I liked the idea of this book. It was an easy, pleasant, light read. There were interesting characters. No surprises but a pleasant escape. Much easier to read than it's counter part by the same name.

This was an absolutely charming story of finding love and how the path of true love never runs smoothly.
Lovely characters and a delightful theme - can't actually think of anything to dislike about this book.

Not to be confused with the book by D S Devlin - The Present - this is the polar opposite of that story.
I received a copy of this book from Harper Collins UK Harper Fiction via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

A lovely christmas tale of Lucy, who is clearing out the loft at her grandmothers house when she finds a set of christmas tree decorations. With the help of handyman Joe, she sets out to uncover the story of who sent them to her grandmother. The closer she gets to the truth, the closer she gets to Joe and the further she gets from her boyfriend Rod.

A lovely story just right for Christmas. The characters are great and also believable.

Nice heartwarming read but bit too predictable. Did enjoy the two stories interminged throughout the days leading up to Christmas.

The present is a sweet read that was a delight to read especially as I read in the twelve days of Christmas.
Lucy Jackson has her life mapped out for her, she knows what will be happening and when in the years to come and does not ever do unorganised. Her boyfriend is totally like her and was a character I didn't warm to at all in this story. Lucys life becomes more adventurous after finding some old Christmas tree decorations in her grandmothers attic whilst trying to clear it, so her grandmother who is ill and in hospital can sell up and live with Lucy and her boyfriend. Lucy is more clumsy than me and she did make me giggle with her calamities throughout the book. Jack is Lucys grandmothers gardener and maintenance man who helps Lucy find out how her grandmother acquired the 12 Christmas tree decorations yers ago.
This was a sweet read and interesting too as well as making me laugh at times too, a great Christmas read.
I would like to thank netgalley and HarperCollins UK for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really sweet engaging read and I was thoroughly drawn into the storyline. I was intrigued and enchanted by it.
Lucy finds a box full of antique christmas decorations based on the 12 days of Christmas and a mystery surrounds them. She is clearing her nan's house as she is going to need looking after , following a spell in hospital.
We have a intolerant boyfriend and a hunky diy male doing up her nan's house- which provides the romance for the story and the sparks. Lucy is pulled into the mystery and romance of the decorations box. Joe is keen to help her and we learn more about his past as we get further into their friendship.
I really enjoyed this book and will look out further books by this author.

A heartwarming story about the true meaning of Christmas and how when you find love, even in the most unlikely of places, you should grab it and cherish it for as long as it lasts. A most enjoyable Christmas read.

I have to admit I actually got this book by mistake as Harper Collins have another book out by DS Devlin called The Present with an identical cover apart from the colourway. Even Amazon have reviews mixed up for each book and the profile for Charlotte Phillips on the book page for Devlin! It doesn't help that both books centre on the 12 days of Christmas and a journalist. So - choose carefully, one is a romance - this one - the other a crime novel.

After starting to read the book and wondering when the crime was going to happen I decided I actually wanted to read this book too. The print length is given as 400 pages but I have to say that flew by and I read it in a day or so.

The story centres around Lucy and the discovery of some beautiful Christmas decorations covering the 12 days of Christmas, except one of them is missing and this is what hooked me in. Why was it missing?

The decorations belong to Olive, Lucy's Gran and she is at present in the hospital and so cannot help Lucy uncover the mystery. However, Olive's gardener and handyman Joe, comes to her rescue. At first I did feel this was a little contrived, but as I got slowly sucked in and some depth to the characters of Joe and Lucy evolved I needed to find closure with this book.

Maybe it's the time of year, but with such a seasonal setting and pictures painted of a snowy landscape I just settled down with this book and went with it. The little mystery got solved and I ended up loving it all.

I'm giving this book four out of 5 stars. My thanks to Netgalley for a copy of the book to review.

I'm off to read the "other" The Present now!

The Present is a release that almost escaped my notice completely, and if this is the first you've heard of the book then I urge you to read on, as this is a little gem of a book.

This is the story of a set of 12 Christmas decorations that are found in the loft of Lucy's grandmother's house, as she was clearing it, while her gran Olive was in hospital. Now despite Lucy being rather accident prone in her way to find the box these decorations were stored in, once she was safely in the rest of the house, these gifts are uncovered and spark a huge interest in Lucy.

She is determined to find out the story behind them, and to hopefully return some good memories to Olive, to aid her recovery. Just one small thing Lucy isn't someone who tends to be spontaneous and her boyfriend Rod isn't exactly a flexible person either, and Lucy has a million and one other things on her to-do list for Rod and to get Christmas ready for his family.

She does find an unlikely ally though in Joe, Olive's handyman/gardener and between them they slowly unravel the story. Joe is the complete opposite to Rod, and is pretty much biding time with work until he can go on holiday again.

As we learn about both of their pasts, we can see and understand just what made these characters behave how they do, and also a lot more about Olive's past. Despite Olive not being the main character she is present without being present as such in most scenes, as the story revolves around her.

I loved discovering all the stands of this story and seeing how it would all come together. I recall enjoying some novellas by the author a few years ago, so we really curious to see what a full length book from her would be like.

Well the answer is incredibly good, fabulous infact, I was hooked on the story the whole way through and very interested in the outcomes. It is one of very few books that I have concentrated on enough to shut out the world and ready relatively quickly recently for which I can applaud it!

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

A charming, unashamedly romantic tale, with a funny, vulnerable heroine and a sexy hero who falls in love despite it being the last thing he wants to happen.

A serendipitous discovery in her Grandmother’s loft leads Lucy on a tale of discovery back to 1940s England, where she uncovers her Grandmother’s secret and realises that having a life plan doesn’t necessarily guarantee happiness.

Lots of comical and poignant moments and an easy to read story, perfect for an afternoon in front of the fire with the Christmas tree lights on.

I received a copy of this book from Harper Collins UK Harper Fiction via NetGalley in return for an honest review.