After reading many glowing reviews from my goodreads friends for Beth Moran's work I knew I had to give this ARC a try. I found this to be a lovely read that held the cheese. Calling it a holiday romance feels like selling the gravity of the story short and giving credit where credit is due is important to me. I found unexpected depth in these pages and grew to care about each of these characters and their individual journeys. There was a dose of reality threaded through the plot that I appreciated. This could have been a heavier story, but there's enough laughs to give the tone some light.
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Mary goes into labor a few weeks early. She lives alone with no vehicle off the beaten path. There are snowstorms in the area and the taxi service informs her that it will take ninety minutes for a car to arrive. Mary calls back and begs for someone to help her. Help shows up in the form of a big bear of a guy Beckett who packs her into the back of his cab. It's pretty clear that Mary has been through something traumatic right off the bat but the reader like Beckett is kept in the dark for most of the story. Accidents litter the highway, they cannot make it to the hospital on time, so Mary delivers her baby in a church. The church's many activities provide Mary and Beckett with a sense of community that they were both starving for. When Mary returns to her little shack in the woods with her new baby in tow, she is woefully unprepared. She has no name, diapers, or crib for her baby. It seemed like she was just existing. Beckett braves the weather again to find supplies. The author gave a real look at what it is like to take care of a newborn alone it is hard and wonderful and exhausting. Beckett going the extra mile to help out with Mary's situation made him late getting home to relieve the staff that care for his grandfather whose mental capacity has become diminished. He now knows he will struggle to work and hire new help; Gramps can't be left alone. The cantankerous Gramps made me smile; it was easy to like him. Meanwhile, Beckett can't help feeling needed by the new mom he just met and her little bundle of joy. He also can't stop wondering where the baby's father is.
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I liked that each of these characters carried baggage but became more fulfilled as they learned to reach out and help others shoulder the weight of theirs. The romance here is light and much of the novel is spent figuring out the challenges life saddled them with. The sense of community brought in many interesting characters that were fun, inspiring, and likeable.
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The fact that Mary and Beckett both have people depending on them for care added a layer to the story while also providing dynamic interactions. We get both Mary's and Beckett's POVs with the breezy writing style adding to their down-to-earth appeal.
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Heartfelt and uplifting this story had me invested! Recommend for a holiday fix or if you're looking for a read to deliver warm vibes.

Thank you to Boldwood Books for providing an ARC via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Really good book which I will recommend to others.

Thanks for the opportunity to read & review it.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

we first meet mary as she is about to give birth.... not where she expected to be when she eventually went into labour but we find out about her life as you continue to read the book

but the birth of her baby is what is at the front of her mind as the taxi eventually turns up to take her to the hospital.... but she never makes it in time and the driver who turns up has to find somewhere safe for the delivery

have to say there are some very funny elements in this book... that birth was something else i even felt a twinge and was pushing with her but its as you continue reading that you fully appreciate what mary has been going through though its a slow release book you dont actually find out all of the back story till the very end but its worth reading and because of all the christmas joy you feel whilst reading this one

cant wait to read another book by this author i love how she pulled me into this christmas story and its being released in august... loved it

Christmas in August, why nae!! I was initially drawn in by the cover art, its so adorable and screams christmas Romance which just so happen to be two of my favourite things!
I found the storyline with Marvin to be utterly heartbreaking, that kind of thing really breaks my heart and, honestly, gives me quite the fear for myself. I thought it was handled beautifully though.
I loved the friendships and the mad characters. The coffee mum's were amazing, just the friends everyone needs, the christmas twins were hilarious!
I liked how the chapters changed between Beckett and Mary, it was great getting to see both of their point of views.
I found it super quick to read, finishing it in just over 24hours as I could barely put the book down. Fans of family focused, light romances set at Christmas will absolutely adore this novel.

A story that starts with a rush and introduces the main characters Mary and Beckett as he takes her in his taxi to hospital to give birth . All does not go smoothly and help comes in the form of a welcoming church group that is a friendly and takes them under their wing. The characters are wonderful and well drawn. The fast pace does Peter out a bit but then ramps up again to embrace the Christmas spirit
A really enjoyable Christmas read

I loved this book! I just love this author and this is another amazing book of hers. I just loved this story and how needing a taxi turned into the start of a wonderful friendship with not only Beckett but the wonderful people of the New Life Community Church. They were amazing people who had Mary’s back and were there for her, but also the wonderful Gramps who I just loved. I loved how Mary needed a new start and got so much more. I loved mostly all the characters in this book they are sweethearts and some that weren’t but they had a chance of mind and did the right thing in the end. This was such a heartbreaking and heartwarming read that I was sorry when it came to an end.

I would highly recommend reading this book as it’s just an amazing read and it will make you feel warm and fuzzy and long for Christmas.

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

I am HUGE fan of Christmas romance novels that are not only about two people falling in love, but also a book filled with a community that embraces the holiday! In this book, Beckett and Mary meet when she uses his taxi service to go to the hospital to have a baby—what a beginning! Right away, I was deeply moved by both of them and their very complicated and sad back stories. I could feel in my heart all that they were going through as they grappled with so many daunting challenges even as they grew closer as friends, and then maybe more than friends. The loving community in which they live has its fair share of unique characters, and their love and support never waver, even though they are all strangers at first. The fun and festivity is always in the background as the story gets closer to Christmas. This book was a joy to read!

💙 The Most Wonderful Time of the Year ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Here is your favourite Christmas read of 2025! Since I love reading Christmas stories, this one quickly became one of my favorites. A heartwarming tale that will warm you up even in the middle of winter. A new life, unexpected surprises and a story full of hope that feels like a slice of real life. Normally, I start reading this kind of book in November, but this one is so timeless and filled with hope that it can be enjoyed in any season. The writing is so unique, fun and smooth that I have to admit I’ve become a new fan of the author! ❄️🎁🎄

If you enjoy holiday fiction, cute and cosy books and love the style of Jill Mansell and Jenny Colgan; then this one is definitely for you!

This is an ARC review. I appreciate receiving this copy from NetGalley and the publisher in return for an honest review.

This is a wonderful feel good book at any time of year, but particularly at Christmas. I’ve not read a book based around a church community before, and these characters are inspiring. I’d love to meet up with the coffee mums! Mary’s back story gradually unfolds as the book progresses, and having the story narrated by 2 alternating people works very well. I’ll definitely be buying a few copies for presents this Christmas.

I spent a sunny day in the garden reading this book set at the end of the year but such a good story it didn’t seem out of place. A story about Mary and Bob her baby, her friend Beckett and his gramps. A heartwarming tale of friendships, old and new and romance. We read of the backstory of some of the characters and how a church and its members have helped everyone to community and happiness. An excellent read.

This books opens, and immediately gets your attention, with Mary being in labor and calling a cab in the middle of a snow storm to take her to the hospital. Unfortunately, on the way to the hospital, the road is shut down and the cab driver, Beckett, makes a stop at the New Life Church where Mary delivers her child.

Something happened in Mary's past that led her to retreat to Sherwood Forest and we don't find out until much later in the book what that something was. She has no support system where she lives and Beckett and the members of the New Life Church take it upon themselves to befriend and help her.

Beckett is a total softie and takes care of people who need help regardless of their situation and at his own expense. He gave up everything to take care of his grandfather after he had a stroke. After seeing Mary's dismal home, he goes shopping and gets things for her and the baby.

The beginning of this book is fast paced, the middle is slower than I would have liked, and the end picks up the pace again. Overall, this is a sweet slow burn romance for a snowy day.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book

🎄Escape to Sherwood Forest pays off!👶

4.5+🌟 stars
A really lovely story with newfound friendships to buck up the spirits and a sweet friendship with romantic vibes. Mary, the soon-to-be first time mom, starts the story dramatically with a frantic trip to the hospital and, somehow, instead finds a whole little church community and a simpatico taxi driver who take her in and provide the kindness and support she and her tiny son need.

The characters were great, especially physician turned taxi driver Beckett and his grumpy grandfather Marvin. Beckett is the quintessential good guy, often exasperated by Marvin's odd behavior and his difficult search for a caregiver for Marvin, but generous and instantly emotionally tied to Mary and young Bob who he almost has to deliver! There's humor, too, with a wacky line-up of Santas, including a Santa slug(!), needing Mary's design and sewing skills before the local Christmas concert. But for me, Mary and Beckett's will they or won't they vibe was the biggest draw.

Mary's background story about why her life imploded and sent her scurrying to refuge in Sherwood Forest took longer than I would have liked to be revealed, but otherwise I loved the plot, characters and the feel-good community spirit of this story. So much cozy warmth and sweetness, but not a bit cloying.

Thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

Review shared on 7/30/25 on Waterstones and Goodreads, and with Barnes & Noble and BAM. To be shared with kobo and on Google Play upon publication.

What an interesting meet-cute! Beckett is such a cinnamon roll right from the start. I love how he supports Mary through the best (and also the toughest) day in her life.

He is truly an amazing caregiver, from caring for her baby to Mary herself. Parenting is no joke, and doing it alone is truly scary. Thank God that Beckett is there for Mary!

I absolutely loved how their relationship progressed from strangers to friendship and to more. While life is difficult and complicated for both of them, the bond they share is truly unique and undeniable.

This was such an enjoyable, festive read that had me smiling the whole way through. I found it so easy to get into, with characters that felt genuine and easy to root for. There were moments that had me laughing out loud and others that were sweet and a bit soppy in the best possible way. It’s such a heartwarming story about friendship and finding where you belong.

I love a cozy Christmas book as much as I love microwaving my hot cocoa three separate times because I keep forgetting it exists, but “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” took that Hallmark formula, threw it into a snowstorm, and gave it a crying newborn and a traumatized widow. And I mean that as a compliment. It’s like if your favorite holiday rom-com got quietly hijacked by grief, healing, and emotional honesty, but still remembered to light the Christmas tree and cue the church choir.

Mary? Oh, Mary is running. Emotionally, physically, full “flee-the-past-into-the-woods” energy, and yes, she is very pregnant and very alone in a crumbling Sherwood cottage, having a full-blown denial spiral. She’s not naming the baby. She’s not decorating. She's not unpacking anything besides her trauma. She’s basically the Ghost of Christmas Can’t Even. And then comes Beckett, the human version of a sturdy mug of peppermint tea, showing up in a snowstorm like, “Hi, I heard you’re in labor, emotionally paralyzed, and possibly feral. Hop in.”

And God bless this man, because Beckett is just out here taxi-driving through a literal blizzard, dealing with his grandfather’s advancing dementia, and still managing to be calm enough to get a very pregnant woman to a random church for an emergency birth. This man’s origin story is clearly just one long, painful lesson in patience. But when I tell you that their romance is slow burn, I mean it is the emotional equivalent of putting marshmallows near a candle and calling it s’mores. And that’s exactly what this book needs.

The vibe here is less “steamy holiday fling” and more “two emotionally bruised people accidentally co-parenting and awkwardly building a life together with zero expectations but way too many feelings.” Like... I wouldn’t call it a romance so much as a long, gentle exhale after years of holding your breath. And it works, because both Mary and Beckett are walking case studies in quiet resilience, and watching them fumble their way toward trust is weirdly satisfying.

Now let’s talk about the community, because these people do not mess around. You think you’re just reading about a traumatized single mom adjusting to rural life, and then suddenly you’re emotionally invested in a group of middle-aged women planning a Christmas show like it’s their personal Olympics. I would absolutely join this church, not for the sermons, but to get adopted by the choir director and peer-pressure Mary into fashion design again. The found family vibes? Immaculate. A full casserole mafia.

And okay yes, the whole “using her old career skills to help a Christmas event” thing is peak Hallmark energy, but it’s also such a sweet metaphor for reclaiming the pieces of yourself you thought you left behind. The whole book is about learning to take up space again, even when grief told you to shrink. Mary is trying to earn a life she already deserves. Beckett is trying to hold it together without breaking. And everyone around them is quietly saying, “You’re safe now. Stay.”

The faith element pops up like that one neighbor who never stays long but always brings a pie. It’s there, it’s gentle, it’s more vibes than doctrine, and it honestly fits. It’s less “Jesus saves” and more “Karen from the church group will absolutely organize a fundraiser and also fix your entire emotional life before December 25th.”

Is it perfect? Not really. It gets a little soft-focus at times, and the lack of any romantic heat might make you check your pulse. But if you’re looking for a story that wraps grief, healing, and emotional renovation in a fuzzy Christmas blanket, this is it. You will laugh, you will cry, and you will Google if Sherwood Forest has Airbnb listings. 3.5 stars and one very dramatic snowstorm birth later,

Merry Mayhem Prize: For Delivering a Baby, Finding Yourself, and an Emotional Reckoning in a Church During a Blizzard

Huge thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the ARC of “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” I appreciated the chance to emotionally spiral in Sherwood Forest from the safety of my couch.

Mary is heavily pregnant and living alone in the depths of Sherwood Forest. When taxi driver Beckett comes to her rescue, a friendship develops for the two lonely people.
Finding support from an eclectic group of people at a local church, Mary's story is gradually revealed.
This is a heartwarming book.

Another great book from Beth Moran.
Mary arrives in Nottingham wanting to hide from the world but heavily pregnant. The night she calls into labour she calls for a taxi with a driver called Beckett. Having to stop suddenly as Bob is born a friendship develops alongside those folk who they meet at the Church where the baby is born. A different Christmas but one that won’t be forgotten. Thanks to Beth and her publisher.Thanks also to NetGalley

What a book from this talented author. A sleepless night was had needing to keep turning those pages to find out what would happen.

This is a story of love and loss and of making a new start. It shows people have flaws and things in their lives that they need to contend with and that fairytale stories aren’t always the only ones we want to read about.

Mary and Beckett meet when he picks her up in his taxi as she is about to give birth. Their relationship develops into a lovely friendship and their story and that of those that they support and who champion them is so well written I really didn’t want it to end. The backdrop to the story is a beautiful woodland setting and a snowy Christmas and this will certainly make a great fireside read.

Highly recommend for this who enjoy a beautifully told romance with some humour and sadness.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year was a lovely, soft romance. There was instant attraction between our two MCs which isn't always something I enjoy but it worked due to the slow burn nature of their romance. I think my favourite character of all though was Gramps, he was an absolute doll and reminded me of my own Grandad. I loved the fact that this book was set in an area that is fairly close to me - so it almost felt familiar. It was well written, heart- warming and the very definition of a cosy, feel-good read perfect for the festive season.


I was invited to read The Most Wonderful Time of the Year by the lovely team at Boldwood in exchange for an honest review.

Really enjoyed this new book from Beth Moran, good characters, well written and a lovely storyline. Some sad moments , some laugh out loud moments , but most of all joyful. Recommended