'Annie, Palma and Eve all meet at the ‘Christmas Pudding Club’, a new directive started by a forward-thinking young doctor to help mums-to-be mingle and share their pregnancy journeys. Will this group help each other to find love, contentment and peace as Christmas approaches?'

Another perfect, feel-good read from Milly Johnson. And even better, it is Christmassy! Ideal for a winter's night in with a fire and a hot chocolate. It has appearances from old favourite characters and places too. Make sure you have tissues handy though, as there are a few 'moments'!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this E-copy in return for an honest review.

The mother of all Christmas by Milly Johnson
I really enjoyed this Christmas book it catches you in and you need to read it until the end.
The book was brilliant written loved the characters you laugh and cry with them.
Many thanks to netgalley and the publisher for given me at chance to read and review this very enjoyable book.

My first Christmas based story this year, as a lover of Milly Johnson’s books I was delighted to get the opportunity to read this and it didn’t disappoint. Full of fun, friends and families, with an added bit of heartbreak. Set around 3 main characters, Eve, Palma and Annie all pregnant with Christmas babies. They meet and form friendships at a group for new and expectant mums.

Another cracking 5 star read, Milly Johnson never fails to deliver.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the book in exchange for an honest review.
The Mother Of All Christmases by Milly Johnson is one of those books that will make you laugh and make you cry. It is a wonderfully, entertaining story and I enjoyed it immensely.
Highly recommended.

A thoroughly enjoyable read, although I had a complete sense of deja vu throughout. It might just be because we get to meet lots of characters from previous books.
Definite recommend for those that enjoy a light but well written story.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book; I couldn’t put it down. I was pleasantly surprised at the twists and turns in it. It tackles some difficult topics in a sensitive manner. I loved the main characters, although I would have liked to have got to know the others more, but this of course would make the story too complicated. There were a number of errors in the book, which made it seem amateurish, which was a shame.

I love reading Milly's books. I love the strong female characters who are always there for each other. By the time you finish the book, you feel like you have made new friends! There are some funny parts, some sad and some just brilliant. I can't wait to read the next one.

Oh this brought back such wonderful memories of reading the Yorkshire pudding club for the same time. Women supporting each other, various story lines to get your teeth into and of course that wonderful Yorkshire setting! I cannot stress enough what a salve it is to have Yorkshire dialect and Yorkshire settings mentioned in Milly's books every time. They make me feel like I am visiting home every time I read them and I swear my accent is stronger after I finish each book!



I loved catching up with some old faces as well! It was great to find out how Eve was getting on after the opening of Winterworld and dive back into her world as well. I was so pleased when I found out that she was expecting as well, I enjoyed seeing her journey over the course of the novel. Annie was great to read about as well. I love the fact that she is so in denial about even thinking she could be pregnant initially. I was telling her off a little initially. I love how passionate she is about her business as well!



I think Palma was my favourite character to read about and her thread of the novel definitely had the most drama and had me gasping,. I wanted to mother her and just tell her everything was going to be OK and I am glad that she found some women in her life to befriend and also to give her some of the support that she needed!



There were so many moments that made me laugh throughout this novel. I mean the fact that we have a cracker company in the book means that we have some great cracker jokes but also all of the more embarrassing features of pregnancy and relationships. There are also some very real moments and I think I cried a total of four times. It really was a wonderful read and I really do hope we might possibly get a glimpse of the summer pudding club at some point in the future! If you're a Milly fan then you won't be disappointed and if this is going to be your first then I would definitely recommend ordering her entire back catalogue now-you're going to need it!

As usual a wonderfully written book. Milly Johnson never fails to provide us with brilliant characters a great story and a chance to escape to another place for a while.

Milly Johnson takes you from tears of laughter to tears of sadness in a heartbeat.
Her characters are so real that you feel their emotions, follow their ups and downs and want to fight their battles.
This story is not all heartbreak; with the wonderful words of the Daily Trumpet to keep us amused and the ‘Winterworld’ park to get us into the Christmas spirit, not to mention the unusual birthing stories – this book has plenty of ‘cracking’ episodes.
We meet characters from previous books but this works as a standalone too.
Read and enjoy|

This was another fantastic book by Millie Johnson. Although not overly Christmassy it was still a good festive read featuring the members of the first Christmas Pudding Club.
I laughed at this book and I cried at this book (on the tram to work - apologies fellow commuters!) but it was a lovely story with well written characters and thougtful storylines. I would love to see some follow on books featuring Palma, Eve and Annie.
Thanks for allowing me to read this!

I love Milly Johnson books. Always a really good story, great characters and a nice happy ending. Perfect for curling up on the sofa with and this one was no exception. I think it might be my favourite one yet.

I loved the characters and wanted to work at the Christmas cracker factory! Linking it with pregnancy and an ante-natal group bought back some great memories for me to. Very sad in places but beautifully and sensitively written.

Thank u Milly for yet another fab book and for letting me review it xx

Milly Johnson – The Mother of all Christmases

5 Stars


Reading a Milly Johnson book is like getting a big hug from your best friend.

The Mother of all Christmases is full of characters from Milly’s previous novels, especially the Yorkshire Pudding Club and it was a pleasure to catch-up with them. However, as with all Milly’s books this can be read as a stand-alone.

Milly is renowned for writing about real Yorkshire people and how they cope when faced with adversity and this is especially true in Mother of all Christmas.

The author draws you straight into the heart of her story when we are introduced to Palma who becomes a surrogate for a wealthy couple wanting a baby, but life is not straight forward and Palma has a few of tough choices to make. Eve is the owner of Winter Wonderland and wants to renew her vows by having a Christmas Wedding and Annie is co-owner with her husband of a Cracker factory and finds herself pregnant late in life. These women all come together at the Christmas Pudding Club to share their hopes and fears for the future, and such is Milly’s empathy with these women that I too became entangled in their lives and one minute I was laughing away to myself and the next I had tears streaming down my face.

Take a bow Milly for writing such wonderful intertwining stories and being able to bring them all together – so no loose ends for the reader. A bit like completing a jigsaw puzzle!

I can’t wait for the next book and I hope Palma is mentioned again as I was left wanting to read a lot more about her.

I love Milly Johnson books and really look forward to each one she writes as each one seems better than the one before, with this one no exception. This one was great as we also caught up from characters in previous books, although it can still be read as a standalone book.

Eve & Jacques (from 'A Winter Flame' book) run Winterworld theme park and are rushed off their feet, wanting children but 'some day'. Then Eve starts feeling 'off' and really, really tired and finds out she is unexpectedly pregnant, which is a shock but they are both over the moon about.

Annie & Joe run a Christmas cracker factory and have always wanted children, trying IVF multiple times, but it has never happened for them. So when Annie starts feeling ill and the symptoms don't go away everyone thinks she has something more serious wrong with her, never once thinking she may be pregnant, which she is, so it's a massive shock, but they are absolutely delighted!

Palma started off trying to be a surrogate for a couple, who were arguing constantly, in order to get out of the downtrodden life she was in, with no family and no money, to try and better herself. The arrangement was sorted out by nasty piece of work Clint who seemed to think he owned her, even though they weren't together, apart from one slip on her part when they first met. But then the surrogate couple split up and Palma is left with a baby she doesn't (initally) want.

The women all meet up at a group started by a doctor called The Christmas Pudding Club, to provide support from a couple of nurses and each other during their pregnancies. Palma's luck starts changing when she meets these ladies as she is offered a job by Annie, and she manages to move from her very grotty, quite dangerous area, into a better area and her own little place that she loves, and she meets a lovely guy.

There are various little dramas going on with each character, but the ladies all support one another, especially when one of their group needs a lot of support - have a very large box of tissues ready - very, very sad part, but handled really well.

Such a really lovely read, I absolutely loved (most of!) the characters. I think I'd know a Milly Johnson book even if it didn't have a cover, she has just such a wonderful warm, yet down to earth, way of writing that just draws the reader straight into the story.

Absolutely wonderful read that I would highly recommend. Write quicker please Milly Johnson!

If like me and you have read as far as I know ever Milly Johnson book to date.. don't keep reading, go out and buy this book now and read that instead of this review. For the ultimate fans of the authors there are references to many familiar names and characters from assorted of her books.

To start with I thought I was imagining that some names felt familiar, and very shortly after starting there were two things that struck me and had me running to Amazon to check I wasn't going completely mad.

The Daily Trumpet makes a triumphant return, complete with all the funny errors you have come to expect from that newspaper. And Eve Glace and Winterworld were first seen in A Winter's Flame which was until this book one of my favourite books from the author and the characters associated with it the ones I remember the most clearly despite it being many years since I read it.

Now clearly I am holding my hands up to being a fangirl and absolutely loving seeing blasts from the pasts, but even if you haven't read anything from this author, this is a complete standalone book, and a fabulous story with it.

For a book with a theme park called Winterworld and people working in a Christmas Cracker factory, it can easily be read at any time of year, as although there is a festive themed backdrops the book predominately takes place over a 9 month period.

Conveniently the same length of time that the three leading ladies have to deal with completely different pregnancies - one miracle baby, one that was a very pleasant surprise and one that came about in what could be considered controversial circumstances.

And that is just one of the more serious themes that are touched on this book, that has a whole cast of characters that will make you laugh, smile and cry. There are in fairness a lot of names to learn, so depending on how you cope with lots of characters it may take a while to get into but I had no problems.

I was whizzing through the the pages utterly absorbed by this genius of a book. I loved every moment of it so so much. At no point did I want to put it down. This is Milly Johnson at her finest and its a shame I reached the end.

If you love your books full of romance, female friendships, interesting themes, quirky characters, realistic characters and situations, humour, some corny jokes and brilliant story lines that will grab you and make you engrossed in reading, then this is the book for you.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

A Christmas Milly Johnson is always a little gift to anticipate and devour - with it's pending release you know that Christmas is nearly upon us. 'The Mother Of All Christmases ' is in true Milly Johnson tradition - warm, enveloping, poignant, witty and downright down to earth. Character Driven as ever. An excellent read - as fully expected.

When a young doctor starts The Christmas Pudding Club, a group for expectant mothers to mingle and share their pregnancy journeys, 3 women with very different lives strike up an unlikely friendship.

Eve is the co-owner of the Winterworld theme park and is determined that he 25th December due date won’t stop her and her husband, Jacques, renewing their vows in a Christmas themed wedding.

Annie owns a small Christmas cracker factory with her husband Joe. After years of hopelessly trying for a baby, the door on their dreams seems to be shutting as Annie begins to show signs of the menopause. But when she realises the changes to her body in fact due to pregnancy, even at 47 Annie is overjoyed.

Palma has agreed to be a surrogate for a wealthy couple. The money will really help her turn her life around. But when the couple split up Palma finds herself responsible for a baby she never intended on keeping.

Can the group help each other through all the unexpected twists life throws their way?

I have loved Milly Johnson since laughing out loud throughout The Yorkshire Pudding Club over 10 years ago, and this book is no exception. She has a wonderful knack for writing a unique blend of comical one-liners and tear inducing emotional scenes.

Palma was by far my favourite of the 3 protagonists, she had the more complex character and I was pleased with how the author developed her throughout the story. As a secondary character Effin really shone through, I could almost hear his thick Welsh accent when he was berating his boys…just brilliant!!

A real mixture of highs and lows that had me laughing and crying – both out loud!

I enjoyed reading this book although it took a while to get into it. Lovely story and well worth reading for fans of this genre.

I am a big fan of Milly Johnson’s books but she has excelled herself this time! The story reintroduces lots of characters from past books and their lives begin to intertwine. There is a lot of Milly's trademark humour but the book also deals with very difficult and emotive subjects in a beautifully sensitive way. I would strongly recommended this book to anyone who loves a Christmas read.

Always a delight having a new Milly Johnson to read and this is no exception. Incredibly festive read but very poignant at the same time.. I love a Christmas title