The Christmas Party (Christmas Fiction)

by Carole Matthews

[Leah]

Carole Matthews has always been an author I adore, but recently she's even elevated herself above that, if that's possible. When I read A Place To Call Home earlier this year, I was blown away. It was like no Carole Matthews book I've ever read before, sending her off in a bit more of a serious direction that absolutely definitely suited her. It was honestly her best work to date, so I had very high hopes when I received a review copy of her latest novel The Christmas Party. This is actually Carole's 25th novel, would you believe? Can you imagine reaching 25 novels? Amazing! And not only that but she now gives us two novels per year - so we'll be at fifty before you know it!

The Christmas Party is a very different novel to A Place To Call Home. It's a lot less serious, but it's not any less good. As you might expect, the novel revolves around a christmas party! A christmas party for the folks who work at Fossil Oil. There's the man in charge Lance, and his wife Melissa. Heir to the throne Tyler, and his wife Kirsten, and newest recruit Louise who is Tyler's newest personal assistant and has to defend her honour from his lecherous intentions on a daily basis. The strapline says "It's going to be a night to remember" and it most certainly is, let me tell you. Our Christmas parties at work having nothing on the Christmas party this lot throw, but it was spectacular and filled with all sorts of drama, so I can hardly complain! I wish our work Christmas party was like this one!

What surprised me most about The Christmas Party is that 290 pages of just over 400 are dedicated to the night of the party. ONE WHOLE NIGHT is managed to be spread over 240 magnificent pages. It's mind-blowing. But there was so much happening - there were lots of games being played between Melissa, Kirsten, Lance and Tyler. They were all inter-mingling, but also missing the bigger pictures, and it was fascinating to see it all unravel on the night of the Christmas party and who should be thrown into the middle but poor Louise! Poor Louise, I just wanted her and Josh to go to a corner and never leave, because as soon as Josh strode onto the page, I was captivated and knew he and Louise would be perfect together. Louise was definitely the lynch-pin to the whole novel, even if it was unwitting on her behalf. I was so impressed that so much could happen in the span of a few hours.

Once I got in to The Christmas Party, I was hooked. It took a little while, but soon I was desperate to see how it would all unfold and who would end up in trouble. It all built very, very nicely to a surprising climax. I was perhaps a touch disappointed to not see an Epilogue - if only because I was quite interested to know what happened to a couple of the characters. There was a quite significant plot twist towards the end that wasn't necessarily dealt with and it sort of left things a bit up in the air (potential sequel, perhaps?). Either way it was a fantastic read - a beautiful setting, characters you really care for and some you don't and a very, very interesting Christmas party. I loved the Christmas spirit that shined through, it was lovely - and decidedly festive with the Christmas season shining upon us like a beacon! The Christmas Party is a novel (and a night!!!) you will never forget!This review was originally posted on Girls Love To Read