Rose Quinn used to love Christmas but now everything has changed, she鈥檚 struggling and desperate to get out of Dublin for the holiday season and spend it alone. Except for her dog George, of course. She books and escape to Seaview Cottage in Donegal and sets off, her only plan to hunker down and walk the dog.
This is Charlie Sheerin鈥榮 first Christmas alone and obviously he鈥檚 not looking forward to it. He sets off from Belfast accompanied by his dog Max and being the helpful chap he undoubtedly is, he tries to help a woman having car trouble. He arrives at the cottage he鈥檚 booked and whilst he鈥檚 being shown around another car arrives. Yes, you鈥檝e guessed it, it鈥檚 Rose and I鈥檒l bet you鈥檝e also guessed, the cottage is double booked. Whoops. What to do?
If you enjoy the film The Holiday then you鈥檒l probably enjoy this seasonal read from Emma Heatherington. This definitely gives you the festive vibes even before Christmas! It鈥檚 a touching feel good story which captures the late December magic, especially towards the end of the novel.
I love the setting in the Donegal area which is full of atmosphere and makes you want to visit as it seems so idyllic. The cottage is very tempting too! The two main characters, though polar opposite, are both very likeable and as for the dogs鈥�..鉂わ笍鉂わ笍 We learn the burdensome loads both are carrying as the novel progresses and you warm to them even more. A shout out too for Rose鈥檚 Uncle Rusty who is so nice with a bit of a boo ya sucks to his wife Marion! This is a sweet story and although it definitely follows a predictable path but that鈥檚 what you hope for, so happy days.
However, it is a bit slow, especially at the start and so it takes me a while to get into it and the ending feels a bit rushed . One oddity is a character does a complete 180 personality change. Is it a sprinkling of Christmas Magic? Let鈥檚 go with a yes.
Overall, this is a lovely wintry escapist read, and obviously it snows.!! The lovely cover also entices you in.
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Random House UK, Cornerstone for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.
This was the cutest, cosiest Christmas story and I will be recommending to everyone that they add this to their Christmas tbr!
The storyline contained tough themes, both main characters struggling with their own personal lives and hiding away over Christmas, but they find comfort and happiness in each other and learn how to heal with each others support.
It was so emotional and heartwarming and really funny in places (the bra scene had me laughing out loud!!)
There's snow, and Santa and Christmas decs and music and just that feel good atmosphere that you're meant to have at Christmas. It's made me crave the holiday festivities (September isn't too early to put up a Christmas tree is it?)
It slowed down a little in the middle, but compared to the the book as a whole, it really didn't take much from the experience.
Overall, a wonderful love story to warm you up this winter.
Thank you so much to NetGalley UK and Random House for providing me with a copy in exchange for my honest review.
I was very kindly gifted a copy of this book by the publisher Penguin Books Ireland, and I saved it for December. I dabble in romance books, usually around this time of year. This Christmas has fantastic reviews on 欧宝娱乐 and is billed as a cosy romance but I鈥檓 afraid it didn鈥檛 work for me at all.
Rose arrives at Seaview Cottage in Donegal to spend Christmas alone as she grieves for her late husband, but the cottage has been double-booked: a devastated Charlie has also arrived with the intention of spending Christmas alone, now that his ex-wife has moved to Tenerife with his young daughter.
The 鈥渇orced proximity鈥� trope sets the book up for a nice little romance but what follows is the protracted story of two characters who don鈥檛 even have a conversation until 3/4 of the way through the book. It鈥檚 all very stilted and wooden.
What the book lacks in chemistry between the characters (there is zero), it makes up for in padding, repetition, plot holes and clich茅s. Two sob stories do not a romance make. I found the whole book frustrating - holding back from telling the characters鈥� back stories until the 75% mark meant that this reader had zero investment in them, individually or as a couple. If I hadn鈥檛 been reading with a lovely group of book pals, I would have abandoned the book at the 33% mark.
There is a lovely author鈥檚 note at the back, the cover is very pretty but the book was not for me. It has a very high rating on 欧宝娱乐 so perhaps a case of, it鈥檚 not you, it鈥檚 me. 1.5/5猸愶笍
This was the cutest, cosiest Christmas story and I will be recommending to everyone that they add this to their Christmas tbr!
The storyline contained tough themes, both main characters struggling with their own personal lives and hiding away over Christmas, but they find comfort and happiness in each other and learn how to heal with each others support.
It was so emotional and heartwarming and really funny in places (the bra scene had me laughing out loud!!)
There's snow, and Santa and Christmas decs and music and just that feel good atmosphere that you're meant to have at Christmas. It's made me crave the holiday festivities (September isn't too early to put up a Christmas tree is it?)
It slowed down a little in the middle, but compared the the book as a whole, it really didn't take much from the experience.
Overall, a wonderful love story to warm you up this winter.
Thank you so much to NetGalley UK and Random House for providing me with a copy in exchange for my honest review.
A lovely Christmassy read about two people who want to escape Christmas this year but end up double booked for the same cottage. Loved the characters Rose and Charlie and how the helped each other discover the joy of Christmas again
This book sort of promised much but didn't deliver for me. Rosie lives in Dublin and does what she can to survive Christmas, a time of year that she used to love. This year she decides to get out of Dublin and head to a place where she was happy - her Grnadmother's cottage in Donegal. When she arrives there she finds a stranger in the cottage along with her cousin and his wife. Things happen that mean Rosie has to share the cottage with Charlie. Charlie is there to get away from heartache and he is very strick as to how they will interact. I just felt that this could have been so much cosier and less emotionally intense. I also didn't really feel the romance between the characters.
A lovely Christmassy read about two people who want to escape Christmas this year but end up double booked for the same cottage. Loved the characters Rose and Charlie and how the helped each other discover the joy of Christmas again
Such a lovely and delicate Christmas story, of grief in many forms and the difficulties people can face at that time of year. The story was handled beautifully.
I was invested in the story of two strangers who end up double booking the cute one-bedroom cottage in Ireland, with their dogs, over Christmas, both with their own reasons for wanting to be alone and not celebrate, but without realising it supporting each other to move on.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for my honest and unbiased opinion.
This book is a sweet, but very slow story of two lonely singletons, who end up stuck in the same 1 bedroom cottage in rural Ireland for Christmas. I have to be completely honest - there wasn鈥檛 much of a plot and 2/3 of the book felt like padding. The ending was sweet but it felt rushed, like the author felt the need to tie up every loose end in the last 2 chapters, without fully explaining how we got there. It鈥檚 a 2/5 for me. A cute Christmas read if there鈥檚 nothing else available, but not a book I鈥檇 be giving to a loved one this December.
I鈥檝e been seeing loads of reviews about this book recently, all raving about it and saying how it鈥檚 perfect for fans of The Holiday and I couldn鈥檛 agree more! I was a little sceptical as I absolutely LOVE The Holiday but this was a pure cosy Christmas romance and I loved all of it.
Rose and Charlie are both just the loveliest characters and I really liked that we got alternate chapters from both of their points of view as I find it really helps to build the dynamic and you get to know both characters. Alongside them you have their two dogs, George (imagine the dulux dog) and then cheeky, adventurous Max who I can just picture snoozing together in front of the roaring log fire. And yes, there鈥檚 one of them in this too!
Christmas fayres, snow, walks in the forest, handmade decorations and movies with hot chocolate in front of the fire鈥� I mean I don鈥檛 think I need to sell it anymore do I!
This is the first book by Emma that I鈥檝e read but I鈥檒l be hoping it鈥檚 not the last as this is the perfect book to get you into the Christmas spirit.
Charlie and Rose find themselves trying to escape Christmas and end up being double booked in a remote cottage in rural Ireland.
Rose came across as a no nonsense business woman but behind the facade is dealing with loss and grief and is avoiding Christmas. Charlie, likewise, does not want to celebrate.
Put them in the same house and you have yourself a wonderful story. Both characters were relatable and I adored them both as well as the dogs.
This is a heartwarming book filled with emotion, heartbreak and drama and I felt the author dealt with the heavier topics of death, loss and grief with sensitivity.
This is certainly a book I would recommend.
Thank you Penguin Random House and Netgalley for my ARC. This is my honest review which I'm leaving voluntarily.