Such a lovely feel good festive read, the story of Sophie would ups sticks and moves to the Lake District after buying a bed and breakfast. Along comes a lovely vet and sparks fly. A lovely read and great characters of the two legged variety and the 4 legged variety😊
Enjoy this book as it will make you dream of the lovely surroundings and like me want to visit the Lake District soon.
My thanks as always to Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone | Penguin and the Author Phillipa Ashley for the early read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for this ARC.

After her fiancé cheats on her on Christmas Eve, Sophie sells her year round Christmas shop in Stratford-upon-Avon and buys a guest house in the Lake District instead. As she now hates Christmas she advertises an alternative "Escape for Christmas" break. That title never made sense to me. Shouldn't it be Escape from Christmas or just Escape Christmas?

All the best laid plans and all that... The guest house gets snowed in, the power goes off, the flamenco dancers never make it, the sausages end up in the dog, a pregnant mother who got room at the inn uses it to give birth and two half-sisters have a fraught reunion. In the meantime local vet Brody sniffs around Sophie even though he's apparently engaged. The miscommunication and misunderstandings trope gets a full workout here.

I had such a deja vu reading the plot - I could have sworn I had read that exact plot before somewhere. The fake engagement, the estranged half-sisters, the birth, the sick cats... It all felt familiar which is very strange, as I'm not a time traveller.

This is a pleasant read from a reliable Phillipa Ashley. There are plenty of pets and the supporting characters are all likeable. All of them have different reasons for wanting to escape Christmas this year, which makes for an interesting, well-rounded read. The wintry setting is cosy and there was a surprising amount of festive content for a book with a lot of Christmas misers in it. Recommended as a fun, feel-good read for Christmas.

4.25 stars

First of all thank you for approving my request!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The authors writing style had me hooked throughout this book.

I didn't want it to end, a book I really couldn't put down.

Sophie runs a guest house in the Lake District and decides to host an ‘alternative holiday’ for those wishing to get away from the traditional festivities. However, it turns out to be a little more eventful than she expected!

This is a really nice read whether for holidays, festive or otherwise, or indeed at any other time too. The characters are all believable and I became hugely invested in the story and setting. In fact, I would like a trip to Sunnyside and stay at the guest house!

I enjoyed this book and would recommend. Phillipa’s books are an auto purchase for me these days and I will be adding another one to my collection.

Thanks to Cornerstone, Randomhouse and Netgalley for my advanced copy. This review is my own honest opinion

Another festive hit from Phillipa. A great romance full of surprises and an alternative Christmas theme. The characters were well written and engaging. The different aspects of the book held my attention from beginning to end. A most enjoyable Christmas (or non Christmas) read. Highly recommended. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this book.

I love Christmas books, and this book was brilliant! I really enjoyed the will they wont they romance of the two main characters, Brody and Sophie. The description of the town in which they live was great, and I felt as though I was fully immersed in the storyline.
This is a great festive read, I thoroughly recommend.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Christmas with a difference! Great characters and a beautiful setting. Recommended.

I was asked to review this festive story by NetGalley- I love Christmas more now that I work for a school and have all the holidays off so special.

I read this in August on the school holidays which my manta is you can read festive stories anytime.

Sophie loved Christmas until she was hurt by her partner on Christmas Eve !!

Sophie turned her life around and went to the Lake District to run a bed and breakfast for those who want to escape the festive period, great characters and despite mishaps strangers who are thrown together at this time end up having a great feative time.

Lovely feel good festive read - ideal stocking filler for the Christmas holidays.

I enjoyed this book. I really look forward to Phillipa Ashley’s Christmas novels as they are always so heartwarming. I loved following Sophie and Brody’s journey, obviously it was full of twists and turns but isn’t that always the way! Even the supporting characters were a delight. I was actually sad when I finished this. Just a gorgeous, Christmassy story. Highly recommend.

This heartwarming Christmas story offers a refreshing twist on the holiday season as a group of characters seek to escape the traditional festivities and gather at a guest house for an alternative celebration. The book brings together a diverse group of people, each with their own reasons for wanting a different kind of Christmas, making for an engaging and relatable read. The characters are well-developed, and the inclusion of pets adds an extra layer of charm. I thoroughly enjoyed the storyline and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a unique festive read!

Suspense and romance mingle in this sparkling Christmas themed story.
With vividly portrayed characters, this is a lovely book to curl up with. A real seasonal page turner. I enjoyed reading it very much.

Thank you for this arc of Escape for Christmas. Although I found the beginning of the book a little stilted I soon got into the story as it unfolded and really enjoyed it. Sophie and Brody were great characters and it was Christmasy without being too gushingly twee.
Lovely little read

My thanks to Netgalley and publishers Penguin for an ARC of this thoroughly enjoyable well-plotted Christmas tale by Phillipa Ashley. I love the occasional romantic novel. It's a rare but guilty treat and this one is written by one of the best in the genre.

I was enjoying the read, thinking this is all working out too well. Something has to go wrong or the book will be too short. Then about 30% through it did and to my thinking it became unbelievable. But to enjoy these novels you have e to suspend belief and just relax into the narrative. The glorious winter setting of the Lake DIistrict, which is described in every chapter, makes a perfect backdrop.

With all the horrendous news that is continually being pumped at us, this really is an escape. Go on. Give yourself a treat.

I loved it.
Slightly predictable but so many twists and turns.
Sophie used to run a Christmas shop in Stratford upon Avon; however, after finding her boyfriend and nest friend in a comprised position she decides it’s time for a change. She buys a guest house in the Lake District. Christmas is approaching and she’s no longer ‘into’ Christmas, so she sets up a non-Christmas event over the Christmas season. Her 7 (?) rooms are fully booked, and we are taken through the reasons why Christmas is hard for these people - well written and fascinating. Meanwhile, her next door neighbour, the local vet who cares for her two cats is paying her a lot of attention! But at the Christmas party his mother holds….
Easy to read, cozy Christmas story. Loved it.

This was a lovely, feel good story with the ups and downs of an everyday life, with some sparkle included..Great cast of charscters and a very appropriate conclusion. Love conquers all !!

Another fantastic book from Phillipa Ashley. Festive but not too festive, love the characters and the plot.
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC and thank you to Phillipa for sharing her talent.


Sophie used to adore everything about Christmas. Hot chocolate and velvet bows, fairy lights and mince pies.

Until the December her fiancé jilted her.

Since then, Sophie opened Sunnyside Hotel, a quaint guesthouse nestled deep in the Cumbrian countryside.

And, though it might be winter at Sunnyside, it’s never Christmas.

Marketing her hotel to those who wish to avoid the festivities, Sophie is busy preparing for a season full of joy and laughter, but without the tinsel and mistletoe.

Yet, as she finds herself growing closer to her gorgeous neighbour, Brody, her heart begins to melt.

Will this Christmas bring the touch of magic Sophie needs to give love another chance?

Generally speaking Escape for Christmas by Philippa Ashley was a good enough book; a Christmas romance obviously but with a decent storyline. Our heroine, hurting from betrayal the previous Christmas, is offering an alternative festive stay at her new B&B. All goes pretty well but there are some dramatic plotlines for which she couldn't possibly have planned. I enjoyed these. However, I was irritated beyond belief by Brody, the male lead. He was such a wimp!

This was my first book by Phillips Ashley and it didn’t disappoint. It has great characters and a great storyline. It’s not traditionally about Christmas but an alternative story that people will love.
Would definitely recommend.

Another wonderful read from Phillipa. I was captivated from the beginning to the end. The story flowed so well and the location was excellent. It was so well described that you can just imagine being there among all the lovely and different characters. A great read to snuggle under a quilt with a hot chocolate.

This was a warm and cosy romantic fiction.
There were plenty of festive elements to get you in the Christmas mood. The guests at Sunnyside were such vibrant, entertaining characters, and the story was really easy, quick and enjoyable to read.
It would have been nice to see more feel-good/romantic interactions between the two main characters: the (intentionally frustrating) misunderstanding trope/lack of communication had a big role to play here.
Easily recommendable to anyone looking for a cosy romantic fiction this Christmas, featuring plenty of pets!