The protagonist of the novel is Fern. A freelance journalist with a young daughter, she moved to Chesterwood three years earlier after the premature death of her husband. Although part of her is still grieving, she thinks it is time to move on, especially as her friendship with Kit seems to become something more. However, Fern has other things to worry about besides her love life. The local food bank is about to be closed because the rent is too high. To try and save the place that is so important for many people around the area, Fern organize a living calendar event around town to raise money. Also, she is worried about her two best friends. Perfect wife and mother Cara who has always everything under control has become very forgetful and distracted while Davina is worried about her children’s strange behaviour. Will Fern be able to make it to Christmas without much drama? (Don’t count on it!)

October is the month of Christmas reads and I lost count of how many Christmas books I have read so far, but I enjoyed each one of them including The Christmas Calendar Girls. The author created a protagonist that feels authentic and relatable from the very beginning. You can feel her pain as she remembers her husband, but you also cheer her on as she tries to build a new life without him. She is compassionate and caring, working hard to help the homeless of the village. She is always ready to help others and, in the meantime, she has a job to do and a daughter to raise.

I loved the community feeling and the Christmas atmosphere that together make a fantastic Christmas novel. An enjoyable and uplifting novel about friendship, family, love, loss, and new beginnings, The Christmas Calendar Girls is one not to miss this Christmas season!

What I enjoyed about The Christmas Calendar Girls was the focus on female friendships and what a community can do when they pull together. It was easy to read and provided light relief yet, it didn’t shy away from real problems. The book is current and up-to-date on difficulties that some people face in society today (addiction, loneliness, bereavement, just to name a few). It’s a great book for taking stock of how we need to be thankful for what we have and Tonge wrote with compassion so it worked. And come on, who doesn’t love some festive romance?! I certainly do! My only small niggle is there were too many characters thrown in at the start and I did struggle to remember who everyone was. It didn’t take away my enjoyment of the book but it just took me some time to get into the rhythm of the story. The book has so much heart and warmth, you can’t help but smile while reading it. A real feel good book all wrapped up with a big festive bow!

If you enjoy a cosy Christmas story all about kindness and helping others less fortunate than ourselves, then I’m sure you will enjoy this book.

Another Christmas story that makes you long for Christmas to be here already! Samantha Tonge has done a great job tackling some very hard issues with these characters all while bringing us a great Christmas story. This will leave you with that warm fuzzy feeling that you get reading about how others come together at Christmas time to help others.

Fern moved to Chesterwood to try and help herself and her daughter start over after her husbands death. Fern has meet some people in town from taking her daughter to school. Fern is a journalist and has recently done a story on the homeless in Chesterwood and what is available to them for assistance. When Fern found out about the food bank that was available to the homeless, she also found out that if there were not any funds raised quickly to help them out that the food bank was going to have to close.

Fern comes up with an idea to try and help the food bank. She thinks that they should organize a living advent calendar to help raise money. She enlists the help of two other mothers that she has meet from the school. While they are organizing the calendar, Fern is encountered with a chance at love again, but is she ready? Has she let go of her past and has he? There are a lot of tough topics that are dealt with in these chapters, but done so tactfully that you feel like you are such a part of these characters lives.

This is a great story about how communities come together and work for a common good. The idea of a living advent calendar to me at first was sort of out there, but these girls pulled it off and raised money for a common good. You get to learn about different reasons people may have for using the food bank and helping them get away from addiction or giving them a chance to start over with a little help. All of this woven into a lovely Christmas read with a little romance too. Great job Samantha Tonge!

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book and all opinions are my own. Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for an advanced copy of this book.

I loved this festive read with its emphasis on friends and family. Beneath the glitz of Christmas, there are some darker issues which gives the story a credibility. There is a lovely thread of being kind and valuing what matters above material things which chimes beautifully with the season. With some believable characters and plenty of variety in the plot, this is a festive read not to be missed.

Thanks to the author for a copy of the book.

A wonderful, heart-warming festive read which encompasses all the great things about Christmas - and will most definitely leave the reader with a fabulous fuzzy feeling!

Fern and her two friends, Cara and Davina are all bringing up children whilst aiming to be part of the local primary and the wider community. As it heads towards Christmas, there is also extra work to be done supporting the kids with all the school activities - but this year there is more reason to be concerned. The local food bank, a lifetime to many, is under threat of closure and desperately need to raise funds to stay afloat; can these three friends help in any way whilst struggling with their own issues? Fern is trying to work out Kit's mindset whilst becoming aware that her feelings towards him are not completely platonic; Cara - normally a domestic goddess - is not her usual efficient self and Davina finds herself with worries over her usually well-behaved twins' demeanour. What is going on?

This is a superb read! Steeped in Christmas spirit and packed with the problems all of us face at some (usually several) times in our lives, there is lots to keep the reader glued to the pages. It is a charming book and also a thought provoking one, making us all aware that there is more to Christmas than just finding the perfect gift and buying more food it's possible to eat in a month, never mind a few days! I absolutely adored everything about it and Sam Tonge's creativity and writing experience shine through every part of this story. Feel-good to the nth degree and thoroughly satisfying which makes this a solid 5* read, and one I'm so happy to recommend to all lovers of a darn good festive read!

My thanks to publisher Aria for my copy via NetGalley, and specifically to Vicky Joss - both for my spot on this tour and also for supplying all the necessary details in good time. As always, all opinions are completely my own and entirely honest.

When I received the invite for this tour I couldn’t say yes quick enough! As soon as I saw the cover and read the synopsis I just knew it was my type of read.

Fern, Cara and Davina are three best friends who live in Chesterwood. They are made aware that the local food bank are struggling to keep their doors open. The answer to this dilemma is Fern’s idea of a living advent calendar. What an amazing idea it is!? Does this festive plan work? Well I urge you to find out!

Amongst organising the fundraising for the food bank, these three women have other challenges to work through. Introducing the gorgeous Kit who makes things just a little more complicated. I won’t go into plot specifics but Sam intertwines different themes beautifully such as grief, family, honesty and courage.

The sense of community in Chesterwood just radiates from the pages. Everyone comes together in a time of need at a very cold time of the year. I loved meeting the residents, they just kept reminding each other of why they were raising money in the first place. It makes you realise what you have and to not take it for granted at all. I just couldn’t put my kindle down and when I had to I was itching to pick it back up again.

I now just have to have Samantha’s books on my TBR pile and can’t wait for what she creates next! 😊 I give ‘The Christmas Calendar Girls’ a very festive 5*/5* ❤️

Thank you to Aria Fiction for an advanced copy of this book via Netgalley.

My first Christmas read of the year. It’s a great feel good read. It shows the lovely relationships women can have with each other, but also shows what can happen when a community pulls together too. It shows that even from a young age how important friendship is and how we need to pull together and think of the other person and their side of the relationship too. A real uplifting feel good story that is also up to date on the problems and difficulties a lot of our society find themselves in through no fault of their own. It makes you stop and take stock of your life and makes you realise just how lucky we are.

A new book from Sam is always a cause for excitement in my eyes, so finding out there was a new festive treat in store really made me do a happy dance!

The setting of Chesterwood is gorgeous! I wish I lived somewhere like that! It has a great community feeling and their festive spirit was infectious. I had a clear picture of the whole town in my head and it was dreamy!

As well as an idyllic setting, this book featurea an amazing cast of characters. Fern, Cara, Davina, Audrey, Mia, Kitt and all of the children made for adorable and hilarious reading! I loved every second of my time with them all. Their joy, heartache, friendship, fears and love made them feel like a group I'd like to be part of in real life.

There were several important topics dealt with in the story, and as I've seen with all of Sam's writing, it is dealt with sensitively and accurately. The root of this story is helping those less fortunate than ourselves, but there are also messages of second chances, forgiveness, family and kindness.

If you only read one Christmas book this year, make it this one. And let it inspire you to make a difference.

What makes The Christmas Calendar Girls so good is that it’s relevant. We’ve probably all seen food donation points in supermarkets, but there are far fewer people who know what it is to volunteer for one or be a recipient of a food parcel. Tonge brings to light the reality of food banks and those who use them – people from all walks of life, including those who never thought they’d have a need for a food parcel.

I enjoyed the dynamic between the characters. They reflect what could effectively be real-life; they struggle with personal issues, relationship problems, grief, love, and guilt. The key message behind the story is probably the most important – that we’re all allowed to make mistakes, learn from them, and then allow ourselves to move on.

It was quite difficult reading about the main character, Fern, losing her husband to cancer. For many of us, it is one of our worst fears. But life is full of our fears – it is how we deal with them, and others, that matters.

The Christmas factor in this book is just the icing on the cake. Plenty of Christmas decorations, bright lights, and even a few fireworks. Tonge has created a wonderful book with a wonderful message – highly recommended now that we are coming into the cold, long, wet Winter nights.

THE CHRISTMAS CALENDAR GIRLS by Samantha Tonge is more than a cosy Christmas novel. It is a wonderful tale of friendship, community, and fresh beginnings with characters that feel like your closest friends and a setting that makes you feel like you live there.

Fern, Cara, and Davina are best friends that live in the same neighbourhood even though they all have different personalities.
After losing her husband, Fern works hard to provide for herself and her daughter, and understanding how close anyone could be to losing everything, Fern sets out to help the local food bank which is under threat, with a Christmas idea, a living advent calendar, that is sure to bring the community together too. Now if only she could stop thinking about her good friend Kit in an altogether more than friendly way, life would be much simpler. But he calls to her soul in a way that makes it hard to ignore.
​Nothing is ever simple which is also the case for Fern's two besties - Cara is struggling to hold everything together and be the perfect wife, mother, and daughter-in-law, and soon appears to be dropping balls all over the place, and Davina's kids aren't having the easiest of times and she needs to get to the bottom of what is causing such unhappiness.

But with the living advent calendar just around the corner and numerous neighbours, ideas, food, and snacks to be organised for everyone on the street can these women band together, solve their own problems, and find a little Christmas magic along the way?

​I loved the idea of a living advent calendar and couldn't wait to start reading THE CHRISTMAS CALENDAR GIRLS and this book does not disappoint. The relationship between the three women is truly special and each character captured my heart in different ways making them all equally as special. The drama, the misunderstandings, and the hope for the future, all combine to make this story unputdownable.

THE CHRISTMAS CALENDAR GIRLS by Samantha Tonge is excellent in every way and I loved every page of this wonderful tale.

Thanks to netgalley for an early copy in return for an honest review
First time reading this Author and thoroughly enjoyed this Christmas book highly enjoyable and entertaining can highly recommend for an excellent Christmas read.

Another amazing story by Samantha... she is definitely on my favourite author list.

This is a story I will be revisiting each year... An entertaining but heart-warming read.

The fabulous Samantha Tonge is back with an enchanting, captivating and utterly delightful Yuletide tale that tugs at the heartstrings, touches the soul and holds readers spellbound from beginning to end: The Christmas Calendar Girls. Written with plenty of wit, sensitivity and heart, The Christmas Calendar Girls is an outstanding tale that has got winner written all over it.

After the death of her husband, Fern had built walls around herself, vowed to keep her heart firmly under lock and key and threw herself into doing whatever she possibly could for the good of the community of Chesterwood. Big-hearted Fern is well aware of all the good which the local food bank does for the community, so she is utterly flabbergasted when she learns that it is under threat of closure. Determined to save it, Fern, alongside her best friends, hatches a plan that will ensure the food bank’s future: a living advent calendar and she calls upon the community to help her see this plan to its fruition. Fern is delighted when her friends and neighbours rally round to help her in her quest to save the food bank, however, when local man Kit offers his help, Fern cannot help but find those barriers which she has built around her heart slowly crumbling as she finds herself drawn to him.

The more time Kit and Fern spend together, the closer they become. Yet, Kit knows that he simply cannot afford to get too close to Fern. Secrets and shadows from his past are holding him hostage and his fears have long put paid to any hopes he might have had of building a life with somebody – even if they are a kindred spirit like Fern. Kit is not the only Chesterwood resident to have secrets. Domestic goddess Cara used to pride herself on giving any lifestyle guru a run for their money, but lately she is off her game and behaving very oddly whereas Davinia cannot help but wonder what is causing her perfect children to act up and misbehave. They are causing all manner of trouble at school and Davinia’s son Jasper is getting increasingly worried and unhappy. Can the three Christmas Calendar girls find their path to happiness this Yuletide season?

Will the girls’ efforts to save the food bank be successful? Or will all their hard work be in vain? Will Fern and Kit find a way to be together? And can Cara and Davinia manage to overcome all the obstacles standing in their way and have a Christmas they will never forget?

Samantha Tonge’s The Christmas Calendar Girls is an exceptional tale of healing, community, forgiveness and courage that redefines the word unputdownable. I was so drawn in by this fantastic book that I cried off a social engagement because I simply could not stop reading and I was desperate to find out what was going to happen next.

An enjoyable and engrossing read full of characters it is impossible not to care about and humour, warmth and heart aplenty, The Christmas Calendar Girls is an absolutely phenomenal read from a writer who keeps on getting better and better: Samantha Tonge.

The Christmas Calendar Girls is an entertaining Christmas romance. I enjoyed the plot, characters and the setting. The author is new to me and I definitely will read more of her books. I highly recommend this book. Thanks to the publisher for my advance ebook. This is my unbiased review.

A lovely seasonal read about community, coming together and a lovely Romance with great characters, nice read with lots of heart

Christmas is just the right time of year to read something warm and fuzzy about friendship, forgiveness and thinking of others less fortunate. Young widowed mum Fern fights to save the local food bank and supports her close friends through their own family problems. While bringing the local community together as they take part in a fun 'living advent calendar' project, her friendship with a lovely but troubled man is slowly turning into something more. If she can just find out why he is holding back, could he be the one to thaw her frozen heart? A lovely seasonal read.

This was not one of my favorite books. It moved very slow and I didn't understand the character development. I liked the plot idea. I also really loved the ability of the author to weave in the plight of the homeless and what it really means. She did a great job getting across the feelings when you are about ready to lose your place of business. I did like all of that and she did a good job expressing that piece of the book.

This is a heartwarming story about a community coming together at Christmas to help each other and others. It has a plethora of believable, great characters with three friends and their families at the heart of this story.

Fern moved to Chesterwood after the untimely death of her beloved husband, hoping to help her and their young daughter, to make a fresh start. Fern is a journalist and has met many people in the area through her job and others whilst taking her daughter to school. She did an article about the homeless in the area and the food bank which helps them and others who are in dire straits. She is shocked to discover it is going to close unless additional funding can be found and so comes up with the idea of organising a living advent calendar to help raise money for this worthwhile cause. With the help of two other mothers who are her best friends, these three Calendar girls strive to raise the much needed funding. Whilst she's involved in all this, Fern also has opportunities for romance but not everything goes to plan as she isn't the only one who needs to let go of the past and look forward to the future....

This is a fabulous story about a community working together for a common goal. It involves people getting to know each other, having fun, facing problems together and making a difference. There are other threads running through the story concerning fresh starts, how people may become homeless, why people use food banks, the impact of jealousy, how people hide their anxieties and the problems associated with overcoming addiction. These are all skilfully interwoven into a fantastic festive read which even has a lovely romance, too! I really enjoyed reading this and have absolutely no hesitation in highly recommending this book. I requested and was gifted a copy of this book via NetGalley and this is my honest review after choosing to read it and not wanting to put it down until I'd finished it.

Inspiring.

Can I leave this review as just this one, word? No. At least I've made this just in time for the Publication Day!

Not for Samantha Tonge a light, fluffy Christmas novel. This is a book with a message and it's a message for all ages and one that we nowadays, especially presently, should learn to take notice of. Christmas should be about how we can help others and not so much how much we can spend on each other.

Fern and Kit are both damaged in different ways and this is centrally their journey. Fern's friends particularly Carla and Devina are pivotal in the story and both, of course have issues of their own to deal with. I'm not going to tell you more about the story, there are plenty of other reviewers who'll happily do that for you.

Ms Tonge is one of the most honest, hard-working author's I've come across and if you've never read one of her novels before, then you're in for a treat. If you're a fan, like me, then your Christmas's have come early!

My thanks to Aria UK and Netgalley for the Preview copy.

A beautiful fun romance but more a wonderful town of people. You will fall in love with the town of chesterwood. The people, a true heartfelt story.