Oh, what a beautiful story with friendship at the core!
The story starts many decades ago, with two friends, Greta and Bea. They both move from Vienna to England, and begin the habit of writing letters to one another regularly, including that Christmas 'newsletter' style update every year.
Fast forward fifty-odd years later, and they are still writing to one another. Bea from her care home in England and Greta from Vienna, where she moved back with her husband, Walter.
Both use the assistance of others to support their writing, as they are in their 80s and have failing eyesight, which makes technology difficult for them to comprehend.
Of these helpers, Bea has Sophie, a care home assistant who has become more of a daughter than a helper. Together, they curate letters, and Sophie sends them on, and in Vienna, Walter does the same for his wife, with a bit of assistance from Jennie, a woman like an adopted daughter, and their son Nick.
Unfortunate circumstances mean Sophie ends up taking a trip to Vienna to visit Greta on Bea's behalf, and what she finds there is both heartwarming and heartbreaking.
The art of letter-writing is dying, and I loved the fact that these letters were at the heart of everything within this book. Greta and Bea's friendship lasted a lifetime, and their bond stretched further to encompass many souls who were floundering, bringing them back to safer shores.
This is such a beautiful Christmas read.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an ARC.

This felt more like a real Christmas read rather than a romantic novel with a small reference to Christmas to target the Christmas market, so I immediately loved it for that. The idea of letter writing and the Christmas markets in Vienna were heartwarming, put that together with the hot chocolate and the story of family and made family and you have a perfect Christmas read. I loved it.

Firstly thank you to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for the ARC.

I loved this book, it was such a heartwarming and emotional book. Each chapter had a characters POV which I loved and they flowed beautifully together. Bea and Greta grew up in Vienna together, the started to write to each other each Christmas to tell each other of their news for that year. This carried on throughout their lives. Jennie and Sophia, have a connection, but they don't know what. When their lives are brought together through the two ladies their worlds will change, but will it be for the better?

This is a story you won't want to put down, so get yourself snuggled up to read this perfect festive read!

oh Helen Rolfe i adore you and your books. i LOOOOOVE coming to an author at the top of my tbr pile and literally getting a feather of excitement in my stomach over whats to come. i truly thank authors and books that come into our lives. books I've come to cherish by authors I've come to cherish too. Helen and her work is one of those authors or me. her books are so special and i am so in awe of her talent and thankful for it everyday.
you know all the best feelings Christmas brings? those from both childhood and adulthood right from your head to our toes, well you don't need it, you just need this book. its gorgeous.
we are bought into the world of Sophie a care worker in London. she has a special bond with resident Bea. one of their favourite things is to keep in touch with letters to Bea's friend in Vienna. sadly before the next letter could be sent Bea dies. this is awful for Sophie and she knows it will be for Greta. how can she tell her this via a letter? this leaves Sophie with a quest to go to Vienna and deliver the news in person. only when she arrives she gets another shock.and what comes next is an adventure and time no one will forget. and neither will we.
this is another book to cherish. the writing was perfect. the characters adorable. i felt the emotions of the story line weave through me.
its never to light or cliche in Helen's books. its real, true and told in such thoughtful and tender ways that makes you truly feel her words and for her characters.
i cared about what was going to happen in this book.
love every moment i got to read this book and didnt want to let it go.
thank you so much Helen for sharing your talent.

A festive Christmas story! I appreciated the information on Vienna as traveling there during Christmas is a bucket list trip!
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for access to this eARC.

The perfect Christmas read! Helen Rolfe never fails to disappoint! Vienna is the best setting for all the snowy, cosy romance feels!

For Christmas in July this year, I read So This is Christmas, and what a beautiful, heartwarming story it is.

Greta and Bea have been writing Christmas letters to each other for 60 years. However, when Bea passes away before her letter can be mailed, her care nurse, Sophie, decides to go to Vienna and deliver the last letter in person. What starts as a simple task, ends with an adventure that no-one will forget.

I picked this one up because of the "letter writing". I absolutely love 84 Charing Cross Road and I wanted to see if this book could evoke some of that magic I felt reading it, and it absolutely did. There is just something so beautiful about letter writing [Gen X here and I loved all my pen pal days] and two friends writing letters over many decades is just so sweet. Add in a new generation of women that have more in common than they think, and it was just such a delightfully heartwarming read.

If you're looking for a Christmas read this year, you can't go past this one. I do warn you though, make sure you have the tissues ready for some happy tears!

A cute and heartwarming read. Bonus points for the festive feel. Love a Christmas themed book. .

This was such a beautiful story! Bea and Greta, who grew up in Vienna together, maintain their friendship through time and distance by sending each other hand written letters. Sophie and Jennie, who have a connection they aren't aware of, and how they discover and deal with that connection when they do find out. Christmas in Vienna filled with Christmas markets, good food, friends and family. Touching, heart-warming and full of love and fogiveness. Wonderful!
Thanks to Netgalley, Boldwood Books, and Helen Rolfe for the free ARC. All opinions are my own.

Sophie is a care assistant in a care home, she is great friends with 82-year-old Bea, but when Bea dies, she leaves a note for Sophie to go to Vienna to deliver a letter to her friend.

This was such a cute and heartwarming festive read. It was easy to follow and had a great cast of characters, plus the pacing was just right. It's the perfect book to curl up with over the festive season. I highly recommend it and I look forward to reading more by the author.
💜 Thank you to Netgalley, the author and Boldwood Books for my arc ebook copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Sophie is a care assistant at a residential home, she loves spending time with one of the residents Bea. Sophie helps Bea keep in touch with her old friend Greta. Greta lives in Vienna with her husband. Bea dies and devastated Sophie wants to let Greta know but feels this must be done in person not in a letter. She decides to visit Greta in Vienna and give her the bad news. When Sophie arrives in Vienna she discovers that Greta died months earlier and her husband Walter has been continuing to write the letters. There are surprises in store for Sophie and before she returns to England her life changes in ways she never thought would be possible.

At first I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy this book, but it quickly made me revise my views and I was hooked. It’s set in London and also Vienna and the descriptions of winter in Vienna were particularly good. I also enjoyed the characters and felt invested in their futures. It was a good pace and Christmas in Vienna with the snow, gluhwein and delicious food were especially enjoyable. The friendship across generations and the continuation of traditional letter writing instead of emails or texts was a lovely touch. It was a heart warming story that I enjoyed.

This festive story was like wrapping yourself in a warm blanket and sipping mulled wine by the fire. Christmas at the Wynter Hotel is everything you want in a holiday read—heartfelt, emotional, and full of snow-dusted charm.

Sophie is such a lovely main character—kind, a little lost, and clearly devoted to the people she cares for. Her unexpected journey to Vienna after the loss of 82-year-old Bea was both touching and magical. I loved how the mystery of Bea and Greta’s friendship unfolded, and the Vienna setting absolutely sparkled.

There’s grief, hope, and unexpected joy here—and while a few plot points were a little predictable, that just added to the warm, comforting feel. A lovely read for fans of Heidi Swain, Cathy Bramley, and anyone who wants their Christmas story with heart and healing.

Perfect for curling up with on a wintry night. 🎄✨

Maybe I wasn’t in the right mood for this but I found the story to be a bit slow. It seemed to take forever for anything to happen and when it did it happened slowly. It is a gentle read that is an easy escape and reads just like a Hallmark film. It’s a little but too predictable and coincidental for me but the female friendship in it was nice.

A huge thanks to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for the eARC copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a comforting book, set around Christmas time and of course Christmas letters between friends. I am a big fan of a Christmas book so I wanted to love this, but sadly it didn't quite hit the mark for me personally. The long chapters didn't help to hold my attention and it took me a while to get to wanting more.

I enjoyed the friendships that were built both within the letters and in the main characters and the story was a very uplifting one, nice to read about characters who love to give and help. I just would have liked a bit more passion/romance from that aspect of the book and also probably could have reached Vienna quickly in that aspect too.

Overall though it is a nice comforting book and one I believe could be read anytime of the year.

Set in both Vienna and the UK this is another book for me to tick off for the Bookshelf Raiders theme this month.

3 Stars for me.

Thanks again for the opportunity to read this book :)

This book follows two POVs, Sophie and Jennie, both with pasta they wish to keep from those closest to them, both unknowingly connected in heartache and grief.

Life long friends Greta and Bea have an annual tradition of posting a festive letter to each other. Sophie, a care assistant, aids elderly Bea in writing what would become her final letter, prompting Sophie to head to Vienna to hand deliver this years letter.

This is a story of love, loss, grief and family that goes beyond blood. A heartwarming festive read that could being a tear to the eye.

I love a good Christmas book and from start to finish this book is everything I could ever want. It's full of the best twists and turns and a emotional rollercoaster that has you blubbering one minute and laughing like a banshee the next. The characters are endearing and I wished only the best for them as they learn to live with grief and starting again. The descriptions are vividly festive and you can feel the magic. I am a big lover of a Christmas book all year round because of the magic it makes you feel and So This is Christmas is a real beauty.

I couldn’t put this down, what a lovely cozy festive read. I read this book in half a day! I always feel that Helen Rolfe makes the characters seem so real,

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the eARC.
This is a sweet book and has a comforting feel to it. The friendship.between the two women is lovely and the setting of Vienna particularly appealing.
But for me it seemed a bit slow and didn't hold my attention all the time. It is life affirming though and ends up.giving you hope, especially considering the state of affairs today.