Fool Me Twice at Christmas by Camilla Isley
ABOUT THE BOOK
There are two types of relationships: fake and real.
Chuck and Kate’s used to be real, oh-so-real. But after she broke his heart four months ago, leaving him, it became all just pretense for the sake of their entwined families.
With parents who are best friends and business partners, it’s not easy for Chuck and Kate to announce they’ve split up. But with the holidays looming over them, they can no longer keep pretending.
They head home for Christmas, determined to tell the truth—and end up accidentally engaged instead. The more they try to pull apart, the more the Universe seems to push them back together, shortening the road to the altar. And when just-for-show kisses stir up forgotten feelings, things get even more complicated.
Now, with the midnight hour approaching, will Chuck and Kate’s relationship turn out to be fake or real?
MY REVIEW
Camilla Isley writes conflict and comedy so well and Chuck and Kate’s dilemma is no exception. You see Kate left Chuck four months ago and has moved on with another guy, but they haven’t told their families. Their families own a chocolate company together and do everything together. The families expect Kate and Chuck to get married and have babies. The pressure is on and it’s time to confess at Christmas….or so they thought.
The story is told in alternating viewpoints from Kate and Chuck as we slowly get the whole picture of the mess they have created. Kate and Chuck’s families are overbearing and pushy to the point where the poor couple doesn’t have any control over anything, let alone their own lives, when they arrive home for Christmas. They unexpectedly build on their lies from a series of hilarious faux pas and miscommunications resulting in a full-family plan of a shotgun wedding. The truth finally does come out before they are completely buried under their lies, but at what cost?
As fake relationships go, this one is not a happy one. They are both very immature and blind to what they could have. I’m not a big fan of Kate. I agree with Chuck that she is passive aggressive and a real bitch on wheels and I feel he’s better off without her, but he still loves her even after she broke his heart. Her constant anger and blaming Chuck for everything get old. Even when she realizes she made a mistake dumping him, I didn’t feel the love she supposedly has for Chuck.
As for Chuck, yes he probably didn’t pay much attention to Kate during their relationship, but it all comes down to communication and give and take. Basically, Kate is a taker and Chuck is the giver. I don’t see that changing, but love, right? Chuck is a sweet and patient man especially when she throws her new boyfriend Marco in his face. Perhaps Chuck is a little too patient and wishy-washy because he really needed to throw Marco out the minute he showed up at Christmas. Yeah, that happened.
There are many funny and sweet moments including the family snowball fight and the many cringe-worthy situations where their interfering families were not a good vibe for me.
If you enjoy romantic comedies with quirky characters getting into difficult situations, give this book a try.
Thank you to Ms. Isley for giving me the opportunity to read this book with no expectation of a positive review.
Giveaway to Win 3 x e-copies of A Christmas Caroline by Camilla Isley (Open INT)
*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
BUY THE BOOK
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Camilla is an engineer turned writer after she quit her job to follow her husband on an adventure abroad.
She’s a cat lover, coffee addict, and shoe hoarder. Besides writing, she loves reading–duh!–cooking, watching bad TV, and going to the movies–popcorn, please. She’s a bit of a foodie, nothing too serious. A keen traveler, Camilla knows mosquitoes play a role in the ecosystem, and she doesn’t want to starve all those frog princes out there, but she could really live without them.
Follow Camilla on Goodreads, Bookbub, Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
FOLLOW THE BLOG TOUR
BLOG TOUR ORGANIZED BY:
