It’s never too soon to start reading Christmas novels, even though the sun is shining as I write this!

I’ve read all Tilly Tennant’s books, and this one is in her usual well-written, warm, and humorous style.

Cathy has been her mother’s carer for a long time and, now that she’s passed away, Cathy is feeling lost and not quite sure what to do.  There is also an ex in the background, and Cathy’s mother’s health and reliance on Cathy contributed to their split.  She sees an advert for a church coffee morning and, as she loves baking, goes along with several boxes of baked goodies.

Cathy is made to feel very welcome and starts to make friends, who then suggest she runs some baking classes.  The niece of Matt, a physiotherapist, causes trouble in the classes and Matt begs Cathy to give her a chance.  Just as Matt and Cathy are starting to be more than just friends, her ex reappears.

A lovely book to get you in the mood for Christmas, and I’d highly recommend it. 

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Cathy's Christmas Kitchen was a wonderful read from the beginning to the end! I have been binge reading Christmas/winter themed books for the last few days, and this book was the perfect addition to my cozy reading shelf :') The book featured the sweetest friendships, a heart-warming romance and cozy, baking lessons!

Feel-good books are my jam, and Cathy’s Christmas Kitchen has definitely taken one of the top positions in that genre! I really enjoyed knowing about Cathy’s life.  Seeing her find the best version of herself by helping people through her love for baking made me feel so happy. I’m really impressed with Tilly Tennant’s writing style! She made the story flow beautifully, with plenty of twists and turns. The book isn’t all about rainbows and butterflies though, it talks about grief and healing in a great manner as well. 

Food and books make the best combination according to me, and this book was a total treat in that sense. All the talk/discussions about cakes and other baked goodies made me long to be in Cathy’s cozy cottage with a cup of coffee in my hand.  Many comedic scenes were included in the book as well, which made reading it more delightful! 

Cathy’s Christmas Kitchen bought me immense joy, and I can’t recommend it enough! Grab your cozy-reading gears, people!

I love books about people who cook or bake, which makes me think I should be baking more often than I do! Cathy is like many caregivers whose charge dies. She has put so much energy and effort into caring for her mother that she is a loss when her mother is gone. She has time to fill now and finds a new way to incorporate her love of baking (a love that was encouraged by her mother). Sweet story of life after loss and a wonderful way to pass time. I absolutely love the author's writing style and creation of characters.

This is a heartwarming story about Cathy, who is lonely & still grieving for her mum.
Her love of baking helps her to meet new friends when she gets pushed into running cookery classes, and also into meeting a love interest.
The story follows her as she deals with many emotions and is a lovely heartwarming story for any time not just Christmas.

Cathy recently lost her mum after a long fought disease, and is not looking forward to being alone this holiday season. She sees an advertisement for a Charity coffee meeting at a local church, and even though she’s not a member, attends thinking they would welcome anyone. The group gives her a warm welcome and before long they realize Cathy is quite the baker! Cathy starts to host a weekly cookery class teaching a varied group of townsfolk. Through this group, Cathy makes friends and even finds a love interest. Maybe this won’t be such a lonely holiday after all for Cathy!

Cathy’s Christmas Kitchen is a charming, sweet holiday tale perfect for getting in the mood for the coming months. The endearing and quirky cast of townsfolk, along with the funny situations they find themselves in, made this novel enjoyable and entertaining to me.

This is my third novel by Tilly Tennant, having previously read The Garden on Sparrow Street and The Waffle House on the Pier and I’ve yet to find a book by this author which didn't make me smile.

Cathy's Christmas Kitchen was a wonderful tale, and Cathy was a lovely character. Following the death of her mum, she goes to a coffee morning where the accomplished baker is persuaded to start up a weekly baking class in the local church hall. Cathy soon makes new friends in the little village of Linnetford and enjoys teaching her late mum's recipes though the prospect of facing her first Christmas alone looms...

There is a love interest for the principal character and a choice of beaux to choose from and I had a fun time selecting my favourite. Tilly Tennant continued to wow me with her fabulous writing, and I read this in double-quick time as I didn't want to put my Kindle down! Cathy's Christmas Kitchen was a heartwarming, inspirational, story about new friendships with lots of love and laughs. A fabulous holiday read, with a few really strong themes, which is festive without being overly done, that I will certainly be recommending to friends and family.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Bookouture via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Thank you to Netgalley, Bookcouture and Tilly Tennant for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!!!

I adored this story. It was light with just enough heavy, it was uplifting with the right amount of sad, and it was a sweet story. I thought Cathy was such a lovely character. She is strong, thoughtful, caring, sweet, and a bit naive and innocent in some ways (if she were a real person I think she would hate me saying that lol.) I really enjoyed getting to know her and the other characters and I am a big fan of books involving food!!! A nice Christmas story, I am very glad I took a chance on this one and look forward to revisiting it in the future!!!

You know that feeling of “I just want to spend an afternoon with this character”? That’s how I feel with Cathy. I would love to have some tea with her, try her baking, try out her cooking club. And what a great thing to want to hang out with a character in a book! I think that is a sign of an author doing something right! I will definitely read more of Tennant’s work and am anticipating loving more of her characters!!!

This is a lovely and sweet read, sweet in more ways than one. There are lots of references to baking throughout the book. It really made me crave cakes, if you have a sweet tooth then you will definitely need some snacks while you are reading this. 
This book takes place in the run up to Christmas, when Cathy faces her first Christmas alone after the death of her Mother. I would not class this book as an overly festive Christmas book. Instead it focuses on the loneliness that a lot of people feel at Christmas.
It is a nice and easy heart warming read. I enjoyed reading it. I have read a lot of Tilly's books and they are always lovely.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for my ARC.

Thank you to Bookouture for letting me take part in this tour and for my copy of the book via Netgalley. I love Tilly’s work and I love Christmas so this was already a winner. This is my second Christmas book of the year and let me tell you it was a cracker! (I know too much) 
Cathy’s Mum passed away recently after a long illness and Cathy is at a bit of a loss. She was a full-time carer for her mum and now doesn’t know what to do with herself. She has a part-time job but is going a little stir crazy in the other hours. Cathy is such an easy character to like. She doesn’t have a bad bone in her body. She is one of those people that everyone likes.
I really liked the weekly cooking class and I wish there was something similar local to me. It’s a great way to meet people and learn new skills.  I love to bake. I’m a decent baker but I’m nowhere near Cathy’s level. I make a damn good Rocky Road and I made some addictive slow-cooked fudge during lockdown but Cathy seems to be good at everything she makes. It made me have a real craving for Christmas Cake (gotta love the marzipan). 
There was, of course, the sweetest romance in this book. I really enjoyed seeing Cathy go on a couple of dates and I seriously want to go to the Tapas bar. I LOVE TAPAS. I think it's really underrated! You get to try lots of different dishes without committing to a full meal.  
As well as being a fun festive story there were some real serious issues that Tilly introduced. Loneliness is a big part of this book and I think Tilly did this very tastefully. 
I also really loved the little village this was set in. I could see us coming back here and maybe seeing a story from one of the other characters in the cooking class. I’d love to catch up and see how everyone is doing in a year or so.

This year has gone by in a somewhat traumatic blur, so of course it felt natural to pick up my first festive read of the year in September! 

What I liked most about this particular festive read is that the Christmas element of it wasn't overplayed or even particularly prominent. It was a quiet undercurrent through the story, that served to add an extra degree of cosiness to the story without overwhelming it. It all took place in the lead-up to Christmas but the focus was absolutely on the characters and the baking. 

The character development throughout the story was brilliant. Each and every character was given some degree of back story or motive to help the reader understand their actions - I didn't feel like any of the characters were superfluous. Smaller characters such as Erica, Fleur and Iris felt as real as the characters at the heart of the story, which made the world more immersive and alluring. 

I found myself particularly interested in the Tansy character; she was introduced as problematic and enigmatic, which helped give some degree of drama to an otherwise comfortably-paced plotline. I appreciated the slow reveal of her character, as it played a big part in keeping me turning page after page in an attempt to get to the end to find out more about her. Matt was a charming lead, with an admirable sense of duty, and his own thought-provoking history. Cathy was immediately endearing (helped by the opening to her story garnering her some sympathy) and maintained a quiet dignity throughout the story. While she was timid and reserved, something that can easily become formulaic in stories like this, she remained likeable throughout. 

My only issue with the book was the speed at which the budding romance was introduced; it's an odd mix of leisurely and rushed. Matt comes in relatively late in the book compared to others of this genre that I've read, and the pace at which they move, while realistic, left me feeling like the ending was anticlimactic; it crept up on me and caught me by surprise. The epilogue went some way to wrapping things up with a neater bow, but I felt cheated out of the development of their relationship past the first couple of (tame) dates. 

It was a sweet read, and I enjoyed the time spent in Cathy's Christmas Kitchen, I just wish I'd found a more fulfilling ending. The book is marketed as a romantic comedy, but there was more focus on Cathy developing her confidence - it was a great plot, but not what I was expecting from the blurb.

This is the 1st Book that I have read by the author , I really enjoyed this book, This Book Tells the story of Cathy and how she is dealing with the loss of her mother esp as the two of them used to do a lot of baking together , Cathy has a flyer through her door for a charity coffee morning based at the church her dad used to attend , Cathy decides to make some of her trusted mum recipes to take the charity coffee morning and what follows is cathy is invited to set up a cooking class for the people that attend church and other people . This book also have romance and string friendship through it

I enjoyed reading this book and it made me want to get into the kitchen and make my own banana bread recipe .

With thanks to Netgalley & Bookouture  for the arc of this book in exchange for my honest review

A heartwarming holiday story of moving forward.  We are in the small English village of Linnetford, Cathy is mourning the loss of her mother, trying to move forward.  Idle time is her enemy and a timely invite to coffee at a local church.  One thing leads to another and Cathy begins her journey of growth friendship and more.  As Cathy is a baker the story has an abundance of food imagery, just be warned!

A quick holiday read, just in time for the weather to turn.  

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the advanced copy for an honest review.

There are a few writers who just make the season bright and cheery for me, and Tilly Tennant is one of those.  I’ve read everything she’s written, and several have ended up in my favorites – books that I go back to again and again, purely for the smile they leave me with. Cathy is still regaining her footing after her mother’s death – as Cathy was an only child, her father passed when she was young, and her mother’s ill health meant that she needed full-time care for the last few years of her life.  Having lost her fiancé, her mother and her willingness to try new things, Cathy remembers her mum with baking: using the recipes they created together since she was little – to share with others, or simply feel that connection.   

Fleur, Cathy’s boss at her part-time job in the markets has a flower stall and is Cathy’s staunchest ally and friend. Always pushing Cathy to step out and do more with her baking, or to meet new people – she's full of praise and push – the combination that Cathy needs to help with her confidence, her reluctance to put herself out there and her constant fantasies about ‘what might have been’ with her fiancé. When Cathy joins a charity event where baked goods are purchased with the money to go to charity, she’s introduced to a lovely group of folks, with one woman closer to her age with whom she bonds instantly. And her cakes are such a huge hit that she’s started a weekly ‘baking class’ to share her beloved mother’s recipes with others.  And the preparation leads her to start writing them down – creating a little book that Fleur has been after her about for ages.  

Oh this was so sweet – from the participants in the baking classes, to Cathy’s learning to stand up for what she wants, and even her recognition of the teen, niece of her new friend, who is busy ‘teenagering’ her way through the classes, even as she shows great promise.  When you add in the ‘random man walking his dog’ on the path that she uses into town when time permits, and their instant connection, the story just weaves a spell around you, even as the cakes are mouthwateringly described and make you want that recipe book NOW.  Sure there are missteps and miscommunications, and the fiancé returns (married but indecisive and intrusive) and Cathy has to put her foot down – finally – the hopes that Cathy and Matt will find their way to one another, that the book will please some (or even many as an offer she couldn’t believe goes a long way to helping her confidence) and Cathy’s own genuine ‘niceness’ brings her happiness – with a lovely ending that makes it all ‘holiday cheer and goodness’.  Grab this for those moments when you wonder just why you thought “family holiday” was the thing – you'll close the last page with a whole new perspective on what family, friends and the holidays are.  

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 responsibility.

Super charming cozy book about love, small towns and friendship. Cathy is grieving the loss of her mother through baking, an activity they both enjoyed together. She courageously starts to venture out of her comfort zone and goes to the local church to donate baked goods. A variety of charming characters become her friends and they ask her to teach weekly baking lessons. Cathy opens her heart to these people and finds a confidence she did not know.

I love this author and this book did not disappoint with all the warm feels!

If you're looking for a sweet, uplifting book full of friendship and romance set around Christmas and baking, this is for you.
I loved that the book centered around a character who had a passion for baking and put her skill to good use, teaching others and spreading joy. I love how she was encouraged, every step of the way to put her talent out there. 

It was a sweet book with characters of substance.

It’s a cute heart warming book, which makes you thankful for what you have and also puts you in a Christmasy mood. A light read, it is just as warm and sweet as the many cakes baked in the story. A light read which puts you in a good, happy and festive mood.

Cathy’s Christmas Kitchen by Tilly Tennant - publishing 01/10/2020

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and Netgalley for trusting me with an advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

As the snow flutters down in the little village of Linnetford, escape to a cosy farmhouse kitchen, scented with the rich aroma of fruitcake and gingerbread, where a love of baking is about to unite two lonely hearts.

I absolutely love Christmas hence requesting this book, however, this is not a Christmas story at all. There are very few incidences within the book that mention Christmas at all. The story is more about falling in love both with baking and  one another.

Despite this not being a Christmas story/book I loved it. I loved how each character were entwined together. Cathy has lost her mum and with that losing her own identity. I loved how Cathy gained in strength and confidence, and ultimately, inspiring many of the characters to do the same.

I don’t want to spoil anything for any future readers but I cannot recommend this book highly enough. I loved it despite it not being what it says on the tin.

Actual rating 3.5 stars
 
In her latest feel good romantic novel, Cathy’s Christmas Kitchen,Tilly Tennant transports her readers to the cozy baking world and lives of Cathy and friends who reside in the small town of Linnetford. 
Our heroine of the hour is (unsurprisingly) Cathy, part time colleague of Fleur’s at the market stall French for Flowers but a woman who spends all her spare time indulging her love of baking. Recently having lost her mother to a long drawn out illness, now more than ever Cathy uses her mother’s recipes to transport her back into the past, reliving fond memories of time spent together in the kitchen .Living alone in their cottage, Cathy’s world is very small, no boyfriend to cozy up to on long winter nights, her broken engagement to Jonas long but not quite forgotten. Without her mother to care for, Cathy should really make a concerted effort to kickstart her own life which for obvious reasons has been on the back burner for way too long. In lieu of anything better, a charity coffee morning at the local church offers an opportunity to showcase her baking talents with the possibility of even making a friend or two. 

Although the majority of St Cuthbert’s churchgoers are of the elderly variety, Cathy finds an ally in the form of Erica, happily accepting her hand of friendship. Despite their advancing years Dora, Iris, Myrtle, and Colin all recognise Cathy’s baking capabilities, encouraging her to take the next step and use the church kitchen to hold classes for those wishing to improve their own culinary prowess. I liked the pairing of Dora and Iris who can literally pick a fight over anything whilst Tansy, Erica’s niece, provides Cathy with ample opportunity to put her natural caring instincts to use, taking the troubled teen under her wing. Besides her agony aunt duties Cathy finds her days consumed with recipe ideas and ways to preserve her mother’s recipes for posterity, available to delight a wider audience. The only spanner in the works is the reemergence of Jonas, back from Scotland with wife Eleanor, frequenting the flower stall on more occasions than Cathy finds comfortable. Will he manage to unsettle her fragile equilibrium, tempting her to rekindle  their love? Alternatively could Cathy find love at St Cuthbert’s or will the mystery dog walker assume that role?

I can’t quite decide why Cathy’s Christmas Kitchen didn’t feel as uplifting as I’d imagined it would be. All the ingredients are present; a main character unlucky in love, a community project to give purpose to said individual’s current circumstances, new friendships to be made, a sense of community to be experienced plus of course the possibility of love. Where these storylines often lack in originality, the author compensates in terms of characterisation, creating individuals that come alive on the page, the type of characters you can lose your heart to with personalities that make you feel as if they are friends. Unfortunately, in this instance that didn’t happen for me with Cathy. I found her rather bland, her lack of self belief frustrating until towards the end when she grew a bit of backbone. Then the narrative took an upturn finally developing into the cozy uplifting piece of escapism I desperately wanted it to be. I don’t think the characters from St Cuthbert’s were as well developed as they could have been which meant the sense of community spirit fell a bit flat. I’d have liked to discover more about the love/hate relationship between cousins Dora and Iris with perhaps vicar Simon taking on a bigger role. On a more positive note the friendships between Cathy and Fleur and Erica are sweet, with both women becoming significant figures in Cathy’s life following her mother’s death. They provide all the necessary encouragement she needs to believe in herself and her culinary skills,these friendships injected with plenty of warmth as you’d expect from this author. Fleur is portrayed as sweet and loyal and championing Cathy’s transformation from homebody to social butterfly, happy to indulge her sweet tooth when it comes her friend’s cakes but I never felt I got to know Erica as well.  Obviously her love and concern and support for niece Tansy and for her new friend Cathy makes her a likeable character so I can’t understand why I didn’t feel more invested in these characters lives.

As you’ve probably guessed, I didn’t enjoy this as much as previous novels such as The Waffle House on the Pier which is a shame as I’d been looking forward to indulging in a spot of Christmassy cheer. Whether or not I’m lacking in the festive spirit this year I don’t know but I felt the storyline lacked the expected Christmas vibe. Overall this was an average kind of read that failed on this occasion to really lift my mood with a main character that needed a hefty dose of oomphh, she just didn’t sparkle at all for me. However, it certainly won’t stop me from catching up with other titles from this author in the future.
My thanks as always to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read in exchange for an honest review.

A feel good read which is about family, friends, love and community. A lovely way to spend a few hours. I would have enjoyed the book more if the recipes had been included in it.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Tilly Tennant books always warm my heart, and this one gave me hunger pangs too.
One not to be missed. A lovely heartwarming book to snuggle down with. It hooked me in and I couldn’t put it down.
A romance, some hiccups, good friends and cake. A lot of cake, which is always good!
Cathy’s enthusiasm and flair for baking is infectious.
I loved the family and friends as aspect of the story, with some difficult topics.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the review copy in which I give my honest opinion.