Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Time spent with family can be challenging, especially at Christmas.”

Book number two of my Christmas TBR pile and what another brilliant story! It wasn’t as festive as I was expecting, but the themes included made up for it. Family, forgiveness, and starting again, as well as the joys (and stresses) of parent life are all explored so well and the book will be so relatable for so many because of this. I can’t wait for more people to meet Kate! I’m so happy to be sharing my review of Christmas Actually!

About the book

Kate Cavendish is stuck in a rut. That is until a former colleague contacts her and offers her a chance to fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming a successful photographer. But with her focus pulled in all directions by her children, her pregnant sister, her newly dating mother, and the niggling worry that her husband might be having an affair, Kate is filled with self-doubt.

Then, as the countdown to Christmas begins, and memories of her own childhood resurface, Kate’s anxiety deepens—both personally and professionally. Can she move on from past events and rebuild her future? And can the power of social media finally stop hindering her family, and help her create something successful?

The beginning

We can probably all relate to Kate Cavendish in some way or another; she’s at that point in her life where she’s stuck in a rut. Married, kids, same routine day in and day out. Looking after everyone else and putting them first, and never making time for herself. However, that all suddenly changes when Kate’s old colleague, Fern, offers her a photography job in the run up to Christmas, something she’s wanted all her life. This could be her big chance! I really liked Kate for the most part and the author explores her character well. But there was one part of her I felt uneasy with from the start – she’s pretty obsessed with her son’s French football coach, Arnaud. Now, I understand an innocent crush, there’s nothing wrong with that, but I had a feeling it was deeper than that. Eeek. I felt sorry for her husband here, even though their marriage had changed over the years. I wanted them to work on their relationship, not throw it away!

“What had happened to the woman who used to be Kate Cavendish? The woman who was strong, independent, feisty and determined?”

I really liked the cast of characters we meet and the relationships between different people. The relationship Kate has with her daughter, Lexi, was particularly striking. Lexi is at that rebellious age, finding herself and of course, experimenting with her hair (didn’t we all?) But her daughter growing up makes Kate realise she’s not so little anymore, she’s no longer her best friend. It must be hard. So far, the book was heavily focused on family and relationships, with a very light sprinkling of Christmas, but I didn’t actually mind it. I was so drawn into the drama of family life and loved how real these characters felt. I expected to really dislike Kate’s sister, Robyn, who is a social media influencer documenting her ‘perfect’ life, but I actually really liked her. She’s single, pregnant and relies on Kate a lot for her flawless photographs. There was something about her and Kate’s sisterly bond that was written so well, even though they didn’t see eye to eye at times. I couldn’t help but love them both.

The middle

Kate’s photography job was so interesting to me – even though she usually hates food photography, she takes her job at Delicious Bites seriously and certainly learns a thing or two that will be great for her experience, despite working with Graeme. He’s hot headed, has a short fuse and has a very clear vision for what he needs in every photograph, so he can be difficult to work with. But after a drunken kiss (🤦) work for Kate soon gives off an awkward vibe. I had to laugh at myself, I was frantically thinking, “Kate, don’t do it, don’t do it,” in my head when I sensed it was going to happen. First fantasising about Arnaud, now Graeme?! Kate has issues, and I hoped to God she could sort them out fast. It didn’t help that her mum and dad seemed to be getting back together – after her dad walked out on them when she was only young. Could their new, flourishing relationship be causing Kate some jealousy? Was she comparing this with her own marriage?

“I’m always checking to see how I feel about my life and my marriage. I’m constantly asking myself, is it good enough? Am I good enough? Is everything as perfect as it can be?”

With rumours swirling about that night at the pub, Kate racks her brain to find out exactly what happened, the things she simply cannot remember. Slowly but surely, memories begin to surface, and the more she remembers, the more she wants to crawl into a hole and never emerge. I really felt her embarrassment and thought the thoughts and feelings she experiences were written so well. I felt stressed for Kate with everything she was balancing in her life, and what only adds to all that is her thoughts that her husband, Matthew, is having an affair. But is she only jumping to this conclusion because of her own guilt of drunkenly kissing Graeme? After seeing an old professional photo of hers (which, might I add, was described so well that I could really see and appreciate it in all its glory,) Kate has some sort of realisation – where she needs to be and what she needs to do. And she was determined! You go, girl!

The end

I admired Kate’s strength at this point in the book and couldn’t wait to see the steps she’d take to make a change. One of these huge steps for her was making a start forgiving her father, something I never expected her to do when we see her reaction to him being back in her mother’s life. There were some beautiful, somewhat emotional scenes with Kate and her dad, talking about the past, mistakes that were made and how important it was to look to the future. It was really thought-provoking and gets you thinking about your own life, understanding time is precious and that we shouldn’t hold grudges. Happiness should take priority, for everyone. But just when everyone (including me) thought we were getting a happy ending right there and then, Kate gets a phone call every parent must dread. There’d been an accident. Combining this with Graeme being even more vile than usual and an unexpected meeting with Arnaud’s partner, I felt so sorry for Kate for everything occupying her brain.

“Motherhood was a privilege, but so was pursuing my dream. Photography. I had to make it work. Me, a housewife, living in suburbia?

Onward and upward. I could do it.”

There was so much packed into that ending! From a random pregnant rabbit (not sure why) to even a little twist in events and a shocking truth involving Graeme that I did not see coming. We finally understand what happened on that dreaded night as Kate eventually remembers all the unfortunate details, but now she knows what happened, she can begin to forgive herself and start to move on with her life. I just loved Kate’s mum; her voice of reason, someone she needs to really emphasise the importance of forgiveness and fresh starts. There’s a real uplifting feel to those ending chapters, with many life lessons to keep close. I loved ending the book with the wedding of the year! I couldn’t help but think about Kate’s future, her ambitions and where she would go, and I really think a sequel would be great (no pressure, Lisa!) If you love books set around Christmas with sprinklings of family drama and plenty of food for thought, I think you’ll love this!

Overall thoughts

Christmas Actually can be best described as a family drama with a sprinkling of Christmas. It explores relationships in all their forms and as a result has characters you will remember (for both good reasons and bad!) I loved the the theme of forgiveness, of taking chances and appreciating what you have. So many moments in this book had me thinking about my own life and how we should embrace life, our hopes and our dreams. There’s second chance love, strong women, workplace romance (but not the good kind) and rebuilding relationships, and the author does such a brilliant job of bringing all these elements together. A really lovely and uplifting book by the end, with so many relatable moments!

Christmas Actually is available right now over on Amazon. Make sure you’re following Lisa over on Instagram and X/Twitter! You can read my interview with Lisa here.

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