Well, only a few days to go until a Christmas that’s going to be very different for so many of us this year – and although I still have reviews to share this week of three (quite wonderful) Christmassy books, I think I’m going to have to admit defeat and concede that I’m just not going to manage to read every one I really wanted to. I started reviewing Christmas reads back in September – they’re always personal favourites, and although it’s sometimes a tad strange reading about snow and tinsel in a sunny garden I’m a firm believer that a Christmas themed book can be happily read at any time of the year.
But January’s beckoning here – six blog tours (I’m starting slowly…), a few firm promises, and a reserve list of books I just haven’t managed to squeeze into 2020 – and I really must leave the Christmas books behind. So I thought it might be good to tell you about some of the Christmas books – all on my kindle – that I didn’t manage to get round to reading but that you might like to add to your kindle too.
But first, I’d like to share again the Christmas books I have managed to fit in this year. All the links are to my reviews – and, if you prefer your Christmas reads accompanied by the lights of the Christmas tree, I’d recommend every single one…
Christmas at Lock Keeper’s Cottage – Lucy Coleman
My Christmas Number One – Leonie Mack
Christmas at Carly’s Cupcakes and Starry Skies Over The Chocolate Pot Cafe – Jessica Redland
A Perfect Paris Christmas – Mandy Baggot
A Winter’s Dream – Sophie Claire
You Make It Feel Like Christmas – Louise Marley
Winter Wishes at Swallowtail Bay – Katie Ginger
The Christmas Swap – Sandy Barker
Christmas Reunion in Paris – Liz Fielding
The 12 Christmases of You & Me – Jennifer Joyce
Christmas at the Farmhouse – Rebecca Boxall
Christmas Wishes – Sue Moorcroft
Christmas with Cary – Sharon Booth
Christmas at the Cornish Confetti Agency – Daisy James
Christmas at Aunt Elsie’s – Emily Harvale
A Little Christmas Hope – Kathryn Freeman
You Never See Rainbows At Christmas – Elaine Spires
The three books I still need to review are the Christmas reads from Milly Johnson, Carole Matthews and Maggie Christensen – and you’ll find I’d rather recommend them too!
So, let me share just a few of the other Christmas books that I’d really planned to read. They all caught my eye, and you might find one here that appeals to you every bit as much… the links (click on title or book cover) are to the kindle versions on Amazon. I’m so sorry I couldn’t get round to reading them this year.
One Family Christmas – Bella Osborne (currently just 99p!)
A big family. A whole lot of secrets. A Christmas to remember…
This year, Lottie is hosting one last big family Christmas at the home she grew up in – just like her Nana would have wanted.
But when her relatives descend on the old manor house, Lottie gets more than she bargained for. Every family has its secrets, but in this family, everybody has one!
So, between cooking a Christmas dinner, keeping tensions at bay and a stray dog out of mischief, she has plenty on her plate (and not just misshapen sausage rolls and a frozen turkey). And then her first love shows up – nine years after he walked out of her life.
Can Lottie make their last family Christmas one to remember… for the right reasons?
A festive treat to curl up with this Christmas, perfect for fans of Milly Johnson and Trisha Ashley.
The Winter Garden – Heidi Swain (also just 99p…)
Will love bloom this winter?
Freya Fuller is living her dream, working as a live-in gardener on a beautiful Suffolk estate. But when the owner dies, Freya finds herself forced out of her job and her home with nowhere to go. However, with luck on her side, she’s soon moving to Nightingale Square and helping to create a beautiful winter garden that will be open to the public in time for Christmas.
There’s a warm welcome from all in Nightingale Square, except from local artist Finn. No matter how hard the pair try, they just can’t get along, and working together to bring the winter garden to life quickly becomes a struggle for them both.
Will Freya and Finn be able to put their differences aside in time for Christmas? Or will the arrival of a face from Freya’s past send them all spiralling?
The Winter Garden is the perfect read this Christmas, promising snowfall, warm fires and breath-taking seasonal romance. Perfect for fans of Carole Matthews, Cathy Bramley and Sarah Morgan.
Finding Love at the Christmas Market– Jo Thomas
Residential-home caterer Connie has had one online-dating disaster too many. Hurt in the past and with her son to consider, now she’s feeling hesitant. Then one of Connie’s residents sets her up on a date at a beautiful German Christmas market – with the promise she’ll take a mini-bus full of pensioners along with her…
Amongst the twinkling lights and smell of warm gingerbread in the old market square, Connie heads off on her date with a checklist of potential partner must-haves. Baker Henrich ticks all the boxes, but when Connie meets Henrich’s rival William, she starts to wonder if ticking boxes is the answer.
Will Connie’s wish for love this Christmas come true, and if so – with who?
Meet Me at Fir Tree Lodge– Rachel Dove (just 99p…)
Escape to Fir Tree Lodge, where new beginnings come with a fresh blanket of snow…
Rebecca Atkins has everything she could hope for – the perfect fiancé, fabulous friends and a career as a professional skier. But when an accident on the slopes brings her crashing down in the snow with a catastrophic thud, everything changes. Her career is over, and her fiancé turns out to be, well, not so perfect.
With the chance to start afresh, Rebecca does what anyone else in her position would do… She turns to baking and manages the Alpine Bites café, nestled in the French Alps.
But when handsome stranger Luke Sommersby becomes Rebecca’s unexpected lodger, her plan to completely forget about love is thrown into jeopardy. Guarding her heart since the accident, Fir Tree Lodge is strictly a man-free-zone.
Luke is kind, caring and gorgeous, but the emotional scars from her fall still run deep, and she fights to keep the sparks catching her heart at bay.
Will Rebecca be able to find a second chance in the snow and step into a bright new future with Luke by her side?
One More For Christmas – Sarah Morgan (yes – 99p!)
Gayle is a highly successful and motivated business woman, but her success has come at a price – she hasn’t spoken to her daughters, Ella and Samantha, for years. But when Gayle has an accident at work, she realises she needs to make amends with her family.
And so she invites herself to join Ella and Samantha for their Christmas in the beautiful Scottish Highlands. The sisters are none too pleased that their mother has inserted herself into their Christmas plans. They have each other – and don’t need their mother back in their lives. Or so they think…
As they embark on their first family Christmas together in years, will the three women learn that sometimes facing up to a few home truths is all you need to heal your heart?
No Room at the Little Cornish Inn – Nancy Barone
There’s magic in the Cornish air this Christmas…
Rosie Anderson was hoping to whisk her young son Danny away for a lovely Christmas with family, far from the hustle and bustle of her life in London. But then her boss at the head office – aka Susan the Sacker – suddenly assigns her to go in incognito and save a tiny inn in Cornwall from being closed permanently. Rosie doesn’t know why The Old Bell Inn is performing so badly but it’s on her to sort it out!
Hours in the car later, Rosie arrives at the inn to find she’s been double booked – there are no rooms left. And she isn’t there for more than a minute before she’s butting heads with the manager, Irishman Mitchell Fitzpatrick. He seems to dislike her on sight, so it’s confusing that he seems to get on so well with Danny… But if he’s as terrible as his reputation, Rosie will have to be the one to fire him.
This really isn’t the Christmas Rosie was dreaming of. But maybe, just maybe, it could be a whole lot more…
A sweet and uplifting Christmas romance, No Room at the Little Cornish Inn is perfect for fans of Philippa Ashley, Holly Martin and Jenny Hale.
Right – I’ll just finish reading that final Christmas book, then I’ll be back to share the reviews…
As a writer I also do a lot of reading and reviewing. My target of 40 books for the Goodreads 2020 Challenge eventually expanded into 66! Covid is responsible, of course. In a normal world we would usually be doing other things. So it’s great that we had the option of reading so many wonderful books to distract us from lockdowns and restrictions.
A lovely selection of Christmas titles Anne and if reading and reviewing was an Olympic sport, you’d surely have achieved a gold medal this year!
Books really saved my sanity this year Jo – your lovely book included – and I know I’m not the only one who feels that way. Wishing you a lovely Christmas, and a New Year full of good things xx
That’s some seriously impressive Christmas reading, Anne. I’ve got many of those on my Kindle and am hoping to stop working by Wednesday and squeeze a few in by the end of the year. Whether that actually happens is another matter! Thank you for including my two Christmas books. Wishing you all the best for a very different festive period and thank you for all your amazing support, as ever, this year xx
Hope you manage to squeeze a few in, Jessica! After a few Christmas treats, I’m now looking forward to next year’s reading – and I can see that New Arrivals at Hedgehog Hollow is one of the first books on my list. Have a wonderful Christmas xx
Ooh, can’t wait to hear your verdict on your 2nd trip to Hedgehog Hollow xx
You are amazing and I wish you peace and serenity and love over what is going to be a time that is difficult for you this year. Big hugs.
Thank you, my lovely – and sending Christmas hugs in return xx