Book Review - I'll Be Home for Christmas by Helen Rolfe

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Title: I'll Be Home For Christmas

Author: Helen Rolfe

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Boldwood Books

Publication Date: 21st August 2026

Rating: 5 Stars

Chrissie used to love Christmas in her Swiss childhood home… until she lost her husband eight years ago. Add in a prolonged conflict with her sister Meg, and the holidays in the snowy Alps are just too hard to face. Now she’s in quiet Oxfordshire, focused on her daughter Sarah’s wedding.

But when Sarah runs away to her grandparents’ chalet just weeks before the big day, Chrissie heads to the mountains to help – and finds her estranged sister Meg there too. Usually in London at the helm of a thriving chocolate shop, Meg’s hiding the troubles of a tough year.

Trapped by snow in Winterbruck, the sisters must face old tensions, support Chrissie's daughter, and discover that family –and a little chocolate – can make even the coldest Christmas cosy.

Well this is definitely a book that will make you crave Chocolate and possibly make you want to jump on a plane to Switzerland too. 

I loved the town of Winterbruck, it's an absolutely stunning setting, for what was a really cosy and heart warming festive story. 

I really enjoyed getting to know Meg, Sarah and Chrissie. Meg and Chrissie are estranged sisters after a public bust up years ago.  While Sarah is Chrissie's adult daughter and who doesn't know her auntie Meg. 

Sarah has decided to visit her grandparents in Winterbruck to try to clear her head, ahead of her upcoming nuptials.  Unbeknownst to her Meg has also decided to go home for Christmas this year, although she is hiding the reasoning. 

It is great seeing Meg and Sarah start to get to know each other, although they are both a bit scared of what Chrissie will say.  

I especially loved learning Meg's back story, and learning just how she became a chocolatier.  Between that and her mum Astrid being an excellent cook,  this is definitely a book that will have your stomach rumbling. 

Thankfully Christmas in the snow is a season for magic and miracles to happen, and it certainly feels apt for this fractured family. 

I just really loved every second of this book, and wished I could jump through the pages to visit, mainly so I could sample the chocolate! 

Thank you Boldwood Books and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily. 

Book Review - The Ski Lodge by Nina Manning

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Title: The Ski Lodge

Author: Nina Manning

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Publication Date: 8th January 2026

Rating: 4 Stars

A perfect escape. A secret worth dying for.

After all flights are grounded, Jolie finds herself stranded at a luxurious ski resort with her two children. Having checked out of her hotel, she desperately posts a message on social media asking for a place to stay.

When Rona offers an isolated ski lodge higher up the mountain, Jolie can't refuse.

But Jolie's hiding something: she's been to this resort before, and the past won't let her go. And as the whirling snowfall takes a turn for the worse, it becomes clear Rona has ulterior motives for letting Jolie stay in the chalet with her family.

What is each woman hiding? And will the truth be deadly?

Don't miss this spine-tingling thriller with twists you won't see coming by bestselling author Nina Manning, perfect for fans of Ruth Ware and Sarah Goodwin!

This is the first book I've read by Nina Manning and based on this it almost certainly won't be the last.  I was enthralled with this story, and really wasn't sure how it would turn out. 

i love exotic holiday thrillers and ones set in the Spanish Alps when you know the weather could play a big part and make it rather claustrophobic always appeal to me. 

Jolie worked at the ski resort when she was younger, but things went wrong, and she never told a soul what really happened to cause her to run.  Years later her husband has flown the family out to the resort, oblivious to Jolie's past connection. 

Jolie is not a confident woman, although she is a loving mother to her two children.  Then Idris goes back to London to sort out work, Jolie is left in resort and on the day they are due to leave and when her nerves are already shot - all flights are grounded and mass chaos reigns. 

Without many options she accepts Rona's offer of help, and Rona drives them up to a very remote lodge up a mountain.  

As the weather worsens, we learn about Jolie and Rona's shared past, and it's really hard to know who to trust.  

This was so good to read - I wasn't necessarily keen on any of the main characters, but they are written in such a way they felt very real and they had good bits to them, But I cared enough to be determined to find out just what was going to happen.  

I loved the descriptions of the setting, and the snow, and the way the mountains made Jolie feel.  So atmospheric, 

I thoroughly enjoyed this and look forward to seeing what the author will right next. 

Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed and honestly and voluntarily. 

Book Review - A Perfect Summer in Starshine Cove by Debbie Johnson

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Title: A Perfect Summer in Starshine Cove

Author: Debbie Johnson

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Storm Publishing

Publication Date: 10th June 2026

Rating: 5 Stars

The perfect feel-good summer read from the million-copy bestselling author. Get ready to laugh, cry, and fall head over heels in love with Starshine Cove! ❤️

Suzie has always been the wild one. While her siblings settled happily into village life, she roamed the world – chasing adventures, collecting stories and running from that horrible day, sixteen years ago. But when it's finally time to return to the tiny Dorset village of Starshine Cove, Suzie must face everything – and everyone – she left behind.

There's her dad George, still the beloved heart of the village at almost ninety. Her sister-in-law Connie, who runs the irresistible Cove Café, where the scent of sugar and vanilla drifts on the sea breeze and the red velvet cake is to die for. And then there's Guy, a brooding stranger with secrets of his own who arrives in the village on the very same day…

As the summer unfolds and old wounds begin to heal, Suzie discovers that sometimes the bravest adventure isn't running away – it's finally coming home.

From the beloved bestselling author of the Comfort Food Café series comes an unforgettable story of love, loss, and discovering that home is the place that never let you go.

This is a book that felt a lot like coming home, not just for Suzie our main character, but also for me as a reader as I'm loving Starshine Cove so much. 

I can't believe this is the fifth book in this series already, and it was wonderful to spend time with George's remaining child, and suring up in my mind even further all of the various family connections in the cove. 

We also meet newcomer Guy who is similar in a lot of ways to Suzie and they both are feeling a pull towards Starshine and trying to leave their wanderlust behind them.

I loved seeing how their stories progressed over the course of this book in addition to catching up with all my old friends from the previous books. 

There is something just so charming about this setting and I loved every minute of this book. 

Another winner for me from Debbie Johnson.  

Thank you to Storm Publishing and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily. 

Book Review - Glad You Came by Chloe Ford

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Title: Glad You Came

Author: Chloe Ford

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Aria

Publication Date: 16th July 2026

Rating: 5 Stars

She's a runaway bride. He's a runaway popstar.

After calling off her wedding at the very last minute, Sara does what any self-respecting woman would do: she goes on her honeymoon alone.

But the fifteen-day luxury cruise around the Mediterranean implodes almost immediately when Sara misses the ship at its second stop. Stranded, sunburnt, and spectacularly unprepared, she's bracing for disaster… until she realises she's not alone.

Gus – member of the world-famous pop sensation Just4Summer – has also been left behind. Desperate to avoid the headlines and savour one rare taste of anonymity, he teams up with Sara to chase the cruise across the Adriatic.

Cue dodgy buses, missed connections, the storm of the century, and far too much proximity. As they stumble from city to city, the chemistry between them becomes impossible to ignore. But when real life comes calling, Sara must decide: is this just a summer romance… or the love story she never saw coming?

This is a book that feature's every cruise fanatic's worst nightmare - missing the ship. 

And not only once, but a series of missed connections,  while Sara has a phone that runs out of charge too fast, and very little money on her.  And Gus who she appears to be stranded with has a working phone, but even less access to anything useful. 

But that is the exact situation they find themselves in, which leads to a wonderful adventure as they attempt to catch up with the luxury yacht cruise they are on. 

Gus being a world famous pop star who doesn't want to be recognised adds a bit of extra difficulty to this while Sara ran away from her wedding not too long ago and this was meant to be her honeymoon trip.

So gotta love some close proximity and very mild peril, while also seeing how the pair start to have a growing fondness for each other. 

I love travel in all forms so I was hooked on seeing where and what they would try next, and seeing just how they would cope. 

I whizzed through this story loving every moment of it.  I'm really enjoying what I've read so far from this author and look forward to reading the rest of this series. 

Thank you to Aria and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Book Review - F##k It, It’s Christmas by Holly Atwood

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Title: F##k It, It’s Christmas

Author: Holly Atwood

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Pan

Publication Date: 8th October 2026

Rating: 5 Stars

❄️Is your Christmas to-do list more like a never-ending roll-call of obligations?

🎄Are your fairy lights more tangled than your tights drawer?

🍷And are your homemade mince pies more pie in the sky than reality?

Join the club.

Meet Laurie: a working mother of two who is at the end of her tinsel. All she really wants for Christmas is five minutes of peace (and another Bailey’s in her coffee).

With a disastrously chaotic family Christmas brewing, Laurie has a choice to make. Should she double down on her perfectly manufactured festive cheer? Or burn the Pinterest board and embrace her imperfections so that she can have some fun too?

If you’ve spent more Christmases surviving than thriving, it’s time to join Laurie in ditching the colour-coded spreadsheets, letting the kids (and adults) stay in their pyjamas until 3 p.m. and finally raising a toast to say, ‘F##k it, it’s Christmas’.

A laugh-out-loud novel for fans of Amandaland, The F##k It List and Why Mummy Drinks.

From start to finish this had me giggling, and nodding and empathising and generally loving every single moment of this.

I love books featuring rather hectic mums that think they need to be perfect when instead they are face with the messy reality of life, and in this instance Christmas! 

And Laurie is the master of the motherly internal rant. They were brilliant, and I can imagine women of all ages especially if you have kids, or extended family to stay at Christmas, nodding in total and utter recognition of just about everything Laurie thinks. 

She is wonderful and to say for all of her intentions of planning and having a properly organised Christmas, that nothing goes according to the plan she never had time to prepare.  She is just barely surviving, and her husband doesn't seem to be much help at all. 

Her kids are fun, although like just about any book of this trope, there were a couple of inevitable scenes with far too many bodily fluids for my liking.  And they always seem to occur while I'm reading while eating!! 

I feel like Laurie could be me if I had ever had kids. I loved how her attitude changes over the course of this book, especially towards the big day itself but also towards "Perfect Clara" her sister in law.   

This is easily one of the best books I've read for a while, and should be a must read on festive TBRs for this year.  

Thank you to Pan and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily. 

Book Review - Christmas All The Way by Holly Hepburn

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Title: Christmas All The Way

Author: Holly Hepburn

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Publication Date: 8th October 2026

Rating: 4 Stars

Welcome to Freezy Tye – voted Britain’s Most Christmassy Village seven years in a row.

Best friends since university, Keeley and Grace first bonded over their love of nineteenth century romance classics, but life has taken them in different directions. While Keeley became the top curator at Juniper Cottage, home of forgotten author Eliza Norton, Grace settled into family life and now faces an empty nest with her son leaving for Australia.

When Grace takes a part-time job at winter wonderland shop Santa's Secret, she soon starts clashing with the owner's grumpy son, Raff. Meanwhile, Keeley is horrified when brash social media expert Xander Jones is brought in to modernise Eliza's legacy. Determined to resist his ideas, she instead finds herself unexpectedly drawn to him.

As December nears, Freezy Tye competes to retain its Christmas title. But with serious competition from a neighbouring village, and heartache dragging them down, Keeley and Grace find their festive spirit is in short supply. Can they all find a way to pull together and deliver a festive season to remember.

What a highly enjoyable story this is, focusing on best friend Keeley and Grace who are both facing some change in their lives. 

For Keeley, she suddenly has a new colleague at Juniper Cottage who is determined to increase visitor numbers, but she isn't overly onboard with the thought she may have someone to answer to.  While Grace is facing an empty nest, but then gets a part-time job at Santa's Secret. 

Santa's Secret is a massive open all year Christmas shop that has amazing displays, and every decoration you could ever imagine all under one roof.  I would absolutely love to visit, and I would fear for my bank balance at the same time. 

Unfortunately for me, the details to do with Juniper Cottage and Eliza Norton's life just weren't that interesting, as I am not a fan of history, so some of that to my mind felt a bit dry.  But I did appreciate what they were trying to do which definitely did make it seem like history comes alive. 

While I was loving everything to do with Grace's storyline, and I also enjoyed how they both were on the committee to see if Freezy Tye can win Most Christmassy village for yet another year. I loved the ideas that Grace came up with, and would have loved to be transported through the pages of the book to the village to see for myself. 

I enjoyed the ladies' love interests too, and think I fell for both men a bit. 

This is a thoroughly enjoyable first foray into festive fiction for Holly Hepburn which definitely left me feeling rather Christmassy. 

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily. 

Book Review - A Little Christmas Rivalry by Sandy Barker

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Title: A Little Christmas Rivalry

Author: Sandy Barker

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Ebook

Publication Date: 25th August 2026 

Rating: 5 Stars

🌟It’s the most wonderful time of the year… to win. 🌟

Sophie Reid is at the top of her game. A brilliant advertising exec and a devoted single mum, she’s this close to landing the biggest campaign of her career – the coveted Christmas ad for Hargreaves, the retail giant.

Her biggest rival? Arrogant lone wolf Drew Parker, who won the campaign last year – and the year before. If only he weren’t so hot, maybe Sophie could get him out of her head.

Drew knows exactly what Sophie thinks of him, but he doesn’t care. He’s here to win.

But when they’re forced to work together on the campaign, the lines between rivalry and attraction begin to blur.

As the festive season draws nearer, work takes them to snow-covered Switzerland – and those guarded, icy walls begin to melt. Could this Christmas be the start of something neither of them saw coming?

A rivals-to-lovers romcom full of humour, heart and a touch of Christmas magic.

What a thoroughly enjoyable book this was.  

Sophie and Drew are rivals at their advertising firm and both are determined to win the coveted Hargreaves Christmas advert account.  When they create their pitches both have utterly killer concepts that I thought were brilliant. 

Ok I preferred Sophie's to Drew's initial idea, but I wasn't thee one awarding the job.  Drew wins it, but due to it being a big campaign, he is being forced to team up with Sophie.  It's just the Sophie seems to hate him and he has no idea why. 

But yet at a company family event, Drew's niece meet's Sophie's daughter and they become friends, and also seem determined to get their adults together. There is definitely matchmaking afoot, and they are being forced to spend more and more time together. 

Sophie although appearing to hate Drew on the outside, has been having rather intimate dreams about him for a few years, and as she gets to know the real man, she wonders if she can see something a bit deeper in him. 

My favourite characters were definitely Maisie and Harlow, two adorable children, one wise beyond her years, the other just adorable and a few years younger, but a firm friendship develops. And the way that Drew and Sophie are going along with their meddling is really sweet too. 

This was just a really enjoyable story, that I devoured.  It's lovely and Christmassy and I loved the way the ad campaign turned out.  Just such a fabulous story, I loved it. 

Thank you to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed voluntarily and honestly. 

Book Review - Winter Magic at Hollybrae Castle by Jaimie Admans

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Title: Winter Magic at Hollybrae Castle

Author: Jaimie Admans

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Boldwood Books

Publication Date: 9th September 2026

Rating: 5 Stars

Tartan, tinsel, a fake marriage and one very real festive romance...

❄️ Fake marriage

❄️ Forced proximity

❄️ Workplace romance

❄️ Small town

❄️ Found family

After a window display goes disastrously viral – thanks to a malfunctioning animatronic Santa and an unfortunate encounter with Paddington Bear – Lula Haines finds herself without a job just weeks before Christmas. So she jumps at the chance to decorate Hollybrae Castle in Scotland for the holidays.

There’s just one complication: her handsome new boss, Oliver Bracewell, needs a fake wife for the festive season. To secure a promotion that could save his family’s castle, Ollie has been pretending to be a married father-of-two to impress the family-focused firm where he works. Now his bosses are coming to stay at Hollybrae over Christmas… expecting to meet his non-existent wife and children.

At first, playing along is easy as Lula is swept up in the magic of turning Hollybrae into the perfect festive escape with Ollie. But as Christmas draws nearer and she and Ollie grow closer, Lula begins to wonder if Hollybrae could become more than a temporary escape… and if the man she’s only pretending to love might actually be the one she’s been waiting for all along.

This festive season, can Lula and Ollie turn pretend love into the happy-ever-after they’ve both been waiting for? ❄️💕

What an utterly hilarious and memorable opening this was, and it really set the tone for yet another wonderful Jaimie Admans Christmas book.

I loved every second of this from the circumstances that lead to Lula losing her job as a window dresser at a West End department store, to agreeing to decorate a Scottish Castle for a month, to agreeing to be fake married to the owner of this castle over Christmas, so he can impress his bosses and gain a promotion that will mean he can afford to keep the castle - this is so much fun. 

Oh not only does Lula agree to be fake married, but Ollie borrows his house keeper's grandchildren, fills them in on the plan, and has a pair of fake children for this charade as a family man! So taking the whole fake dating trope to a new level that I was totally there for! 

And Hollybrae Castle itself is like a fairy tale castle, it's not massive, but omg it has a library in a turret! What could be more perfect, and it has great views of the Mull of Kintyre, and although the castle is rather cold, after all heating is expensive, it's a wonderful place and Lula is amazed she is able to go all out decorating it. 

Rory and Maisie the two children in on the charade, are delightful, and really put their "parents" through their paces, in terms of getting their stories straight.  They seem masters of how to pull this off, and are only demanding a Lamborghini and a pony as their payment!  

It's was wonderful to see how Ollie changed as the castle starts to come back to life, and how Lula manages to inveigle her way into his heart, as well as his life. 

I adored every word of this charming, magical and festive story. Utterly fabulous, and another hit for this always talented author. 

Thank you to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily. 

Book Review - The Best of Enemies by Julie Mae Cohen

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Title: The Best of Enemies

Author: Julie Mae Cohen

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Zaffre

Publication Date: 20th August 2026 

Rating: 5 Stars

Gwen keeps a list of enemies. Not that she'd ever hurt any of them - she just likes knowing if karma catches up.

So when her childhood bully drowns in sewage, Gwen's quietly satisfied. But then another foe dies. And another. Soon, everyone who's ever crossed Gwen - from sworn enemies to obnoxious strangers - is meeting a bizarre end.

The police think Gwen's involved, but she's terrified. Someone's turning her private grudges into a murder spree, and if Gwen doesn't stop them, her newly rebellious daughter could be next . . .

This is another astounding book from Julie Mae Cohen. 

I had absolutely no idea how to predict this and was amazed and shocked by the finale. 

Gwen was a really interesting character, she seems rather battered by life, and has her own hit list of people she would love to take revenge on, and how she would like them to die. 

But it's only meant as a way of venting and clearing her head, so when people start dropping dead, that are on her list, many in suspicious circumstances she is puzzled and slightly terrified. 

She's convinced if she goes to the police, they will arrest her, and her family has had a tricky time with law enforcement as it is, so she is a bit terrified. She tries meeting up with some of the people on the list to warn them their lives may be in danger, but either she is too late, or they think she is threatening them. 

She's also concerned for her daughter Raven, who is exhibiting odd behaviours, but is determined to do anything and everything to keep her safe. 

I would never have guessed how this would turn out and I was hooked on each and every page, while I uncovered more and more of the story, and was intrigued throughout. 

A highly enjoyable novel of revenge from a fabulous author. 

Thank you to Zaffre and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily. 

Book Review - When Sparks Fly by Portia MacIntosh

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Title: When Sparks Fly

Author: Portia MacIntosh

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Boldwood Books

Publication Date: 28th September 2026

Rating: 4 Stars

Fireworks are flying over the coastal town of Marram Bay, but Lia is about to have sparks of her own...

Moving back home was never part of Lia’s plan. But then again, neither was everything falling apart. Now she’s back in the seaside town she swore she’d outgrown - living with her parents, sleeping in her teenage bedroom, and trying not to think too hard about the life she left behind in London.

At first, it’s exactly as she feared: the same pub, the same people, the same routines. Comfortingly familiar and yet completely suffocating. Until one slightly chaotic night leads to her getting locked in a pub toilet with a handsome stranger. He’s charming, funny, mysterious - and gone before she even learns his name.

In a town this small, he’s bound to turn up eventually - but when he does, Lia realises it’s going to be far more complicated than she thought.

When her past and present start to collide, Lia has a choice: keep chasing the life she thought she wanted, or stay put and see what happens when the sparks start flying.

This was another really enjoyable book from Portia MacIntosh who always has a good hit rate with me. And it's been a long while since I last read a Marram Bay set novel, to the extent that I had to after the first bit of the book, try to look up to see if I had already read this under a previous name. 

I can't see any evidence of it, although it has been previously published as a novella, and been extended for this iteration, but it did leave me with a slightly disconnected feeling throughout.  I think I just wasn't expecting anything new from this setting, especially with some of the far more exotic locations Portia has been setting books in recent years. 

But that is totally a me thing and it didn't take away from the fact it's another fun story from this author, and I enjoyed seeing Lia tie herself up in knots between two brothers. 

She is continually trying to do the right thing but one is her childhood crush and the other she started fancying after being trapped in a toilet with him, and had no idea they were related until she accepts Si's offer to move into the home he is working on, so that she can have from privacy from her parents. 

Despite what I may be implying there is no cheating or anything from Lia, she makes herself very clear or at least tries to, and she realises what a sticky situation she is in.  

Not helped by the fact that she has got herself a new job and that involves working with Adam, in addition to living with him.  it's just one messy situation, made messier by her love of alcopops of her youth, plus her childhood friend trying to be some sort of influence on her.

This was a nice, quick and easy book to devour and it gave me a lot of much appreciated escapism.  

Thank you to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.