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ufuoma_00's review
5.0
This book is going to be a personal favourite for me. I will happily recommend this to everyone I know. There were funny cringe moments in the book that I pray I never experience in my entire life. But also there were some really touching moments and one in particular I was able to relate to and it was such an awesome ending to the story too. A marvellous and entertaining read you don’t want to be without this Christmas.!!
viewsshewrites's review
5.0
Christmas romance books are always fun to read. And this one was just as fun as expected. Love stories normally take the same route and this one did too. But every book has a little bit of author's soul in it, and no matter how much similar love stories can be, that part of author's soul does come out.
This really left a warm feeling which is so much essential on a cold Christmas evening. A perfect read by the fire side
This really left a warm feeling which is so much essential on a cold Christmas evening. A perfect read by the fire side
bhunsberger's review
4.0
I enjoyed a nice warm & fuzzy Christmas story while our weather is turning cold and snow is in the forecast. The romantic story line is predictable but enjoyable nonetheless. The main character, Penny, is an ice sculptor and I enjoyed reading and learning a bit more about that trade - I could easily picture the sculptures and work process in my head. All in all, a nice story about Penny and her new tenants who develop a special relationship.
joannawarrens's review
4.0
Fun holiday read
This book is a nice Christmas read. I liked the characters and one scene made me laugh out loud. I can't even remember the last book that made me laugh. It had good holiday details.
This book is a nice Christmas read. I liked the characters and one scene made me laugh out loud. I can't even remember the last book that made me laugh. It had good holiday details.
rhirihxo's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Penny Meadows, whose real name is Tuppence, is the subject of the book Christmas at Lilac Cottage. She is an ice carver who, following the tragic tragedy of a miscarriage and her boyfriend's departure a few days later, lives in her comfortable cottage rather alone. She lets Henry and Daisy, who she thinks are a married couple, rent the annex. When she first meets Henry, a carpenter, she falls in love with him but keeps reminding herself that he is married. Then discovers that Daisy is not his wife, but rather his sixteen-year-old daughter.
Henry and Penny end up dating behind the daughter's back, and they have serious problems when they first start dating. The book has a happy ending and is a pleasant, well-written Christmas romance. Other than that, the book is wonderful. The only thing I didn't enjoy was that Penny is informed she's running out of time because she's 29 years old, single, and childless.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual harassment
Minor: Addiction, Miscarriage, Grief, Abortion, and Pregnancy
libwithattitude's review
4.0
Finished this book with a happy sigh , really should have had 'and they all lived happily ever after' at the end! Penny is an ice sculptor with a heart that might just as well be in ice after a bad relationship experience and losing a baby years ago. When Henry, a woodcarver and his daughter Holly move in to the interconnected cottage next door Penny is swept up in a whirlwind romance that takes her breath away. Various misunderstandings threaten to end the relationship but all is sorted on Christmas Eve - as it should be! Enjoyable, frothy romance with a hint of cinnamon and spice.
aterajane's review
1.0
I really wanted to like this. TO BE CLEAR. I love the hallmark sweet stuff. I like fluffy romances. I like steamy romances. This just didn't know what it wanted to be. It wasn't sweet but it wasn't sexy either...
The whole we have to hide this and go slow but be annoyed when they do or don't follow those rules and snap at each other every other scene they aren't making out--thing... (if you can't get it together even for a fling then I don't see you lasting the long haul.) Honestly, I understand if they were trying to keep it hidden from the nosy towns people. BUT, even the towns folk (which normally in these books are either the true antagonists or the sweet helpful characters that mess things up but ultimately mean well) just came off as mean, rude, or nosy... not caring or truly in the way but constantly defended by the protagonist. (This is the second romance book I've read recently where people from the town felt they could dictate what goes on in the main character's personal business, are defended for it, but aren't redeemable and sweet. They don't seem like they truly mean well it seems like they just have way too much time on their hands.)
Other annoyances...
Way too much talk about children (whether it was having them too soon, not being able to have them, everyone else already has them, etc).
Shame on the female protagonist for making herself a victim for as long as she had.
A man who raises his voice and is so quick to verbally attack and slam things before he even knows you is a bad sign NOT ENDEARING.
Also who was she to this young girl that she felt it was okay to cover for her dating someone her father doesn't approve of? Not cool.
The main characters only just barely had chemistry, and just seemed like two lonely people betting the farm on each other to save each other.
And ultimately... the characters were their own antagonists, which can work very well sometimes, except their reasons to block themselves didn't even make sense.
The whole we have to hide this and go slow but be annoyed when they do or don't follow those rules and snap at each other every other scene they aren't making out--thing... (if you can't get it together even for a fling then I don't see you lasting the long haul.) Honestly, I understand if they were trying to keep it hidden from the nosy towns people. BUT, even the towns folk (which normally in these books are either the true antagonists or the sweet helpful characters that mess things up but ultimately mean well) just came off as mean, rude, or nosy... not caring or truly in the way but constantly defended by the protagonist. (This is the second romance book I've read recently where people from the town felt they could dictate what goes on in the main character's personal business, are defended for it, but aren't redeemable and sweet. They don't seem like they truly mean well it seems like they just have way too much time on their hands.)
Other annoyances...
Way too much talk about children (whether it was having them too soon, not being able to have them, everyone else already has them, etc).
Shame on the female protagonist for making herself a victim for as long as she had.
A man who raises his voice and is so quick to verbally attack and slam things before he even knows you is a bad sign NOT ENDEARING.
Also who was she to this young girl that she felt it was okay to cover for her dating someone her father doesn't approve of? Not cool.
The main characters only just barely had chemistry, and just seemed like two lonely people betting the farm on each other to save each other.
And ultimately... the characters were their own antagonists, which can work very well sometimes, except their reasons to block themselves didn't even make sense.
cassbailey's review
4.0
Awwww this book was so adorable! I always usually put off reading non-YA books because I don't see how I'll relate, and therefore what I'll find interesting. But I saw this book in the shop with it's Christmassy romance and absolutely stunning cover, and just couldn't resist! The characters in this book, though at times a little cringey, were super sweet and interesting. You can kind of guess where the story is going from the beginning, yet I was never bored and actually found myself flying through it after the first 100 pages or so! It would be a perfect read in the lead up to Christmas, or as a post-Christmas read to make the post-Christmas blues a little less heartbreaking.
seejennread's review
3.0
It was okay. Would have been better if they hadn’t fallen in love within a week. That was just a little too unbelievable.