Cover Image: Finding Christmas

Finding Christmas

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Member Reviews

I loved this book loved the characters and best thing was everything was christmas themed such a feel good book I now want to make christmas cookies loved the storyline. Didn't want the story to end brilliantly written and the description was impeccable could picture everything.

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DNF at 40%.
This is just not for me.
The main character is too over-the-top.
Her unrealistic expectation of sticking to a rigid schedule every hour of every day was highly annoying and took me out of the Christmas spirit constantly.
The pacing is suuuuper slow riddled with a lot of explanations and repetition of said explanations.

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Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

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A flurry, sweet Christmas tale that’s easy to read and a lovely festive addition to the holiday season. Not too taxing or challenging, but entertaining nonetheless!

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If you loved Netflix A Christmas Prince just like I did then you'll love this! Such a heartening Christmas read that brings so much joy

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I loved this book so much! I am such a lover of Christmas, and anything to do with Christmas. It was just the perfect cosy read to get me in the mood for Christmas.
For me, Christmas is about spending time with the ones you love and this book represents that as well as making memories and Christmas traditions.

There are some wonderful characters in this story and the setting is just picture perfect and one I would very much love to visit! A wonderful story and I cant wait to read more of Karen's writing and in the meantime I shall be heading over to Netflix to watch The Christmas Prince film series (which I enjoyed being plugged ever so slightly in the book!)

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I read Christmas Camp by Karen Schaler last year and really enjoyed it so I was delighted to discover a new book Finding Christmas this year and I loved it even more!

After reading a mixed bag of Christmas novels so far this year I’m delighted to say that Finding Christmas is jam-packed with Christmas!

Emmie is known as Miss Christmas as she absolutely loves the season. She starts her preparations early and she can’t resist adding more and more to her festive decor as Christmas draws near. Her boyfriend Grant is a workaholic though and he doesn’t really get Emmie’s love of Christmas. She decides to arrange a romantic Christmas break for them and she invites him along by setting up a scavenger hunt. Then there’s Sam, a mystery writer, who also loves Christmas but he’s struggling with writer’s block this year. So when his agent promises to help him and he gets given the first clue in a scavenger hunt he happily follows along!

Once Emmie is aware of the mix-up she gets hold of Grant and he promises to join her the next day but he keeps getting delayed by work. Sam is so embarrassed that he’s accidentally ended up in Christmas Point but he’s determined to enjoy it. So Sam and Emmie do some of the activities on Emmie’s list and they find that they have a lot in common!

Christmas Point is the ultimate festive town – there is snow and Christmas trees, hot chocolate and gingerbread. The Inn where Emmie stays is so well-described that I could completely envisage it all, it feels like somewhere I’ve been to. And I adored getting to know Dasher the dog, he was my favourite character in the book!

I really liked the way the characters in this book honoured their lost loved ones in the run up to Christmas. I know in my own life that I have things that I do each year in honour of my late mum. The scene in Finding Christmas with the snowmen brought tears to my eyes, it was so lovely.

My only slight criticism is that I didn’t like the promotion of Schaler’s other work towards the end of the novel, it took me out of the story somewhat. If I ignore that tiny element then I can honestly say that this book is a perfect read for anyone who wants a festive read that is truly all about Christmas. It really got me in the festive spirit and I adored it. Finding Christmas is Christmas personified and I very much enjoyed it. If you want a Christmas book that is full of festive spirit then this is the book for you! I recommend this one!

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Finding Christmas was the absolute perfect Christmas read to get you in to the holiday spirits and a Hallmark movie just waiting to happen!

I absolutely adored Emmie, she was a fabulous female lead, who really had her life together and I applauded her for that, however, I also wanted to shout at the book multiple times because she was TOO organised and for the wrong person! Her creativity for the scavenger hunt was so well thought out and made me want to jump in to the book to get involved as well - plus, Christmas Point and the people living in it sounded like an absolute dream.

Sam was a gorgeous male lead, who was at the wrong place but at the most perfect of times, making my heart swoon for him and Emmie. Their friendship was meant to be from the start and progressed wonderfully, as Sam contributed in events Emmie had organised for her and her overly work-obsessed boyfriend who never turned up.

I also loved when the author mentioned her previous work during a binge-watching session between Emmie and her best friend including; A Christmas Prince and Christmas Camp.

A great, easy read about the wrong person turning up at the right time and I couldn't have felt more joy whilst reading it if I tried!

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Finding Christmas is a light-hearted and easy read just in time for the holidays. It follows the adventures of Emmie, whose favourite holiday is Christmas, as she attempts to bring some festive cheer to her overworked boyfriend’s life and show him how wonderful the season really is — however, things don’t go according to plan. Her festive-themed scavenger hunt accidentally ends up in the hands of Sam, an author struggling to write his next book after the death of his sister, and that’s just where the fun begins.

I really wanted to like this book, and I did as a whole. I felt that the characters were well-drawn and the plot was well-paced and delightful. Despite this, there were a few points with the characterisation that I found difficult — Grant, for one, is a stereotypical lawyer more concerned with his job than with Emmie. It’s obvious he’s not the guy for her, so why does she keep trying to make it work? And Emmie herself is a bit over-the-top at times, tipping her from adorable and enthusiastic into a caricature. But Sam is appropriately lovely, and the citizens of Christmas Point are dynamic and interesting. I especially loved Dasher.

However, I also felt that some of the dialogue was clunky — like when Sam and Emmie are talking with Ruby about their meals — and this not only jolted me out of the story but made me grimace, too. Another grimace came towards the end of the book where Emmie and Denise are watching movies — and the author uses that section to plug the movies she has previously written for Netflix. Ummm, no. This was really off-putting and a bit egotistical on the author’s part, and I honestly don’t know how the publishers thought this was a good idea — unless there’s an advertising element to the contract? Anyway. My other main problem with the book is that there’s a lot of telling that goes on, and not a lot of showing. We are told again and again how much Emmie loves Christmas, how much she misses her late parents, how her job and her love of the season brings their memory closer to her. The reinforcement of this is heavy-handed and, whilst similar could be said of Sam’s loss of his sister, this latter aspect is handled more lightly. That said, the amount of telling and not showing drove me batty — please stop telling the reader. Show us. Immerse us into the story. Show, don’t tell. Geez. Perhaps this would have worked better as a film? Equally, I felt the ending was abrupt and the jump to the Epilogue a bit of a cop-out. I wanted to see what happened after Emmie realised her true feelings for Sam, not what happens some time on from then…

Despite all this, though — Sam and Emmie really stuck in my mind. I’m still thinking about them and it’s been a week or so since I finished the book. They really did work their way into my heart — especially Sam — and, on the whole, I enjoyed their story. It just could have been so much more than it was, so I’m pretty torn about this book. I have read quite a few Christmas romances over the years, and when I bring them to mind (e.g. Sarah Morgan’s), then this doesn’t quite hit the mark for me — but if you’d like a quick, feel-good, festive read, this may be the book for you.

I received an e-ARC from the publisher, Piatkus, through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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A lovely story, Full of Christmas cheer. A tale of disappointment and hope, not to menti9n plenty of romance and friendship. Great book to read in the run up to Christmas

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Emmie runs the local community center, keeping her parents legacy alive, people call her Miss Christmas she loves everything about the holidays.
Her boyfriend Grant is a lawyer hes not into christmas but Emmie sets up a scavenger hunt that will take him to christmas point, a little town full of christmas.
Sam loves christmas too, as an author hes had a mental block since his sister died.
When the wrong man gets the clues for the scavenger hunt leading to Emmie she starts to question if shes with the right man.
I absoloutly loved this book, i couldnt put it down once i had started it, i loved the concept of the scavenger hunt, the writing was great, and i need to read more from this author. a well deserved 5 stars.

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An absolutely adorable Christmas read, reminded me so much of a cute hallmark movie, I could see it being made into one. Great romance, Christmas spirit and joy, friendship and relationships. This book ticks all the holiday boxes. A lovely festive read.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

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I love Hallmark Christmas movies and this book reminded me of them.
It's a sort of comedy of errors, well written and entertaining.
It's got all the elements for a great Christmas story: the romance, the Christmas spirit plus a lot of humour.
I rooted for the well written characters, I smiled and liked the style of writing which is great in making you visualise the setting.
It's the first book I read by this author and hope it won't be the last.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

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What a charming Christmas book. It is filled with great characters who all display the true essence of the festive season
The love story was so cute. Can’t wait for another book from this author

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A very festive read.

I liked how the story was told from both the points of view of Emmie and Sam. You wonder why she is with Grant, when he treats her the way he does, and hope that her and Sam have a chance together.

Looking forward to reading more from this author.

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The ultimate Christmas story-following old traditions and making new ones. All the things I love the best: Christmas, relationships, romance with a lot of friendships and care thrown into the mix. I read it in one sitting on holiday- didn’t want to put it down for a minute. Well done for writing such a lovely story

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I found this book to be a little repetitive and cheesy to really love it. I found the same issues with Netflix's Christmas Prince so I think I might just not be a fan of the author's writing style. If you really love Hallmark Christmas movies, you'll possibly like this a lot.

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