Evie is an optimist, despite the lack of support from her parents, the tragedy she has suffered, and the abusive relationship she is still trying to escape. Jake has lost the love of his life and finds going on without her difficult. The village of Willowbrook gives Evie a chance of a new independent life, and Jake the chance to hide away until he feels strong enough to carry on. The only problem is Christmas, which brings back painful memories for both.

Evie and Jake’s relationship has a less than auspicious start, but a friendship builds out of their mutual suffering, and escaping together for Christmas offers a solution to both their problems, but is friendship what they want? Or is a holiday romance inevitable?

Heartwarming romance and emotional conflict with a festive twist, set in a lovely English village, and fabulous Provence. The intensity of grief and loss is explored during Christmastime, sensitively, whilst keeping a positive, uplifting ethos. The characters are believable and individual and the settings bring the story to life. A lovely wintery story is written in an easy to read style by a consummate storyteller,

I received a copy of this book from Hodder and Stoughton via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I absolutely ADORED this story so much!! I was initially worried that it was going to be a very typical sort of story, woman meets man who is rude for no reason, woman forgives him and just accepts his surly nature and decides she loves him for it..

What i found instead was a cast of characters that were very individual and easily distinguishable from one another, I loved every page of this and actually ordered a copy after finishing! It was absolutely lovely to delve into, it made me smile so many times, i snickered at responses at times, i felt sorry for them, i adored them.

This book is full of so many of the feels! If you want a christmas Romance? PICK THIS UP! It’s bloody brilliant!

My thanks to Netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton for a copy of “The Christmas Holiday “ for an honest review.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and found the characters of Jake and Evie easy to like.
Loved the setting and the book was a perfect piece of escapism.
Definitely recommend for a perfect Christmas holiday read.

A romantic christmas story with twists and drama before the inevitable happily ever after with characters who are relatable and who you are rooting for to get the ending that they deserve.

This was an absolute joy to read. I'm a huge fan of the Christmas Lit genre and while some are hit and miss, this one definitely isn't. The author deftly handles the subject of grief and loss around the two main characters giving the narrative an extra depth that you don't often find in xmas rom coms. There are lashing of christmassy scenes and a wonderful love story too. Hugely recommend for anyone 18-80.

A comfortable read leading upto Christmas. Intèreresting characters and story lines of lost loves , learning to live again and standing up to parents expectations. Good insights into how grief for lost relationships can affect lives and emotions . If you don't enjoy Christmas also provides an interesting insight into an escape route away from family expectations at Christmas. If you can't afford that then curl up with a book like this and shut the door.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an advanced copy to review.
At the end of the book it suggests logging onto welcometobookends .co.uk but unfortunately this site was not available on a web search!

A new Author for me “Sophie Clare”I felt drawn in by the cover and looked forward to opening the book.

After a wobbly start allow yourself to be swept along on a wonderful festive romance where Evie and Jake take you on a roller coaster of emotions. I actually found myself in the village craft shop and I did not want the book to end!

I loved this book and found myself unable to put it down.

I will definitely be looking to read more of Sophie’s books! #sophieclairewrites #hodderstoughton
#netgalley

From the first page you know how the story will end.
Evie and Jake meet while he is her client and she is hanging curtains in his house. The story tells the lovely story of their blossoming relationship in the lead up to Christmas and how they celebrate the holidays together.
I loved this book and have read it all in one sitting.
It is a refreshing change for the couple to form a new relationships without the author feeling the need to have a misunderstanding for them to work through.
This is a very, very well written book which I couldn't put down and would recommend to other readers.

Compared to the other Christmas books I’ve read, this one is unique. It doesn’t scream Christmas every page. It’s more low key which is refreshing.

One to ready you into the holiday season, to be read with nuts, Bailey’s and a roaring fire. An effective mood setter and a heartwarming read.

I try to avoid reading Christmas books too early because the good ones always get me in the Christmas spirit. However, this one didn’t feature too much of Christmas although it didn’t make the book any less enjoyable.

Our two main characters Jake and Evie are both trying to escape Christmas for their own reasons. Jake is trying to flee the memories of his deceased wife and also the pressure from his sisters to spend the holidays with them. Evie is trying to avoid having to spend the holidays at the home of her ex-boyfriend whom her parents are trying to reunite her with. Neither of them is looking for a new relationship.

So when the chance arrives to spend Christmas in a French villa both Evie and Jake are eager to escape the meddling of their families and just be themselves. However, they are both drawn to each other and things don’t always go to plan.

The characters were engaging and interesting, the story moved at just the right pace to keep everything going along without dragging anything out or feeling like we were rushing towards the inevitable. it was enjoyable but also thought-provoking how the past can influence our present and how we deal with life’s knocks and carry on in the future without forgetting.

I look forward to reading more from this author in the future,

A not so Christmassy story of romance and healing

I lived this heart warming Christmas tale. It was so refreshing to see a different skill being shown - sewing. It seems to have been forgotten about these days. Fabulous believable characters

The Christmas Holiday is perfect for a cold winter's day with a roaring fire and a cup of hot chocolate or a glass of something mulled. Evie has moved to the village of Willowbrook in a bid to make a fresh start. She's had a lot to cope with following the loss of her sister, finding her ex-fiance in bed with another woman and her parent's disapproval of her life choices. She's trying to focus on making her new business a success and is resolute about remaining single. However, Jake Hartwood, moves into the Old Hall and puts a spanner in the works for Evie. Their first meeting could not have gone any worse, but over time they become firm friends. Jake is bitter and angry at the world following the death of his love, Maria. But Evie's positivity and ability to see the good in any situation soon begins to bring the colour back into his world. They decide to forget about Christmas and go away for the festive season to Nice. As they spend time together alone, their attraction to one another becomes impossible to resist. Still wary and afraid, Jake can only promise something casual and when Evie admits she's fallen in love with him, he backs away. However, some words of wisdom from his sister Louisa, make Jake realise that his world is grey without her, and that Evie is worth risking his heart for. This is a charming festive story and a must read for any hopeless romantics out there.

A sweet and warm-hearted story. The characters were likeable and believable (within the context of a completely unlikely story). The story is predictable, but in a comforting way. I don't read this sort of book expecting Jake to be a serial killer! If you want a gentle easy feel-good read, this is the book for you.

Such a lovely heartwarming read ! I read this in a couple of days as It was such a lovely read!.
Jack has moved to a village to grieve and is still very sad - Evie lives in the same village and is getting her life back together after finishing with her childhood boyfriend. Its a lovely story of how they both gain confidence and learn to love again.

Jake has moved to the country to get away from things and is grieving for his wife who passed away 2 years before.
Evie has just set up ‘buttonhole’ and is not looking for romance after been cheated on by her ex.
A lovely Christmas heartwarming book, that’s well written and easy to read.
Really enjoyed it
Thank you

The Christmas Holiday is a book that I wouldn’t normally read as I love a psychological thriller but this cover caught my eye and I gave it a go and loved it.
Evie is the main character, she lives in a lovely little village, running her own shop, the buttonhole and getting over her ex. Jake is the owner of a lovely big house, grieving for his wife and generally not bothered about anyone, until Evie turns up to put curtains she has made up for him and ends up putting a hole in his wall.....oops!!
This was a well written Christmassy romance that for a change I loved. I’m not going into the storyline as it will spoil it but there are lots of highs and lows in this book that made it stand out from the norm in this genre.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

From the first moments where we meet Evie and Jake, I was hooked. There was just something about their interactions that kept me reading and going back from more. Their early banter is amusing but it is also clear they are both not in the market for a relationship, or in Jake's case friendship either.

Slowly though Evie's bright bubbly personality manages to affect Jake, and you start to understand why he is the he is currently acting. I loved all of Evie's passion for sewing,and her ideas for her shop.

What I found a shame was how Evie's family and ex-boyfriend treat her, and just how its affected her self confidence. I could completely empathise with Evie, especially in relation to having parents that don't have any faith in a persons job, and only wanting them to marry someone who meets their expectations in terms of what they do and how much they earn. It's a situation I find myself in continually, so really felt for Evie whenever she had to deal with her family.

Whenever I wasn't reading this, my mind was on the story and wondering when I could next pick the book up to continue reading. This is the first book I've read by Sophie Clare and I'm so glad that I picked it. The writing is so friendly, easy to follow and I found the pages were just flying past.

I really enjoyed every aspect of this book. I would say if you are looking for a book that gives you a strong Christmas feeling, then you may be disappointed, but if you would enjoy heartwarming stories, filled with character growth,set to a December backdrop, a season of looking book and also looking forwards, then this would be a wonderful read for you. I really do feel this could easily be read at all times of the year.

Thank you to Hodder on Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Evie is recovering from a bad romance, Jake still mourns the death of his wife .Jake moves into the village as part of a new start, Evie has set up her own sewing business. A lovely ,warming romance, settle into an armchair and be prepared to stay there to read for a long time.

October has just begun and my list of Christmas novels to read is already very long. Thanks to the new novel by Sophie Claire, my Christmas spirit is already trying to come out thinking about decorating trees and presents. How couldn’t I get excited about Christmas while reading this novel? There are snow, Christmas markets, and a beautiful villa in Provence where the two protagonists of the novel sit in front of the cracking fire while sipping excellent wine.

Evie Miller and Jake Hartwood’s first meeting doesn’t go very well: his dog makes her fall down from a ladder, she ruins his wall. Also, they are very different: Evie is chatty and super-positive, while Jake is moody and drunk. And yet, they have more in common than they thought and, thanks to an overprotective and worried sister, an ex-fiancé who doesn’t take no for an answer, and parents who don’t appreciate the daughter they have, Evie and Jake decide to escape together to Provence for the Christmas holiday.

I loved everything about this novel. I adored Evie and Jake, they are relatable and authentic and I enjoyed that the story is told from both their points of views. However, my favourite character is Smoke, Jake’s adorable Dalmatian, who, for some reason, is wary of strangers but hits it off with Evie right away. The atmosphere is beautiful, Christmassy and very evocative. The plot is engaging, emotional, and very captivating… I couldn’t stop reading!

Featuring the themes of love, grief, loss, and new beginnings, The Christmas Holiday is a romantic, uplifting, and festive read that will get you ready for the Christmas season!