Not having read the first novel, I wasn’t sure what to expect but loved the premise.

I got a novel chocked full of smiles and chuckles, with some fantastic characters and moments that felt profound. It was a quick, easy read and worked well as a standalone novel.

Will definitely look for more by this author.

In the run up to Christmas Tara is heavily pregnant, has a defiant teen and two younger children complicating her life in their own ways, a husband who may or may not be playing away and a mother who goes the extra mile to make Tara's life difficult. None of that sounds funny but this book is absolutely hilarious and I enjoyed every word. It also made me shed a tear or two towards the end of the book. I am a new fan of Serena Terry and will be making sure I read her two other books soon.

I absolutely love the humour in this book. I’m not a mother but 100% get all the jokes in this. It was a much needed comic relief read. I ended up going back and reading the first Mammy Banter book and watching Serena’s videos online.

If you need to inject some humour into your day, this is the perfect read. It is chocked full of Northern Irish banter and is the second book from.Nirthern Irish comedian Serena Terry, famously known for her online comedy sketches Mammy Banter. In the novel, we see a stressed and pregnant mother juggle the trials of the Christmas season, whilst also worrying about the fact that her husbands attention is increasing elsewhere. An honest and funny take on the everyday chaos of modern family life when we are all just winging it and trying to hold everything together! #thesh!tebeforechristmas #serenaTerry #netgalley

Serena Terry continues as her alter ego Tara ( aka Mammy Banter) - she is now 8 months pregnant and battling to maintain her sanity in the midst of her crazy family life. Gemma the reactive teen and Jimmy the annoying 6 year old would test the patience of a saint but it's Tara's husband who is giving her the most cause for concern now. As Christmas approaches Tara becomes more and more paranoid that there is something going on that she needs to get to the bottom of, and we follow her through a variety of exploits in her efforts to make sure that Christmas is perfect, just the way she likes it - and all before the new baby comes.
Full of the Derry humour that has become her trademark, this is a lighthearted and enjoyable romp that would brighten anyone's day.

Thanks to netgalley and publishers for giving me this chance to read and review.

Not familiar with author and wouldn't normally read anything like this. But picking it up . Was soon hooked, so funny . Being a mum to a large family,this book could of been me. Really recommend this to any mum there.

Enjoyable read 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I loved Serena Terrys first book Mammy Banter: The Secret Life Of An Uncool Mom so I just had to request this one. It was in audio so wasn’t sure what her second would be like in a different format but I needn’t have wondered cos her books are sooooo good in any format. I could still hear the accent, the statements and Serena has such a way with words. I couldn’t help but burst out laughing A LOT 😜. Another deadly read and if you need a laugh and something light these books are for you. Will definitely be reading/listening to the next one. CAN’T WAIT 😜…

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for the opportunity to read #TheShiteBeforeChristmas

Omg! Brilliant 🤩 Absolutely Brilliant. I really needed something to cheer me up, draw me in and drag me kicking and screaming out of my reading slump.
This couldn’t have been more perfect. I could totally relate to what was happening (I have 5 kids of my own….so totally felt it all).
I hadn’t actually read the first book in this series and to be honest, had I not immediately gone and looked the author up I wouldn’t have know there was one. This book can be enjoyed and devoured as a stand alone, no problem.
Can’t wait to see more from this wonderful family.

This was such a good twist on a cutesy Christmas story! It was funny, realistic and heartwarming. Would definitely recommend.

Loved the humour in this book, I follow mammy banter on TikTok and it drew me to it

I was lucky enough to get a pre release copy of this book and enjoyed it so much, no spoilers but it had the same laugh out loud content I know and love from TikTok and I even shed a happy tear in the last chapter.
Would make a great Christmas stocking filler for anyone with children or a fun book lover

Thankyou for the laughs 👍

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC

I absolutely adore Serena Terry/Mammy Banter and enjoyed her first novel and was absolutely thrilled to get my hands on this ARC. Made me laugh out loud plenty of times exactly what i was looking for.

I absolutely loved Serena Terry’s debut novel Mammy Banter: The Secret Life of an Uncool Mum and couldn’t wait to read this festive follow-up.
And I was not disappointed.
We’re back with Tara and the Gallagher gang except now she’s heavily pregnant and we’re on the run up to Christmas.
Tara’s usually solidly dependable husband is pulling away and acting odd – could he be having an affair?
Her absent mammy has left the sun loungers and toy boys behind in Spain to come and “help out” her darling daughter – or perhaps cause more mayhem in the Gallagher household?
Tara feels like she doesn’t have a grip on anything in the run tpo Christmas – her misogynistic boss puts her on early maternity leave, the kids are causing chaos as usual, one of her besties keeps bailing, her husband is going AWOL and her mammy is undermining her at every opportunity.
The Shite before Christmas indeed!
A laugh-out-loud honest tale of what family life is like in the frantic festive period.
Lots of laughs and surprisingly the last couple of chapters had me in tears.
An easy and enjoyable read.
Can’t wait to see what Serena writes next.
Huge thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins, UK for an ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

There were some definite laugh out loud funny moments in this novel but overall it just felt like nothing really happened.

Although I’m not a parent I did enjoy reading the trials and tribulations of motherhood - Nathan and Jax definitely made me broody but Gemma made me think otherwise! At times I could have throttled her and her teenage angst.

A quick festive read that I’ll probably forget I read.

It's Christmas and Tara is heavily pregnant with her fourth child. As she tries to create the Christmas magic for her family everyone else seems to be working against her and it all becomes worse when her mother turns up.

This was a real light-hearted funny read and really quick to get through. I enjoyed reading about all the family chaos showing a more realistic side to a family Christmas.

Thanks to Netgalley for this Arc.

I received this book from HarperCollins via NetGalley – views remain my own.

I hadn’t heard of Serena Terry, Mammy Banter, or The Secret Life of an Uncool Mum before picking up The Sh!te Before Christmas, and I actually knew very little about the book going in. Spoiler: this is really great, really funny, something I think most 30+ women can relate to with or without kids, and I now have The Secret Life on pre-order for the paperback. Bring on March so I can dig right into that.

Tara is eight months pregnant, with a rebellious teen daughter, two wee boys, and a husband acting very out of character. Add to this her estranged mother moving back in, and Tara’s dreams of the perfect Christmas seem to be disappearing. But Tara is a woman who will not be stopped; despite mishaps and misunderstandings, maybe the perfect Christmas isn’t quite that far out of reach.

I absolutely loved this book. It’s got such a wonderful sense of humour, Tara’s voice feels really unique, and along with the laugh out loud moments there are wonderfully sweet, heartfelt scenes. Something I really appreciated was how many women Tara is surrounded by, and how they all, in different ways, come through for her. It’s lovely, and it really shows how no one can be expected to go it alone.

There’s Tara’s two best friends, her Rebel Mums group, and the Ys, a group of early-20-somethings whose names all end in Y. As Tara struggles to deal with the goings-on at home, she realises she has her own communities to turn to, for whatever it is she needs.

It feels like a really honest portrayal of family life, too, with Tara trying to juggle the three kids, avoid disasters, and work out what exactly is going on with her husband. It’s hard not to say too much without giving away some of the funniest scenes, but Terry writes with such love and humour, and you can really feel how much Tara cares about her family, even when they’re pushing her to her limit.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, and it’s been a while since I laughed this much when reading. It’s perfect for the Christmas period, and I really look forward to reading more about Tara.

Thanks to Netgalley I was able to get my hands on a digital copy of The Shite Before Christmas by TikToks infamous Mammy Banter aka Serena Terry

I've followed her on my personal account for a while now, so I knew this book would have me laughing out loud at the ridiculousness of parenting and the relatability.

This was a great book to finish off the year with, and I managed to binge read it in less than 24 hours because I just didn't want to put it down.

Tara wants the perfect christmas for her family. That's what every parent wants. But Tara is heavily pregnant No 4, husband Paul is acting more and more distant with her, her dear old Pammy has returned from Spain and doesn't refrain from unsolicited 'advice' and that bastard Elf has made an appearance.

Can Tara still pull a magical christmas out of her overloaded and overstimulated bag before the new baby comes?

A great laugh out comedy for the festive period!!!

I didn't realise who Serena Terry was until I read the blurb for this book and realised I had been following her on TikTok (and then Instagram) for a while!

I absolutely loved this book - funny, realistic, relatable and heartwarming in equal measures! Mums of busy families will identify with so many parts of the story, or will recognise a friend in it's characters. Serena Terry really catches the spirit of a busy family during the build up to Christmas and is able to inject humour into most of the situations - be it dealing with tiny humans, teenagers, pregnancy or a mother who I envisaged as being like Madge from Benidorm!

Most women will identify in some way with Tara and that really helps you enjoy the book more - the fact it is so relatable and honest. A must read for all Mums at this time of year!

Loved this book, so funny because it could be anyone's life and I could identify with it all.
Very easy to read, engage with and was laugh out loud.
NetGalley kindly sent me a copy for an unbiased review
#TheSh!teBeforeChristmas #NetGalley

This was a brilliant book. I just loved all the whit in this book. It definitely made me laugh and cheered me up.it was a fantastic storyline that I just know other mums out there will just love. I'm sure you will also find it relatable as well. I loved that the story was set in Ireland. When reading this I could hear the Irish accent in my head. I couldn't put this book down I just had to read it all in one sitting and in this case ment a very late night. I loved all the characters they were fun and realistic. The author did a fantastic job at writing this book. It played like a movie in my mind. It was so close to getting that 5th star. It cheered me up so much. I love how this book was family orientated with plenty of friends aswell. I really can't recommend this book enough I just know your going to love it. Especially if you love lighthearted, funny Christmas stories. If you love Gill simms then you will definitely going to love this book. It will certainly take you on a funny roller coaster ride of motherhood.

So much praise goes out to the author and publishers for creating this fantastic story that certainly entertained me. I will definitely be looking out for more books by this fantastic author.

The above review has already been placed on goodreads, waterstones, Google books, Barnes&noble, kobo, amazon UK where found and my blog today https://ladyreading365.wixsite.com/website/post/the-sh-te-before-christmas-by-serena-terry-harpercollins-4-stars either under my name or ladyreading365

This was fine. There’s were some funny bits but mostly I was sat there annoyed that the main character just couldn’t seem to communicate with anyone about anything that was upsetting her.