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Saturday, January 20, 2024

One Christmas Morning by Rachel Greenlaw

 


Do you like to get up right away on Christmas morning or sleep in?  I was excited that this year, now that the kids are teenagers, we were allowed to sleep in until 9 AM.  When they were younger, we used to have a rule that they couldn’t wake us up before 7 AM as we were usually up half the night wrapping presents.

Eva is not excited for Christmas.  Three years ago, her beloved grandmother passed away at Christmas, and she lost her baby.  Since then, she and her husband James have been living in their own worlds.  Eva has buried herself in her work, ignoring her husband and her friends.   Her best friend Hallie has chosen an estate that her Grandmother always stayed at for the holidays, Penhallow in Cornwall, for a Christmas house party.  James thinks they should accept the invitation, but Eva is worried about being away while her new business needs to be launched.  She also has sad memories associated with this place and her grandmother’s death.  Will Eva be able to reconnect with her husband and friends at Christmas?  Will she be able to break out of her grief and empathize with people again?

Eva wake up on Christmas morning and she is no longer herself, but her assistant Diana.  She lives the day as Diana, not only seeing the mistakes that Eva has made, but also realizing that Diana has a lot going on in her own life that Eva has not seen at all.   Eva relives the day repeatedly in the lives of various house guests.  She learns new things about her friends and loved ones, and new things about herself every day.  Will she be able to use these lessons to put her life back on track?

I loved the concept of this book.  It was like Groundhog’s Day, but on Christmas day and if Bill Murrey lived the lives of different characters.  It also had shades of A Christmas Carol when Scrooge can see himself and past decisions and how they may shape the future.  Wouldn’t we all like the ability to see how we are viewed by others and how we can change our lives for the better?  Or would you not like that?  I really enjoyed Eva’s redemptive arc and the ending of this novel.  I also enjoyed that it was her Grandmother’s spirit that was her guide through this journey.

This book is heavier than a typical Christmas book.  Christmas is being celebrated in the background of the novel, but the real theme of the novel was grief and how people deal with it.  Eva came off as a very unlikeable character at first, but it gave her a lot of room for growth and understanding as the story unfolded.

I enjoyed this debut novel and I’m looking forward to seeing what author Rachel Greenlaw writes next.

Book Source:  Review copy from Avon Books from a Book Club Girls giveaway. Thank-you!  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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