Holly Dates at the Christmas Cottage by Margaret Amatt - #bookreview #blogtour

September

"But what about the singles who want to... mingle?" The words escaped Tiffany Barlow's lips before she's considered the implications. She of all people knew only too well what it was like to be single and feel left on the shelf...

***

I am required to make it clear at the beginning of my reviews that I received this book for free from Rachel's Random Resources. I have not been paid for doing this and all opinions are my own. I am Bookshop.org affiliated, which means I earn a very small amount of money if you buy from there using my direct link. Although I include purchase links to Amazon, I am not affiliated with them. I include them to make it easy for you to navigate to them if you so wish.

***

The Blurb

An unexpected bid for something special this Christmas

Perpetually single events manager Tiffany Barlow is used to being in control. So when she agrees to take part in the Holly Dates Auction at Thistle Lodge, it’s with a very specific goal in mind: to catch a respectable date for a high-profile event at a nearby castle. What she doesn’t expect is a last-minute twist…

Reserved English teacher Isaac Emery is looking forward to a peaceful, cosy winter at his grandpa’s Christmas Cottage, pretending he’s perfectly content with his books for company. When he accidentally wins a Holly Date experience at a festive fundraiser, he finds himself committed to a date with Tiffany – someone way out of his league.

As the glittering winter ball at the castle approaches, Tiffany is torn between what she’s been brought up to desire and an unexpected attraction to Isaac.

With a little seasonal nudge from his grandpa, Isaac might risk stepping away from the safety of his solitary world, giving both himself and Tiffany a chance to unwrap true love this Christmas.

My Review

This is the perfect book to read in the run-up to Christmas and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I have previously read a couple of books in this series. Not in any particular order as they all work as stand-alones. In fact, I believe that this is the last book in the series but there is no issue with picking up this one even if you haven't read any of the prior novels.

The characters are wonderful. The main characters are Tiffany and Isaac and I loved the way that the individual chapters are narrated from both perspectives. Tiffany is a very self-controlled events organiser from a well-to-do family. Isaac is a shy and awkward English teacher who lives with his grandfather. It is absolutely not an obvious pairing but it is delightful.

When they do meet via an auction it was wonderful to see not just their relationship blossom, but their individual development also. I thought the author did a fantastic job of portraying her characters, and even the secondary characters came alive on the page. I particularly liked Isaac's grandfather and his neighbour Mabel.

The setting of this book was lovely too and I would have loved to join the characters and curl up in front of the fire at Isaac's grandfather's house, appropriately called Christmas Cottage. I also enjoyed the description of the winter ball which was held at the castle where Tiffany's best friend grew up. Tiffany's parents were there and her mother sees it as the sort of event where Tiffany will meet an appropriate man.

This is a wonderful heartfelt book and I enjoyed every word. If you need a book to make you feel Christmassy then you won't be disappointed with this. I thought it was an adorable novel and I highly recommend it. 

Book Details

ISBN: 978 1914575112

Publisher: Leannan Press

Formats: e-book and paperback

No. of Pages: 402 (paperback)

Series: Book 20 in the Glenbriar series

Purchase Links

Author Website

Amazon UK

Amazon US

About the Author

Margaret Amatt is a bestselling Scottish author, professional daydreamer, and certified chocolate addict. She’s been making up stories for as long as she can remember – some of them even made it onto paper (and, tragically, onto floppy disks that no computer can read anymore). After two decades of writing in secret, she finally unleashed her first novel on the world in 2021, kicking off a ten-book series set on the stunning Isle of Mull.

But why stop there? She’s also the creator of The Glenbriar Series, where romance, small-town drama, and a pinch of spice keep readers coming back for more. This series is still going strong, with more books planned, including a spin-off series in 2027 – The Glenbriar Castle Series.

Margaret also has two books out in the Love on the Edge – Barra series, set in the Outer Hebrides.

Margaret has spent her whole life in Scotland’s breath-taking Highland Perthshire, despite her entire extended family coming from the Glasgow area. Her books are romantic and emotional, sweet and funny, and each one can be read as a standalone, but long-time readers know the joy of familiar faces popping up, adding to the chaos.

So, if you love relatable characters, sizzling chemistry, and plenty of banter, you’re in the right place – just don’t blame Margaret when you stay up way too late reading just one more chapter.

You can also find Margaret at:

Author Website

Facebook

Instagram

My Other Blog Posts Featuring This Author

Summer Nights at Hillview Farm

Christmas Wishes at the Station Book Shop

(ARC and media courtesy of Rachel's Random Resources)

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

Christmas at Honeycombe Bay by Lilac Mills - #bookreview #blogtour

If the next tune was another sodding Christmas song, Eloise Garrett was going to grab the nearest pair of scissors and sever the damn radio's electric cable...

***

I am required to make it clear at the beginning of my reviews that I received this book for free from Rachel's Random Resources. I have not been paid for doing this and all opinions are my own. I am Bookshop.org affiliated, which means I earn a very small amount of money if you buy from there using my direct link. Although I include purchase links to Amazon, I am not affiliated with them. I include them to make it easy for you to navigate to them if you so wish.

***

The Blurb

Two Scrooges come together for a festive-free holiday season by the sea and find all their anti-Christmas plans going up in smoke when they decide to play Santa for a single mom and her child.

Eloise Garrett thinks Christmas is overpriced, overhyped, and overrated, and without any family to share it with, she feels sad, lonely and isolated. The “season for giving” is just a constant reminder that she’s single, sixty(ish), and staring down retirement. But not this Christmas. Determined to avoid the most magical time of the year, Eloise decides to spend Christmas in Honeycombe Bay. Surely a seaside village in the middle of winter won’t be too festive?

Ever since his wife passed away, Bartholomew Knott hasn’t felt up to welcoming visitors to his guest house. With the prospect of another long, lonely winter, and having become more Scrooge than Santa over the years, Bart is dreading Christmas. However, when he’s contacted by someone who dislikes decking the halls just as much as he does, Bart has the brilliant idea of opening the guest house to people who want to escape all things festive.

Christmas isn’t easy to ignore, though, not even in off-season Honeycombe Bay. So when fate forces Bart to give shelter to a single mother and child whose holiday has been devastated by a terrible fire, Eloise finds herself playing Mrs. Claus to Bart’s Santa—dragging the house’s other guest, a heartbroken teacher looking for a break during the holidays, into the action as well. But holiday cheer isn’t the only thing sparking under the mistletoe. Will the guests at Honeycombe Bay realize that, sometimes, the best way to escape Christmas is to let it into your heart?

My Review

This is a charming story of later-life romance and was most enjoyable to read.

It was such a heartwarming novel full of lovely characters. The main character was Eloise and the book is told largely from her perspective. She has no family and all the Christmas cheer grates on her nerves. So she heads to a bed and breakfast in off-season Honeycombe Bay where she meets the owner, Bart, who is still grieving for his wife.

There are other characters who end up at the B&B too and this turns into a tale of found family. In addition, there is romance in the air between Eloise and Bart, if only they were brave enough to admit it. When circumstances occur that force them to observe Christmas, they both demonstrate such generosity of love towards others that I was rooting for them to do so to each other.

This was a wonderful book to read and I enjoyed every page. The author has created characters that leapt off the page and I almost felt that I was in the B&B with them, sharing a mince pie and glass of Baileys.

I found this gorgeous story captivating and would have gobbled it up in one sitting if I could. It warmed my heart and put a smile on my face. The author did such a fabulous job of creating her curmudgeonly characters and atmosphere, and enabled us as readers to see them grow and change. 

This is a lovely book to read in the run-up to Christmas and I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Book Details

ISBN:  978 1035927302

Publisher: Aria

Formats: e-book, audio and paperback

No. of Pages:  304 (paperback)

Purchase Links

Amazon UK

Amazon US

About the Author

Lilac Mills lives on a Welsh mountain with her very patient husband and incredibly sweet dog, where she grows veggies (if the slugs don't get them), bakes (badly) and loves making things out of glitter and glue (a mess, usually). She's been an avid reader ever since she got her hands on a copy of Noddy Goes to Toytown when she was five, and she once tried to read everything in her local library starting with A and working her way through the alphabet. 

She loves long, hot summer days in the garden, and cold winter ones snuggled in front of the fire, but whatever the weather she's usually writing or thinking about writing, with heartwarming romance and happy-ever-afters always on her mind.

Lilac also writes under the pseudonyms Liz Davies and Etti Summers.

You can also find Lilac at:

Author Website

Instagram

X

Bluesky

My Other Blog Posts Featuring This Author

Surprises on the Scottish Isle

(ARC and media courtesy of Rachel's Random Resources)

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

The Freshman Parents by Ko Porteous - #bookreview #blogtour

Sitting in her house in Edinburgh, Heather McVey takes a horrified gasp, minimises the chat and slams the laptop closed...

***

I am required to make it clear at the beginning of my reviews that I received this book for free from Rachel's Random Resources. I have not been paid for doing this and all opinions are my own. I am Bookshop.org affiliated, which means I earn a very small amount of money if you buy from there using my direct link. Although I include purchase links to Amazon, I am not affiliated with them. I include them to make it easy for you to navigate to them if you so wish.

***

The Blurb

They're off for the time of their lives. But are you? 

Book #1 in The Empty Nesters Series.

Single parent Heather isn't neurotic (honest!) - she's simply dreading the day her only child leaves for university - so her meticulous checklists grow longer by the hour. When she seeks advice on a parents' forum, she clashes with Scott, a single dad whose "helpful" statistics and assertions about “helicopter parenting” leave her fuming. 

Move-in day delivers the ultimate surprise: their daughters aren’t just roommates – they are self-declared "besties for life". Suddenly, Heather and Scott are thrown into a begrudging alliance. 

As they navigate the new status quo, Heather's instinct to organise meets Scott's philosophy of letting go. Their practical text messages about mattress toppers and emergency supplies evolve into conversations about dream jobs and bucket list aspirations. Despite their intentions to avoid relationships at all costs, unpredictable events keep throwing them together, meaning Heather and Scott find it increasingly difficult to ignore each other... 

My Review

This was a wonderful book to read and I enjoyed every page.

The main characters, Heather and Scott, both single parents, rub each other up the wrong way when they join an online support group for the parents of young people who are heading off to St Andrews University. Heather is feeling a sense of dread at her only daughter, Georgia, going off to university, whereas Scott has raised his daughter, Brianna, to be independent and self-sufficient. When Georgia and Brianna become the best of friends, Heather and Scott have to deal with seeing each other more than they wished.

Heather was such an easy character to identify with. Yes, I was that mother who sobbed when each of my sons went off to uni. Then when my youngest left, my nest felt very empty indeed. I think anyone who has had a child go off to university will relate to Heather wholeheartedly. And while Scott initially came across as judgemental and a little offhand, as the book progresses and we learn more of his backstory, he becomes an equally likeable character.

It's obvious from the beginning that they were going to be attracted to one another despite their initial dislike. The author portrays this enemies-to-lovers story extremely well. As a debut novel she has done an excellent job and I am already looking forward to reading her next book, The Twenty Dates, which is due to be released in October 2026.

I also enjoyed the way the author depicted the story. We have chapters told from the perspectives of both Heather and Scott, as well as through the online forum messages and text messages between the characters. In addition, the author used both dialogue and narrative to move the story along at an appropriate pace.

The author uses both humour and sadness in this story. She is clearly a skilled writer and I am looking forward to reading more from her in the future. It is very rare that I would award a book of this genre five stars, but this one really deserves it. I highly recommend this book.

Book Details

ISBN: 978 1918664010

Publisher: All Ways Books

Formats: e-book and paperback (currently available on Kindle Unlimited)

No. of Pages: 454 (paperback)

Series: Book 1 in the Empty Nesters series

Purchase Links

Amazon UK

Amazon US

About the Author

Ko Porteous lived in a tiny fishing village in the north of Scotland before moving to Edinburgh aged 10.  

Ko loves meeting people with interesting stories to tell and is constantly on the lookout for knotty story themes, particularly involving women navigating the messiness of life. She has worked as a Research Chemist, Assistant Chef, Teacher and School Leader.  

As well as writing, Ko works as a Business Manager and provides listening services for a mental health charity aiming to reduce the number of deaths caused by suicide.  

In her free time, Ko loves to run, meditate and travel; preferably all on the same day.   

Ko has been married for 25 years, has 2 children of her own and is now navigating her own empty nest.  

The Freshman Parents is Ko’s debut novel and is the first in ‘The Empty Nesters’ series. 

You can also find Ko at:

Author Website

Instagram

Facebook

My Other Blog Posts Featuring This Author

Cover Reveal

(ARC and media courtesy of Rachel's Random Resources)

(all opinions are my own)