Boots and Bedlam

Our Review

 I love the Sweeney sisters and was looking forward to their return to my life (I wasn’t disappointed.) As usual it was the little moments of family life that made it such a lovely read. Where the other novels focused more or less equally on all the sisters, this novella focused on Sam Sweeney. 

One of the many little things I enjoyed about this book are the little pictures of snowflakes underneath the chapter numbers. I also loved that the book was set at my favourite time of the year: Christmas. 

Sam, always a busy character, is juggling a lot of things in this book. Sam is busy planning a Christmas Eve wedding to the man of her dreams, moving house, running a business, upholding family traditions and trying to content with troublesome teenagers. When one disaster seems to follow another will the wedding even go ahead?

Sam had a standing appointment with her son, Jamie, for the Saturday after Thanksgiving to string the lights up on the outside of the house. That is just one of the many cute little traditions in this book. My favourite has to be Jamie buying Sam a Christmas ornament each year that commemorates the special moments that have occurred throughout the year. I love the relationship between Sam and Jamie

, “Because I feel the same way for so long, it was just you and me, making our way through life together. Those years bonded us in a special way. Don’t get me wrong. I’m thrilled Eli is joining our little family. But I will never forget the happy memories that belong only to us.”

I don’t want to ruin the circumstances of the proposal so I will just say that it was lovely and unique. Eli is very nervous that Sam will become scared of the potential equipment again but Sam’s response to this worry is endearing. 

I liked all the special little details involved in the planning of Sam’s wedding and the way all the family got involved in helping to make the perfect for Sam. 
I think once again Ashley Farley dealt with the issue of alcoholism with sensitivity,

“I don’t talk about my alcoholism to just anyone. But you’re different, Jamie. You are going to be my stepson. If my past mistakes can help you avoid addiction problems in the future, I’m happy to share them with you. It’s been five years and thirty-six days for me. And not a single one of them has been easy. But your mum is right. We need to find other ways to spend our time. “

Sophia, Jamie’s girlfriend, is one of those characters you wish was real so you could punch her. Very irritating character and for fans of these books you will definitely be questioning what Jamie is doing with her. She knew three things about Jamie’s girlfriend. Sophia Rainey was a beautiful redhead from California who made her sorority her priority. Jamie had been seeing Sophia for eight months, but far Sam had yet to meet her. Sophia is definitely a trouble causer and we see her pulls Jamie into a few uncomfortable situations,

“Sam had never seen her son drunk before. She’d known him to have an occasional beer at a tailgate party, or a family event like Faith’s wedding. It’s not that she was naïve, she suspected her drank in excess on occasion at school. He’d just never done it around her. Perhaps out of respect for her addiction problems. Now, with slurred speech and bloodshot eyes, he was more than a little tipsy. And Sophia was totally in the bag. Her head dangled from her neck, lolling back and forth every time the car turned.”

Once again this book had delicious sounding food, such as eggnog cheesecake and oyster stew and the tasty sounding wedding meal menu.
It was nice to see Annie in this book again and her developing relationship and the way she slots into the family. One of my favourite moments is when Sam tells Annie she couldn’t love her more if she was her own daughter. I guessed the little secret to do with Annie early on because of something someone let slip.

Another great read.

 

Our Final Rating...

Thu, 15th December 2016