I don’t believe a book has ever made me tear up and cry (mostly happy tears), as much as This Christmas.
A truly beautiful story that has left my heart full.

I loved Rose. She is such a kind and beautiful character that I instantly connected with.
Rose is dealing with a terrible loss and has decided to spend Christmas in a place that is full of warm & loving memories, in the hopes it will finally give her the peace her mind and heart greatly desires and deserves.

(My heart went out to Rose. The mind can truly be a torturous place and has a way of coming up with its own narrative).

I have to admit that I didn’t like Charlie at first.
He was a little pretentious & judgemental but as the story goes on you realise that, along with Rose, he is dealing with his own heartache and you start to understand why he was so annoyed by the double booking.

As the story unfolds, Rose and Charlie’s relationship grows and, what started out as texts and whiteboard messages, soon blossoms into something much deeper.
And it’s this relationship I adored. It’s full of funny, cute and tender moments that had me smiling throughout.

And how can I forget George & Max. So freaking cute 🥰🐶🐾

Also, let me just say 1 final thing, Music Box! 🥹♥️
The story deals with the themes of grief and loss sensitively and in a very realistic way.

Thank you so much, NetGalley & Random House, for the arc of this beautiful story.

This book had potential to be more than it was for me personally, a little emotionally intense for me, I felt tense reading it and it became a little bit of a drag for me, I had to force myself to carry on with it and that's took me longer than I originally wanted to finish it.

I wanted to read this book because of the setting of the book being in Donegal and thought it might have been quite descriptive in that sense but it seemed like I'd read it before or something very similar, it was very similar to the film the Holiday in the sense two characters end up being stuck in one place together, a little unbelievable and I know for sure, had it have been me, there is no way I'd be sharing with a total stranger, regardless of how kind or dashing he was.

The characters were developed but I didn't feel a connection to them, it just felt like the romance between the character seems a little slack,and unbelievable. There wasn't really much to the actual plot line for me, the ending seemed to be a little bit rushed,

Many thanks to Netgalley for my free ARC in return for my review!

Charlie and Rose find themselves trying to escape Christmas and end up being double booked in a remote cottage in rural Ireland.

Rose came across as a no nonsense business woman but behind the facade is dealing with loss and grief and is avoiding Christmas. Charlie, likewise, does not want to celebrate.

Put them in the same house and you have yourself a wonderful story. Both characters were relatable and I adored them both as well as the dogs.

This is a heartwarming book filled with emotion, heartbreak and drama and I felt the author dealt with the heavier topics of death, loss and grief with sensitivity.

This is certainly a book I would recommend.

Thank you Penguin Random House and Netgalley for the eArc. I am leaving this honest review voluntarily.

This was a very heart warming story which shows you that Christmas is a time that can bring people together again. This story was one of the cutest and cosiests christmas stories I have read in a while. I love how Emma put into words the complicated emotions that was being felt from both sides of this story and I loved how the story was told from both Rose and Charlie's perspectives. There were elements of humour which gave a story that felt very sad an uplift to it.

I did take me a little while to get into the book and i felt the story was slow up until the last few chapters which as much as i enjoyed the story didn't have me longing to keep picking this up,

A wonderful cosy Christmas read! Rose decides to escape her Christmas nightmares by going to the beautiful old cottage she stayed in as a child, to help her regain her love for the season and herself following a tragedy. However, her cousin's wife also breaks the rules to allow a friend to stay in the same, small, old cottage over Christmas. Charlie is facing his first Christmas alone without his daughter and he wants to avoid Christmas altogether, but how can these two co-exist and maybe could they help each other deal with their individual traumas. I loved the setting of the book, and really felt like the characters were well developed and organically lead through all the trials of sharing the 1 bedroom cottage! Plus the 2 dogs were a fab addition! Some difficult topics are covered, grief, divorce, loss etc but there are so many warming moments to make this a Christmas read you won't put down.

Such a lovely and delicate Christmas story, of grief in many forms and the difficulties people can face at that time of year. The story was handled beautifully.

I was invested in the story of two strangers who end up double booking the cute one-bedroom cottage in Ireland, with their dogs, over Christmas, both with their own reasons for wanting to be alone and not celebrate, but without realising it supporting each other to move on.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for my honest and unbiased opinion.

This book was adorable! We start with Rose, who avoids Christmas best as she can, usually hunkering down and ignoring everyone to get through the holidays. But this year she’s desperate to get out of Dublin, and books a cottage in rural Donegal. Charlie can’t face Christmas this year, his first holiday alone, and needs an escape. A friend suggests a cottage in rural Donegal. And when Charlie arrives with his dog, the place looks perfect – until the woman he helped on the roadside arrives with her dog, and the couple who own the cottage realise they’ve made a huge mistake.

They try to make the best of things, laying down rules for their shared time, so both can still have a solitary Christmas. But the harder they try to avoid each other, the more difficult it becomes, and the more Charlie and Rose grow to realise maybe the answer isn’t to remain totally alone over Christmas.

This book ticks all the boxes for a heartfelt Christmas romance. Yes, okay, there’s only one bed, but Charlie and Rose find a workaround for that problem. There’s the quaint village where they keep bumping into each other, and despite the ‘rules’ designed for them to keep their distance, they find themselves sharing some truly tender, heartfelt moments. Some things in here were a touch clumsily handled, but much more often than not I found myself smiling at the ways the two characters interacted with each other, whether it was over text message or face to face.

The atmosphere is handled really well and there was a lovely supporting cast, and as the book goes on, we see some great character development for both Charlie and Rose, as they overcome their personal obstacles. Some elements felt a touch forced, but, overall, this was a wonderful festive read.

Thank you to Penguin for providing a copy of this book via NetGalley – views remain my own.

A cosy, feel good read.

I love Emma Heatherington’s latest book, it combines some of my favourite things, cosy feels, a dog, a suitable love interest, the image of rural Ireland, and of course Christmas.

It is difficult to write something refreshing in the increasingly crowded market of festive fiction, but This Christmas is one of the standout stories of 2023, I highly recommend snuggling up with a mug of hot chocolate and something nice to nibble on whilst you are enveloped in this 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 star read.
My thanks to Netgalley and Penguin for allowing me to read and review.

This book was enchanting. A mix of The Holiday and The Flat Share, I found myself fully invested in the story of two strangers who end up double booking the cute one-bedroom cottage in Ireland. I quickly warmed to these two characters (and their dogs) who came from different backgrounds with a lot of baggage to unpack. Highly recommend, and don’t think I can look at a glittery pinecone again without finding myself cozily dreaming of idyllic Seaview Cottage.

I've seen raving reviews for this book, so I hoped for an amazing read, cosy romance filled with fun and laughter. However, I'm afraid, it didn't work for me as much as I wanted it to. It felt very slow and repetitive, to be honest and I'm actually struggling now, as I have finished reading the book a few days ago and I already can't remember what it was actually about. Not a good sign.
The characters felt wooden for me, their actions forced, and telling their whole stories, or actually letting them talk to each other at almost the end of the book, was not such a good idea and I didn't feel involved in their life, nor did I feel a connection with them.

I thought the premise of this sounded very sweet - it was kind of giving 'The Holiday' vibes! But I found everyone's connections to one another quite confusing, and didn't love how somber the tone was for so long.

Nothing says festive romance quite like a snowy remote cottage in an idyllic location, two slightly broken but hopeful heroes, a booking mishap and two scallywag pooches. It’s a recipe for perfection and this book absolutely smashes it! The build up to Christmas is paced beautifully and makes you long for a cosy armchair to curl up in and lose yourself for an hour or two. This beauty made me cry and I don’t mind a bit! Highly recommended

My thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishers for a copy of “ This Christmas “ for an honest review.
.
Both the main characters of Rose and Charlie have reasons why they want to be left alone over Christmas , but fate steps in , and they are thrown together.
This was a perfect festive read, with likeable characters in an idyllic setting

This is a perfect, feel-good, cosy up with the fire and Christmas tree lit behind you kind of book. Perfect Christmas read, simple and easy!

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no significant gaps between words and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book. A star has been deducted because of this.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

How would you feel if you had booked a rural cottage for Christmas, but you found it was double-booked? Rose and Charlie have this very dilemma. Rose is struggling with grief for her lost love and so now hates Christmas. Charlie is facing his first Christmas alone.

This was a sweet and predictable book (but not in a negative way). Both are forced, through powers they can’t control, to stay in the one bedroom cottage. A lot of the book is the pair trying to live separately in the cottage, determined to stay apart. You have to take the novel with a pinch of salt - can two people, who carry such deep hurts, get over them in such a short period of time? Apparently so! However, I liked both characters and wanted them to sort things out because it is the kind of light-hearted read I wanted for Christmas.

A good, candy floss read that is ideal for this time of year.

This was a perfect read for the holiday season that follows Rose and Charlie who are both escaping Christmas, but end up being double booked in a sweet cottage. They are desperate to be alone, but do sparks fly between these two strangers?

Thank you, Net Galley, for an advanced copy of this novel.

This Christmas will leave you feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. It's not the best book I've read, but you're drawn into Rose and Charlie's lives and they're really likable characters. Your heart breaks for these two damaged souls who are just trying to find their place in the world again, after a lot of heartache. There's some uplifting moments and some quite comical ones too (Marion's claim on Charlie was rather entertaining). Overall, a nice festive book to read in the run up to Christmas.

This Christmas was just so perfect. A slow burn, forced proximity romance that made my heart warm.

Two strangers long to escape another Christmas. To be alone to grieve.

But a double booking means they don't get what they want. Or thought that they wanted.

Despite a frosty start, Rose and Charlie begin to warm to one another and watching them let their walls down was just so beautiful.

Snowed in one evening they truly open up to each other. It made me want to transport myself to Granny Molly's cozy cottage immediately.

I loved everything about This Christmas. Family, hope, love, and dogs - what more could anyone wish for.

The cover drew me in initially as it reminded me of the holiday but the contents kept me reading as it was such a lovely festive romance.

I love forced proximity story’s and this one was no different! Rose and Charlie were both likeable main characters.

I’m just jealous I can’t visit Seaview cottage myself.

A really lovely and enjoyable festive romance I’d recommend to others.

Bought on Amazon before I remembered I had it on NetGalley. This was a lovely read. Although the concept felt familiar, I enjoyed the story and was invested in the characters. I also loved the setting. An enjoyable, emotive read.