This is the first book published by Cathy Lake (aka Rachel Griffiths). The blurb and the gorgeous cover drew my attention to this book, plus the feature on Readers First.

I felt sorry for the main character, Clare, at the start of the story – her happy life had vanished in a relatively short space of time as her marriage faltered, her job was made redundant and she ended up moving back in with her mum and a very large dog called Goliath.

However Clare soon starts to rekindle old friendships and make new acquaintances on her voyage of self discovery, although the path to romance is a tricky one to negotiate at times.

A great mixture of characters, a canine friend, Christmas preparations and three generations of a family working together provided a cosy autumnal read. I look forward to reading more by Cathy Lake.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. Although it is autumn and early (for me) to read books about Xmas but saying that I really enjoyed this nice easy cosy read. Great storyline and nice characters.

I loved the character of Claire and all the twists and turns. A great read full of festive magic. One to enjoy this Christmas.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

You will need tissues for this one.

Claire, after going through a divorce, returns to her childhood home, unsure of where her future is or what she’s going to do.

What follows are more twists, turns, which I don’t want to spoil by telling you.

The book was well written and a lot of family related issues are dealt with. As well as the characters, which again, are those which you feel like you know them., and are interested in what happened/happens in their lives.

It’s an uplifting story and there’s a real sense of community that shown throughout.

Anyone who loves a heart warming family story with a little Christmas spirit thrown in, I would recommend to read this book.

The Country Village Christmas Show - Cathy Lake

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review thanks to Zaffre and Netgalley.

Clare Greene moves back home to Little Bramble to live with her mother, Elaine, following her divorce and the sale of her house. Realising how down Elaine has been since the previous village hall burnt down, Clare teams up with Kyle (her son) and Elaine to throw a Christmas show for the local village. Can they throw a Christmas show in just 7 weeks?

This book is beautifully written, to match the beautiful Christmassy cover. Set in the run up to Christmas, this book is heartwarming and will leave you with the warm feeling that you expect from a Christmas romance.

I am now looking forward to reading the next book in the series

Rating: 4/5
I have loved the warm and cosy feeling that this book has left me with.

Make sure you have the tissues at the ready throughout this one! You will be a teary mess as you fall in love with Clare, Sam and the other characters in this book.

After going through a divorce Clare returns to her childhood home, not sure where her future will lead. I’m not going to give away more than that as you need to read this for yourself!
This is a very well written story and deals with lots of family related issues. The characters are developed well throughout the book which really gives you a sense of knowing them yourself and makes you invested in their lives.
This story is uplifting, the sense of community that grows throughout is inspiring, making me think of my own life and the people around me.

All in all a lovely read that I would recommend to anyone who loves a heart warming, family tale, with a little Christmas spirit mixed in.
You will need plenty of time on your hands too as you won’t want to put it down!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers and most importantly the author, for the chance to read this book, in exchange for an honest review.

I must say it was the front cover that captured my attention - I love it!
In this novel I was pleased to see how Clare learns to live the life she likes and put herself first for a change. And realises
that it is never too late to find real love.
I also loved to read about the community who looked out for each other. It must be great to live like that.
However, I was a little disappointed that there was not more of the Christmas show they were preparing for weeks.
All in all it is a nice warm reading with loveable characters to prepare you for the holidays.

What a thoroughly heartwarming, wonderful read. I totally related to Clare and the turmoil she was going through at the beginning of the book and thought that the author did a brilliant job of portraying her fragility and sense of loss. As the story progressed and the village came to life, I fell in love with all the wonderful cast of characters from the lovely caring, best friend Jenny, the eccentric, bendy vicar through to spiky, selfish Alyssa and Elaine, Clare's mum, who was a totally intriguing figure. I thought the characters with all their sub plots were beautifully drawn and created a real sense of village community. A joyous read celebrating love, community and Christmas spirit.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bonnier Books for a copy of this book in exchange in for a review.

Really enjoyed this book but felt that it took too long to get to the Christmas Show and then that was a little rushed. It is a really lovely book though and I did feel like I was part of the village while I was reading.

Overall, I'd recommend it.

A lovely story of how when life changed when though you don't want it to. Clare finds that coming back to her childhood home is the best thing she could of done. She rekindles her love of horses, gets a new best friend and reconnect with an old one. But most surprising to herself a friwndship/relationship and a whole new sense of belonging.

Loved the story, so christmasy and festivey! I felt like I was apart of the village! I love Christmas stories and this didn’t disappoint!

I enjoyed this book. Perfect for the run up to Christmas for a few hours getting away from the real world.

Clare has just divorced her husband Jason and is moving to Little Bramble to live with her Mum until she decides where her next permanent move will be. However, she has to learn to live with her Mum again, as well as her dog Goliath!

The book takes us on the run up to Christmas and teaches us all about life in Little Bramble.

I did enjoy this book. However like other reviewers I was surprised that I was almost 40% into the book and there had only been a couple of mentions of the show - the whole point of the book! I felt a lot more could have been discussed about the show, that section and the auditions in particular seemed rushed.

Having said this I see there is a follow up book which I will buy and read - an easy read that was fun.

I liked this book but I think it could have been so much more. Too much time was wasted with 'padding' the story. It would be great as a series centred around the village hall and the different characters that use it.

I loved everything about this book, you can imagine being curled up reading this under a blanket when it is frosty and bitterly cold outside, It is the perfect remedy to warm you up. I really liked Claire, after her marriage has ended she has no where else to go other than her mums house, she might not have the best relationship with her mum but she is going to make it work. It really showed me how amazing a small community in a village can be? all pulling together and her close friend reminded me of my best friend, how we will do anything for each other. I liked the bond Claire and Sam have and wished for them both to be happy together. I was a tiny bit jealous of Claire being able to get a job at the Old Oak Stables, as that is like one of my dream jobs. But I was excited for her and loved everything about that part of the story. I found it an amusing, beautiful story, one that I didn't want to end and one that I would re-read over and over again.

I'm now all over teary in the best possible way. After starting to read this book in the middle of the night, (just a sneak peek, I told myself) and carrying on until I had to get up... I snuck the afternoon off to finish it. I am so glad I did, I just loved it.
It has everything you need for entertainment of the best possible kind...I've laughed sniffed, wiped a few tears away and gone all gooey.
Read it, you will not regret it.
(And now I'm waiting impatiently for the next book in the series)

Easy read build up to Christmas tale. Romance, pets, family and friendship. A good quick read, perfect for a cold evening.

First things first, I think I was expecting a completely different book here to the one I got and so at least part of my rating can be attributed to that. I was expecting something a little more on the romcom side and a little less women’s fiction-slash-cringefest. Which sounds mean, but that’s what it felt like.

The Country Village Christmas Show follows Clare, who has just come through a divorce after her husband decides he needs to “find himself”. So she packs up and heads home to the village where she grew up. And there she meets a handsome vet, while dealing with reunions with friends, a new career path, and her mother and son’s troubles.

Within about a page of this book, I came to the realisation the writing just didn’t work for me. Which, ultimately, put paid to me liking it at all. Something about it was both simplistic and also, at times, highly melodramatic, so I just couldn’t take it seriously. Not to mention the overload of telling and not showing. I do not need the entire backstory of your son’s birth within the first chapter, thank you.

So really, it was sort of downhill from there. I wasn’t that inclined to care about Clare’s relationship with Sam (not least because of the sheer amount of secondhand embarrassment their meetings gave me), and that was a large chunk of the book. Add onto that the fact that the dialogue just didn’t feel at all realistic (I mean, who tells someone they have lovely hands while flirting).

Well it never looked particularly propitious.

I think probably all this was more of a problem because I am so far removed in age from the main characters. This is why I tend to avoid what gets marketed as women’s fiction – i.e. plain old adult contemporary, but about middle aged women – because I just cannot connect with their concerns, problems, or whatever else. I could honestly care less for reading about people going to get haircuts.

But if, unlike me, you do enjoy the genre, don’t let me put you off picking this one up.