Really enjoyable read. Good characters and a Good story. Well worth a read. Think others will enjoy.

A Country Christmas is, in fact, a repackaging of Veronica Henry's first novel. This might explain why I thought it wasn't up to her usual high standards. I should make clear that it wasn't terrible; it's more that her later books are more accomplished - understandably.

Excellent book. Brilliant story and I loved the main characters. I would highly recommend this book.

In my excitement at seeing a Veronica Henry book for request I didn’t read the synopsis until it was on my kindle. Quite a few years ago I was pleased to read the proof of Honeycote which I loved and hand sold to my customers. So when I found out this was the same book I took a trip down memory lane and reread it. I still loved it the setting of Honeycote and its great cast of characters from downtrodden Sophie to awful Kay you get invested in them and want to find out what happens next. This book introduced me to Veronica Henry books which I will now always read.

I hadn’t realised until I started this book that it’s actually a reprint of the first book in the ‘Honeycote’ series, which I read some years ago. However, I still enjoyed “A Country Christmas” as I love Veronica Henry’s books.

The Liddiard family lives in the village of Honeycote and owns the brewery. Head of the family, Mickey, is up to his eyes in debt but burying his head in the sand. Lots of scandal, intrigue, fun, and humour in this soap opera!

Thank you to NetGalley and Orion for an ARC in return for a fair and honest review.

A tale of family secrets and what goes on behind closed doors.

I have read several of Veronica Henry's books so was happy to receive an ARC from NetGalley. This book was originally titled Honeycote published in early 2000s and in some scenes this shows but it doesn't feel dated. There is a vast amount of characters from the start which could have been mind boggling but she has a talent to make them connect to the reader somehow.
It follows the story of the Liddiards who own the local brewery and other villagers who all have their own agendas. It is steamier than her later books and amazed how many calculating, manipulating characters there were. It is fun to read and perfect for soap opera fans.

This is a book published previously as Honeycote, the first of a trilogy, now retitled as the festive A Country Christmas. It is set in the fictional Cotswold village of Honeycote where the Liddiard family reside where the festive season is about to be a dramatic affair teeming with family drama. The charming Mickey is married to Lucy, who is busily preparing the festive dinner and planning who will be there. They have three children, Patrick, Georgia and Sophie. James is Mickey's brother, secretly in love with and obsessed with Lucy, so much so that he has never married. However, under the facade of happy families lie a multitude of problems. Mickey runs the small family brewery facing severe financial difficulties and the prospect of repossession by the bank which no-one yet is aware of. His life is further complicated by his affair with Kay, who with her husband, Laurence, runs the garden nursery. As secrets and lies explode within the family, the events that follow have deep repercussions for every member of the Liddiard family. This is a warm hearted, entertaining read that is perfect for the festive period. Many thanks to Orion for an ARC.

The start of the book is great and tends to draw you in to the characters from the first few pages. We get a great perspective from the author of the setting of Honeycote House and it seemed very picturesque. Initially, I only found I had one problem with the story, there were quite a few characters and for some reason their names just didn’t gel with their personalities. I can’t explain why but for me I struggled until at least the halfway point to gel the names to each character. Thankfully that was really the only criticism I had. I adored the Liddiards even though they were all far from perfect.

Veronica Henry certainly doesn’t shy away from creating multiple stories and characters, and although some people may not like that I absolutely loved it. Yes there were multiple things to see develop but it gave you even more as a reader to get your teeth in to. I managed as usual to either love or loathe certain characters very soon after starting to read and that pleases me because I feel like the author is making me feel emotion either way.

Around the halfway point things really pick up and we see a chain of events start that affect every member of the family and believe me there are quite a few of them. In addition to Mickey and Lucy we see their three children Patrick, Georgia and Sophie. We also have James Liddiard and his girlfriend Caroline, The Liddiard daughter’s friend Mandy and his dad, as well as numerous village characters that are all an integral part of the story.

Her writing style flows easily ad it was a pleasure to read, none of the chapters were a struggle and I thoroughly enjoyed it and left wanted to find out what happens next for all of them. Thankfully the next book in the Honeycote series is on my to tread list so I wont have to wait that long.

Veronica Henry manages to create a chick lit book that has great characters, storylines that make you want to laugh or cry and some good old fashioned smut. Just my kind of book!

Mickey Liddiard owns Honeycote Ales, although a loveable rogue he is up to his eyeballs in trouble. He is drinking too much, having an affair and the brewery has massive debts and is on the verge of bankruptcy.

Lucy is Mickey’s wife, she has no idea of the amount of trouble he is in. She is living in a happy little bubble while things around her are going to pot. Eventually Mickey’s troubles become common knowledge and things for him and his family begin to disintegrate. Can they stop the rot and save the brewery or is it too late?

This is a good book with an array of varied and interesting characters, it has several storylines which interlink and they all merge together for a satisfactory conclusion. An entertaining family drama which was a pleasure to read.

Previously published as Honeycote, this was the first Veronica Henry that I ever read and it was an absolute pleasure to reread.
A must read for fans of Jilly Cooper - set in the heart of the Cotswolds, this wonderfully entertaining story focuses on the Lilliard family and the family brewery. There is a vast array of characters and many interlinking plot threads.

Review shall be up on my blog 26/11 - thecosiestcorner.blogspot.com

This is my first novel by Veronica Henry (even though I have quite a few others on my TBR pile), and I did find myself enjoying it. I'll admit that at the beginning of the book, it was slightly overwhelming as there were just so many characters we were getting introduced to. But once I got to know them all a bit better, I started getting into it more.

I was drawn to this book due to it's stunning Christmassy cover. I adore the wreath on the gate, the snow on the thatched cottage and the fields covering the background. I also love the hamper next to the gate and the mistletoe at the very top of the cover. All of it looks beautifully inviting and I couldn't wait to read it.

The story itself is full of drama and I was actually physically attached to my Kindle for the duration of the book, I was dying to know the outcome. It's set in what sounds like such a beautiful little village called Honeycote and it was somewhere I added to my list of places I wish I could go to! The story follows main characters Lucy and Mickey. Lucy has been kind enough to invite all her loved ones to a festive lunch and husband Mickey isn't the most faithful of husbands. The pair have no idea how much is going to go wrong and it makes for an excellent read.

Overall, I did find myself enjoying this novel, it just took a little while to get into but it was full of festive cheer and drama. Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for a chance to read this novel, which I have reviewed honestly.

This isn't my first read by this author and always loved her books so was looking forward to this. It was full of fun laughter and families all based in a beautiful country and based around Christmas so a perfect read. Plenty of Christmas cheer. In the beautiful village of Honeycote village it's set to bring more than a few surprises to everyone. Lucy plans the festive lunch for all her dearest and dearest and she has no idea with what is about to unfold many secrets lies along with love and lust. Her husbands Mickey is a flirt and she knows it and his family brewery is seeing better days so can ever sort everyone out or not a good book to settle down to read.