I enjoy Kerry Winfrey's novels and knew I had to read Faking Christmas when I learned it was inspired by one of my favorite Christmas movies - Christmas in Connecticut, filmed in 1945. With nearly 80 years separating them, it was fun to see the ways Ms. Winfrey incorporated the major plot points of the movie into her novel.
In both, a single woman takes on a public persona that doesn't exactly represent her actual life to keep a writing job she desperately needs. When Christmas arrives, unusual circumstances find each woman's boss inviting himself to celebrate the holiday with the woman and her family on their farm. The problem? Neither woman is married ... or has children ... or lives on a farm. Hilarious antics occur as the women get creative to portray their false lives to save their jobs.
I had high expectations for this story and Faking Christmas met them. In both the book and movie, suspension of disbelief is needed to enjoy the story, and I happily followed each zany bend in the plot. Found family is key to both, and overall, the novel had more emotional depth than the movie. I enjoyed the audiobook narrated by Jennifer Jill Araya. She did a fine job of voicing characters both female and male characters, and she conveyed the range of emotions they experience.
I'm so glad the author wrote this holiday novel filled with humor and heart. I hope it introduces more people to the classic movie that inspired it.
In both, a single woman takes on a public persona that doesn't exactly represent her actual life to keep a writing job she desperately needs. When Christmas arrives, unusual circumstances find each woman's boss inviting himself to celebrate the holiday with the woman and her family on their farm. The problem? Neither woman is married ... or has children ... or lives on a farm. Hilarious antics occur as the women get creative to portray their false lives to save their jobs.
I had high expectations for this story and Faking Christmas met them. In both the book and movie, suspension of disbelief is needed to enjoy the story, and I happily followed each zany bend in the plot. Found family is key to both, and overall, the novel had more emotional depth than the movie. I enjoyed the audiobook narrated by Jennifer Jill Araya. She did a fine job of voicing characters both female and male characters, and she conveyed the range of emotions they experience.
I'm so glad the author wrote this holiday novel filled with humor and heart. I hope it introduces more people to the classic movie that inspired it.
