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All I Want For Christmas: Day 5 – Q&A with Alexandra Brown
Today we have the absolute honour and pleasure to welcome Alexandra Brown on This Chick Reads. Alexandra is the author of ‘Cupcakes at Carrington’s’, ‘Me and Mr Carrington’ and her latest ‘Christmas at Carrington’s’ (read our review here). The paperback of ‘Christmas at Carrington’s’ is out today, yay! At the end of the post you’ll also find the links to this book and amazon, so GO GET IT! It’s a fantastic Christmas & feel good read and you will absolutely enjoy it, I can guarantee you on that one.
We’ve asked Alexandra few Qs and loved reading her answers, hope you guys enjoy it too.
Writing a Christmas book before the actual event can be hard. What helped you get into a festive mood earlier for the purposes of writing ‘Christmas at Carrington’s?
I wrote Christmas at Carrington’s in the middle of summer and was even on holiday in Spain for part of the time – sunbathing by the pool with my laptop, so to get myself into the festive mood I listened to all of the Christmas songs, watched all of the Christmas films and made sure I indulged in a few cheeky tumblers of Baileys too.
What’s your favorite Christmas related book (besides ‘Christmas at Carrington’s of course :))
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
When do you start your Christmas shopping?
On the 1st Dec, it’s my birthday on November 30th, so I always wait until after then before I ‘do’ Christmas.
What’s your favorite Christmas movie?
It’s A Wonderful Life – it even gets a showing in Christmas at Carrington’s.
Which celebrity would you kiss under the mistletoe?
Tom Hardy without a doubt. I’d be all over him.
Christmas is all about…
Love and laughter with my family.
Worst Christmas gift you received was…
An iron from an ex-boyfriend.
2013 is the year you won’t forget because …
My first two novels were published.
All I want for Christmas is…
World peace!
Thank you and merry Christmas xx
Thank you Alexandra for answering our Qs, we were thrilled to have you on our blog. And now guys, grab a copy of ‘Christmas at Carrington’s’ it’s a fab Christmas story and if I may comment the coverart..it’s stunning! Definitely one of my favorite covers.
About Alexandra Brown
Alexandra Brown is a British writer and used to work in an office. When she isn’t writing, reading, thinking about writing, sniffing stationery, lusting after handbags or watching trashy TV, Alexandra likes to indulge her online shopping addiction while tweeting too much. She lives near Brighton with her husband, daughter and a very shiny black Labrador puppy.
Find Alexandra Brown on her site, facebook and twitter
Buy ‘Christmas at Carrington’s’ on amazon.co.uk and amazon.com
All I Want For Christmas: Day 4 – Book review: Christmas at Carrington’s by Alexandra Brown
*Copy provided by author in exchange for an honest review*
I was really looking forward to reading this book for many reasons. First off, my twitter feed throughout November was full of great comments about it, secondly, the sparkly reviews from my friends/chick lit bloggers whose judgments I absolutely trust.
With Christmas being just around the corner, I thought it was the perfect time to read this Christmassy read and boy oh boy did I have high expectations.
But you know what? Not only was I not disappointed in Alexandra’s writing but this book actually exceeded all my expectations. ‘Christmas at Carrington’s’ is the sequel to ‘Cupcakes at Carrington’s’ but it can be easily read as a stand alone too. We get together with Georgie, Sam and Eddie again and see what lies in store for them (no pun intended).
Carrington’s is a family firm spanning 3 generations and a store everyone in Mullberry-On-Sea feel connected to. The customers are treated with respect and addressed by name and the staff is like one big happy family.
Well, at least it was before Kelly Cooper and her cameras enter the picture. The idea of setting a reality show in a department store is really brilliant, I personally find it very unique. It does give the story a whole new dimension. Literally over night, Georgie who’s running the Women’s Accessories section in Carrington’s becomes a celebrity and a national TV star. Of course, at first she doesn’t enjoy being so exposed and loudly objects the idea of turning a well respected and traditional store into a TV circus, but soon she starts to get into this whole glamorous life. She even gets to write a fashion column, something she always wanted to do. But fame has a price, right? Georgie is really a wonderful character, and despite being thrown in many awkward situations, she is pretty down-to-earth and positive person. Everyone would love to have her as a BFF, she’s nice, kind, caring and full of understanding. I cheered for her, I laughed with her, I sympathized with her, she’s definitely a memorable character everyone would love.
I loved the romance elements which fitted the story perfectly. Tom Carrington is gorgeous, smart, sexy..simply breath taking. BUT what I enjoyed the most was the friendship between Georgie and Sam. I could feel they deeply care for each other and support each other no matter what. This is not a sad book, it’s actually very fun and uplifting, but there’s few scenes in the book where I literally cried like a baby, I was that emotionally invested. I totally DIDN’T expect to cry, but it was stronger than me really. These scenes are pretty powerful and well written (and address a more serious topic), and give the book a deeper dimension. I’m sure many women out there will understand what I say, once they read this book.
Overall, this is definitely a great and enjoyable book. It will get you in a festive mood super speedy, make you laugh and deeply care about these fantastic characters, and flip through pages to see what will happen to Georgie and if she’s gonna get her HEA. I thoroughly enjoyed it and am certainly looking forward to part 3, which I heard will be released in June 2014. Full of sparkle and heart, this is a must read for all chick lit and romance fans.
My rating: 4/5
Buy ‘Christmas at Carrington’s’ on amazon.co.uk and amazon.com
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