This is a first for me by this author but definitely won't be my last.
I'm not sure why I haven't read any of Milly's books before as I have a few on my bookshelf waiting to be read... that will have to be rectified as soon as possible!!!

Eve Glace - co-owner of the theme park Winterworld - is having a baby and her due date is a perfectly timed 25th December. And she’s decided that she and her husband Jacques should renew their wedding vows with all the pomp that was missing the first time. But growing problems at Winterworld keep distracting them …

Annie Pandoro and her husband Joe own a small Christmas cracker factory, are well set up and happy together despite life never blessing them with a much-wanted child. But when Annie finds that the changes happening to her body aren’t typical of the menopause but pregnancy, her joy is uncontainable.

Palma Collins has agreed to act as a surrogate, hoping the money will get her out of the gutter in which she finds herself. But when the couple she is helping split up, is she going to be left carrying a baby she never intended to keep?

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?


Wow, wow, wow... what a rollercoaster ride of emotions in this fabulous book. Great characters, fantastic storyline with lots of laughter, friendships and love along the way.
Absolutely perfect to get you in the Christmas Spirit... maybe even a hot cocoa with marshmallows to go with it.

I need to read more of Milly's books since I've now discovered what I'm missing out on... can't wait for the next one.

Thank-You Netgalley for my ARC.

Another fab read by Milly. I love her books and this one was no exception. Well written and easy to read, good storyline.

The Mother of All Christmases is the first book by Milly Johnson that I have read, and I can’t believe I have been missing out on her books all this time!

I love a festive story, and this one following three women who find themselves pregnant and due at Christmas was one I couldn’t put down.

It’s light reading, not complicated, has some romance and is feel good, though there are definitely some heartbreaking moments along the way. The story isn’t formulaic. This book is chick lit at its best, chick lit with bite.

Thank you to #NetGalley, the publisher and Milly Johnson for my free advance copy. Now to work on Milly’s back catalogue...

This is another of Milly Johnson's stories about relationships. This book features the friendship amongst a group of pregnant women in various personal situations. It is warm & ultimately uplifting but have your tissues handy.

I love milly johnson books! And I love this one too. We meet some new people and recognise some who are familiar from the other books. This story is centred round a group of pregnant women who meet at the Christmas pudding club as their babies are all due around Christmas. Each character has her own story of how she became pregnant and what this pregnancy means to her. I will not reveal those stories as it will spoil your enjoyment. This book is written with millys Usual warmth, wit and wisdom. If I had a niggle it would be slightly too much detail about pregnancy. It’s milly johnson not Miriam Stoppard! But in no way did that spoil my enjoyment. Buy it. Read it love it

I was really excited to see that Milly Johnson was bringing out a new book for Christmas as I absolutely love festive stories!

This is a book that once you pick it up you will want to stay enconsconsed in it's lovely story until you reach the end. The characters are lovely and it is a book full of Christmas cheer from the offset with a bit of romance intermingled as you follow the journey of the head strong Annie, Eve and Palma.

I read this book in just a couple of sittings as this author has a way of just pulling you in so that you have to keep reading.

If you are looking for a story full of Christmas cheer and that will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy, I would definitely recommend adding this to your TBR pile.

A lovely, warm story about the entwined lives of a group of pregnant women. It is heartbreaking in parts , you will need tissues, but the solidarity and caring portrayed brings your smile back. I enjoyed the varied points of view and empathised with the characters. A hot chocolate with marshmallows book!

I wasn't sure if I would like this book at first. It was very light and I thought it might be very predictable, feel good froth. Well, how wrong I was! After the initial introduction to the women at the heart of the story you soon see how their lives are going to cross: so far, so predictable. But I stayed up all night because I needed to find out how it would end, and I wept buckets of tears at one point. I don't want to spoil any of it for you, but if you are emotionally vulnerable, this is not the book for you. If, on the other hand you loved JoJo Moyes' Me before You, then you will love this story.
There are several stories that overlap. Palma comes from a tough estate, growing up with nothing. She was in care after a miserable childhood, and only really knew what she had been missing when she went to live with a foster carer, who has now sadly died. Then there is a lovely couple who run a Christmas cracker company. They are in their forties and are unable to have children. Add to the mix a couple who run a Christmas-themed Theme Park, and the rush to get the rides up and working before the start of the season. It looks as if all the boxes are ticked for a predictable Romcom, but you will be pleasantly surprised to find that there's very little about this that is predictable. (I can't say that nothing is predictable: they do a good line in Christmas cracker jokes, but I think I needed that amid the drama!)
I would highly recommend this book. Don't let the start of the book put you off. It sets the scene for a very satisfying read.

3 women Eve, Annie and Palma meet through the Christmas Pudding Club started by their gp. The all have different stories. Also the articles in the daily newspaper where there are always mistakes made is hilarious.and the apologies after. Love Milly Johnson books

For most of this book I was wondering why it wasn’t called The Christmas Pudding Club, which seemed the obvious title, reflecting the story and calling back to the author’s previous The Yorkshire Pudding Club. Then in her acknowledgements, Milly Johnson said it had actually been initially called that, but she didn’t say why it had been changed... so I still don’t know!

Anyway, The Christmas Pudding Club (I’m going to call it that anyway, it’s a better title) is vintage Milly Johnson - set in her native Barnsley, brilliant characters and dialogue and some genuinely emotional moments - I was in floods of tears at one point and if you’ve read it, you’ll know when. Safe to say that, while it’s a typically warm and ultimately uplifting read, life does not go smoothly for all or indeed any of these characters.

The book revisits quite a few characters from previous books - though I’ve read most of them it was quite a long time ago in some cases and I couldn’t remember most of the characters, so I probably got less out of this than some, but it was still a nice touch. Of the new characters, I most loved pink-haired Palma and Tommy the boxer (what a lovely guy!).

A great read.

Amazing. Made me laugh made me cry made me read way past my bedtime! Brilliant writing again by milly. Unputdownable. Touching and well written, fantastic

The Mother of all Christmases is a delight to read and experience. Lovely characters infused with warmth and humor.

A great read, and can be enjoyed any time of the year, not just Christmas. I liked the chance to catch up with characters from the previous books - I just need to go back and re-read them all now!

What a gorgeous Christmassy book. I really enjoyed this book and it was lovely to meet old characters again and find out what they are up to! However it works well as a stand alone book too.
This story had me laughing and crying as we follow the story of three women going through their pregnancies. They are all at different stages of their lives and finding out they are pregnant means different things to each of them. I also really liked how the other characters stories are intertwined throughout the book too.
A lovely Christmas read.

Reading this novel is like curling up in a warm blanket in front of the fire hugging a cup of hot chocolate. Milly Johnson creates believable characters and plots and writes well, so is a cut above some chick lit books which can be disappointingly predictable. I've only read one other of her books, but will definitely seek out more.

A perfect Milly Johnson cosy Christmas read. It is well written and heartwarming with believable wonderful characters (some of whom are familiar through Milly's previous books, but can still be read as completely detached whole) and, as is the case with many Milly Johnson's books, one wants to know what happens next. It is the right mix of serious emotional roller coaster with a fair smattering of light hearted comedy to lift the spirits.

This is a book to curl up with in a quiet corner over the festive period and I shall certainly be adding it to my daughters' stocking together with a couple of friends who, I know, will need the perfect wind down after all the hectic activity over the festive period.

As a Milly Johnson fan I was overjoyed to discover this on netgalley and even more so when I was approved to get the advance copy.

Absolutely loved this book and one I will be reading again. It is very Milly with relatable characters, plot twists and a lovely plot. It was great fun meeting all these characters and wondering where their lives would meet up.

I have pre-ordered the paperback to add to my collection and waiting for the next Milly book.

The Mother of all Christmases is yet another heartwarming wonderful book from Milly Johnson.
We meet characters old and new, this time we are with the lovely Eve and Jacques and staff of their Winter Wonderland Park, they join forces with Annie and Joe who own a cracker factory and meet their staff. Annie is 47 years old and suddenly finds herself pregnant, a wonderful gift after trying for many years and given up hope of ever having a child. Without giving too much away there are more pregnancies to be revealed. These ladies are brought together at a midwives 'pudding club' classes, run to teach them what to expect when you're expecting. Friendships are made, each has their own tale to tell some happy, some sad. As a midwife I found the accuracy and emotional aspects extremely well done.
Yet another winner, full of laughter and tears, but above all a brilliant lovely story, I didn't want it to end.
My thanks to net galley and publisher for opportunity to review this book.

Milly Johnson has a gift. There's no two ways about it. Her writing draws you in from the very beginning and just when you think that these characters are going to be happy finally - BAM! Something happens that turns their world upside down. This is the point where you do not want to put the book down and you take it absolutely everywhere with you. This book is no different to the others I've read by Milly. I absolutely loved it.

The cover is wonderfully festive, I love the colours, the cute little shop cabins and the beautifully lit Christmas trees. The title is extra special too. It's a novel that you can't wait to dive into. And dive into it I did! I really enjoyed reading about the three women, it was nice to read about women who were pregnant, as with most of Milly's novels they do not include children. Also with most of Milly's other novels, we get to know three main characters with a side bonus of visiting some other characters too. In this novel, we focused on Eve (from previous novel A Winter Flame), Annie and Palma. All three ladies are absolutely lovely and I couldn't wait to read their stories and about their pregnancies. We also touched in briefly with Effin (One of Eve's workers) and Caraid (Think that's how it's spelt!!! Effin's niece).

The story slowly builds up, and at about half way through - that's it - you're hooked. There's no going back and you feel as though you have to finish it - and soon! What I find with Milly's novels, is that every chapter is left with a big cliffhanger, so if you're reading before bed, that 'one more chapter' idea that you usually tell yourself never works and you end up reading 6 more before you finally convince yourself to put it down. Then, when you're eating breakfast you find yourself reading it again!

It's honestly impossible to dislike this book. It has everything and you find yourself relating to the characters quickly. I think Palma was my favourite in this novel, I really felt for her and all that she had been through - I found myself thinking on more than one occasion 'Can't this woman catch a break?!', although having said that Annie was really cute too and I was so pleased that her and Joe finally got what they've always dreamed of! Overall, it was an utterly brilliant novel and I am so pleased I managed to read this before it was released. It's definitely put me in a festive mood and it's not even November yet!

Thank you to the publisher for a chance to read this novel, which I have reviewed honestly.

I love Milly Johnson books and I loved this one, a heartwarming and feel good Christmas tale.
The book is well written and the characters are interesting as usual.
The plot hooked me since the beginning and I was sad when the book was ended.
A very good, entertaining and enjoyable novel.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Simon and Schuster and Netgalley for this ARC