Merrily Ever After book review

Earlier this week I reread The Merry Christmas Project by Cathy Bramley so the obvious next thing to read was Merrily Ever After by Cathy Bramley, also a reread.

In this book along with again following Merry who is getting ready for her Christmas Eve wedding to Cole, we also follow Emily who while caring for her dad discovers a photograph that could massively change things for her.

This book definitely has more of a contemporary feel than a romance feel however I still loved my read of it. I enjoyed it more than I did the first time around which pleasantly surprised me and makes me more excited to read book 3 which was recently releases and I have been highly anticipating.

Emily and what she brings with her to the story, which as I don’t want to spoil it won’t reveal, really adds and makes the sequel have the same feel as book 1 but can still stand on its own as a story. I also think that this was an aspect that I enjoyed more upon reread which in turn really highly contributed to why I liked the book as a whole more this time.
While because of how much I love these books I would recommend starting with book 1 I do think that the stories stand well enough on their own that you can read them in any order.

Something else about this book that I really enjoyed and wasn’t as present in book 1 was the focus on family and family dynamics because as Merry and Cole’s relationship has developed and time has gone on since book 1, those have changed and developed and it was really nice to see that explored. Bringing Emily into the story too widened this part of the book and took it away from just being about what happens to Harley and Freya now their dad is getting married which I liked.

The festive vibes were just as strong in this book which I personally loved to see. We have Christmas markets, carol services, shopping, light switch ons and more along with a festive wedding. This creates some really strong magical festive vibes which is what you want from a book with a Christmas setting.

This was a super magical Christmas book and I am so glad that I reread it because I love it more this time around and rereading both this and The Merry Christmas Project truly has started to get my head into a festive feeling ahead of December starting. I can’t wait to dive into A Merry Little Christmas now it is out and I have been reminded of my love for the series.

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