I’m delighted today to be joining the blog tour for Christmas at the Board Game Café by Jennifer Page, and sharing my review: published on 10th October by Aria Fiction, it’s now available for kindle, in paperback, and as an audiobook (and narrated by the wonderful Colleen Prendergast…). My thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for the invitation and support, and to the publishers for my advance reading copy (provided via netgalley).
This is the fourth book in this lovely series – very much a personal favourite, as is its lovely author. The first book, The Little Board Game Cafe (available free via Kindle Unlimited), was a complete delight – a really exceptional debut, and totally deserving of its place in my 2023 Books of the Year list (you can read my review again here). I found her second, Love Letters on Hazel Lane (also free via Kindle Unlimited), every bit as lovely, so heart-warming and uplifting (you’ll find my review of that one here) – but I might have spoken too soon when I said it was guaranteed a place on my 2024 list, because Second Chances at the Board Game Café then followed (yes, also now free via Kindle Unlimited…), and I thought it was totally gorgeous (you’ll find my review here). And now we have yet another – she’s really spoiling us this year, despite the major distraction of guide dog puppy Pete – and I could just tell, from a quick look at the blurb, that it was another one I was going to love…
Kate seems to have it all – wonderful friends, a successful career and an idyllic life in the quirky Yorkshire town of Essendale. But under the surface Kate’s lonely, and she longs to feel part of a family – especially during Christmas.
With the holiday season fast approaching, and the town desperate to attract more visitors, Kate conceives a brilliant plan: an enchanting living Advent calendar. Each December evening, a captivating window display will be unveiled across town. With local businesses struggling, including her best friend’s board game café, she’s feeling the pressure.
But Kate’s picture-perfect plans take an unexpected turn when her ex-boyfriend arrives in Yorkshire, insisting on creating the Christmas Eve display. Can Kate trust him to deliver a show-stopping window? And can she finally put the past behind her and embrace the future she’s always dreamed of?
It was an absolute delight to be back in Essendale and spending time with friends once more. Kate’s always been there in the background – focused, driven, a bit pushy, a loyal friend – and, at last, we get to learn more about her story. Behind that front, she’s hurting – everyone else is coupled up and getting on with their lives, and with Christmas just around the corner she’s dreading spending it alone. Well, other than the obligatory (and always difficult) visit to her father – what she saw of his relationship with her mother rather shaped her life.
But when she comes up with an idea to breathe some life into the struggling business community and try to draw in the visitors – a living Advent calendar, with each business decorating a window in an original way, with a nightly unveiling – it gives her the project she really needs to take her mind off her own problems. If only she could sort out a display in the window of Alessandra’s – in prime position, but currently boarded up and looking neglected. It would be a far better finale for Christmas Eve than the rather tired nativity scene the vicar’s insisting on – and with news that the property’s changed hands, there might be some possibility of success.
After what might have been an unwise fling, she’s fallen into a bit of a relationship with Peter – but he’s her best friend’s ex, and although he’s considerably sweeter than she ever thought he was, it just doesn’t feel right. And she does still rather hanker for a previous relationship that went wrong – it was her decision to end it before it really started. But now she’s begun to see her ex – or at least, she thinks it might be him – in the unfamiliar setting of Essendale, and it throws her off kilter a little.
I really mustn’t tell the whole story – the advent calendar, and each new reveal, gives it its shape, along with so much of its Christmas sparkle. Some of the ideas are absolutely inspired – and some of the marketing ideas don’t go quite as they should, but those mis-steps are exceptionally funny, and it all just endorses the fact that there’s no such thing as bad publicity. And it seems that the window at Alessandra’s might just be possible after all – but Kate finds it particularly difficult not having any input, and fears it might be a disaster.
But this is very much Kate’s own story too – coming to terms with her past, putting her experiences into perspective, rebuilding relationships and hopefully finding her future path to happiness. There’s the loveliest focus throughout on friendship and community – if you’ve read the earlier books, there’s the opportunity to catch up on recent developments in everyone’s lives, but you’d have no problem at all reading this one as a standalone if you really wanted to. Family too, in all its complexity – and a particularly moving and convincing romance that both warmed my heart and brought a tear to my eye (and that was even before I saw that final Christmas window…). There’s a strong thread of humour – with a few particularly laugh-out-loud moments – but this is quite an emotional story too, all so beautifully handled, and with real warmth to the story’s telling.
And then there’s the important question – is it all Christmassy enough? Oh my goodness, I couldn’t have asked for more… I loved it! This was most definitely one of my favourite Christmas books this year, and I really couldn’t recommend it more highly…
About the author
Jennifer Page wrote her first novel – a book about ponies – when she was eight. These days she prefers to write romance. When she isn’t writing, Jennifer can usually be found playing board games which were the inspiration for her first novel. She has worked as a television producer, a music teacher and has even run a children’s opera company. She now lives near Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire with her husband and his large collection of games.
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