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Caroline’s got frugality down to a fine art. She can make a tin of soup stretch for days, considers “reduced to clear” her love language, and thinks Christmas is just a daft excuse for people to throw their money away on tinsel trimmed tat.
But Christmas Eve night takes a turn when her best mate, Marlene, drops in for a chat. Lovely, right? Except Marlene’s been dead for seven years and she’s got a message for Caroline, she will be visited by three spirits and if she doesn’t pay attention, her future’s looking bleaker than the contents of her fridge freezer.
Caroline’s convinced she’s having a hallucination. Ghosts? Surely not! But as the night goes on, she starts to wonder if she might just learn something worth more than her latest discount voucher. And for someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing, this might be the wake-up call she didn’t see coming.
Move over Ebenezer! This modern, laugh-out-loud retelling of the Dickens classic has a new Scrooge in town. Perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella.
What did I think?
A Christmas Caroline is a fun festive read and it's a fresh, modern twist on a Christmas Classic. I really enjoyed it and at just 161 pages it's short enough to read again every festive season.
I thought I was frugal but Caroline makes me look frivolous! Her penny pinching is hilarious and I laughed out loud so many times as I was reading. On the flip side of the coin though, it made me think of people who really don't have two pennies to rub together and how difficult it must be to worry about where your next meal is coming from nevermind paying any bills.
I loved the retelling of A Christmas Carol and the quirky characters that K.L. Crear has imagined in place of Scrooge, Marley et al. With the same thought-provoking messages running through the prose, it's a fun and faithful nod to the original book.
Hilarious, entertaining and evocative, I defy anyone not to laugh when reading A Christmas Caroline. I like to read the Dickens' classic over the festive period but I'm going to add A Christmas Caroline to my festive repeat reading list. It's a real Christmas Cracker and not to be missed.
I received a digital ARC to read and review for the blog blitz and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
About the author:
Karen (K.L. Crear) is an author, over-sharer, and walking cautionary tale. Think: a sweary teenager trapped in the body of a menopausal woman who can’t sneeze without risking a wardrobe malfunction. You’re welcome.
Once upon a time, she worked in banking, the Civil Service, and property management, or as she likes to call it, The Beige Trilogy. She spent decades being respectable (ish), responsible (occasionally), and quietly losing the will to live. Then one day she found herself broke, baffled, and built entirely out of biscuit crumbs and unresolved trauma. So she did what any sensible woman would do, she wrote it all down and flogged it in paperback.
Karen has battled cancer twice, and her coping strategy was to laugh at wildly inappropriate moments and shout “F*ck off!” at inspirational quotes. Spoiler: it worked. Her sense of humour is deeply questionable, but it’s kept her just about sane through grief, illness, love, lies, and the time she gave herself food poisoning with a dodgy prawn ring from Iceland.
After years of procrastination (and one too many vinos), she finally swapped Pinot for a pen. She now writes jaw-dropping memoirs and hilarious women’s fiction about women who’ve had enough, snapped slightly, and are thriving in spite of it all, usually with a glass in hand, some top mates, and a solid alibi.
Her hobbies include eating anything wrapped in pastry, shouting at the Real Housewives (“She’s definitely had something done - she’s melting!”), and threatening to adopt an axolotl because they look so absurdly cheerful. She once turned down hugging a sloth in Mexico, it dangles upside down, pees on itself, and honestly felt like a warning from the future.
Karen lives in a sleepy Northern town with her long-suffering husband (he’s partially deaf, which helps) and their cat Pickle, who looks permanently disgusted with their life choices and the ongoing Dreamies rationing.
A portion of every book sale goes to Women’s Aid, Great Ormond Street, the Epilepsy Society, and Macmillan. because she knows what it’s like to need help. The world’s a shitshow, but we can all make a little difference in our own way.
Social Media Links
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/klcrearauthor
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/klcrear_author
Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/K-L-Crear/author/B0BTZ22HBD
Website: https://www.klcrear.com
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