A Proper Family Christmas (Proper Family)

by Chrissie Manby

[Leah]

If you’re a regular reader of my reviews, you will know that Chrissie Manby has long been one of my favourite Chick Lit authors, since her Girl Meets Ape early days, and I always look forward to her new reads with relish, especially since she’s recently started a new series about a family called the Benson’s. We were introduced to them in A Proper Family Holiday, and their saga continues in A Proper Family Christmas.

whatiloved

I have to confess I was a little bit surprised and disappointed with A Proper Family Christmas, although there will be more on that below, but I did, however, love being back with the Benson’s. They Benson’s are just your most typical English family. If you look up the words “British” and “family” you’d find a picture of the Bensons. No word of a lie, they’d be there. I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. And so, with the introduction of the Buchanan’s, I was a bit wary, because let me tell you, the Buchanans are Posh with a capital P. The kind of posh Posh strives to be (Victoria Beckham, to the unitiated).

I found the Buchanan’s really hard to like, but on the flip side, there was still the most awesome goings on with the Bensons. Because wherever they go, trouble follows, and it was somewhat amusing to see that Annabel Buchanan is actually a Benson. It’s literally the most unbelievable thing, ever. Because she’s so not a Benson. I did eventually warm to the Buchanan’s – mostly Izzy, who was delightful, but for the most part I thought they were quite snobbish, which made me sad.

thenotsogood

So here’s my problem with A Proper Family Christmas: It just didn’t have the same, fun feel of A Proper Family Holiday. The adoption stuff should have been left out completely – the Buchanans should have been ditched, because I would have genuinely liked to have seen a Benson family Christmas, without all the misery and drama that comes along with rediscovering your adopted daughter and her sick child. I just wasn’t a fan, I just wanted to read more Benson family stuff, not misery, especially not for a Christmas book. It just seemed to lack the awesome sauce from the first book, the lightness, it was too heavy for me. And while it should have been great to see the two families from opposites sides of the class marker come together, it was just awkward because, as I said, the Buchanans were snobs, and only wanted to know the Benson’s because of Izzy’s illness. It wasn’t motivated by anything other than what the Benson’s could provide and that made me sad.

verdict

I didn’t love A Proper Family Christmas as much as I loved A Proper Family Holiday, it was just too depressing for me to love and much less funny. It was fantastic to be back with the Benson family again, they are a delight, and I would be honoured to be part of their clan, unlike Annabel Buchanan. It could have been interesting, but it just fell a bit too flat for me.