Thank you very much to the publishers and Netgalley for sending me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Eva has spent the past three years burying herself in her work, trying to forget the heartbreaking events of the Christmas that ripped her world apart. And this year, on the eve of her shop launch, the last thing Eva wants is to drive to the wild moors of Cornwall to attend her friends Hallie and Kian’s Christmas party. But at her husband James’ insistence, here they are. Worse still, Hallie announces she is pregnant, bringing Eva’s pain to the surface.
Overwhelmed by her friend’s news and the bittersweet memories of past Christmases, Eva tries to sneak back to London in the middle of the night. But as the clock strikes midnight, she is visited by the ghost of her beloved grandmother. Gran tells Eva that if she doesn’t face her ghosts head-on and stop shutting out her loved ones, she risks losing them all forever.
When Eva wakes on Christmas morning, she finds herself living not her own life, but that of her hardworking assistant, Diana, whose overflowing inbox isn’t the only secret she’s been keeping. The next day, she wakes on Christmas morning again, this time in the body of Hallie’s sister, Natalie. As Eva lives Christmas Day again and again through the perspectives of her friends, she is offered a glimpse into the lives of those she has been pushing away. With each Christmas Day comes a new lesson—and an insight into the secrets and struggles her loved ones have been hiding.
Last year when I was on the lookout for Christmas books this one caught my eye and I’m so glad it did. If you are a fan of time-loop stories with heart-felt, heart-breaking storylines I would certainly recommend this one.
The moment Eva and James locked eyes, Eva knew she’d found her soulmate. Over ten years, they fell in love, got married and made plans to start a family. Until everything changed one Christmas three years ago and they’ve been drifting apart ever since. Eva hopes a friend’s Christmas party at an old manor house will give them the chance to reconnect.
But, the last thing she expects is to wake up on Christmas morning in the body of a different guest. As Eva is forced to relive Christmas Day from the perspectives of those closest to her, she sees just how much her life has fallen off track.
As someone who is a huge fan of time-loop stories, I’m always looking for a new one that puts a twist on the story. One Christmas Morning does just that. Whilst we see the day repeat itself, Eva lives it through the eyes of a different character each day. I feel like this allows the book to feel unique and adds something unexpected to a story that quite literally repeats itself.
Eva is quite a complicated character and I didn’t know whether I wanted to root for her at the start of the book. But, as the book progresses and we see Eva go through all the time-loops you can’t help but want the best for her.
If you are in search of a completely light-hearted Christmas read, then you may need to think about reading this one. Yes, it does have a large amount of heart-warming moments but there are quite a lot of upsetting moments throughout this book. We see how past trauma and mental health affect not only from the main character but all the other characters in this book. At times this can be quite a lot to read but I understand why this is necessary in moving the story along.
I’m certainly going to be keeping an eye out for further books by Rachel Greenlaw. This is an excellent debut novel and I’m sure future books by her will be entertaining reads.
Overall, One Christmas Morning is a unique take on a time-loop story at Christmas. Although not always light-hearted it still has its heart-warming moments and is an enjoyable read. I would definitely recommend it.
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