I love a good, warm and fuzzy Christmas read – but Mary Christmas was a little too light for me.

Key points

• Mary Christmas is like a classic Hallmark movie, where the intrigue is low stakes and the characters a little one-dimensional.
• Mary-Anne O’Connor wrote Mary Christmas “because everyone needs escapism and beauty in their lives.”
• I give Mary Christmas 2 stars out of 5.

Mary Christmas is like a classic Hallmark movie, where the intrigue is low stakes and the characters a little one-dimensional.

The scenery and setting though – are beautiful. I definitely want a Cotswolds Christmas!

“It’s 1909 and Mary Richards has worked hard to gain an education and become a teacher in her close-knit, picturesque village in the Cotswolds, but not everyone approves of her modern ways,” the blurb reads.

Mary Christmas is like a classic Hallmark movie, where the intrigue is low stakes and the characters a little one-dimensional.

One of the things I really enjoyed, was the protagonist Mary’s drive towards independence, rather than following society’s pressure to marry and give up her work as a teacher.

As a bestselling Australian author, Mary-Anne O’Connor has written several books and is passionate about women’s rights, which shines through.

Mary-Anne wrote Mary Christmas “because everyone needs escapism and beauty in their lives.”

Mary-Anne O’Connor wrote Mary Christmas “because everyone needs escapism and beauty in their lives.”

I definitely agree – if you’d like to escape from day-to-day life and feel Christmassy for a moment, Mary Christmas is a good place to start.

But the title is a bit of a spoiler, sorry!

I give Mary Christmas 2 stars out of 5.

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