Book Review: The Night Before Christmas by Scarlett Bailey

All Lydia's ever wanted is a perfect Christmas...
So when her oldest friends invite her to spend the holidays with them, it seems like a dream come true. She's been promised log fires, roasted chestnuts, her own weight in mince pies- all in a setting that looks like a Christmas card.
But her winter wonderland is ruined with she finds herself snowed in with her current boyfriend, her old flame and a hunky stranger. Well, three (wise) men is traditional at this time of year...

I knew that this book was going to be good when it arrived in a pink box with chocolate and a bottle of Baileys! Scarlett Bailey has written a really lovely book that is perfect for curling up with at this time of year.
The Night Before Christmas revolves around the character of Lydia. She finds an engagement ring in her boyfriend Stephen's sock drawer so she knows about one of her Christmas surprises already. They are spending Christmas with Lydia's oldest friends and Lydia can't wait, she has always wanted a perfect Christmas with all the trimmings and this is exactly what she has been promised. But things do not get off to a good start; they become snowed in within hours of arriving, so Lydia is trapped with an ex-boyfriend, a rather gorgeous looking stranger and a boyfriend she perhaps doesn't want to marry.
This is Scarlett Bailey's debut novel but the writing just seems effortless, the story flows really well and she is not afraid to throw in the odd surprise along the way. Christmas is a great time of year to set a book, we are often thrown into situations with people who we don't spend a massive amount of time with and everyone makes the most of it as they don't want to be the one that spoils Christmas.Lydia is in a really difficult position; she does not want to hurt Stephen or ruin his Christmas but surely she can't accept a proposal from a man she no longer loves. Throw into that the ex-boyfriend with whom she had one of the most intense relationships of her life. Plus the gorgeous stranger snowed in with them, there is something about him that Lydia can't ignore so she is stuck with three men and no escape route in sight.
The Night Before Christmas will definitely get you in the festive mood and I can't wait to see what Scarlett Bailey has to offer in 2012.

Dot Scribbles Rating 4/5

Many thanks to Ebury Press for sending me a copy of the book to review, it is out now!