Looking for the perfect winter escape? This heart warming story blends festive charm with a sprinkle of mystery,

Sophie, who makes beautiful handmade notebooks rarely stays in one place too long, she has been in the little seaside village of Mistingham for a year. Just as she considers moving on, her plans shift when she receives a beautifully bound copy of Jane Eyre accompanied by a mysterious note from "The Secret Bookshop." Determined to uncover the sender's identity, she finds herself drawn deeper into the community and into an unexpected alliance with Harry.

Harry has recently returned, from London, to his rundown family manor, his return stirring up the villagers especially after he banned the annual Christmas festival from taking place near the village's old oak tree.

What follows is a slow-building romance as Sophie and Harry come together to plan the festival. The author captures the charm of village life and crafts a cast of endearing characters, including the adorable Felix whose antics add a touch of humour and warmth to the story.

This book is perfect for fans of feel-good reads, slow-burn romance, and Christmas magic. It’s bound to warm your heart and leave you smiling. 

"Books and notebooks: one with the pages already full of magic; the other waiting for you to create some of your own. She couldn't do without either"

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins for the ARC.

I received a free copy of, The Secret Christmas Bookshop, by Cressida McLaughlin, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed other books, by Cressida, and this was a good one too. Sophie finds a beautiful book, and wonders who left it for her. Sophie is in a new place for the Christmas holiday, everyone is so welcoming and cheerful. This seems like such a great town. I really enjoyed reading about Sophie and Harry.

The Secret Christmas Bookshop is a heartwarming and entertaining novel featuring a small town community, found family, Christmas festivities, and a mysterious donor of beautiful editions of classics.

The protagonist is Sophie Stevens, whose rough upbringing has left her distrustful of those around her and she is always ready to pack everything up and move to a new place. Even though she has found good friends in Mistingham, Sophie is already thinking about moving on somewhere new when the arrival of a mysterious package stops all her plans: a beautiful edition of Jane Eyre, accompanied by a cryptic message. Curious to find out more, Sophie volunteers to organize the local Christmas festival, hoping to figure out who, among the residents, left her the book. What she didn’t expect was that Harry Anderly, the Dark Demon Lord of Mistingham, would be co-organizing with her and she certainly didn’t expect that he is not the grumpy and unfriendly master of Mistingham Manor everyone claims him to be.

This novel really gets you into the Christmas mood. The idyllic village of Mistingham is described as a place taken straight out of a period drama on Norfolk’s coastline, with a sandy beach, a wide promenade, and the sea that changes colours depending on the weather. I loved the festive atmosphere and the sense of community. The organizing of the festival kept me quite entertained and there is romance, friendship, and also a bit of mystery, themes of loss, abandonment, and grief, there is a wonderful cast of relatable and likable characters, and, best of all, Felix, the goat who wears jumpers and created the funniest scenes in the book.

The Secret Christmas Bookshop is a fantastic and engaging escapist novel, the perfect story to enjoy at this time of the year!

A seaside village, a close knit community, an anonymous gift of a beautiful book and a moody hero......what more can you want.
The difficulties experienced long after leaving care, have far reaching effects throughout the lives of those young people. Sophie is one of those people.
Cressida McLaughlin creates communities that you care about and would like to be part of, particularly to join the wonderful Christmas Oak Fest.
The best bit......the fact that it says #1 in a series!
I loved it.

Another perfect Christmas read from this author. The first in hopefully will become another series of books,we are taken to a fictional English village where the residents are thinking about Christmas. A book to curl up with in front of the fire.

Really enjoyed this book by Cressida, good story telling, with a lovely cast of characters, although at times I wanted to shake one or two of them. Felix the goat was a great addition, absolutely adored him. A very good all round book, just right for this time of year, a nice cosy read. Highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins and author Cressida McLaughlin for this eARC

An absolutely lovely christmas romance.
The setting of the delightful small village of Mistingham by the Norfolk seaside was adorable and so cozy. The quirky side character made the whole thing really come to life and out two main characters were both so loveable and well-written in their own way. I especially loved Harry with his dry sense of humor and seemingly grumpy attitude. Felix, Darkness & Terror were absolute highlights and made for some hilarious scenes.
Perfect for a cozy winter evening on the couch with some hot chocolate

4.5 stars
This is a perfect Christmas romance read filled with the love of all things books and reading.
The community described by Cress McLaughlin sounded wonderful- the closeness of the characters, the descriptions of the traditions followed year on year and the support provided to Sophie as she tried to make it her home made this such an entertaining read.
The idea of a mystery book received as a gift ticked all the boxes for me - I love a personally picked book as a gift and to receive one so beautifully presented would have been just wonderful.
Sophie’s notebooks sounded magical - I’ve a bit of an obsession with all things stationery and may have a little ( *I mean a large) collection of notebooks myself !

Thank you netgalley and publishers for allowing me an early copy of this book for my honest opinion. A beautifuly told story with a little touch of everything. Gorgeous location, likeable characters and above all a funny and adorable little goat. I binge read this book and can't recommend highly enough.

This book is everything you expect in a Christmas book. Festive feels, great characters and a little bit of mystery!

Aww Sophie and Harry, what a lovely story! I really enjoyed reading this and the descriptions of the notebooks makes me want to go out and buy a notebook myself!
I also loved the fact that a book was an integral part of the story and I’m going to dig out my copy of Jane Eyre after reading this.
I did find there were a few parts that seemed to repeat themselves but overall a great Christmas read.

I loved this! Such a great new book from Cressida McLaughlin. I loved the small village and the amazing descriptions of the Manor House and the atmospheric descriptions of the sea.

Harry and Sophie are fantastic together, their chemistry is off the chart, they each see each other for who they really are and off love and support. Sophie helps bring Harry back into the community and Harry also enables Sophie to feel a true part of the community.

Simply a wonderfully Christmassy read.

A really lovely festive read. Likeable characters, gorgeous setting, a great community and a touch of romance! This book also features some deeper issues such as growing up in foster care and homelessness but they’re well written and woven into the story line. A great read.

I loved this book - a small village setting, likeable characters (both serious and funny, hiya Felix!) And a Christmas time setting, it was right up my street.

A surprise present which makes Sophie look at her life choices. Fostered as a child, does she now need to put down roots? A wonderful read, perfect winter reading .

The Secret Christmas Bookshop is the most gorgeous combination of real and magical and I absolutely loved it.

It has the most wonderful characters. Sophie is kind hearted but comes with her share of trauma and hang ups after growing up in the foster system. So she's always on the edge of uprooting and moving somewhere new with her dog. Harry hides away, renovating his huge house, because the locals have taken against him for not coming back fast enough to look after his aging father. But nobody has asked him why. Both of them are cautious around people. Their expectations are extremely low and they expect rejection at every turn. It's only when they are forced to work together on the local Christmas festival that they start to get to know one another and draw closer.

The magic arrives early when Sophie receives a beautifully bound copy of Jane Eyre, with a note saying it's from the secret bookshop. Curious about who sent it, she starts to investigate whilst getting to know the local people better in order to find out which one of them could be behind the gift.

The book is set in a Norfolk village with lovely people, a huge old oak tree and a gorgeous clifftop. Add in some loveable animals, including a plucky and mischievous little goat called Felix, and you have a wonderful feel-good space to spend your time while Sophie and Harry get to know each other.

The Secret Christmas Bookshop is a beautiful festive story about community, human nature, love and allowing others to help you heal. I always turn to Cressida McLaughlin's books when I need a boost, and this one was everything I hoped for. I definitely recommend it.

À fabulously enjoyable festive Christmas read with plenty of seasonal elements. Set in a large thriving village on the Norfolk coast which has a wonderful community feel. Brilliant character development with a slow burn romance although I did want to shake Sophie, the main female character at times, but so did several other characters throughout the book. Subplot of growing up in the care system and coming to terms with it in adulthood. Just a perfect read to cosy up with over the festive season.

If you're after a cosy, Christmas read then you're in very safe hands with Cressida.
I love the mix of characters in this one - and enjoyed that the main characters were late 30s/early 40s.
A fun, festive, cosy tale, perfect for reading in the run up to Christmas.
With thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc ebook.

I just loved this book it was such a good Christmassy read with wonderful characters. It was so festive and heartwarming.

I would highly recommend reading this book if you like a good heartwarming Christmas book.

I would like to thank HarperCollins and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book early.

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

I loved reading this book, from the beginning it draws you in.

The story is set in the town of Mistingham. We meet Sophie, who doesn’t stay in one place for too long and Harry who is back in the village after a long time.

There was lots going on throughout the book, which made it a very enjoyable read.

I highly recommend this book.