I find with Phillipa Ashley books that recently I seem to really enjoy every second book that she publishes and the book proceeding it just to be ok. This new Christmas book A Surprise Christmas Wedding falls solidly into the first camp. I knew from the first few chapters that I was really going to enjoy this story and I really did, it’s packed full of all things Christmas and the story waiting to be told between the fabulous cover was a joy to read. It’s a nice, relaxing, quick and easy read with a good solid storyline with romance, some problems and twists and turns within all centred around the run up to Christmas Day. The blurb says 'will there be any festive magic left to bring our main character Lottie the perfect Christmas she deserves?' Well I couldn’t wait to find out and judging from the first few chapters that grabbed my attention I knew I was in for a very good read and one that is ideal for this time of year.

Lottie works an event organiser for a hotel and is dating Connor. They come to Porthmellow in Cornwall, a setting readers will be familiar with from Phillipa’s last few books, for a get away and before she knows it Lottie has accepted a proposal from Connor. Lottie envisages a long term future and a family as Connor is full of charm, energy and determined to go for what he wants. On arrival home to the village of Langmere Lottie believes her future to be secure and a happy one but her dreams are shattered when Connor walks in the door from a business trip and says he wants to call the whole thing off and that his proposal was a mistake that he couldn’t face a lifetime of commitment. Lottie is distraught and heartbroken and can’t fathom the abrupt change of mind. The rug has certainly been swept out from under her. Fast forward to a year later and Lottie has a new job at the Firholme estate near Langemere. She is living on site and her boss Shayla is determined to make the estate a success as she bought it when it was about to go bankrupt.

Lottie, has been through the mill in the past year and you can tell she is still bruised and hurting but she always puts her best foot forward especially when it comes to her family. Her parents are away living in New Zealand and her sister Steph and her twin girls only had Lottie for help when the darkest hour struck. Despite her own trauma and problems which she kept secret from her family, yes they knew Connor and herself split up but as for specifics she didn’t make those clear to anyone, Lottie has battled on and been there for those that needed her. In that way I thought she was so selfless and caring in particular with relation to Steph’s storyline. To be honest this storyline hit a bit too close for home for me so I skim read bits where it was mentioned. But not in any way because it was badly written or shouldn’t have been there just that in the frame of my mind I was in whilst reading I didn’t feel able to contemplate what she had been through. I pushed this aspect of the plot aside and focused on Lottie and how she was going to face the challenge to turn the estate into a must visit destination for events and weddings.

The new job for Lottie meant that she could leave old associations behind and have something to take her mind off her heartache and worries but she doesn’t bet on Jay, the new estate manager and her new neighbour, throwing a spanner in her plans to get her life and the estate back on track. She wanted smooth sailing but Jay was a challenge she didn’t see coming. You could feel the sparks between the pair when they first meet but Jay doesn’t reveal much about himself and more often than not he came across as abrupt, standoffish and sometimes rude. He was good at his job but was a closed book when it came to his personal life and the fact he didn’t really want to mix or interact with people outside of what was required with his job really wasn’t a good sign. I was desperate to know what made him this way, I knew he was drawn to Lottie. Their circumstances were different but they were both scarred and unwilling to let anyone pierce the shell around them. I hoped that with time and being forced to work together to pull off the surprise wedding of the year that Lottie would breakdown Jay’s barriers and he in turn would let her and they might both find some love and happiness in the process. She wondered was she able to judge his feelings at all given her disastrous experience with Connor? As really the reader could tell they were perfect for each other from the outset. But the will they/won’t they and the twists and turns was great to read about.

With Christmas being in the title I was hoping for lots of mentions of that special time of year that would help me feel more festive and thankfully there were. The estate sounded magical with reindeer, Santa’s grotto, the Christmas tree centre and not to mention the magnificent decorations in the big house. Langmere, itself and the surrounding areas were brilliantly described and with the cold weather and Christmas approaching it all added to the atmosphere not to mention the frantic preparations for what was one of the major points of the book.

Lottie wants to prove to Shayla that she is good at her job and that she can turns things around on the estate. One big successful event is all that is needed to do this. But Lottie certainly doesn’t count on a face from her recent past being the event that everyone relies on to secure the estates future. I thought it was so clever and would set the cat among the pigeons when Connor was reintroduced. It threw Lottie off kilter in that on one hand she wanted to pull off this big event but on the other she wanted to give Connor a piece of her mind and tell him where to shove his wedding to Keegan.

Lottie deserved nothing but admiration for the way she handled the entire situation, she put her job and the future of the estate before her own needs whereas I would have had it straight out with Connor. I couldn’t fathom at all how he had found a new woman so quickly and gone back on everything he had said to Lottie. I would have told him where to go and exactly what I thought of him and his behaviour. Instead Lottie becomes caught up in a web of lies that becomes very tangled. I don’t know how she kept things secret or forged ahead with wedding preparations and the endless demands from Keegan in such a short space of time. You wondered would the house of cards all come tumbling down and all the secrets, lies and some much needed truths would come out into the open? Would Lottie and Jay solve their own personal problems and find the security and happiness they both secretly craved? Would the surprise Christmas wedding be a success or an utter flop? Well I kept eagerly reading to find out and I know anyone who picks up this delightful book will do the exact same.

This was a delightful clean Christmas romance! Lottie is rebuilding her life after a bad break up and her sister's cancer diagnosis. She has landed her dream job and has been asked to organize a last minute Christmas wedding. This book dove into love and loss at the holidays and how to move on from the sadness to be able to celebrate again.

Thanks to #NetGalley, the publisher Avon Books UK, and the author Phillipa Ashley for providing me with a digital copy of A Surprise Christmas Wedding in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and not influenced in any way. I loved this book, the characters were so well written and it is really festive. We follow Lottie who gets dumped by Connor and then ends up organising his wedding to Keegan. This book is the perfect Christmas read and I could not put it down,

It’s been a year for Lottie: an engagement and relationship ending without warning, her sister’s cancer diagnosis, finding her “dream job” at a manor house that provides a new start, near to her sister and with housing. As the events / wedding coordinator for Findholme, things are moving forward neatly for Lottie. She’s mostly over her broken relationship, even as she still worries for her sister and her twin girls. But Christmas is coming and the first “big” event that she’s running is coming up, even as her boss and owner of Findholme is hoping for a large, splashy wedding before the holiday to both help the bottom line and encourage other couples.

Jay has been hired on as the estate manager, and with his dog Trevor in tow, is occupying the cottage next door to Lottie. Her several attempts to engage him in conversation were met with monosyllabic replies, and despite her seeing him as very “Kit Harrington in Game of Thrones”, she’s not going to push. But there’s more to this story (and the interest from both sides) than is initially apparent.

When a couple arrives and books a wedding for the Saturday before Christmas, Lottie is understandably tense – a tension that only increases when it turns out it is her former fiancé and his new love interest – and he wants to keep their ‘past’ a secret. Against all better judgment, and stifled with the shock of the news, she agrees, and things start to move forward.

TONS of back and forth, more than a few miscommunications and her former fiancé's despicable and often smarmy behavior have Lottie tied in knots, Jay more than willing to allow his past mistrusts and issues to cloud what is a good thing between he and Lottie, laughter from her niece's and some near-tragic losses and family issues keep the story moving forward to the big day, clouded with a secret revealed, tons of unexpected snow, a power outage and plenty of stifled feelings, sharp words and a gloriously beautiful setting and the story comes full circle.

Ashley’s descriptions of place and setting, the house, the decorations, the family’s interests in everyone moving forward, and the lovely relationship that develops between Jay and Lottie give an emotionally satisfying ending to a story that is full of moments, magic and the wonder of everything that Christmas should be.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibiltiy.

Review first appeared at <a href=” https://wp.me/p3OmRo-aPI /” > <a> I am, Indeed </a>

Lottie is dumped by her fiancé. Lottie becomes an event to planner, She must plan her ex fiancé’s wedding. Imagine the horror!

This is a delightful Christmas read that really puts you in the holiday spirit. It’s well written, light, and sweet. The characters are genuine and likable, the scenery beautiful, and the story engaging.

This was such a good read for the run up to Christmas. I can't imagine how hard it must have been for Lottie to have to contemplate organising the wedding of the man who used to be your fiance.
This book is full of festive feels and wonderful descriptions of landscapes. I wish I lived somewhere with views like that on my doorstep.

A Surprise Christmas Wedding by Phillipa Ashley

After Lottie is bizarrely ditched by her new fiancé out of the blue she is left devastated . She gets a new position as events co-ordinator at a prestigious country estate and is asked to plan a Christmas wedding. The prospective groom is none other than her ex fiance, then the fun begins as no one knows that Lottie even had a fiancé.

Fabulously well written story everyone in this seems to have a secret of some sort .

Lovely book, beautiful setting, some parts will make you laugh whilst other bits make you want to cry.

Loved this book and in the end all the characters involved.

A lovely, feel good, festive read that will make you both laugh and cry. Jay and Lottie are both fantastic characters, still heartbroken from previous relationships, their growth and acceptance throughout the book is wonderful. This book makes you realise the importance of family, at any time of the year, not just Christmas. Lottie was the best character (a little nod to Trevor though). How she handled her sister's illness and Connor's reappearance was amazing. She is definitely one of my favourite leading ladies in the books I've read this year.

This was a really good book. It was festive and cheerful and had a wonderful setting. I loved the characters, as I usually do with Phillipa Ashley. It was a pleasure to read and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I was a bit confused as first as you hear about a break up and you think what’s this got to do with a wedding. But it all becomes clear. Such a feel good Christmas read

3.5 stars, rounded up

Phillipa Ashley has a wonderful writing style that makes me feel like I am in the novel. You can sense all of the drama, sparks, and surprises present throughout the novel. I’ve read one other of her novels in the past and she has now become a go to author when I am looking for a cozy novel with a dash of romance and a beautiful setting.

A Surprise Christmas Wedding follows Lottie, who works a Firholme, a beautiful Lake District estate. She ends up having to quickly plan a wedding of someone from her past. This novel mixes heartache, the holidays, and moving on all in one. I was entertained by the novel and enjoyed seeing Lottie grow as a character. I was rooting for her the whole time and empathizing for the situations she was put in. A lovely holiday read - I just hope my holiday season isn’t as drama filled as Lottie’s!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for the gifted e-book!

After a disastrous end to a love affair, Lottie throws herself into her new role as events planner for a prestigious hotel in the English Lake District. What she doesn't bargain for is that her first major event, at Firholme, is in organising the winter wedding of someone she once knew very well. With the utmost professionalism, Lottie does everything she can to make this day special but in doing so she must revisit painful memories which she had thought long buried.

What then follows is a delightfully festive story which covers all aspects of wedding planning with a few surprises and hitches along the way. It's all made all the more exciting by the handsome ground-keeper at Firholme who has his own secrets which threaten his long term happiness.

I've really enjoyed spending time in the Lake District, although it was a real treat to have the book start in another area which fans of this author's writing will be familiar with. I was delighted when the story line moved North for a lovely romantic story about wintery weddings and beautiful stately hotels, and as always, I was charmed by this author's ability to create a magical story with characters who warm your heart and bring a little bit of festive magic to brighten your world.

Lottie is the wedding coordinator at a beautiful manor house in the Lake District. She strikes up a friendship with new estate manager Jay, helping him settle in and make friends. But when her ex-fiance Connor turns up to plan his wedding, upsets and heartache ensue.

Trisha Ashley's novel is an enjoyable seasonal read. The characters are likeable and the settings are beautiful. It is entirely predictable from start to finish, like a corny Christmas song, but a pleasant seasonal read. I enjoyed it.

A Surprise Christmas Wedding has all the ingredients needed for a cosy Christmas romance book. A beautiful rural setting, lovely characters who are emotionally bruised after heartbreak, nervous of being hurt again, oodles of snow and Trevor the dog.
The story sees Lottie starting a new job at a beautifully newly renovated rural estate. In the last year she has suffered a broken heart, and the worry of her sister being seriously unwell. This is where she meets her lovely new neighbour Jay, and the story begins to unfold.
What I loved the most when reading this book, was the joyous Christmas feel. There was a lovely scene when Lottie had popped in to Keswick, to do some last minute Christmas shopping. I could really see in my mind the smiling Christmas shoppers, wrapped up against the cold, browsing at the festive outdoor market. The smells of mulled wine, hot chocolate, warm chestnuts, sweet sugary doughnuts; the beautiful lights twinkling against the cold darkness and the sounds of excited children full of expectation. The perfect Christmas scene.
I think in light of Covid, we are all now beginning to see that Christmas 2020 won’t be like this for us in reality. So I really enjoyed that Christmassy feel, even if I was living it through the pages of a book.
A Surprise Christmas Wedding is a 4* cosy, lovely read. Made me feel fuzzy and warm inside.

Philippa Ashley has done it again. What a superb Christmas story. Full of heartache, love and laughter. It's a curl up on the sofa book and you will not want to put it down. A year after her engagement finished with Connor, Lottie was head hunted to be the Events Manager at the stately Firholme Estate. It was ideal as it came with accommodation with a hunk of a grounds manager living next door. Excitedly Lottie gets her first wedding to arrange. Keegan turns up for the first appointment and shortly afterwards in comes the groom to be. Lottie is speechless when she realises that it is her ex who had dumped her the year before. Philippa draws you in and suddenly you are in the Lake District walking through the forests and smelling the Christmas trees. How does Lottie fair in arranging her first wedding, between Keegan and Connor. Is there romance in store for her and the hunk next door? Read the book to find out. You will not be disappointed. The characters come to life. Connor is a selfish human being. Lottie is well rid of him. Lottie is caring and loving however needs to get rid of her emotional baggage. Jay is a superstar, especially once he comes to accept his past. Congratulations Philippa for this fabulous novel.

Lottie is devastated when her fiance walks out on her
She then lands her dream job at Firholme estate Lake District.
Lottie is asked to organise a Christmas wedding at short notice.
She is only to happy to until she finds out the groom is Conor her ex-fiance.
Can she pull off this wedding or will her feelings get in the way.
Great Christmas read.
Thanks NetGalley

A lovely, heartwarming story set in the Lakes, home to Lottie and Jay who have come to Firholme to escape the events of the previous Christmas. A great cast of characters and all the Christmas feels. Thank you netgalley for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this book, a lovely christmas story which is perfect leading up to Christmas, getting you in the mood. Full of romance, heartache, family, and relationships, with a lovely ending too. Thoroughly recommend.

What a beautiful Christmas read .Set in the lake district which is my favourite place in the world ,Lottie who has just been ditched by her fiance takes a job at a newly refurbished estate and has to organise a lavish wedding, but gets a shock when she finds out who's getting married. She has been supporting her sister whose had a health scare, and helping her with her twin daughters. A lovely warmhearted, and festive novel ,but can things get better for Lottie especially when she meets Jay who works on the estate, and can she eventually find the happiness she so much deserves

I've been a Phillipa Ashley fan for awhile now, but this is her best yet. She usually brings us down to the SW of England, down the Cornish shore, which is beautiful in it's own right, but this story takes us to the lakes region, which is refreshing, and a love story that will stick in your heart way pass the holiday season. Well done Ms. Ashley, your best, in my books, to date. I can't wait for your spring novel now...