisterly squabble compels Gemma to tell her sister to go to St.
Lucia in her place, a stressed out Juliet decides to take her up on her offer, With Gemma promising to look after her kids, Juliet packs her bags and leaves Tunbridge Wells behind for the warm Caribbean sun.
For the first time in ages, Juliet can look forward to a relaxing Christmas where the only thing shes got to worry about is topping up her suntan lotion.
Things soon begin to look up for the single mum when she meets goodlooking Italian travel writer Marco.
After her husband had left her, Juliets selfconfidence had taken quite a battering, Will sensible Juliet shake off the shackles of responsibility and indulge in a nostrings affair with a gorgeous Italian hunk under the sizzling Caribbean sun
Assistant director Gemma spends her entire working life looking after highly strung actors and dealing with the many temper tantrums thrown by diva directors, so organizing Christmas for her four nieces and nephews should be a walk in the park.
However, the more time Gemma spends walking in her sisters shoes, the more she realizes how little she appreciates all that Juliet does for their family.
Determined not to let her sister down, Gemma sets out to give her nephews and nieces a Christmas they will never forget.
Luckily for her, Juliets gorgeous neighbor Will is always available to give her a helping hand
Juliet and Gemma have spent their entire life at loggerheads, but will this Christmas be the time
where they will reevaluate their relationship and let bygones be bygones Or will they continue to let past resentments and old wounds come between them
Make My Wish Come True is an enjoyable, moving and witty tale about families, the ties that bind, unexpected blessings and the magic of Christmas that will tug at your heartstrings, make you smile and make you ponder your relationship with the people who matter to you most! Fiona Harper has penned a believable and realistic novel about the everyday struggle for perfection, the constant pressures of suburban life and the fear of failing that will strike a chord with women everywhere.
Juliet and Gemma were richly drawn and exquisitely rendered characters that were easy to relate to.
In Make My Wish Come True, Fiona Harper takes these two very different characters on a journey of healing and selfdiscovery that is emotional, heartrending, funny and credible.
Fiona Harper has outdone herself with Make My Wish Come True, a firstclass read thats got winner written all over it!
This review was originally published on Single Titles.
I had only glanced at the premise when I request this book and if I had studied it more closely I probably wouldn't have requested it.
Going in I didn't have high hopes for the actual premise, How could it possible be set up and not just seem silly But it worked, It made sense why Gemma came up with the idea and it made sense while Juliet took her up on it.
I loved both Juliet and Gemma, They were both flawed and had real issues with each other and it was interesting to watch them both figure themselves and each other out.
There wasn't a lightbulb moment where they each realized that the other sister's life was more difficult than they had given them credit for and everything was fixed.
It slowly evolved and they began to understand why the other acted the way they did, I really identified with both sisters and I really wanted them to work through their issues,
The romance in this is a subplot at best and really I could have done without it.
One had red flags popping up from the beginning and the other had an ick factor though it does get resolved.
While I really liked Juliet the parts from her perspective did tend to drag a bit, Partly because at the beginning of her vacation she wasn't doing much other than figuring out how to do nothing.
This was an interesting read about sisters with lots of baggage learning to get past it and rebuild a relationship with each other.
It also is about two women getting a better grip on who they are as people, If you're reading this book for those reasons I think you'll really enjoy it, If you're reading it as a Christmas romance I think you'd be disappointed,
Full review: sitelink blogspot .