Monday 30 November 2015

Book Review & Giveaway - A Christmas Hideaway by Emily Harvale

Amazon UK
Title: A Christmas Hideaway - A Hideaway Down Novel: Volume 1
Author: Emily Harvale
Format reviewed: Ebook
Source: Review copy from author
Publisher: Crescent Gate Publishing
Publication Date: 26th November 2015
Rating: 5 Stars

You can’t hide from Love. Holly Gilroy was devastated when her long-term boyfriend, Paul ran off with Naomi, her best friend. Now Paul and Naomi are back in Hideaway Down for Christmas but Holly has no intention of bumping into the happy couple. Cooking and cleaning for the guests at her Mum’s holiday cottages is one way to avoid that. Because she can’t let Paul see she’s still in love with him… can she? 

Gabriel Hardwick is desperate to finish his novel… and avoid his agent, Bryony Dawes – who also happens to be his girlfriend. At least that’s what Bryony’s still telling everyone. Will Gabriel’s decision to spend Christmas alone in a rented holiday cottage finally make Bryony see that it’s over between them? And is that really what Gabriel wants? 

But they’re not the only ones with problems this festive season. It’s the coldest winter for years and the villagers and visitors in Hideaway Down are finding warmth in the most unexpected places… and not just from the roaring log fire in the hearth of The Snowdrop Inn.

A Christmas Hideaway has all the elements you need for a great festive story. It has a picturesque small village, Hideaway Down, snow, Christmas decorations and markets, a frost fair, ice-skating, Santa, some corny elf jokes, and most importantly a wonderful romance. 

Holly had not overly been looking forward to Christmas this year. Last New Year's eve, her boyfriend of 15 years, Paul, ran off with her best friend, and insultingly only told her in a note. They are due back in Hideaway Down for Christmas, and Holly doesn't want to risk bumping into them. She has also been made redundant recently, so is helping out with her mums holiday cottages. 

Gabriel Hardwick, is an author, who decides to rent one of the cottages for some peace and quiet over Christmas. He broke up with his girlfriend 2 months previous, but there is the added complication that she is his agent too.  Gabriel rents Ivy cottage, and gets more than he bargains on from Hideaway Down. 

This is a romance that grows slowly, although its obvious to the reader that Gabriel and Holly should be together, they both have various roadblocks in their lives to deal with, but they soon become friends, and find they are seeking out each other's company. 

Hideaway Down is a wonderful small village, where all the villagers know each others business, almost faster than it occurs. And every village must have a quirk, and the Gaggle Gang is definitely Hideaway's Down. The gaggle gang are a group of geese that live in one of  the villagers sheds, but that generally wander the village causing laughs and its clear they believe they run the village. There is an ice-skating scene involving the Gaggle Gang that conjures up all sorts of hilarious imagery. 

I really felt like a part of village life in Hideaway Down, and really looking forward to the next book in this series, Catch A Falling Star. I have a feeling that there could be a good amount of stories to be told within this village, and I will be looking forward to each and every one of them. 

Thank you to Emily Harvale for this review copy. This was my honest opinion. 


Giveaway to win a signed copy of A Christmas Hideaway (Open Internationally)

Emily Harvale has very kindly offered readers of Rachel's Random Reads the chance to win a signed copy of A Christmas Hideaway

Giveaway open internationally, all options are voluntary, but please do what they ask, as I will be verifying the winner. Giveaway closes 23:59 4/12/2015. Winner will be announced on twitter and emailed, and they will need to reply within 7 days, or forfeit the prize, and I will re-draw for a new winner.  Good luck everyone.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

2 comments:

  1. I love the sound of this book. And Snowdrop Inn's such a cute name. Is this a standalone as I see Volume 1 in the title?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sounds really good & I need a festive read set up for December

    Lainy http://www.alwaysreading.net

    ReplyDelete

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