Book Review: Every Year By Cecelia Ahern

Name: Every Year
Author: Cecelia Ahern
Publisher: HarperCollins

Summary: A wonderful collection of Cecelia's short stories.
As the smell of pinecones and cinnamon fill the air, and the plump turkey roasts in the oven, the final preparations for Christmas day have begun, just as they do every year. The tree lights are twinkling and the mince pies are cooked, and there is just one final tradition to carry out before the Christmas magic can begin.
This year though, something is different, and it's time for life-long traditions to change. For years the family has followed the same pattern, not changing their routine through the generations; babies have grown into teens and then adults, and then eventually have had children of their own, but one thing always remained constant throughout....Time has finally caught up with the family and this year the new traditions must be formed.

Review: I am pretty sure that I have mentioned that Cecelia Ahern is one of my favourite authors. When I had been studying I lost the love for reading for pleasure until I devoured Cecelia's first novel PS I LOVE YOU!. I truly fell in love with the story, the characters and the effortless way she wrote. Since then I have read most of her books. I am slightly ashamed to say that of late I have fell behind with a few of her books, I still have The Book Of Tomorrow (One of my Ninja Book Swap treats), One Hundred Names and How to Fall In Love to read. But I know that they're waiting for me to get my hands on them. 
I downloaded these short stories a while ago, and I started reading and got distracted. Just recently I've discovered a few book hangovers and that has given me the chance to get the love for short stories back. In between a number of my actual books I have been reading shorts.
What I love about Cecelia is that whatever subject she decides to tackle she does so with grace. This collection of short stories cover a number of topics and each one of them will have you on the edge of your seat eager to know the outcome. If you've never read a Cecelia novel pick up these shorts and fall in love with Cecelia Ahern. I bet you end up devouring her back catalogue after these beautiful quick reads. There's something for everyone in the Every Year collection, so check it out.

I'm going to highlight a few of the stories from this collection...

Every Year is the title story, it sure is a beauty it focuses on the wonder of Christmas and family time. As I started re-reading this it reminded me of when I first read it and how it made me feel. Having recently lost my grandfather who has been a constant figure that I have looked up to my entire life, this story brought a whole new meaning to me. Each and every single day we should never take for granted our family and friends. If you want to know the stupidest of questions ask them. As you never know when you won't get that chance again. The one thing that I hold dear to me is the time I spent with him especially on that final week. I feel close to him when I read as he was a bookworm like me. Every Year looks at family life and that however much families argue they still mean the world to each other and Christmas brings that togetherness.

Twenty-Four minutes, this story well and truly affected my senses. Steven is the name of the main character, a guy who works hard but his everyday life seems monotonous. He's living day by day with the hope of getting promoted. This story focuses on a hard subject matter in suicide. It will have you on the edge of your seat and the outcome will make you breathe a sigh of relief.

Next Stop: Table For Two, In this story Lucy the main character is going about her everyday life as a like minded single girl who works as a waitress. The story is set on Valentines day and as the story builds momentum Lucy mentions always inviting yet always being alone. In other words she would welcome people and take them to their seats but she's never in this position herself. What I truly loved about this without spoiling the ending is Lucy makes a stand.

I could honestly go on and on about all of these wonderful stories as each one had me hooked from start to finish. They were an absolute treat to read and in reading these shorts I have well and truly fell back in love with Cecelia Ahern and I hope to get back up to date with her books as soon as possible. A wonderful writer and a truly lovable woman.