Wednesday, 4 December 2024

Book Review - The Christmas Tree Farm by Laurie Gilmore

 The Amazon Purchase link below is an Amazon Affiliate link.

Amazon UK

Title: The Christmas Tree Farm
Author: Laurie Gilmore
Format reviewed: Ebook
Source: Netgalley
Publisher: One More Chapter
Publication Date: 10th October 2024
Rating: 5 Stars

Every book in the Dream Harbor series can be read as a standalone.

Kira North hates Christmas. Which is unfortunate since she just bought a Christmas tree farm in a town that’s too cute for its own good.

Bennett Ellis is on vacation in Dream Harbor taking a break from his life in California. And most importantly, taking a break from his latest run of disastrous dates.

After a run in with Kira in her fields, Ben has no intention of offering to help the grumpy owner set up her tree farm, despite the fact she’s clearly got no idea what she’s doing.

Kira knows she should stop being so stubborn, but her farm is not all cute and cozy like people always show on social media, it’s borderline dangerous with no heating, and she’d rather no one saw it.

But somehow fate finds Ben at Kira’s farm once more, and as Kira watches him swing an axe at the first tree, she finds herself appreciating his strength and questioning why she refused help in the first place…

The Christmas Tree Farm is a spicy romantic mystery with a HEA guaranteed!

Please will someone put me on a plane and let me live in Dream Harbour. 

All the men there are dreamworthy and almost seem too good to be true, ,and the whole town just sounds so wonderful, as does the way they celebrate Christmas.  It's a wonderful local community and really does help give the books a small town cosy vibe. 

Although it's not pure cosiness, as there are some wonderfully spicy scenes (why is everyone saying spice not sex nowadays?), that I totally enjoyed. 

I loved getting to know Kira and Ben, even if they do get off to a fairly rocky start. I liked how they could recognise their own undesirable personality traits and bad patterns they have gotten into in the past, and how they are trying to improve themselves. 

There is something so enchanting and moreish about this series, I just can't get enough of these stories.  I loved catching up with old friends from the previous books, and also seeing Kira start to come out of her shell was a joy to see. 

And what better setting for a festive tale than a Christmas Tree Farm, and an old house that is freezing cold leading to a blanket fort in front of the fire as the main living space. It's just so cosy! 

Please don't make me wait for the next book, I need my next Dream Harbour fix already! 

Thank you to One More Chapter and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily. 

Tuesday, 3 December 2024

Book Review - Mistletoe Magic in the Highlands by Bella Osborne

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Amazon UK

Title: Mistletoe Magic in the Highlands
Author: Bella Osborne
Format reviewed: Ebook
Source: Netgalley
Publisher: Aria
Publication Date: 3rd October 2024
Rating: 5 Stars

Olivia Bingham is unlucky in love...

She's been ghosted more times than she can count, but this Christmas brings a glimmer of hope: Fraser Douglas, a Scottish chef working at an idyllic hotel in the Highlands. He's sweet and sensitive, thoughtful and funny, not to mention incredibly good looking - but there's a catch.

They've never actually met.

When Olivia tries to show her friends the hunky new man in her life, Fraser's online dating profile has vanished, andOlivia fears the worst. Frustrated and wounded, she decides she's going to confront Fraser - face to face, in Scotland.

But when she arrives, things don't go exactly as planned. Worse still, Fraser doesn't seem to have any idea who she is...

Ooh  I really enjoyed this book. 

It's fairly funny at times, it's definitely entertaining and omg Ginger has to be one of my favourite pets I have read this year. She is a rather mischievous highland cow, that thinks she is a dog, and leads of Liv having to stay up in Scotland for longer than she intended. 

After all Liv had only travelled up to the Highlands to give Fraser a piece of her mind, after he had ghosted her online, but although she recognises him, he shows no recognition of her, and then there is snow and car issues and she is stranded up at his not exactly open, potentially haunted hotel! 

Fraser not only gives Liv a room when it is realised she can't go anywhere but is persuaded to take in a few other stranded people too, which made the dynamics between everyone really interesting.  

Effie is a really sweet natured if perhaps a tad naive girl who is related to Fraser and makes fast friends with Liv. There are quite a few small mysteries to be solved throughout the story which Robbie Williams, the local friendly policeman, may or may not have been useful in! 

All set in the run up to Christmas, this was a charming and really entertaining story that I totally adored.  I devoured it, and thoroughly enjoyed every word. 

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

Monday, 2 December 2024

Book Review - The Secret Christmas Bookshop by Cressida McLaughlin

 The Amazon Purchase link below is an Amazon Affiliate link.

Amazon UK

Title: The Secret Christmas Bookshop
Author: Cressida McLaughlin
Format reviewed: Ebook
Source: Netgalley
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: 24th October 2024
Rating: 5 Stars

Can their Christmas love story last a lifetime?
In a village by the sea, where wintry skies bring a dusting of sparkling snow, somebody is opening an unexpected gift…

When Sophie receives a surprise package, she’s intrigued to find a beautifully bound book inside.

Sophie is desperate to discover the mystery sender, and her hunt draws her to the enigmatic Harry. The subject of much gossip since his return from London, Harry keeps to himself in his crumbling manor house.

But they are both about to learn that the best stories can take on a life of their own.

An absolutely heartwarming story that I was totally enchanted by. 

I loved the village setting, the mystery behind he beautifully bound book, and just the whole feel of the story. I was absorbed by what Sophie would decide to do, whether she would continue to move from place to place each year, or if she would start to put down some routes. 

And Harry was intriguing, a bit prickly at first, but turned into a wonderful man that I was definitely falling for.  And the names of his dogs are rather amusing, but it's Felix the Goat that has to be the best character of the book.  He has such a cheeky personality and it was always funny to see what scrapes he ended up in next.

I loved the planning for the big Christmas festival and also seeing how Sophie is starting to connect to more people in the village.  The descriptions of the notebooks she makes too are enchanting and I almost wish I was a bigger fan of stationary to try to find similar ones as they sounded so lovely. 

This is definitely  a very enjoyable festive story that i read over the course of a day. And with Amazon implying this is the first book of a new series, I am incredibly eager to read the next book, and catch up with more of these characters as the setting is so fabulous. 

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