An enjoyable story set in Sherwood Forest around Christmas, mainly set around Mary and Beckett. Mary is on her own and pregnant and goes into labor, Beckett is the taxi driver she rings to take her to hospital, and who ends up being a good friend. Beckett is also struggling to take care of his grandfather who has dementia and scares off all his carers with his rudeness. So Mary and Beckett end up helping each other out.

There are a great group of side characters, mainly from the community church that Mary ends up delivering her baby in due to the weather.

There are plenty of amusing parts and some sad parts, but eventually everyone ends up with their happy ever after. Very enjoyable.

4.5 stars.

“Awesome comes in all shapes and sizes.” Ah, I just love settling into a new Beth Moran book! I love how she creates such a close, special, and cosy community within each of her books – usually set within Sherwood Forest – and often, like this one, with some Easter egg mentions of places and characters from her other books, like the Peace and Pigs and journalist Bea Armstrong. I want to move right into her little fictional world immediately!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year is not REALLY a Christmas story, so you don’t need to wait until December to read it, but it does have some lovely festive moments, culminating with a Christmas Eve concert and Christmas Day itself.

The main story centres around Mary – co-owner of a hugely successful fashion company in Sheffield, who has escaped from her old life, just in time to give birth completely alone in the middle of Sherwood Forest. There, she meets Beckett, her taxi driver tasked with getting her to hospital. Only they don’t make it in time, and Mary gives birth in the New Life Community Church.

With no nappies, cot, or anything ready, she starts to accept help from the people she meets that night. Soon, she’s made a host of new friends, making costumes for the Christmas concert extravaganza and developing feelings for Beckett.

Alongside the main story, we flash back to Mary’s old life in Sheffield and gradually discover what happened in her past to have brought her here. We also get Beckett’s point of view, and his story as he struggles to care for his Gramps. Both were quite heart-breaking and had me a bit tearful, with some unexpected revelations.

As always with Beth’s books, the minor characters are outstanding. Every one of them has a story and struggles that make them strong enough to be lead characters! This was another gorgeous story from Beth, and perfect for getting cosy this winter (or right now!)

A superb Christmas tale by Beth Moran. A wonderful book of Christmas cheer with great characters and a story to tweak all your emotions. I could not put it down.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review. It was an absolute pleasure.

Lovely story, this was my first book by this author and will definitely not be my last. The characters are very convincing and leave you think about them once you have finished the book . Looking forward to the next book.

A good book for getting you in to the Christmas spirit; a mums group, a charity Christmas concert, a mysterious backstory and a budding romance. My one gripe is that the middle sort of lost me as it became a bit long winded and I felt it lost its way for a bit.

I usually only read Christmas books at Christmas time, but I couldn’t pass this one up. For me Christmas has always been the most wonderful time of the year and this book gave me all of the warmth and happy feelings of that magical time. This is one I will definitely read again next to my Christmas tree with a cozy blanket. Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for bringing me some Christmas joy in July.

When I came out of the Christmassy trance into which this gorgeous book had cast me, I was surprised to find it was mid summer outside my window. So engrossing is Beth Moran 's evocative writing, that she draws the reader into her world to the exclusion of everything else. We were immediately cast into a wintry night with snow swirling around and roads impassable. In the midst of this hostile environment, we meet Mary, a young woman in labour with her first baby who is 4 weeks premature. She has no transport and is living in an isolated, ramshackle cottage in the forest. Alone, helpless and scared she is rescued by Beckett, a taciturn taxi driver, who turns out to be her unlikely knight in shining armour. Unable to reach hospital on time , Beckett takes Mary to a local church, a decision that would transform both their lives forever. There they encounter Moses and his flock of wonderful, warm , loving, quirky and all encompassing human beings and find they are no longer alone in the world. Both Beckett and Mary are carrying heavy burdens of grief, loneliness and heartbreak. Beckett is caring for his beloved elderly grandfather, who raised him and whom he has vowed to never put in a home. This night will be the catalyst to transform all their lives .
Such a perfect, uplifting book. I defy you to read it and not be moved

An absolutely beautiful and heart warming Christmas tale which begins with a birth in a church and offers redemption to the aptly named Mary. It is a slow burn romance but the side stories of friendship and second chances make it engaging and worth the wait. I loved gramps and his story was both emotional and thought provoking. Beautiful!

“The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” is a romance book by Beth Moran. This book begins rather quickly - Mary is in labor when she gets into Beckett’s taxi and thanks to a snowstorm, going to the hospital isn’t possible. Fortunately a church is open and folks are willing to help Mary deliver her baby. Mary is on her own - and now a new Mum - and Beckett wants to help her although he’s a caregiver for his elderly grandparent. After that rather exciting opening bit, the story grinds to a much slower pace as background is filled in and the story progresses forward. One of the comfortable things about this book is that the reader knows how it’s going to end - but it takes its sweet time getting there. The drama at the 75% mark could’ve been avoided if Mary and Beckett had communicated with each other (though thanks in part to technology they didn’t … if ever people needed landlines with answering machines, this was a prime example!). I have mixed feelings about this book - it was really great that the church folks embraced Mary (and her baby … and Beckett) and it wasn’t a preachy church, but due to Mary’s story unfolding so slowly, at times I skimmed some parts. This was a fine book, but for me it felt like there was a bit too much dancing about things.

Mary never planned to stop running. With a past she's desperate to escape and a baby on the way, she's found refuge deep in the forest, hidden from the world. When the time comes to go to the hospital, she has no idea that Beckett, the quiet taxi driver who braves a blizzard to reach her, will change everything. As Mary adjusts to life with her newborn, she finds herself drawn into a close-knit community she never expected to be part of. Beckett is always there, dependable and patient, offering a friendship she doesn't know how to accept but slowly comes to rely on. In a place she thought she'd only be passing through, Mary finally learns what it means to belong. As Christmas approaches, she begins to believe that maybe she doesn't have to face motherhood alone after all.

This amazing, heart-warming love story had me hooked from the very beginning. It’s a loving romance with a touch of suspense. Mary meets Beckett on her way to give birth in her new town and ends up giving birth at a church. She’s completely on her own and now a new mom, but Beckett, realizing this, takes it upon himself to check in on her, even though he’s also a caregiver to his ailing grandfather. Mary and Beckett form a friendship that leads them to join a church community that warmly welcomes them, including Mary, Beckett, his Gramps, and her baby, Bob. The suspense comes in that Mary is running from her past and not forthcoming with any details. But the good news is that everything gets resolved in a satisfying way, and the characters are genuinely good and likable people. I’m really envious of the church community that Beth Moran described, as it makes me sad that not all churches are as open and giving. This is a chaste romance that keeps a good pace, so definitely check it out!

Thank you, Boldwood Books, for providing this book for review consideration through NetGalley. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

Such a cute read with an array of emotions! I love Christmas books and this was just perfect! It had be chuckling from page one.

I received a free copy of, The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, by Beth Moran, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Mary having a baby around the holidays, reminds me of another Mary and her baby Jesus. I love that Gramps has no filter at all. This was a heavy Christmas story, with a lot of feels. I really liked Mary, shes so honest.

Heartwarming, funny and worth a read festive time or not. There were moments of laughter, tenderness and the gritty reality of life. Love Beth Moran books.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year is the third Christmas book I have read by British author Beth Moran, and it may be my favorite. Unlike a Hallmark rom-com, the book sets the tone for the two protagonists by exploring Mary's background, then Beckett's, before there is any mention of the holiday.

Mary left the successful fashion accessories company she co-founded after a personal tragedy and soon found herself a pregnant widow living with no family support or friends in a rundown house in Sherwood Forest. Beckett hasn't used his medical education as planned, driving a taxi for the flexible hours that allow him to provide security and assistance to his unpredictable grandfather, who is showing signs of advancing dementia. The two meet (not quite) cute when Beckett gets the call to drive Mary to the hospital in a blizzard as she as in labor with her son, without diapers or any idea what she will do next.

The obligatory romance between the two is slow to start because of personal issues on both sides, and there are no intimate scenes. But Beckett turns out to be a promising partner for Mary, allowing her to be herself as she builds a new life. I especially loved the wonderful local community of interesting and diverse women, who welcome Mary as she had never expected, and which she struggles to feel worthy of accepting. The holiday enters the plot with the planning for an annual Christmas show in which everyone seems to take part, and Mary finds that skills she polished in her past career are just what her new friends need for this beloved project. The book is everything I want in an uplifting story with festive holiday overtones and engaging characters.

My thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this book.

This story was sad,funny,uplifting all at once. After a traumatic experience Mary resigns from her job after falling out with her two best friends who she lived with. We find her in a remote cottage in Sherwood forrest having labour pains and about to have her baby. We then meet Beckett who is a taxi driver managing a job inbetween looking after his grandfather who is recovering from a stroke and is being as awkward as possible. Beckett is at the end of his tether.
These days I only read happy books, okay they can have some sadness in them but I want a happy,feel good ending.
This book has it all as is any book written by Beth Moran. Great characters with a great story, what more can I say?

Mary and Beckett are strangers, each facing their own challenges, each one reluctant to get involved in life because it hurts far too much but fate has other ideas as they find they have little choice as a blizzard is happening, and Mary is in labour!
Mary has spent her entire pregnancy in denial, depressed, devastated and living in a small, run down Cottage in the middle of a f forest in Sherwood. She has been cramping for some time before she admits to herself that perhaps this massive bump, she has been carting around is about to be born.
Beckett, the only taxi driver who will come out to the Cottage, finds Mary in labour and not coping with anything at all. He places her in the backseat, drives off in the storm only to discover the road blocked with an accident. They take a side route towards a church, The New Life Church where Mary is taken inside and before too long gives birth to a baby boy.
From this time on her world changes, along with Beckett’s, as they begin to build a friendship that helps them both learn to cope with the distress of their past and fresh hope for the future.
Add Beckett’s grandfather, a man on a mission but one who is not succeeding, the wonderful people of the church community that come together to teach them both valuable lessons about grief, friendship and life and you have a funny, heartwarming, absolutely enjoyable story from Beth Moran as life, as it always does takes charge in The Most Wonderful time of the Year.

Christmas in July? ABSOLUTELY!
I must preface this by saying that I was laid up in bed with a fever and decided to simply read my chills away, so Christmas in July it was. The Most Wonderful Time of the Year took me away and made me forget that my body was aching. It made me laugh, cry and swoon. For a book (approx 400 pages) to not get boring, and make you want to keep turning to the next page, speaks volumes. For me, feeling the way I did physically, truly spoke volumes of Moran's writing.

Beth Moran presented us beautifully crafted story (once again) with relateable life experiences, throw in the holiday season and it brought it up a notch. The characters are memorable and relatable and well rounded, as is the whole story. You aren't left wondering, you are in fact let satisfied.

I was provided an advance reader copy from NetGalley and have left my honest review voluntarily.

A wonderful, heartwarming Christmas rom- com. Set in Nottingham Forest and told from the alternating points of view of
Mary and Beckett who have a meet cute (if you call it that!) when Mary goes into labour and Beckett picks her up in his taxi. You really can get more Christmassy than having a Mary having a baby in a church! I really enjoyed both characters, they were both well fleshed out and had interesting back stories. Mary is all alone after losing her husband and having a falling out with her business partners. Beckett is a doctor who gave up practicing to look after his grandfather who raised him after he had a stroke. Beth explores sustainable fashion, caregiver burden, being a new mother and friendship with care. Filled with side delightful characters such as Gramps, the Mew Life Community Church mums and the Christmas twins and the most amazing sounding Christmas concert it’s definitely one to add to your holiday TBR. For people who enjoy meet cutes, found family and slow burn romance tropes. My first by Beth and I’m excited to see she has a big backlist for me to work my way through.

The most perfect of a love story. To go from strangers to friends to lovers it totally melted my heart. With the addition of a baby and a grandparent with Alzheimer's to care for it is far from easy. But love, compassion and care trump all and I could feel it in spades in this beautiful festive book. New friendships are a prominent part of the story as well as reigniting old ones and putting hurt to bed. It was really the most wonderful Time of the year in this gorgeous book.